Larry Rosenblum <72122.1555@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you agree that there has been a noticeable increase in
> recognition of B5 over the last six months, and if so, to what do
> you attribute it?

Yes, I agree that there has been an increase in our visibility
lately. I think it stems from a number of things. First, we've
outlived the expectations for us. Everybody wrote us off, said we'd be
gone in half a season (including Entertainment Weekly). We've been
stomped on, panned, abandoned, derided and left for dead. But we keep
on going, like some kind of deranged, phosphor-dot Energizer bunny.
Look at the shows that, unlike B5, got lots of PR, had big names
attached to them, were held up way above us by the fickle media...VR5,
Earth 2, SeaQuest, Space Rangers, Space Above and Beyond, others...and
they're all gone. And we're still here. We can't be ignored any
longer.

A lot of folks are still asking, Can B5 succeed? But in
whatever television terms you choose to apply, we *have* succeeded. We
succeeded when we went three years, which is exceedingly rare in ANY SF
series. Had we gone only 3 years, even though the story wouldn't have
been finished, the series itself would've been a success from a purely
TV perspective. Remember, the original Star Trek itself only went 3
seasons...and look where that led.

Second, I think more people have at least sampled the show, and
from the ratings, more people have stayed with it, and seen what it is
we're doing. The longer you're on the air, the more folks will run into
you, even if just by accident. Where virtually every syndicated show
has lost ratings, B5 has grown, slowly but surely.

There comes a point where a series, any series, reaches
critical mass in terms of public recognition. I think we're finally on
the cusp of that.

jms