HACK ATTACK : And No Commercials, Please . . .

When J. Michael Straczynski decided he wanted to build a better sci-fi series, he took his dream to the people who would truly understand--computer hacks.

In November, 1991, Straczynski, formerly a writer for “Murder, She Wrote” and the second “Twilight Zone” series, opened up a special-interest forum on Genie, a national computer bulletin board service. Through it, he solicited comments and opinions about a TV pilot he was creating, “Babylon 5,” which follows adventures on a space station that serves as a crossroads of the universe. The “Babylon 5” forum grew to encompass 13 discussion categories and more than 6,000 messages that discoursed on character development, set design, alien politics--everything but the actual plot.

“The number of people you reach on a bulletin board is minuscule in ratings terms, but it gives you a sense of the room,” Straczynski says. “The fans on the nets are among the most involved fans there are.”

As the project, which will premiere Feb. 22 on KCOP, moved into pre-production, he uploaded graphics, press releases and other tidbits onto the bulletin board. The discussions, which have moved into a debate about whether or not the show will be picked up as a series, have since spread to other computer networks, including Compuserve and America Online. Straczynski says the collected messages could serve as a primer for prospective TV writers. Participants were not allowed to propose story ideas, as such exchanges could result in litigation, but they were very clear about what they don’t want.

“They’re tired of uniforms that are all Spandex. ‘Please, God,’ they say, ‘can you give us pockets?’ ” he says. “They’re also tired of seeing kids saving the ship all the time. And they swear they will switch off permanently if they see another cute robot.”