1
Buffy Kills Angel
Buffy was The WB's first double hitter — a breakout and a cult hit, teen-centric and adult-oriented. Crucial Buffy-mythos events occurred in
this 1998 episode, ''Becoming, Part 2,'' as Sarah Michelle Gellar's vamp
killer was compelled to slay her great love, Angel, to save the world.
At that point, Angel (David Boreanaz) was switching in and out of his
evil alter ego, Angelus, representing death and destruction as much as
he did allure and romance. At the operatic climax, Buffy and Angel
kissed, and then she stabbed him in the chest. Also in this Joss
Whedon-written masterwork: Buffy's mother first discovered her daughter
is a slayer, and Xander told a pre-gay Willow that he loves her. This
season ender concluded with Buffy leaving Sunnydale on a bus. You know
you're in bad shape when you're a supernatural hero using the most
depressing form of cross-continental transportation.
2
Felicity Gets a Haircut
Nothing could prepare fans of the collegiate drama for its season 2
shocker: Felicity (Keri Russell) — the coed with the luxuriant, curly
tresses — was shorn within mere inches of a cue ball. Suddenly, the
question that had seemed so important — Ben or Noel? — took a backseat to
What on earth can we do to get her hair back? Ratings for the 1999-2000
season took a hit — though time-slot changes likely had more to do with
them than Russell's new 'do. But the negative reaction was so strong,
The WB's then entertainment president Susanne Daniels (half) jokingly
told reporters: ''Nobody is cutting their hair again on our network.''
3
Dawson Hearts Katie
On Jan. 20, 1998, Katie Couric became an unlikely object of desire when
Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek) admitted his crush in the pilot
episode of Dawson's Creek. That declaration from his second-floor
bedroom — prompted when his pal Joey (Katie Holmes) asked who starred in
his onanistic daydreams — foreshadowed the blunt discussions about sex and
pop culture that fueled Creek over its six-season run.
4
Shannen Doherty Quits Charmed
Doherty's telekinetic Prue bit the dust in the 2001 season finale. But
the better action was occurring off screen in The WB's juiciest scandal
to date. Rumors brewed that Doherty was booted because she and costar
Alyssa Milano didn't have a very sisterly bond. Just as he had with
Charlie's Angels 24 years earlier, producer Aaron Spelling quickly
found another PYT for the show: Rose McGowan joined the following fall
as long-lost sis Paige. The new troika cast a spell on viewers for five
more seasons, and McGowan proved that Tiffani Thiessen isn't the only
actress who can fill Doherty's shoes.
5
Chad Michael Murray Is a Star, Dammit!
Like the movie studios of the '40s, The WB had its own celeb-making
system: casting cute boys in project after project until one stuck.
Murray is The WB's most successful farm teamer — he harassed Rory on
Gilmore Girls and toyed with Joey on Dawson's Creek before landing at One Tree Hill. Other cute crops: Milo Ventimiglia (from Gilmore to a lead on The Bedford Diaries), and Supernatural's Jensen Ackles and
Jared Padalecki, who appeared on Smallville and Gilmore, respectively,
before teaming up to fight ghosts.
