I've conveyed as much of this discussion as I can, never having seen
the original posting for some reason, to Larry DiTillio, and he is very
upset about it, feeling that many of his comments have not been represented
accurately or have been taken out of context. As far as the stations are
concerned...it's the stations that are in partnership with Warners to form
PTEN. PTEN "guidance" comes from the Executive Committee, which is a few
representatives of that group.

Every network show ever produced must have casting of regulars
approved by the network. Ditto with the company that creates a
syndicated show (usually the studio). It is the simple process of
running the name or names past someone, for their approval, which is
almost always assured unless the person is *very* controversial or just
not right for the part. Every show ever produced goes through this
process, and it is exactly the same with B5. We proposed the names for
our cast, and they were approved. It's as basic as that. If Larry
grumped a bit, it was because he was in the process of trying to pass a
kidney stone at the time, which always makes him cranky.

jms