[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Derek

I agree. And 1987, I think. Only S2 of TNG was less than 26, and that only due to the writer's strike. (Granted DS9 and VOY both had half-1st seasons.)

Ah. I didn't want to generalize because I couldn't remember how many were in TNG S1, but I knew that from at least S4 all the full Trek seasons had been 26 episodes long. Of course, in a sense this is only fair -- I get the impression that most shows, certainly those that are expensive to make, have 24-episode seasons at most. Fans of B5, Farscape, Buffy, Angel, and (I think) Andromeda have all had to live with 22-episode seasons.

Tangent: Wouldn't it be a kick if FOX decided to save a few bucks by shortening the next season of 24?

Heh. I agree he is somewhat B5-ish, but the difference between Trek and B5 (in my mind) isn't really in the types of characters and their goals, so much as in the resolution.

The way I think of the difference between Trek and B5 is this: Trek believes that humanity will have changed enormously by the 24th century, while B5 believes human evolution stops right here and now. (This even reaches the costume department. Starfleet officers parade around in anything from Spandex to pyjamas, and EarthForce's formal wear in 2258 is still your basic black business suit.) Both views are a little unrealistic, and both are absolutely at the heart of their series. That's why I can't really picture any Trek or B5 characters existing in each other's universes. And that's also why I think JMS writing Star Trek would be a disaster -- how could he write from a perspective so completely different from his own?