Yep, the WB does it again.

How many times can one network put out press releases that make themselves sound incredibly dumb and shortsighted?

What could be a more "unique brother dynamic" than what we saw developing with Angel and Spike? "Worlds that scare us and creep us out"? They do remember the slayerverse right? Alright, it was never "hide behind the sofa" kinda scary but then i've yet to see anything on a television show that was all that frightening. Can't see this Supernatural really giving me nightmares either.

I would laugh TaraDi but i'm too busy being severely pissed off with the WB!

The Watcher | September 14, 00:04 CET

This show sounds kinda.....BAD. They already had a great supernaturla show. Angel already has built in fans and it would have been cheaper for the netwok to keep making Angel rather than spending money on new shows that they think can replace Angel.

ShotgunWes | September 14, 00:14 CET

Yeah, this really pisses me off. The WB are idiots. But then again, we already knew that. Sigh.

electricspacegirl | September 14, 00:28 CET

It really sounds like it was written by a committee who went through a checklist ticking off various things.

Simon | September 14, 00:30 CET

Plus there's the whole annoying "McG" thing. What the heck kind of a name is that? Sounds just a little pompous to me.

[ edited by phlebotinin on 2004-09-13 22:32 ]

phlebotinin | September 14, 00:31 CET

The one guy was involved with Tarzan. What a big hit that was..not! And the other worked on "The Mountain", which is another new show yet to air.

Not quite understanding the logic of this. Wait. It's the WB. They have no logic. Sounds as if they're trying to regain the 4 million fans they royally pissed off when they canceled Angel.

I thought the Angel/Spike dynamic was a very strong one that could have been easily built upon.

ASassyKat | September 14, 00:39 CET

It's the X-Files meets the Dukes of Hazzard! Who said Hollywood was out of ideas?

giles (yes, it is my real name) | September 14, 00:42 CET

I never thought of Angel as a particularly scary show though.

Not that this will be either, but hey.

PMMJ | September 14, 00:55 CET

Gah.

Though I am kind of amused that attempts to win over the Angel/Buffy audience may fail b/c the Angel/Buffy audience is too busy being pissed of that Angel/Buffy are gone and that these new shows are attempting to replace them. Appealing to the same audience doesn't always work.

Though, at the same time, I'm more than aware that the majority of Angel's 4 million or so viewers probably aren't harboring a grudge against the WB, so maybe this will work.

But yeah, I wholeheartedly concur with the rest of you - the Angel/Spike dynamic was a fantastic brotherly dynamic and the show delved into all sorts of worlds, creepy or otherwise, week after week, particularly this season. *sigh*

teenes | September 14, 00:55 CET

"The notion of doing a dramatic show that focuses on a unique brother dynamic and allows us to enter worlds that scare us and creep us out each week to me is a great recipe..."

"...that we didn't like in February but now we do. We're just fickle that way!"

dingdongs.

Grace | September 14, 00:59 CET

I,personally,would rather have my teeth drilled, sans novocaine, as an alternative to watching ANYTHING on the WB... unless, of course the oft promised Angel movies happen to appear. Anyone holding their breath? Didn't think so..........

AncientMagicks | September 14, 01:18 CET

I just sit here and scratch my head. But I do this whenever I look at large businesses.

Passion | September 14, 01:24 CET

If it was x-files meets dukes of hazzard that would be awesome. Two grizzled yet handsome young hillbillies travel the country in their 1974 chevy malibu doing good deeds and drinking beer. Damn! There's my pitch! I am gonna be a bizzilionaire. Maybe if the car spoke... Is uncle jesse still alive?

[ edited by smog on 2004-09-13 23:58 ]

smog | September 14, 01:58 CET

Wasn't it the WB a few years back had a show about a punk rock band that toured the country in a van and saw Dead people and had other supernatural encounters? Might have been UPN, but pretty much sounds like the same show with a mustang instead of a girl...

sTalking_Goat | September 14, 02:13 CET

Here's another thing that's so blindingly stupid. The pair cruise in a '64 Mustang. Who but boomers (cough.me.cough) who lived through that era could appreciate such an ancient mechanical sled (I was not driving then, really). If WB is about young folk, the pair should be Too Cool for Mustangs in a Mitsu Eclipse ragtop or Honda S2000 or stealth car, e.g., Jetta wagon with Euro suspension and body kit. They've got it all wrong from the start.

Drifter | September 14, 02:30 CET

I think you're talking about scooby doo Goat.

smog | September 14, 02:38 CET

Actually i do recall that series sTalking_Goat. Really couldn't give you anymore details but i remember seeing an article about it in Dreamwatch, a UK sci-fi mag, years ago.

One of the male band members (fat blonde haired kid) played characters in a couple of episodes of the X-Files i seem to remember.

The Watcher | September 14, 03:03 CET

The show you were looking for would be Dead Last. It had some promise to it and was quite funny in spots.

Ocular | September 14, 03:25 CET

GAH! I just... I mean...I can't... GAH!

*goes to lie down before the top of my head pops off*

I realize the WB are idiots, and my jaw SHOULD have stopped dropping to the floor at each announcement, but I am beyond stupefied at this revelation. This sounds like a shit show, and they had a golden nugget right in their collective palms! As Bugs would say: "What a buncha MAROONS!"

Willowy | September 14, 03:28 CET

Thanks Ocular, that name still doesn't ring a bell but i'll take your word for it, hehe.

The Watcher | September 14, 04:00 CET

This proposed show sounds ridiculous, but it reminds me faintly of what had been planned for a Faith-Principal Wood-Spike spinoff. Yes, Principal Wood. I remember reading somewhere that those three would be riding around the country (on a motorcycle? motorcycles?) fighting -- what else -- evil. And developing further as characters in an ever expanding Buffyverse, which is what McG & Co. are probably dire at. (Developing characters further, never mind the Buffyverse.)

phlebotinin | September 14, 04:17 CET

Didn't we hear just a few weeks ago that the WB wanted to expand its appeal to "older" viewers as well as their traditional demographic? So, maybe, Drifter, in their skewed logic, this is their tactic with the '64 'Stang :)

How do these WB guys put out these releases with a straight face? Do they have no shame at all?
(Questions are purely rhetorical. Of course they have no shame. If they had any, they wouldn't be at the WB.)

palehorse | September 14, 04:18 CET

This is just stoopid. The WB will waste time and money trying and trying to make magick again with the supernatural theme when we all know it's not going to happen without Joss-level brilliance. They had a perfectly good audience of four million or so and they threw it away. If they'd just kept Angel for a final season, they would've had that audience, plus whatever they could build with this new show using AtS as a lead-in or companion piece. I'm sure they'll pair it with either Smallville or Charmed now, but since I already don't watch either of those, it's an effort that'll be lost on me.

In spite of (or maybe because of) the XF comparison, I find I'm completely disinterested in the premise, especially since it appears there won't be a female character for me to identify with. Brotherly bonding is nice and all (Angel and Spike filled that need very nicely, thanks), but the idea of watching two twenty-something guys tool around in a yuppie-era muscle car looking for 'creepy' stuff does not make me tingle with anticipation. Rather, I am already counting the minutes until it follows Tarzan into likely oblivion.

Wiseblood | September 14, 04:38 CET

That McG guy is an idiot too. Two bad charlie's angels films, and he knocked back superman just because they wanted to film it in Australia... loser.

Mort | September 14, 05:50 CET

I don't think the WB suits are stupid. I think they're controlling. They like to micromanage. It's the only explanation I can think for why Charmed is being produced this year by the lead talent, and written by a room of recently de-caffeinated monkeys.

The suits just didn't like how Whedon played ball, and think they can do better with a show that uses supernatural in a more literal way, as opposed to the metaphorical "artsy" way Whedon played with. In other words, they don't want their shows to be too deep. They want episodes to be interchangeable. You can do the soap opera stuff so long as nothing significant changes. In other words they want formulaic fluff cuz it's easier to get advertisers and ratings. Remember how Fox looked stupid when they played the Firefly shows out of order? Whether network suits actually ARE stupid or not, they don't like LOOKING stupid. More importantly, they like looking PROFITABLE.

I mean let's face it. Angel never really got explosive ratings. It wasn't something that appealed to the masses. The suits wanted the show Angel, but they wanted it on their terms, which woulda meant Joss Whedon would need a frontal lobotomy, and perhaps castration. Then the suits at WB woulda been happy.

So far, WBs fall line up has been even more neutered and stupid than the past. So as far as the suits are concerned they're right on track. Odds are after all of us have sworn off the network, that's when its ratings will improve, because you and me? We're too smart for advertisers. We're too smart for mass demographics. We're not what the suits are aiming for. They want dumb people with disposable incomes.

Sorry gang, but the painful truth is this: We've been devolved out of the Television City Gene Pool. Personally, I blame Jerry Springer.

ZachsMind | September 14, 08:05 CET

"...they wanted it on their terms, which woulda meant Joss Whedon would need a frontal lobotomy, and perhaps castration."

"We're not what the suits are aiming for. They want dumb people with disposable incomes." - ZachsMind

Why do I think that given the opportunity to say those exact words to the suits at the WB, they'd look at each other, nod, and say, "Well...yeah."

Argh. Yes Z, you're right. But Argh still the same.

Willowy | September 14, 08:53 CET

ZachsMind, you were so close to be exactly right with your post. Everything you stated about us being too smart for the WB's key demographic, about Joss being too clever for his own good, about Angel's mediocre ratings, all very true.

But opening with the sentence "I don't think the WB suits are stupid."?

So very, very wrong! ;)

The Watcher | September 14, 12:21 CET

Different show, same played out tune. You have a point, ZachsMind. I recall the same thing happened with their negotiation for renewal of BtVS during season 5. I think it had less to do with the cost of the show, rather "How dare this writer bump heads with us." Next thing they knew, Joss was taking BtVS to UPN. Even then, they tried to cover the errors of their ways by belittling BtVS at every press conference they could muster. Yet, everyone in the business knew they dropped the ball big time. Oh well, old rant of mine, no reason for me to start harping on it again. Bottom line is the WB currently does not have any new shows I find of interest.

Madhatter | September 14, 12:21 CET

Oh, what, they decided they may have made a boo-boo? It's a little late. They have lied about everything. I still will not watch the WB. And the only thing that will put my butt back in front of the tube for that particular money grubbing station is another Joss Whedon production. By the By, the SciFi channel has a new program called Dark Light premiering Saturday night a 9pm. So far, it's the only thing I've seen resembling any kind of Supernatural anything. I am kind of looking forward to Lost too. Of course, thats on another station. Sorry WB,maybe if you had taken your heads out of your collective asses and wallets, you would still have a loyal following. Ahhh... I feel better.

[ edited by arience on 2004-09-14 17:56 ]

arience | September 14, 15:26 CET

Ooh, but see, this show's by McG, so it'll obviously be more intelligent than anything that Joss guy could have thrown together...

RambleOn623 | September 14, 17:20 CET

“The suits just didn't like how Whedon played ball, and think they can do better with a show that uses supernatural in a more literal way, as opposed to the metaphorical "artsy" way Whedon played with.”

Which explains why a show about the supernatural has been titled…uh… “Supernatural”.

“Whether network suits actually ARE stupid or not, they don't like LOOKING stupid. More importantly, they like looking PROFITABLE.”

I think the ship of stupidity has already sailed for the WB. We (not to mention a lot of TV critics) saw it when they cancelled Angel.

bloodflowers | September 14, 18:03 CET

We (not to mention a lot of TV critics) saw it when they cancelled Angel.

True, but remember Angel's constantly changing time slots and next-to-no promotion? The way the WB deliberately staggered eps to disrupt the crossover storylines with UPN? How they mislead Joss about the number of eps that had been picked up for a fifth season? Their little game of keeping us all dangling over the abyss of uncertainty until late May every year? Even Rodney Dangerfield got more respect.

In other words, I think it was apparent how stupid they were long before they actually cancelled Angel. That act just confirmed it. They had this loyal audience in their pocket, and they threw away the show attracting that audience without first being sure they had something to replace it with. Pretty much the opposite of 'smart' as I understand it....

Wiseblood | September 14, 21:04 CET

Pretty much the same way FOX treated 'Firefly'. No wonder Joss is disgusted in the current situation of network TV. Can't say I blame him.

Madhatter | September 14, 21:19 CET

This is another slap in the face for "Angel" fans.
How much do I hate the WB? Let me count the ways...

obsessed | September 14, 23:51 CET

“I think it was apparent how stupid they were long before they actually cancelled Angel. That act just confirmed it.”

How could I have forgotten all the crap that went on before? I think I must have blocked it out because of how it just churns up the bitterness. Of course you’re right. They didn’t seem to know or care about the audience and it seems like they still aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed.

bloodflowers | September 15, 00:23 CET

According to the IMDb, McG was also responsible for a one-season show called "Fastlane." I never watched it, but judging from the sleazariffic promos it was also about two guys and a car, with a strong "Dukes of Hazard" vibe. What a fecund imagination this artist has! The show will be terrible and it won't make the money to keep the WB executives in drugs for a single workday.

dreamlogic | September 15, 03:25 CET

He's a frickin' music video director. Cheeseball.

Willowy | September 15, 03:30 CET

They didn’t seem to know or care about the audience and it seems like they still aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed.

*snort* Well, going by the old proverb, if the WB is a tool, it's a hammer (and a rusty, poorly-weighted one at that). That's why every problem they come across looks like a nail. Different scenario, same uninventive solution. To quote our favorite Whedonverse geek: "Bored now." When will they ever learn? (That's a rhetorical question. I won't be sticking around to watch and find out.)

The fact that the hammer is being wielded by, one might speculate, untrained monkeys with grandiose notions of ingenuity just makes everything so much worse. (Oops. I guess I'm still bitter.)

p.s. dreamlogic, I vote 'sleazariffic' best new word in recent memory. So many useful applications (unlike aforementioned hammer), and twice as much fun as ordinary adjectives! :)

Wiseblood | September 15, 09:37 CET

He's a frickin' music video director. Cheeseball.
Just like to point out that so is Spike Jonze and he's made some very good (imo) films. However I am in no way defending McG (and not just because of his bloody stupid name!) I agree with most of what's been said, this show doesn't look great and the execs at the WB really do appear to be stupid.

Paul_Rocks | September 15, 16:06 CET