Goodbye WB

by Jennifer Squires Biller

“Faces I remember.” That is the soulful line from the song Crawl that played Sunday night in the final farewell commercial for The WB network. The promos using that song had always been my favorites, and as The WB signed off the air permanently, it was a fitting choice to say goodbye. The network went out on a nostalgic high note by airing the pilots of Felicity, Dawson’s Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel back-to-back…Ah, the good ol’ days... (Sorry…where was I?) If you missed The WB’s goodbye, you missed the pilot episodes of some of the best series television ever made.

I admit I got a little misty-eyed watching the vintage promo clips of Noel and Dawson driving cross-country and Clark and Lex stopping short to “watch the frog.” And the final commercial was almost my undoing. There, staring out from the dark were Dawson, Pacey, Joey, Felicity, Noel, Ben, Buffy, Angel, Clark, Lex and the other faces from network that “defined a generation.” The fact that we know them all by only a first name is a testament to the greatness that was The WB. Capping off the touching ending, was the shadowy mascot we all loved, Michigan J. Frog, tipping his hat. (Gulp.)

My emotional reaction isn’t due to PMS or a chemical imbalance. It’s simply the realization that The WB, in its heyday, was a piece of TV perfection that probably never will be duplicated. It gave us J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, Keri Russell, David Boreanaz, and Jamie Foxx. And it gave us television in a way I’d never imagined, much less viewed: creative, original, edgy, witty, snarky and fun, without all the clichés of typical dramas. It feels like I’m mourning an old friend, and in a way, I am. I spent many hours hanging out with the kids of Capeside, Sunnydale and NYU.

If you missed the final tribute, check it out here at You Tube. Those of you curious about the song, it’s Crawl from the band Thisway and is available at iTunes. But be warned, listening to it can bring up gut-wrenching memories of “hey,” “Smoothaise,” “Chia head,” “the breakup kit,” “the Creek,” “walking the dog,” “celluloid propaganda,” “there’s an us here now,” “the Slayer,” “close your eyes,” "vanquishing demons,” “Happy Meals on legs,” “the evil hand,” and a “vampire with a soul." (sniff, sniff) Does anyone have a tissue?

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