TheWB.com

The WB lives again; some shows have iffy content.

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About Our Ratings

Common Sense rates it

Seen the site?

details

URL: http://www.thewb.com
Entertainment Value: High

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this site is a resurrected version of the old WB TV network, which has been off the air since 2006. You can watch full-length episodes of WB favorites here, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The O.C., and Friends re-runs, and depending on the show, can have some sex, violence, drug use, drinking, and bad behavior. Besides the old shows and some new series made just for this site, the big attraction is that users can play with the shows' scenes in the WBlender, editing them and sending them to friends, or watching them from afar via Facebook.

Families can talk about how much screen time is allowed in your home. Whether your teen is watching re-runs on a TV or on a computer screen, it's still passive entertainment. How much is too much? Does mixing and matching favorite scenes from episodes of The O.C. and sending them to friends on Facebook count as a creative use of time? Should it be considered educational? Why or why not?

Message
Violence
Sex
Language

Message

Social Behavior:

Some shows involve cheating, disrepecting parents, and other bad social behavior. There are currently no forums on the site, but the terms say if there are in the future they will not be monitored. At present, users can send feedback to the site only and send video clips to other people via Facebook or email.

Consumerism:

This site is free but supported with ads targeting the 16-34 year olds. Upcoming plans include an online WB store. Also, there's a major push to tie TheWB.com into Facebook, so Facebook's name is all over the place.

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Varies, depending upon the series viewed. A character in the The O.C. is an alcoholic; other shows have drinking, drugs, and smoking.

Educational Value:

Violence

Depends on the TV show viewed on the site. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The O.C. show violence.

Sex

Depends on the TV show viewed on the site. Some WB shows such as Friends, Dawson's Creek, and The O.C. discuss sex or are sexually suggestive.

Language

Nothing "R" rated, but anything you can hear on primetime network TV might be heard here.

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Dana Villamagna

Fans of campy series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars, or Smallville will rejoice at the news that THEWB.COM has brought many of its old shows back to life on the Internet. Fans can search multiple categories and watch full-length episodes of favorite past shows. There are also plans for some new shows scheduled to start rolling out on the site this fall with a sorority-based mystery series. TheWB.com has added new series-related games (like Friends hangman), WB celebrity news (via TMZ.com), and ways to make connections with other WB fans via Facebook.

Is it any good?

Since it's still in the beta version, there are a few features that are currently limited or "coming soon," and some bugs to work out. In one section, it says the network is targeting the 16-34 demographic, but in another section it indicates users are supposed to be 18 and up. The coolest feature on this site is the ability for users to create video clips out of the series' content, like mashing all of Joey's "How you doin'?" quotes from Friends into one long series of scenes. Without a doubt, Warner Bros. has found a hip way to re-package old material and create new stuff for today's Internet-centric audience in TheWB.com. Whether that material is worth the time to watch it on a laptop or iPod will be up to the viewer.