Popular

As I referenced in my post about my love for  The WB, I was a big fan of the show Popular. A little Mean Girls, a little Gossip Girl, this show as about cliques and the social hierarchy of high school. It starred Leslie Bibb (who’s been in a couple movies like Iron Man and Talladega Nights) and Carly Pope (not quite sure what she’s been in lately). Leslie’s character,  Brooke, was the super popular cheerleader with the hot bf and and Carly’s character, Sam, was the unpopular smart girl with a nerdy best friend who pines after her. Sounds like a pretty standard high school drama premise, right?

Well, this show was created by Ryan Murphy (Glee, Nip/Tuck, American Horror Story), so of course there were some twists and turns. Sam and Brooke’s single parents meet and fall in love, get married and  have a kid together. Sam and Brooke eventually fight over Harrison. Josh, Brooke’s football player boyfriend, starts dating Sam’s environmental activist friend, Lily, and they get married. Sidenote: I absolutely hate when teenage characters get married. Yeah, I’m looking at you Cory and Topanga (okay you got married in college, but still), Haley and Nathan from One Tree Hill and Finn and Rachel (well, almost, thank god Quinn got in that car accident). Anyways, there were also some crazy peripheral characters like Mary Cherry, a crazy and vapid cheerleader, Nicole, scary psychopath cheerleader, and Mike “Sugar Daddy” Bernardino, an overweight wanna gangsta.

I really loved this show and I’m still disappointed that it was cancelled after only two seasons. Plus, that series finale was crazy. SPOILER ALERT: The last scene shows Nicole running over Brooke with her car. And that’s the end of it. Seriously. We don’t know if she dies or not.

The WB

Sometimes I wish The WB were still in existence and not The CW. I mean, The WB was edgy and cool and just for young people. Like no joke, it’s main target was people below the age of 30. The network had gems like Felicity, Dawson’s Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Everwood, 7th Heaven and my all-time favorite show ever, Gilmore Girls. Also, remember sitcoms like Sister, Sister, What I Like About You and Reba? Plus, let’s not forget those forgotten shows like Grosse Pointe (a hilarious behind-the-scenes satire of a show like Beverly Hills, 90210 that was, in my opinion, cancelled way too soon), Young Americans (with Kate Bosworth and Ian Somerhalder), Brotherly Love (guys, remember when the Lawrence brothers were heartthrobs?!) and The Mountain (with a pre-Gossip Girl Penn Badgley).

And can we talk about how many celebs got their start on The WB? Michelle Williams and Katie Holmes would be nowhere without Dawson’s Creek. Keri Russell is always going to be Felicity Porter to me. Kat Dennings got her start on Raising Dad (with Danny Tanner, ahem, Bob Saget). Jamie Foxx had his own freakin’ sitcom. Jessica Biel was Mary Camden on 7th Heaven before she got nakey in FHM. And Zac Efron could not have been more awkward (with a gap tooth) in Summerland. I could probably go on forever and ever naming shows and stars from The WB. Seriously, it’s the only channel I ever watched when I was about 11-17. It was really hard, but I rounded up my top 5 shows on The WB (frankly, it was like choosing a favorite child):

Gilmore Girls: This was obviously a no-brainer. I was and still am obsessed with this show. I wanted to be Rory, except with better clothes. I own all the DVDs. I went on The WB backlot tour in Burbank (where they filmed the show) twice. I stood on Lorelai’s yard and took a picture with that gnome, Pierpont. I have a photo outside of Luke’s diner. I still have hope that one day they’ll make a reunion movie.

Popular: This show was cancelled too soon. Created by Ryan Murphy (Glee and Nip/Tuck), the show was about, what else, popularity and cliques in high school. It’s like Gossip Girl’s older sister. Plus, it had a really catchy theme song.

Roswell: Aliens, romance and teen drama. What more could you ask for? Before angsty supernatural teen dramas like Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle, there was Roswell. I have to admit, sometimes it got a little intense and even a little scary for me, but I loved it. Liz + Max 4 eva. Plus, it featured a pre-Grey’s Anatomy Katherine Heigl.

What I Like About You: Amanda Bynes at her peak. Enough said.

Felicity: There were many times throughout my college career at NYU that I stopped and asked myself, “Why isn’t my life more like Felicity’s?” I loved this show, even after she got that crazy haircut. I’m still waiting for my Ben Covington.

Also, can we just talk about the amazing promos The WB had? See above video for an example. Classic.