We'd always figured on going right to series, but once we had done
the pilot, the studio said, in essence, "Well, we've got a pilot,
we don't know if the market will sustain more than one space SF series,
no other SF series has done well lately...maybe we ought to air the pilot
first, and get the ratings, before committing to a series." And that's
what happened...much to our consternation at first, but in the long run
it was a blessing in disguise, because that interim period allowed us to
really do a lot to make the show better.

jms