UPN Books

This book provides a really interesting look into television's recent history, from the beginning of UPN and the WB to their merger to create the CW. Some people may find it a little dry about the making of the sausage that is network programming, but if you're curious how network TV is made, this is the book for you.

I only found two things that really bug me about this book. The first is nothing the author could have gotten around: it's a lot more about the WB than UPN, since she worked at the WB. The second is that the book ended a little bit early. It could have stood to go into just a little bit about the first couple of months for the CW. It also completely glosses over MyNetworkTV, but that network is so much different than the others that it could be a book of its own.

Finally, I believe I can answer one question that might really stick out near the end of the book: why one Acme Communications station didn't go with the CW. The answer is quite simple: all but one of those stations was a WB affiliate, including one in Albuquerque. The other station, Acme's UPN affiliate, is also in Albuquerque, so it would have made no sense to make two Albuquerque CW affiliates. That UPN affiliate went with MyNetworkTV instead.

Still, it left me skeptical. This book purports to be an expose of both "netlets," but it's really more a valentine to one. How much you like it will depend a lot upon your stomach for network politics.

I can see a lot of television executives, or would-be examples of the same, finding it valuable. But as someone who's just a fan of good television drama and comedy, I found it a quick yet staid read.

It's worth a skim, especially for those with a keen interest in the whys and wherefores of deals and deal breakers like the severing of Buffy from the WB.

Still, you'll get better entertainment from an episode of your favorite UPN or WB series.

Though I usually don't enjoy books about TV shows I don't watch, I was quite pleasantly surprised in reading Season Finale.
The authors strike just the right balance between 'breezy' and 'hard facts' to make this a fascinating and fun read.
The story of UPN's launch party in New York alone is worth the time! Highly recommended!

I ordered this book because of a fondness from my youth for the WB network. Not having cable can certainly limit your options. I hopped on board once Dawson's Creek and the like were starting to steam roll forward, and like many else, grew up and moved on from most of the WB's shows before many of them even finished their run. The premise of this book excited me for the most part (I was never particularly drawn to any UPN programming), and I read through it within a few days.

While I do not expect an unbiased account from someone who held such a prominent position within the network, this does for the most part read like a gushing school girl's diary after meeting her new crush. It does however, use bigger words then teenagers generally use, much like Dawson's Creek. There is a few short comings that prevent this from being a fully realized book able to live up to its premise.

The book was heavy on the WB, which was fine with me, but even then it is superficial and barely touching the surface on a lot of details. One thing she had no problem giving the details on was the series finale of Dawson's Creek, which I'm currently watching on DVD now. A completely unnecessary spoiler that was out of context with anything else in the book, not even a warning it was coming.

Also a downer is the numerous mentions of the shows that never got out of the gate, but completely ignoring several shows that made more of an impact on the WB audience and left an impression enough to last several seasons worth. Why the author(s) never even uttered the name of shows like Popular, Roswell, Jack & Jill, etc., etc. is of some curiosity to me as they certainly made more of an impression then Birds Of Prey, Tarzan and the like. All of the previously mentioned shows (Roswell, etc., etc.) all aired during her tenure there, making it all the more puzzling.

A second flaw of this book is the use of tons of quotes from unnamed sources, just "[insert network here] alumni", "a former [insert network here] executive", etc., etc., etc. What is the point of this? None of it was deep and personal information, and not like it was being sold to Star magazine.

Overall, I give this a three because it is an introduction of the players in this saga. It is obviously however written by two people that are not quite willing to burn their bridges to really dig down deep to tell the full story. Maybe when both authors are out of the game they can make a "Vol. 2" and further expand into the nitty-gritty of it all, or maybe someone else will pick up the fine details that is less personally invested in the characters.

This book came completely unexpected, but should be become a vital addition into any library of television history. The authors delve into the agonizing yet somewhat ridiculous corporate wranglings, deals, double-deals, backstabbings and outright stupidity between two rival networks. Their bad timing was incredible; it seems at times that both networks are hanging on by a string...and yet...out of the chaos came some of the most genuinely wonderful shows that were very reflective of their generation. I will add a laundry list here, because in this book you will read about the birth and death of: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Seventh Heaven, Angel, Star Trek Voyager, Popular, Roswell, Dawson's Creek, Sister Sister, Steve Harvey, Savannah, Felicity, Charmed, Girlfriends, Veronica Mars, Everybody Hates Chris, Smallville, Reba, Everwood, One Tree Hill, and of course, Muscle and WWE Smackdown! Through it all you will wonder why the two rival networks just didn't combine into one, and you will not care by the time they finally do. It's a fascinating and thorough account of what went wrong with dueling networks; but also of the fantastic shows that came and went regardless.