The Night of Favorites and Farewells
Encyclopedia
The Night of Favorites and Farewells was a one-time special that aired on The WB
on September 17, 2006. This special took a look back at the 11-year history of The WB and some of their biggest hits. The five-hour special was aired on all affiliates of The WB with the exception of those which had taken affiliation with MyNetworkTV
, unless they kept the WB as a second affiliation. This was The WB's last nationally broadcast schedule, as the network officially closed down after the program Dawson's Creek ended.
(who had become the "voice" of the WB for the majority of its history, and would not continue as announcer for the CW, but instead moved to ABC), introducing the viewers to the night's schedule, and began with the premiere episode of Felicity.
The schedule of the night was:
Before each show, there was an introduction to the show, followed by the Night logo displayed with the year the show premiered on the bottom. During commercial breaks and after shows during the credits, flashbacks would air that would feature actors and other memorable stars on The WB, usually from stock footage or from commercials and image campaigns the network had. The names and the year when they became big on the network would also appear.
Commercials also included promo spots for each series' TV-on-DVD box sets as well as promo spots given to cable networks broadcasting the shows above in off-network syndication.
, who had been the network's mascot from the beginning until 2005
(the year before The WB shut down), taking a final bow.
The clip montage officially ended the network, as the studio credits for Dawson's Creek were shown afterwards instead of The WB's standard credits scheme, which had been used on the other pilots that aired during the night.
Major themes for this program included "Faces you'll always remember.", "Names you'll never forget.", "The faces that touched our hearts", "The WB says goodbye", "A Network that defined a generation says goodbye." and "Join us one last time". The music playing in all the flashbacks and other promos for this event was "Crawl" by Thisway
.
's forums, most of which expressed sadness. Additionally, many recalled memories of watching the WB. However, The Night of Favorites and Farewells was a disappointment in ratings
; The WB that night scored a 0.9 household rating and a share of just 2. The main reason for this mostly lies in certain areas where former WB affiliates became MyNetworkTV
affiliates, thus leaving The WB's final two weeks of programming unavailable in such areas as Philadelphia
, Seattle
and Atlanta
, whose WB affiliates switched to MyNetworkTV.
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
on September 17, 2006. This special took a look back at the 11-year history of The WB and some of their biggest hits. The five-hour special was aired on all affiliates of The WB with the exception of those which had taken affiliation with MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
, unless they kept the WB as a second affiliation. This was The WB's last nationally broadcast schedule, as the network officially closed down after the program Dawson's Creek ended.
Schedule and format
The night began with the announcer, Hal DouglasHal Douglas
Hal Douglas is a retired American voice actor best known for his work on movie trailers and television commercials.-Life and career:...
(who had become the "voice" of the WB for the majority of its history, and would not continue as announcer for the CW, but instead moved to ABC), introducing the viewers to the night's schedule, and began with the premiere episode of Felicity.
The schedule of the night was:
- 5/4c Felicity
- 6/5c AngelAngel (TV series)Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
- 7/6c Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2 hours)
- 9/8c Dawson's CreekDawson's CreekDawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
Before each show, there was an introduction to the show, followed by the Night logo displayed with the year the show premiered on the bottom. During commercial breaks and after shows during the credits, flashbacks would air that would feature actors and other memorable stars on The WB, usually from stock footage or from commercials and image campaigns the network had. The names and the year when they became big on the network would also appear.
Commercials also included promo spots for each series' TV-on-DVD box sets as well as promo spots given to cable networks broadcasting the shows above in off-network syndication.
Final moments
After the last act of the pilot for Dawson's Creek (and a short commercial break) concluded, a final 60-second clip montage aired featuring many of the network's previous stars, and several taglines including "And Now, We Say Goodbye". The final image broadcast before the network permanently shut down was that of a silhouetted Michigan J. FrogMichigan J. Frog
Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character who debuted in the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening , written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones...
, who had been the network's mascot from the beginning until 2005
2005 in television
The year 2005 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2005.For the American TV schedule, see: 2005–06 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
(the year before The WB shut down), taking a final bow.
The clip montage officially ended the network, as the studio credits for Dawson's Creek were shown afterwards instead of The WB's standard credits scheme, which had been used on the other pilots that aired during the night.
Themes and marketing
The WB had limited marketing for this one last program on their network. Commercials mainly aired on the network itself.Major themes for this program included "Faces you'll always remember.", "Names you'll never forget.", "The faces that touched our hearts", "The WB says goodbye", "A Network that defined a generation says goodbye." and "Join us one last time". The music playing in all the flashbacks and other promos for this event was "Crawl" by Thisway
Thisway
Thisway was an American Indie pop band from Brooklyn, New York. They released their self-titled debut LP in the Spring of 1999. The band is most notable for their single "Crawl", which was used for WB Network promos and television shows.-History:...
.
Viewer reaction and ratings
Over the next few days, there were many discussions about the night on The CWThe CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
's forums, most of which expressed sadness. Additionally, many recalled memories of watching the WB. However, The Night of Favorites and Farewells was a disappointment in ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
; The WB that night scored a 0.9 household rating and a share of just 2. The main reason for this mostly lies in certain areas where former WB affiliates became MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliates, thus leaving The WB's final two weeks of programming unavailable in such areas as Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
and Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, whose WB affiliates switched to MyNetworkTV.
See also
- The WB Television NetworkThe WB Television NetworkThe WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
- The CW Television NetworkThe CW Television NetworkThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
- MyNetworkTVMyNetworkTVMyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
- 2006 United States broadcast TV realignment2006 United States broadcast TV realignmentBetween winter-fall 2006, the United States broadcast television industry was realigned. In September 2006, the country's two "second-tier" television networks, UPN and The WB Television Network, both shut down on September 15 and 17 respectively, and their operations were transferred to a new...