For me, merchandising is one of those aftershocks of the creative
process, sort of an, "Oh, yeah, there's *that* part over there, too." I'm not
disdainful of it, it's just not something that I think about a lot, because
first and foremost it's a *distraction*. You start thinking about the
*P*R*O*D*U*C*T* and not about the story. Then you start bending the story to
work in the product.

And that's something I've fought against as long as I've *been* in TV.
When I was at Filmation, I fought tooth and nail against *any* interference in
content from the sponsor, Mattel. Especially when they started forcing in
characters simply so they could market them. That was the reason I resigned
from Captain Power after the first season; my sense was that too much
attention was being given to the merchandise aspect of the show, to the
detriment of the series.

If a deal is set, I want to be part of the process afterward to insure
the quality of the product, so it won't be a slapdash or cheap thing. And it
should be representative of the spirit of the show. But that, for me, is
about it.

Re: Sci-Fi Buzz...haven't spoken with them about any more pieces, but I
imagine there will be, closer to airdate. Trust me, as this thing cranks
closer to airdate, there will be plenty of coverage. I suspect that we will
*both* be absolutely sick to death of ads and coverage by the time this hits
air. Because we're pretty much tuned into it already; it's the remaining
portion of the population we also have to reach.

jms