The process by which an idea becomes a tv program or mainstream film is extremely complex with many hands willing to become "creators" on the basis of ex post facto contributions. The simple fact is that only one person can sit at the keyboard at one time. That person is faced with a blank space that must be filled with something. This is the most difficult intellectual work that I know of. Any product that is capable of capturing wide imagination, e.g., Star Trek, Star Wars, Tarzan of the Apes, is a unique vision in the first instance; its creation is gut-wrenching (if you don't like the fruit of loins metaphor). Only afterward are there dozens, hundreds of people who are willing to make their so-called contributions. It's easy to scoff at this process; and the "development" process has much to scoff at. But the failures of the institutional structure should not be used as an excuse to usurp other's intellectual property, under the guise of subverting the system. There are many nuances to this problem. As I think about it, I suspect that a case could be made that Gene Rodenbury contributed to the mythologizing of the Star Trek characters by allowing them to be trotted around to Trekkie Conventions and the like, making it seem as though they r e a l l y d i d belong to the fans. At some point the whole thing got out of control. From this it's just a small step to imagining Kirk and Spock as lovers. Cal Pryluck <PRYLUCK@TEMPLEVM> Dept of Radio-Television-Film <[log in to unmask]> Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122