Article on WB’s New Schedule, Roswell & Fans Mentioned
From the New York Daily News:
WB’s Radical Program for Fall
By ERIC MINK
Daily News TV CriticIf one of the Big Three networks introduced eight shows at the same time, it would signify a major restructuring of its 22-hour prime-time lineup.
So how should we describe mininetwork WB’s just-announced fall schedule? It includes eight new shows, representing five hours of airtime in a total schedule of just 13 hours spread across six nights each week.
In other words, in one stroke WB is replacing almost 40% of its schedule. I’d call that monumental change.
In that context, the network would seem to have more important things to worry about than the calls, letters, e-mails and bottles of Tabasco sauce it can expect to receive from disappointed fans of the now-canceled “Roswell.”
Among the pressing matters:
Next season, WB just learned, it will be without the services of Shannen Doherty, one of the three leads of “Charmed,” the network’s second-highest-rated show.
And it will be entirely without its No. 3 show — “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” — which anchored its Tuesday-night lineup. WB is replacing it with “Gilmore Girls,” an equally fine drama just completing its freshman season.
It’s worth noting that ratings for “Gilmore Girls,” which faced powerful competition at 8 p.m. Thursdays, were lower than those for “Roswell.” It’s also worth noting that competitor UPN is almost certainly going to schedule “Buffy” in its old time slot — 8 p.m. on Tuesdays — which will put it opposite “Gilmore Girls.”
Read the Full Article here.