Yes, it's like Todd says. Whatever JMS' ambitions were for Babylon 5, it's not a show that the creators of the shows in the book point to (or, in most cases, are even aware of) as an influence. Carlton Cuse talked about his love of Twin Peaks. Milch worked on Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue. David Simon brought up…

Couldn't let the end of this project of Todd's go unremarked upon.

Couldn't let the end of this project of Todd's go unremarked upon.

First, this is a superbly-written review, Todd. One of your best.

First, this is a superbly-written review, Todd. One of your best.

O'Neill may have made it somewhere into the audition process, but Danson, Devane and Dryer were the three finalists, where each of them was paired with a specific Diane candidate, making it as much about the chemistry between each pair as about the individual talent levels. (It was Danson/Long, Dryer/Duffy and Devane…

"Cheers" trivia: Fred Dryer was one of the two runner-ups to play Sam (William Devane was the other), and as a consolation prize, the Charles brothers wrote him in to play Dave. (Julia Duffy, one of the Diane finalists, turns up shortly as a friend of Diane's.) I always look at the Dave episodes and wonder what the…