I can only reply to one message at a time, so this has to be a
public note, Greg.

Yes, WB owns the copyright to B5. Could they continue it past the
fifth year? Technically, yes, they could, without my participation (though
as indicated, there's always been a side-story/alternate series, and that
would be the way to go, though I think the odds on that ever going ahead
are doubtful.)

Which is why I made sure we shoved a bomb down B5's throat in the
early stages. It's got a self-destruct mechanism built right into it.

See, usually, when you make series deals with actors an
sub-contractors (like Foundating Imaging, our prosthetics people, others),
you go for 7 year options. TNG, for instance, had 7 year options; as do
the other ST shows. This is fairly standard.

When we made the deals for B5, we made them...for five years.

During those five years, salaries and fees are all set ahead of time.
This serves you well, in the sense that Foundation's name is already
growing, and somebody coming in now would have to pay more than we are,
also in part since we helped them get going. Actors, once freed from the
pre-set salaries, on a hit show, come back and renegotiate.

The result of all this...is that if WB wanted to do a sixth season
of B5, the costs of going back and making deals with all these people and
sub-contractors and others would be SO hideous, so terrible, that it
couldn't be done for anywhere near the money available.

So, as stated...the show is designed to fiscally self-destruct at
the end of the fifth year. What other projects may follow will have to
be totally separate situations, assuming they're done at all, which is
highly doubtful.

jms