"If trademarks are used too broadly and without a history of legal enforcement, companies will lose exclusive claims to them--so Coco-Cola sends out spies to make sure nobody gets served a Pepsi when they order a Coke, Xerox insists that we call a photocopy a photocopy and Fox scans the Web to make sure nobody puts an 'X-Files' logo on an unauthorized homepage," says Jenkins. But the flip side for the aggressive studios is that "Attacking media consumers damages relationships vital to the future of their cultural franchises, but corporations see little choice, since turning a blind eye could pave the way for competitors to exploit valuable properties."

In their attempt to prevent a wrong, the studios thus perpetrate a different wrong. "There's a common-sense issue here," writes Jesse Walker, an associate editor of Reason magazine. "It is legal, after all, to write or improvise one's own 'Star Wars' adventures using action figures; that is, indeed, what the toys are for. It is legal to record those playlets on film or video; this is known as 'making a home movie.' Shouldn't it be legal to show those home movies to anyone you please? Especially if it's all done in a nonprofit, amateur basis, with no threat of direct, head-to-head competition with the official 'Star Wars' pictures?"

Walker writes that, in this case, Lucasfilm has been a bit erratic in its approach to fan creations, threatening some and praising others. But his greater criticism includes the government for its conflicting rulings on copyright issues and even, at least to a point, for even having copyrights. "When the government tells us we can't use these scraps [of copyrighted material] without permission, ... it constrains our creativity, our communications, and our art. It tells us that we cannot draw on pop songs the way we once drew on folk songs, or on TV comedy the way we once drew on vaudeville; it says we cannot pluck pieces from 'Star Wars' the way George Lucas plucked pieces from foreign films and ancient legends."

Fans might have some wiggle room under the "fair use" ability to sample copyrighted material for parodies or critical comment. But what fan who maintains an "Angel" site in his or her spare time has the legal resources to attempt to win the argument? Take note, smart studios: do yourselves a favor and either ease up or create something like an affiliate license that lets a fan create in your fictional universes without nullifying your copyrights. It might take some creativity, but it's a better use for all of those expensive lawyers than setting them on the people who made the studios rich in the first place.

(Thanks to my sister, Susan Zipperer, for directing me to the Jenkins article.)

In other news and views

SFX magazine reports that the "Pokemon" cartoon has received a papal, er, indulgence, earning the Vatican's approval of its moral message. "They obviously haven't been to any playgrounds recently to see tiny-tots mugging each other for meaningless 'Pokemon' cards."

This week's episodes

All times Eastern. Syndicated episodes are sometimes shown in different weeks in different locations, so your local broadcast may, naturally, differ.

Angel
WB, 9 p.m. Tuesdays; David Boreanaz, Seth Green, and Charisma Carpenter
May 23: In "To Shanshu in L.A.," Angel and his buds try to figure out the meaning of a scroll taken from the evil law firm Wolfram & Hart.
May 30: In 'Lonely Hearts," a parasite demon feeds on the lonely. (Repeat)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
WB, 8 p.m. Tuesdays; Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanaz, Kristine Sutherland, and Anthony Stewart Head; official site
May 23: In "Restless," Buffy and her friends are stalked by some bestial force that attacks in their dreams.
May 30: In "The 'I' in Team," Buffy gains access to the Initiative, thanks to her friendship with Riley. (Repeat)

Cleopatra 2525
Syndicated; Gina Torres, Victoria Pratt, Jennifer Sky, Patrick Kake, Danielle Cormack, Joel Tobeck
Week of May 23: "Home:
Week of May 30: "Rescue"

Earth: Final Conflict
Syndicated, Lisa Howard, Leni Parker, Von Flores, David Hemblen, Robert Leeshock, Richard Chevolleau, Anita LaSelva, Jayne Heitmeyer, Peter Krantz, Barna Moricz, Lindy Booth, Sten Eirik; official site
Week of May 23: In "Once and Future World," Renee and Liam look into some Taelon artifacts that were discovered by a smuggler.
Week of May 30: In "Thicker Than Blood," Liam is betrayed by Augur; Sandoval gets a rare blood disease. (Repeat)

Farscape
Sci-Fi, 8 p.m. Fridays; Ben Browder, Lani John Tupu, and Virginia Hey; official site
May 26: Preempted by movie, "No Escape"
June 2: In "Mind the Baby," Crais takes Moya's baby and hides out in an asteroid field. (Repeat)

First Wave
Sci-Fi, 7 p.m. Sundays; Sebastian Spence and Roger Cross; official site
May 28: Preempted

Futurama
Fox, 7:00 p.m. Sundays; Billy West, Lauren Tom, John Di Maggio, and Katey Sagal; official site
June 4: In "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" Dr. Zoidberg goes home for a mating ritual and Fry teaches him how to attract the opposite sex. (Repeat)

Lexx
Sci-Fi, 10 p.m.; Xenia Seeberg.
May 26: Preempted by movie, "The Amityville Horror"
June 2: In "Nook," the crew of Lexx find a planet of monks who've never seen a woman. Like they care. (Repeat)

Nova
PBS, various times Tuesday evenings; official site
May 30: TBA

Now and Again
CBS, 9 p.m., Friday
May 23: Preempted by "The Pelican Brief" fiilm.

Outer Limits
Showtime, 11:30 p.m. Fridays;
May 26: "Seeds of Destruction"
June 2: In "Simon Says," a father assembles a robotic replacement for his deceased son.

Roswell
WB, 9:00 p.m. Mondays; Jason Behr, Shiri Appleby, Brendan Fehr, and Katherine Heigl
May 29: In "Pilot Episode," it's--guess what!--the pilot episode rerun. With "Roswell" getting a new chance at life in its Monday slot, this is a good chance to catch up with the series. Here, alien Max saves Liz's life, putting himself and his friends at risk. (Repeat)
June 5: In "The Morning After," the FBI looks into Sheriff Valenti, and a substitute teacher looks into Michael's life. (Repeat)

Seven Days
UPN, 8 p.m. Wednesdays; Jonathan LaPaglia, Don Franklin; official site
May 24: In "The Cure," a scientist is targeted by a time traveler from the future, where humanity's been devastated by the scientist's medical research.
May 31: In "Two Weddings and a Funeral," Parker plans marriage with Olga, but he weds her evil twin instead. (Repeat)

Stargate SG-1
Showtime, 10 p.m. Fridays; official site
May 26: In "Shades of Grey," O'Neill's diplomatic mistake endangers Earth's relations with its allies. This is why Bismarck kept diplomatic control all to himself.
June 2: In "Maternal Instinct," the SG-1 team searches for the Harsesis child.

Star Trek: Voyager
UPN, 9 p.m. Wednesdays; Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, Jeri Ryan, and Garrett Wang. official site
May 24: The Borg Queen, played by Susanna Thompson, returns in "Unimatrix Zero," the season finale. In it, Janeway discovers a weakness in the Borgs that she's determined to use against them.
May 31: In "Riddles," Tuvok's experiencing neurological problems. (Repeat)

Xena: Warrior Princess
Syndicated, Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, Bruce Campbell, official site
Week of May 30: "Lyre, Lyre Hearts on Fire" (Repeat)

The X-Files
Fox, 9 p.m. Sundays; David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi; official site
May 28: In "The Sixth Extinction," Scully gets some help in her investigation into the ship in the Ivory Coast and its link to Mulder's padded-cell quarters. (Repeat)

"We've got some very new and fresh things coming up, and hopefully a wonderful last year for 'Voyager.' So I think this is really no more or less critical than a lot of other critical points in the last ten years."
—"Star Trek: Voyager" executive producer Rick Berman, quoted in SFX