For starters, I have problem with the auteur term. What most folks
forget is that this term originated with the Cahiers du Cinema (I think I
may have hideously misspelled that) which actually began a series of
screenings/presentations on each aspect of film-making, the writer, the
director, the cinematographer...started with the director...and basically
got so caught up in that aspect that they dropped the rest.

So let's stick with "author" for the moment. To that question, yes,
I do consider myself the author of the B5 story, the creator of itsz
characters and universe. Insofar as we enter other areas, my position is
that of navigator...I point to a spot on the horizon, and say "That's
where we're all going." Each department/artistic aspect of the show,
from props, to costumes, to the director, works to most accurately create
what I see in my head. The most common question is, "Is this what you had
in mind when you wrote it?"

I keep an eye on every aspect of the show, to make sure it's what I
see in my head. If something isn't right, it's redone until it *is*
right. Nonetheless, I try to provide as much latitude as possible to my
people, to let them be as creative as they have the potential to be.

Sometimes there's some irony in the situation; in "And the Sky Full
of Stars," for instance, Janet is noted for the notion of having Sinclair
standing facing these lights that go out, one by one, except for the one
that spotlights him, when he's confronted by Knight Two, people say, "Oh
what a great directorial idea," but that's spelled out to the smallest
detail in the script. Ditto for the intercutting of scenes in the fall
of the emperor in "Coming." That's often attributed to the director, but
it was specifically scripted that way, right down to the use of slow-mo
for some shots, the way in which he falls, all of it.

This is because of that nutty auteur theory that many directors have
wrapped around themselves like a flag. With the obvious exception of
writer/directors, I've never seen any director do much with the auteur
theory and 100 blank pages.

jms