And so something new begins... In the Spring of 1998 I recieved a phone call from Kathryn Drennan, author and wife of J. Michael Straczynski; she told me that Joe had heard Seeing Ear Theatre, and was a big fan of the art of radio drama, and if there were anything he could do to help support our cause, to let him know. Wow. Not only had I been a fan of Babylon 5, I credited Joe's writing with helping to lay the groundwork for Seeing Ear Theatre's inception. You see, long before I ever worked at SCI FI Channel, I read Joe's expert book on scriptwriting, aptly titled The Complete Book Of Scriptwriting; in it is a 50 page chapter on writing radio drama. That chapter was an integral part of my own development as a radio writer, directer and producer. Without it, who knows where I'd be...? On my next trip to Los Angeles I visited the Babylon 5 studio; Kathryn gave me a tour of the sets, and then I sat in Joe's office and we talked radio drama. I had come to ask Joe if he'd be interested in writing something for Seeing Ear Theatre. He was, but we couldn't quite hit upon the nature of it at first. We thought of doing a Babylon 5 spin-off series, but finally decided upon something completely new, designed specifically for the ear. Steve Buscemi Joe had written for the 1980s revival of The Twilight Zone and had long wanted to launch a new anthology radio drama series in a similar spirit to Rod Serling's TV classic. Joe would write all 13 half-hour episodes, with total creative freedom to go wherever he dreamed, and I would produce and direct them. Joe would also serve as the co-executive producer along with myself, helping to cast, schedule, etc. So here it is, J. Michael Straczynski's CIty Of Dreams. A world of stories about madmen, dreamers, and fanatics, designed for the imagination, the theatre of the mind. Let us know what you think! —Brian Smith, July 2000