`Buffy's' high kicks, `Dawson's' love triangle bring faithful following to WB
By JACQUELINE BROWDER
Assistant Scene Editor
Although Warner Brothers isn't one of the few fuzzy channels that gets reception at Notre Dame, you're still likely to find dozens of girls in the 24-hour lounge watching their favorite WB melodrama several times a week.
Whether it's the cult hit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the new series "Gilmore Girls" or the highly articulate, moody adolescents on "Dawson's Creek," the show that started it all, the WB has moved itself into mainstream primetime TV.
This fall, the WB's lineup includes some impressive debuts, as well as a few staples from seasons past.
Here's a look at a few of the season's highest rated and most talked about shows.
"Grosse Pointe"
What do you get when you cross "Beverly Hills 90210" and "The Real World"?
The WB's "Grosse Pointe," an amusing look behind the scenes of one of TV's hottest hits: the fictitious primetime soap "Grosse Pointe."
The onscreen melodrama of infidelity, pregnancy, and occasional bouts of amnesia is nothing compared to what happens when the cameras aren't rolling. Johnny Lane (Al Santos), who plays handsome hero Brad, is a womanizer who's lucky to be able to read his lines much less be a superstar.
Courtney Bennet (Bonnie Somerville) is a "serious" Broadway actress who turns up her nose at TV, but is too broke to turn down the money. Hunter Fallow (Irene Molloy) is the series' reigning vixen who sees Courtney's cleavage as a threat to her star power.
Rounding out the cast is Marcy "Network Connection" Sternfeld (Lindsay Sloane), the Tori Spelling-esque character. Shot in a realistic, single-camera style, new series "Grosse Pointe" follows the escapades of young actors whose lives are as shallow and entertaining on and off-camera.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel"
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer," now in its fifth season, is still following its curvaceous, vampire-butt-kicking heroine as she confronts the evils of the underworld while trying to lead a normal college life on the side.
Buffy struggles with the transition from high school to college, as well as losing the love of her life (to a spin-off series, no less).
This series explores the twists and turns of adulthood with the same irony and wit used in years past. With a strong supporting cast and surprising plot twists, "Buffy" remains one of the WB's top rated shows.
The popular spin-off series "Angel" chronicles the lives of "Buffy" alums Angel (David Boreanaz), Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof).
The series follows Angel and company through the streets of Los Angeles, where they battle evil and confront countless temptations lurking beneath the city's glittery façade.
Buffy and Angel air back-to-back, and frequently feature interconnecting plots, allowing the title characters to continue their tortured love affair and keep ratings strong for both shows.
"Gilmore Girls"
Set in a storybook Connecticut town populated with an eclectic mix of dreamers, artists and everyday folk, the new series "Gilmore Girls" is a heartfelt, multi-generational drama about friendship, family and the ties that bind.
Thirty-two-year-old Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) has made her share of mistakes in life, and she's doing her best to see that her 16-year-old daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) doesn't follow in her footsteps.
Because of their extraordinary friendship and some pretty good genes, the two are often mistaken for sisters. From the beginning, this unique mother-daughter team has been growing up together.
A sort-of dysfunctional "7th Heaven," "Gilmore Girls" is intended to add to the offerings of compelling family programming on network television.
The writing is strong and often humorous, and although the show faces tough competition from NBC's Thursday line-up, the show has been an important favorite thus far.
"Popular"
In its debut season, "Popular" introduced us to Sam (Carly Pope) and Brooke (Leslie Bibb) — polar opposites who are forced into sisterhood when their single parents make a love connection.
Loaded with scathing humor, social angst, and pop culture references, "Popular" instantly became one of the WB's more original and comical looks at high school.
With a unique sensitivity to contemporary issues and some of the most entertaining supporting characters on the network, "Popular" resumes its blend of sharp comedy and drama as it launches into its second season.
"Dawson's Creek"
Easily the most popular and well-known show the WB has produced, Dawson's Creek has come off of a rocky third season, and has gone back to the formulas that works best — teenage love and angst.
In the title role, teenage heartthrob James Van Der Beek is caught in the middle of a budding romance between his two best friends, Joey and Pacey (Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson).
This problematic love triangle is the core of the season's plotline, and most likely won't be resolved until the season finale.
Until then, however, it's a sure bet that WB fans be watching them every step of the way.
All Scene Stories for Wednesday, November 15, 2000
