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WB: We want your kids

by John Zipperer

Target demographics ... within niches ... within submarkets. That's what the proliferation of channels and networks has wrought, and it's really a great thing. For the science fiction fan, it has created such a large number of offerings that one can't watch them all — at least not in first-run. And you wouldn't want to watch them all, frankly. One of the knocks on television science fiction has long been that it is a niche market unsustainable by mass broadcast networks. But Fox and WB and UPN have carved out markets of their own by appealing to niches. So science fiction has been given a new lease on TV life. The WB network has found its place to be with teens, and science fiction that's aimed at those viewers has formed an increasingly significant portion of the netlet's plan for world — or at least niche -- domination.

"It is hard for the WB to compete against broader networks on a ratings basis. What is most important to us is that viewers that are between 12-34 years of age find us to be a place for them," Jamie Kellner, CEO of the WB network, told a recent online chat with viewers. And trust us, WB is betting on the low end of that age spectrum. Let UPN go after the young male wrestling crowd; let Fox go after, well, the young male crowd that thinks it's too sophisticated for wrestling but not too sophisticated for "Cops." Kellner will go after a young crowd that is more female heavy than its competitors, and it deserves kudos for that. Because it means we get exposed to more kinds of science fiction storytelling than we do if programmers continue to think the SF-TV audience is primarily boys in their teens through college years.

Key to that strategy for WB has been the phenomenal success (and quality) of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and its spinoff, "Angel." One show that's been having more trouble finding its audience has been "Roswell," which was initially aired directly opposite UPN's "Star Trek: Voyager" on Wednesday nights, where it failed to amaze. It's not as ill-advised as it may seem, targeting two SF-TV programs against each other; again, the two shows feed different parts of the SF fan audience, with the more action-oriented "Voyager" and the more relationship-oriented "Roswell." WB still failed to pull it off, but "Roswell" has been given a reprieve in its new timeslot on Monday evenings. It may yet succeed, especially if it is marketed innovatively enough; Kellner points to WB's relationship with advertisers like Levi's, which uses "Roswell" cast members in its ads, to show the network's done what it can. "The WB has relationships with  most of the major advertisers that have products targeted toward young adults and teens. The Levi's campaign is a great example of the network and advertiser doing something that's good for them and that excites our viewers and their customers."

For those of you worrying about the future of "Roswell," Kellner professes to like the series and its story basis, but says it floundered a little in its first year as it tried to balance the romance and the science fiction aspects. But the show has been given a 13-episode order for next year, so expect it to continue playing a role in bringing in the needed WB demographics.

So is WB the first network with its foundation in SF? Let's see: they've got "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (acquired from ABC), "Buffy," "Angel," and "Roswell." If those programs keeps selling the Levis, we can expect more from this network.

Zipperer's Sci-Fi loft continues....

Pick to click

And then there was one: The cast of "Party of Five" have already signed off for good, but there are still some unseen episodes of the spin-off "Time of Your Life" sitting on Fox's shelf. You can watch them at 9 p.m. Wednesdays starting tonight on Fox.

Introduced with great fanfare in the fall, "Time of Your Life" was pulled during the season because of low ratings. Don't look for it to return after this summer run, unless America suddenly develops a taste for star Jennifer Love Hewitt's screechy histrionics and yet another TV show about young love triangles.

  • "Time of Your Life" could make fall lineup

    On this date...

    in 1997, the subject of Lois Lane and Clark Kent conceiving a child is finally breached on the series finale of "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." The sexy yet genetically incompatible super-couple need not worry, as the producers allow them to live happily ever after, by mysteriously leaving a baby on their doorstep wrapped in a blanket with a big "S" logo on it. -- Tom Heald

    Previously at TV Barn:

    On the wires:

     

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