A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

DUBBA-DUBBA-DUBBA-BYE: After UPN disappeared not with a bang but a whimper a few weeks ago to make way for MyNetworkTV (it's like Myspace, except without the porn, and on television!), the WB departs Sunday night with something actually classy--they're repeating the pilots of four of their best known shows (Buffy, Angel, Felicity, and Dawson's Creek), mixed with old "image campaigns" and reminders. Here's something worth discussing--what's the WB's most endearing contribution to culture?--some suggestions:

• Ryan Murphy, now creator of Nip/Tuck and Running With Scissors, got his start with the WB's Popular.
• J.J. Abrams got his big break with Felicity.
• Quietly, short-lived dramedy Jack & Jill marked first major media exposure for Amanda Peet and Sarah Paulson, and first major media exposure with clothes on for Jamie Pressly.
• Joss Whedon and the rest of the folks involved with Buffy.
• Greg Berlanti, who first led Dawson's Creek to its brief period of not sucking, and then created Everwood and Jack and Bobby.
• Popstars, which led to the Pussycat Dolls.
• An outlet for African-American comics--in particular Steve Harvey, Jamie Foxx, and the Wayans Bros.