Jane Espenson: Hero

For the four of you out there who pay attention to TV writers, Jane Espenson is the real deal. She's one of the four or five superstar writers to emerge from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and she is finally getting her own pilot on Fox. Let us hope that Fox shows better judgment with this than they did earlier this year with Tim Minear's Wonderfalls.

For those of you who don't pay attention to TV writers and want to know what's so great about Jane Espenson, see this interview, where she displays much talent, wit, and charm. Sample:

Question: How big a Star Trek geek are you?

JE: Only medium sized. I loved original Trek and TNG, and watched the early years of DS9, but then I kinda stopped. Here's a measure: I know who wrote THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES. I know who invented the warp drive. I own a copy of Brent Spiner's album. I think I remember Spock's mothers maiden name. But I don't know who played Tom Paris. I don't know what the nacelles do. I don't know the name of the episode where Kirk switched bodies with the woman and spent the episode swanning about and getting hysterical.