The WB lets hot new stars shine bright
By MIKE McDANIEL
Houston Chronicle TV Editor

PASADENA, Calif. -- When the WB throws a party, all of southern California knows it. Or so it seems.

Photographers claim their spots along 100 yards of red carpet. Fans, six and seven deep, pile up behind them.

Limousines stop curbside, and from them emerge talent who seem too young to deserve this much attention.

But who are we kidding? This is the WB, the network that builds and thrives on young stars. And it helps that all these stars act like stars.

"One more, one more," the photographers shout to Mr. or Miss New Young Thing. He or she obliges with a fresh smile and new pose before sauntering down the red carpet another few feet, where the process is repeated by and for new photographers.

Inside the restaurant, the crowd is so thick that you wonder what kind of fire laws are being broken. It's such a mass of people that it's impossible, if you get a chance to move, not to bump into someone famously familiar.

Such was the case with Marc Blucas, who plays Riley Finn, Buffy's boyfriend on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We also had another lucky run-in with Jason Behr, Max on Roswell.