Think of a network, any network. Think of a show on that network. Are the two synonimous? Can't have one without the other? The next few installments of JustTV Talk will be devoted to series that define networks. One by one, I'll run by the honorees, finally picking the defining series of the last decade. Our fourth network is the WB.

10. The Wayans Brothers (1996-1999) 
        The show itself was pretty forgettable. Hell even I don't know what it was about. But the reason why it breaks number 10 on my list if because it was the WB's very first hit show, paving the way for ever single show that follows on the list.

9. Reba (2001-) 
      In the fall of 2000, the WB aired a stolen "Sabrina" on Friday nights, hoping to have its first big hit sitcom. It didn't happen. While Sabrina and her aunts drew a sizeable amount of viewers, it didn't quench the WB's quest for a hit sitcom.
      Fast forward to the fall of 2001. The WB has new hopes on Friday nights, and this time it isn't due to "Popstars" nor "Sabrina." The new hope came via Reba MacIntyre and her debut television series, "Reba." Even the WB couldn't have envisioned what would happen next. It's wildest dreams came true, "Reba" was a huge hit, and 9pm on Fridays because one less slot that the WB had to worry about.
      While it's still young, as the years go by, this show will likely only become stronger as the WB's crux sitcom. But for now, the show just breaks into the top 10 at number 9, with more room to grow.

8. Gilmore Girls (2000-) 
       After an okay first season in the tough slot Thursdays at 8pm, the WB was looking for something to fill the whole that "Buffy" left on Tuesday nights. Sure, the show was good, critics (including myself) said, but it will die opposite "Buffy." But the WB seemingly had faith, and almost nothing else to go in the slot.
      So we waited and waited until October for the first returns to come in. Guess what? The show beat "Buffy" and recorded series high number to boot. And it never looked back.
      While young, like "Reba," this drama will be instrumental in the future of the WB. So for now Lorilie and Rory come in at number 8, with no place to go but up. And I'm confident it will.

7. .The Steve Harvey Show (1996-2002) 
       Sure, the WB had "black" shows before this one premiered, for instance "The Wayans Brothers" and "The Jamie Foxx Show." But none of them reached the level of popularity that "Harvey" did, and none came so close to being an audience cross over success.
        No matter where the WB put it, it shined. Thursdays, Fridays, Thursdays again, it drew close to 5.0mil every single week. But after just two seasons anchoring the Sunday night line-up, viewers started to tune out. The show was still the highest rated on the night for the WB, but every week brought diminishing returns. So the WB knew it was time to end it when original episodes failed to break the 2.5mil mark. But for Steve Harvey, the pinacle of the comic's career will likely be this show, and as for the WB, the pinacle of its faded rapport with black audience likely died with this show. Number 7.

6. Flix At the Frog (2000-) 
      While this will be the only show not actually a show to make any one of these lists, it's more than earned it. Whether it's "Dumb & Dumber," "Three to Tango," or "Austin Powers," viewers almost always tune in. It makes you wonder why the WB doesn't make this an in season regular, given that the network is owned by Warner Brothers, one of the kings of movie production houses. Number 6. 

5. Charmed (1998-) 
      When it premiered, it was overshadowed by "Felicity," but it quickly became the show the WB relied on to prop up its Thursday night line-up. Its debut was the WB's highest ever at the time (eclipsed of late by "Smallville"), and it held onto all of "Dawsons Creek"s audience in its first season on Wednesdays. Moved to Thursdays, it opened up a whole new night to the network.
      Yes, the three San Fransisco witches have been playing to increasingly smaller audiences. But the ratings have been good enough that the network is depending on it to be the anchor of it's fall Sunday night slate. Repeats have performed poorly so far this summer, which is not a good thing.
      Fail or succeed, this show's ability to survive in the toughest slots on the WB earns it the number 5 spot on this list. 

4. 7th Heaven (1996-) 
     This show has been the WB's true unsung hero. You never see many promos, the stars aren't heavy into movies as other stars on the WB are and the buzz is nil. What has it gotten this show? The WB's top rated series by far four seasons running.
      So why doesn't it place higher on this list? Simple, it doesn't fit into the prototype WB show. The kids talk about abstaining from sex, the plotlines are usually safe from innuendo, and at the centre of the show lies religion. It would seem a better fit on Pax. But fortunately for the WB, it owns the rights, and its not likely to ever let go. But still, number 4. On Pax, number one, but on the WB, number 4.

3. Felicity (1998-2002) 
     When this show premiered, nearly everybody touted it as the best thing since sliced bread. The star, the premise, the show, even "MadTV" parodied it as "Intensity."
      Once the hype died down (in the second season), what it became was the most subtle, great show that the WB ever had. Season after season, Felicity went through the same old things- Ben or Noel, yet viewers stayed hooked. Any other show they would have turned off by the second episode.
      But that's not why it ranks as number three on this list. It ranks as number three because it was the WB's very first immediate breakout success, even before it premiered. This show was one of the most highly anticipated one on any network during the entire decade, which gives Ms. Felicity Portman and co. the number three spot.

2. Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-) 
      When it started, it could have been so much less. Based on a marginal movie, the show could have simply slipped into oblivion. But it didn't.
      Credit the writers, the fans and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Together, all three have created a show that will likely go down as one of the biggest cult classics ever. For a few short years, the face of Gellar was synonimous with the WB. Of course, now that it's on the UPN, that's no longer true, but it still feels like a WB show. And for that, "Buffy" slays into the number two spot.

1. Dawsons Creek (1998-) 
     Before this show premiered, the WB was desparately seeking something that would set it apart from the UPN. It tried almost everything. Vampire slayers, a priest and his family, black family sitcoms, but nothing seemed to be working. So it took a chance and aired "Dawsons Creek."
     And the rest is history, as they say. The show became an overnight success, instantly becoming the WB's highest rated series, and making its self the most talked about show of the 1997/1998 season. Teens responded in droves, and the show took on the makings of the next 90210.
     But it was not meant to last forever. As Dawson, Joey, Pacey and Jenn said the word penis and worked themselves into ever more twisted love triangles, viewers started to tune out. It finished last season with its lowest ratings ever, losing more than half of its viewers since its first season.
     But for the series that put the WB on the map of young female viewers, it's bread and butter, the top rated spot is only appropriate.