Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.

Well, Variety.com just broke the story. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, beloved to both me and Hercules The Strong and to a legion of fans, is moving from the WB to UPN.

This isn't hypothetical anymore. They're moving. Next season, different channel. Personally, I think it's horrific news. I love Whedon and Co., and I'm a bit superstitious when it comes to these miracles of chemistry in a case like BUFFY. If you move to a new network, there are going to be changes. It's inevitable. Some things will be different. All I can hope is that UPN is offering up their financial support because they know the show is special, and they're prepared to make it the center of their network, a foundation upon which to build. I hope this new home is a happy one for BUFFY.

This is, of course, a major blow to The WB, and it's going be to be fascinating to see what sort of fall-out there is from these events. Anyway... here's what Josef Adalian had to say in his initial story:

"Twentieth Century Fox Television's BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, the signature drama of the WB network, is pulling up stakes and moving to UPN. Viacom-owned UPN has agreed to pay $2.3 million per episode for BUFFY as part of a two-year license agreement, according to industry insiders. UPN may also end up snagging "Buffy" spinoff "Angel" for two years, but only if the Frog decides to cancel the latter series in retaliation for Fox's decision to shift "Buffy" to UPN. Deal ends more than a year of sound, fury and negotiation over the fate of the Joss Whedon-produced skein, and reps the first time in recent memory that a studio has pulled one of its programs from a network in order to make more money at another web."

That's nothing, though. Get a load of what The WB has to say about the whole thing in their Official Statement about the whole thing. Holy cow, they sound pissed!!

Finally, a quick note to the ass-ignorant TalkBacker below who claims that I'm upset because UPN is a "black" network: I think of UPN, if I think of it at all, as the STAR TREK network. The problem is, I don't think of it. It's been essentially invisible, a non-player in the ratings game, since it was first introduced. My only fear is that the show is about to drop off the cultural radar. If race was the first thing you thought of, then I'd suggest it's you who has the problem or the preoccupation with it.

"Moriarty" out.

P.S.: ROBOGEEK here with an update. The New York Times has also posted just a story about this, which you can access online by clicking on this link. Meanwhile, INSIDE has a story at this link.