Buffy The Vampire Slayer

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Television has changed a lot since the Babylon 5 series went off the air, with a multitude of channels and even online venues. As a long time TV producer and showrunner, what do you think of the state of television – particularly for sci-fi/genre work that you’re known for?

JMS: Television right now is a mixed bag. On the one hand, I think we’re seeing some of the best television we’ve seen in a long time, with the caveat that most of the really compelling, innovative stuff is happening on cable. Dexter, The Tudors, Generation Kill...these are amazing shows. The broadcast networks are trying to keep up, but it’s hard given the handcuffs that are involved in over-the-air broadcasting and FCC licenses. I just finished developing a pilot for Fox Network which, alas, didn’t get picked up — they solicited 12 pilot scripts and only picked up less than half that — but they couldn’t have been more welcoming. The networks (cable and otherwise) are really open right now to creators’ voices, and I think that shows in the wide range of shows we’re seeing.

On the SF side, I think we’re still pretty much the bastard child of television, it’s still a less-than-serious genre to many folks, which just baffles me given how well Avatar has done. Battlestar was the last serious attempt at it. I look at that, and Buffy (one of my favorite shows of all time), and then look at what’s being done now, and it almost feels like we’ve slid back instead of moving forward. I’d still like to see a solid, smart SF series on a major network approached with the same seriousness of intent as any of their mainstream dramas. I just don’t know if it’ll happen in my lifetime.

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