1) Have you watched any of the recently-released Beauty and the Beast DVDs? How does the show look on DVD, and how does it feel to look back on your work there?
I have the DVDs, but I haven't watched them yet, I'm afraid.
2) If a producer asked you to write the script for an episode of a currently-airing program on television, which would you want it to be? I suppose this may be the same as "What's your favorite program on the air right now", but if not, it'd be very interesting to know why.
Most of my favorite television programs were HBO series that have gone off the air in the last year or so -- ROME, DEADWOOD, THE SOPRANOS, etc. Of the shows still on the air, I suppose BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is my favorite, but that one is wrapping up too.
3) You've remarked that you're a "gardener" instead of an "architect" when it comes to writing novels. Do you feel TV series could work using the "gardening" approach for creative direction, or do the constraints of the format (budgets, production schedules, etc.) make the "architect" approach more typical? I'm thinking primarily in terms of the recent shifts away from more episodic television programs to series with running, season- or even multi-season-long story arcs, and the rise of complaints from fans when they discover less planning has gone into these arcs than they had supposed.
The nature of TV pretty much prohibits the "gardener" approach. Studios and networks want detailed outline at every step of the way, so they will have the opportunity to review everything, gives notes, request (demand) changes, and so forth. You can beat them off to some extent if you have the kind of clout that comes with a hit series, but they're always there lurking.