Just some brief responses:

1) Aliens aren't *alien* enough. You mention that the other shows
get gigged on this too, so B5 shouldn't be exempt, though you then go on
to note that we still have to cast on earth. Question is, therefore, is
the expectation realistic? Fact is, no matter what ANYONE does, ANY
alien on ANY tv series or movie is going to be written from a human point
of view because it's a human writing it, and a human acting the part.
There will never be an authentic alien until an alien really appears; the
rest is just human speculation. (And if you want to go for a really weird
approach, remember that this is a visual medium, and having someone talking
to a clam doesn't work *visually*. You can do stuff in a novel that you
simply cannot do in TV or movies.)

2) The episodic format. I take the liberty of disagreeing with you,
both in your premise and your conclusion. Forget what anyone else ahs
(has) said, or what you intuit. What I said from Day One was this: that
every episode *will stand on its own*, offering a complete story, but that
over time, the accumulation of those stories will begin to present a much
larger arc. That was the promise. Yes, stories are for the most part
wrapped up in an hour. That's precisely the point. What we're going for
is a *cumulative* approach, not a *consecutive* approach. The more you
learn about the characters and the situations, the more you can pick up
on stuff. Further, threads introduced in one episode *do* carry over;
you see the problem with Ivanova, her mother, and the Psi Corps recurring
in a very major way in "Eyes," "Legacies" and other episodes.

It is a *cumulative* process. You have thus far seen 5 or 6 episodes.
We're talking long term here. Further, don't hold me to a promise that
I didn't make. I said the shows would stand alone...and now you say that
it's a broken promise, that the shows are resolved. Yes, they are; that
was the intent. It's the *characters* and the larger threads that are
not resolved within the hour.

3) The politics aren't very political. Again, you're making a
conclusion based on insufficient evidence. "Deathwalker" is almost
ENTIRELY politics and back-room deals between not only the Big Five
governments, but also the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, just for
starters. Politics back home makes a MAJOR impact on the show in such
episodes as "Eyes," "A Voice in the Wilderness," "Survivors" and other
upcoming, filmed episodes.

You're looking for immediate gratification, as if this were a short
story. I'll say it again: this is a *novel* for television. Every
promise made will be kept.

The sciences...we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

My main point is, you're alternately holding me to promises I
didn't make, or gigging us for not doing things when in fact we *have*
done them, *have* filmed them, they just haven't aired yet.

Having said all of that...the biggest hit TV series, according to
ratings and research services, have a large number of viewers who love it,
a smaller number who think it's okay, and a smaller number who *hate* it.
No TV series is ever going to appeal to 100% of the audience; it hasn't
happened, and will never happen. It just may not be your kind of show.

jms