Buffy and Angel Pilots to Re-Air

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slayerpower

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In honor of it's last day, The WB will be airing the Buffy and Angel pilots on September 17.

WB revisits glory days
Net plans to go out with a bang

The Frog is planning one last hurrah before it croaks.
The WB will sign off the air forever on Sunday, Sept. 17, by rebroadcasting the pilot episodes of several of its signature skeins, including "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," "Felicity" and "Dawson's Creek."

Landing the rights to air the series required outgoing WB supremo Garth Ancier and the net's remaining execs to conduct a delicate licensing ballet with the outside studios that own those skeins, and cablers that now play home to the shows.

In addition to the pilots, Frog plans to fill its final night with a bevy of classic promos and image campaigns from the WB's 11-year history. There'll also be a final tribute reel featuring the hundreds of thesps who've appeared on WB skeins over the years.

Such a farewell is unprecedented: When one-time fourth network DuMont signed off the air for the last time in 1956, it did so with little fanfare -- and with very little coverage.

"How do you end a network?" Ancier asked rhetorically. "This will be an homage to our shows."

The planning process began with a group of remaining WB execs, who made a list of the net's most memorable series.

"We kept coming back to the same significant shows," Ancier said. "Certainly 'Dawson's' and 'Buffy' were no-brainers."

Because the Frog's final bow will take place on a Sunday -- a night on which the WB airs programming from 5-10 p.m. -- net's blowout bye-bye will be a full five hours.

Night will kick off at 5 p.m. with the J.J. Abrams- and Matt Reeves-created "Felicity," followed at 6 by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt's "Angel." The two-hour pilot to Whedon's "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" will run in primetime from 7-9 p.m.

Appropriately, "Dawson's Creek" -- the Kevin Williamson teen sudser that put the WB on the map -- will be the final show to air on the Frog, running from 9-10 p.m.

Some shows that would seem a natural for the last night -- such as "Smallville" and "7th Heaven" -- won't appear because they'll live on at the merged WB-UPN, which is called the CW.

anding rights to air the series one last time was a sticky process. Most of the shows are airing in off-net syndication on cable, and navigating those license holders was a bit more complicated.

"Every cable network that runs these shows had to give the rights to us," Ancier said. "And they all wanted their own pound of flesh."

That meant breaking the taboo of promoting cablers on the network's air with date-and-time promos. (Usually broadcast networks allow only cable ads that tell viewers to "check local listings" to find the show).

But under this unusual circumstance -- and with the WB folding anyway -- the Frog and its departing affiliates were willing to let it slide.

The shows' creators, producers and studios were game for the idea. But because all of the shows come from outside the WB's Warner Bros. parent, Ancier and company had to find a way to make it attractive for those outside studios to license the shows for a night.

Solution: All the studios involved will get a free on-air promo of the DVD collections of their respective skeins.

Beyond that, Sony Pictures TV (which produced "Dawson's Creek"), Touchstone/Imagine ("Felicity") and 20th Century Fox TV ("Buffy" and "Angel") waived the usual license fee; the WB was required only to pay the necessary residuals.

"Everyone was great about it," Ancier said. "No one was making money off of this."

Three of the five hours to air on the WB's last night ("Buffy," "Angel") will be from 20th Century Fox TV -- ironic, as the WB and 20th had more than a few financial run-ins.

In particular, the night reps a homecoming for "Buffy," which moved to UPN after the studio and Frog couldn't come to terms on a license renewal. It's the first time the show has returned to the WB since leaving for the rival netlet in 2001.

There had been speculation the WB would sign off at the end of August. But the new CW net -- which is replacing the WB in many markets --isn't set to begin broadcasting until Monday, Sept. 18.

Across town, UPN has not yet announced how, or if, it will mark its own demise, which takes place the previous Friday, Sept. 15. One possibility: The netlet may simply shut off the lights after its usual weekly airing of "Friday Night Smackdown."

Source: Variety
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You know that prologue about the slayers that's in the beginning of the pilot? It's not in syndication or dvd, so maybe it'll be the WB rebroadcasts it. Long shot, but maybe.
 
slayerpower said:
You know that prologue about the slayers that's in the beginning of the pilot? It's not in syndication or dvd, so maybe it'll be the WB rebroadcasts it. Long shot, but maybe.
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That would be a cool tribute, as it was only used that one time. I have it saved on my computer, it's the thing that mentions the slayer Lucy Hanover(Sp?) and one in Chicago - right?
 
I am SOOO happy that Buffy is finally returning home after so many years. It will be to great seeing the show where it began (the night before it actually premired aswell).

I love that TheWB is going out with a finale of its own which you can deffinately count me there watching and recording every moment of it.

I have been watching the network ever since it first debuted so I have loved it more then I have hated it (the last 3 years of its life).

Oh and it will a pleasure seeing The Frog again, that was something I enjoyed about the network in its first like 5-6 years, and how TheWB would have its get togethers with all of their shows, throw a party and play volleyball and other games against each other back then.

A lot of Charmed fans are mad that the Charmed pilot did not make a cut on the re-airings but I understand why these 5 pilots made the cut to end the Network since they were five of their greatest shows on the network and helped a lot in bringing media to the network and so many fans. The network itself back then is kind of like a cult hit.
 
My opinion. The death of the WB was in the cards from the moment they unjustly cancelled Angel. It showed the new regime no longer cared about quality. They began to notice UPN was about to pass them, and they took the "if you can't beat em join em approach". :silly:
 
R
Randy Giles
Actually no, it didn't show up earlier, no smilies were showing up - oh well. lol
nerd4hire said:
My opinion. The death of the WB was in the cards from the moment they unjustly cancelled Angel. It showed the new regime no longer cared about quality. They began to notice UPN was about to pass them, and they took the "if you can't beat em join em approach". :silly:
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Eh, I can't agree. They've had quite a few good shows in the last couple of years, especially "Supernatural", which IMO is just as good as Buffy and Angel. And their "death" was simply a business decision so they and UPN wouldn't be fighting for the exact same demographic.
 
nerd4hire
nerd4hire
You noticed the smilie right. ;)
Dzhugashvili said:
Yes, that is also known as the "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" approach.....
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Becoming one network doesn't seem to be a "if you can't beat em join em approach"...that would be more along the lines of the other networks creating sci-fi shows to compete with Lost since their other shows aren't as successful or something.

I mean, technically they DID join each other, but...not in the sense of that saying.
 
Crushed Dead Boone said:
Becoming one network doesn't seem to be a "if you can't beat em join em approach"...that would be more along the lines of the other networks creating sci-fi shows to compete with Lost since their other shows aren't as successful or something.

I mean, technically they DID join each other, but...not in the sense of that saying.
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What the hell? They joined each other because they were competing for the same demographic(as you have already stated), and neither could win.

They couldn't beat each other, so they merged.

Would you like to buy a clue?
 
*sigh*

Okay, you're taking this way too far. I simply commented on N4H's statement, which apparently was joking anyway. He said that since The WB canceled "Angel" that led to their demise and that's when they began having failing ratings and had no quality shows. I then pointed out "Supernatural", which is both critically and commercially successful. And then since he said they decided to use the "if you can't beat them join them" approach and I was saying that they didn't technically, in the sense of what that saying means when people say it most of the time.

And THEN I pointed out that in another sense that saying DID fit. Maybe I didn't convey my meaning clearly enough at first but this was NEVER a serious discussion/argument yet you're acting like a jackass and trying to make this into something more than it is.
 
Crushed Dead Boone said:
*sigh*

Okay, you're taking this way too far. I simply commented on N4H's statement, which apparently was joking anyway. He said that since The WB canceled "Angel" that led to their demise and that's when they began having failing ratings and had no quality shows. I then pointed out "Supernatural", which is both critically and commercially successful. And then since he said they decided to use the "if you can't beat them join them" approach and I was saying that they didn't technically, in the sense of what that saying means when people say it most of the time.
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Jesus... Put your hankie away.
Crushed Dead Boone said:
And THEN I pointed out that in another sense that saying DID fit. Maybe I didn't convey my meaning clearly enough at first but this was NEVER a serious discussion/argument yet you're acting like a jackass and trying to make this into something more than it is.
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O..k. You posted first saying N4H's was incorrect with his "if you can't beat 'em join em'. I said it wasn't incorrect. You're now agreeing with me.

CRISIS AVERTED!

Chump.
 
Put my hankie away? I'm sorry, were you under the impression you made me sad? That's funny. Since when does ANY WORD in that paragraph say anything about how I'm feeling emotionally? I was simply explaining something.
 
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