My sense (what there is of it) is that in every show, you have to make
choices. What, fundamentally, is the story you are telling? Who is your
story about? Is it for adults, or children? I don't watch LA Law regularly,
but I sort of poke my nose in from time to time, and I don't see a lot of
kid's stories. One could well go to the producers of that show and say, "Why
aren't you doing kid stories?" to which the only answer is, "That's not our
show."

I already said above that if families come through, there may be kids
along. The point of clarification for me is that I don't want to do shows
with kids at the center. First to distinguish us from other shows, and second
because that's not the area that I want to concentrate on just now. Of course
people still have kids, and of course some will come through B5; it's where
one places them in the story that's at issue.

It's often kinda funny...people say, on the one hand, "Yeah! Fight them
studios! Don't let them tell you the kind of stories you oughta do!" Then,
"But you've GOTTA do a story with kids!" or "This is the sort of story you
HAVE to do."

The only answer to that -- said without sarcasm, honest -- is "Do what I
did...sell your own show." I don't mean that in any way harshly, I'm very
serious about that. Whether it's a novelist, or a short story author, or a TV
writer, or a screenwriter, we each of us has to decide fundamentally what it
is we want to write about it, and define our choices. Would you call Larry
Niven and say, "Listen, while you're in the middle of the Mote In God's Eye
sequel, we need a really good section about kids." You let the man tell his
story his way.

This, for me, is just one of those areas on which I have planted my feet
and sunk roots clear to the center of the planet. Now, it's altogether
possible that some day long down the road, one story will occur to me, and
I'll deal with that when and if it happens. But in the interim...it's vital,
from my perspective, to make B5 a show by, for and about adults in adult
relationships; not to invalidate the other stuff, but only as a sense of where
this show's emphasis is. It's time to let the studios and the suits and the
networks know that an SF series can survive without putting in the required
child or teenager.

jms

My sense (what there is of it) is that in every show, you have to make
choices. What, fundamentally, is the story you are telling? Who is your
story about? Is it for adults, or children? I don't watch LA Law regularly,
but I sort of poke my nose in from time to time, and I don't see a lot of
kid's stories. One could well go to the producers of that show and say, "Why
aren't you doing kid stories?" to which the only answer is, "That's not our
show."

I already said above that if families come through, there may be kids
along. The point of clarification for me is that I don't want to do shows
with kids at the center. First to distinguish us from other shows, and second
because that's not the area that I want to concentrate on just now. Of course
people still have kids, and of course some will come through B5; it's where
one places them in the story that's at issue.

It's often kinda funny...people say, on the one hand, "Yeah! Fight them
studios! Don't let them tell you the kind of stories you oughta do!" Then,
"But you've GOTTA do a story with kids!" or "This is the sort of story you
HAVE to do."

The only answer to that _ said without sarcasm, honest _ is "Do what I
did...sell your own show." I don't mean that in any way harshly, I'm very
serious about that. Whether it's a novelist, or a short story author, or a TV
writer, or a screenwriter, we each of us has to decide fundamentally what it
is we want to write about it, and define our choices. Would you call Larry
Niven and say, "Listen, while you're in the middle of the Mote In God's Eye
sequel, we need a really good section about kids." You let the man tell his
story his way.

This, for me, is just one of those areas on which I have planted my feet
and sunk roots clear to the center of the planet. Now, it's altogether
possible that some day long down the road, one story will occur to me, and
I'll deal with that when and if it happens. But in the interim...it's vital,
from my perspective, to make B5 a show by, for and about adults in adult
relationships; not to invalidate the other stuff, but only as a sense of where
this show's emphasis is. It's time to let the studios and the suits and the
networks know that an SF series can survive without putting in the required
child or teenager.

jms