Sue Wachowski <74743.3703@compuserve.com> asks:
> The whole concept of knowing that the show has a beginning,
> middle and end, and that's it, makes it more exciting as a
> viewer...has this ever been done before? I know some shows produce
> endings when they aren't renewed or are choosing to go off the
> air, but are there any shows that knew the ending from the
> beginning<g>? If the spin-offs of B5 aren't done the same way,
> will there be that same thrill? Will you continue this way of
> structuring a TV series? I find that I don't watch pointless TV
> anymore...and if a series has no ending in mind, how can they
> work towards a goal, except within episodes and scenes? I guess
> what I want to know is, why hasn't this been done before? Why
> doesn't TV produce more structured series like this? Will you
> continue to create shows in this way? A TV novel, is there a term
> for it? How about *Noveries*?
> Is this enough of an introduction to myself?

"Why hasn't this been done before?"

To which the only answer is...because nobody's done it before.
(At least, here in the US...in the UK similar things have been done for
some time, a la The Prisoner.)

I guess mostly it's because in TV, the question is always "are
we going to last 9 weeks?" and nobody thinks that far ahead. To set
things up that you won't pay off for *years* takes someone a little
insane, a) to believe you'll be on the air that long, and b) to count
on the audience to be patient enough to wait for things to unfold.

And over time, I do think you're more likely to see more of
this sort of thing as B5's impact grows over the coming years.

My general sense for what comes next for me...assuming the B5
sequel goes...I've done a hard-linked and extremely intense drama with
an adventure component...and now, having done that, and proved that it
*could* be done, despite many who said it couldn't, my feeling now is,
"Okay, we've done that, how can we tweak it so that the sequel has a
different feel to it?" So I'm looking at something that's a little more
in the adventurous mode, with a serious underpinning, with an arc to it
that's not quite as intense in tone, but is still good drama.
Characters that grow and change, a definite ending, several mysteries
enclosed inside other mysteries, with a much larger canvas, and an even
stronger sense of wonder. B5 I did to prove a point, to some extent;
now I'd like to try something where, having achieved that, I can sit
back and, knowing the format now, have some fun with it. Maybe turn
it on its head in a few places.

As with everything else I do, I try to find what I'd enjoy as a
viewer, and take it from there. That was how B5 came about, and that's
how the new show would come about, should it happen.

jms