The sound system at the theater was great; we ran it off the D2, the
master tape, and it came out very well.

The point you raise re: Starlost is one Harlan's made to me. When I was
at times feeling a bit low -- I want the series NOW -- he would point out that
no matter what happens, we made my show the way I wanted it made, no
interference...as opposed to what happened with Starlost, which just yanked
his heart out. And it's a valid point.

Thing is, it took five years to get this made, and that it HAS been
made...it's almost an act of sheer will. I decided five years ago that no
matter what happens, this pilot WILL be made. You have to focus in on the
goal like a laser beam (tm Bill Clinton). That's been done. Now the next
step: the series WILL be made...and now I have to focus in on that one with
equal conviction. It's quite literally the only way ANYTHING ever gets made
in this town. Ask George. He's been down the same road.

As for the question of the show working with non-SF fans...we've actually
shown it to a number of people who don't know from SF, and the result has been
that they've liked it enormously. The reason, basically, is that it's not a
hardware-driven story. It's a character drama with a mystery story element.
The solution doesn't come from cross-wiring the ramaframmit with the
zigamakawanna, and computing the resonance factors. (And I have to confess
that those kinds of stories bore me to tears.) You start and end with
character, and drama...and if you're true to those elements, the audience will
follow you even into unfamiliar terrain.

jms