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From Themichiganjournal.com

WB celebrates 10 years of viewing fun (buffy & angel mentions)

By Garrett Godwin

Wednesday 16 February 2005, by Webmaster

NBC has Law & Order. CBS has CSI. ABC now has Desperate Housewives and Lost. But what does Warner Bros. Television have since its debut in January 1995?

It has heartwarming family dramas such as 7th Heaven, laugh-out loud comedies like The Jamie Foxx Show, and sophisticated steamy teen soaps like the old favorite Dawson’s Creek.

I’ll tell you what else the WB Network has-stories of the never ending battle between good and evil (light against darkness).

But it is more than that. These shows are also about family, friendship, relationships, love, redemption, betrayal and hate. They have action/adventure, drama, comedy, romance, suspense, science fiction/fantasy, horror and mystery-all at once.

Some were hits while others were misses (remember Birds of Prey and Tarzan? Those were great shows that are surely missed).

Here are the hits:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2001 on WB; 2001-2003 on UPN): Mixing the metaphor of life with demon mythology, this well-written, smart series follows adventures and trials of the title character (Sarah Michelle Gellar) who is The Chosen One-the one who stands waging a war against the forces of darkness while trying to find a way to live a normal life as a normal young woman.

First reluctant about being the Slayer, Buffy slowly accepts her destiny with love, guidance and the support of her close friends ("Scoobies"), family and Watcher Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head).

Charmed (1998-present): This supernatural version of Charlie’s Angels follows the Halliwell sisters, who are witches. They use magic, marital arts and humor to defeat the forces of evil while seeking personal success and happiness in their lives as modern-day young women.

Despite the cast changes, the series continues to get better and better mixing stand-alone episodes and ongoing storylines such as the mysterious Avatars.

Here is some good news-Nip/Tuck’s Julian McMahon will reprise his popular role on the show as the good/evil half-human, half-demon Cole Turner.

Angel (1999-2004): This Buffy spin-off was, and still is, even better than its predecessor. It tells the story of Buffy’s soulmate, a vampire cursed with a soul, seeking atonement for the evil he has done.

He locates to Los Angeles where, with the assistance of old and new friends, he goes on to run a supernatural detective agency and later on, the law firm Wolfram & Hart, helping the helpless.

Whereas the Slayer is a female Hercules and Wonder Woman, Angel is a male Xena and Batman, waging war against the evil in the world-and in himself. And that is why we love him.

Smallville (2001-present): This amazing series is not just about how Clark Kent (Tom Welling) became Superman. It is about how Superman became Clark Kent while learning to understand who he is, where he comes from and why he is on Earth as well as discovering his powers and finding his place in the world.

But another aspect of the show is the ill-fated friendship between the future Man of Steel and Alexander "Lex" Luthor, the man who will become his archenemy.

Smallville is about the birth of a true hero-and the birth of a true villain.

What is so incredible about these shows is the inner and outer struggles between good and evil. These shows are also about the balance that exists between good and evil.

Each of these characters are flawed and have problems just like everyone else in everyday life.

Blessed and cursed with the gifts and powers they have inherited, they have a mission worth fighting for and worth dying for. The main protagonists are called upon to serve and protect humanity and also serve the greater good.

Buffy Anne Summers, Angel, the Charmed One and Clark Kent/Superman are more than champions of good, they are indeed heroes.


3 Forum messages

  • HAH! the charmed ones are LAME and inconsistant characters...
  • Ahhh. I thought this was sweet.
  • Lets see, the difference?

    Buffy & Angel: Good! Charmed & Smallville: Not so much.

    Charmed had that season where it seemed the plot each week was to get the sisters in the skimpiest outfit possible. Maybe they arent still like that. But i shouldve known that show was going downhill (i honestly have to admit, after Shannen Dorety left) was the new sister Paige having a spell go wrong and her breast grew to a humongous size! At the time it was kind of funny, but then that was all that show turned into so i havent watched it in a while.

    Smallville i just got into last year. It seemed to be an okay show, and i still had Angel as a quality show so i looked over the lameness of it. But this year they had a character die in one episode and the next episode it wasnt mentioned at all! They moved on the Clark playing college football!!! When a character dies on a Joss show, its FELT.

    People said watching a Joss show will ruin the rest of tv for you. And now that im forced to look at others that dont have the same quality, i can fully see what they mean.