The Continuum: Did you get in some things comics fans would enjoy?

Palmiotti: They will totally get a kick out of it on a number of levels. First because I am writing it. (laughs) And I tried to make the Jane character more like the comic character a bit and some of the characters are named after fans of mine who have been supportive of my work from day one. The least I could do is name characters after them -- then kill them on screen. Comic fans will enjoy the fact that we have a group of characters that are comic-book fans like themselves and this inspired them to be better people than those around them and eventually to become the actual characters they looked up to. The other cool thing is that in one scene we see the actual comic book cover the team is named after. We got Amanda Conner and Paul Mounts to do the artwork for that. It's an important part of the show.

The Continuum: Were you on set for the filming?

Palmiotti: I was on set with the director Paul Ziller for a few weeks. We did the location scouting, nailed props and set details and casting the supporting and guest actors for the episode. And then we started shooting the show out of sequence. The awesome thing about being there was I was able to have a lot of input into how things were going down and was able to work one-on-one with the actors as well. It was a great learning experience and will make it easier for me to do this again at some point. I made it my business to learn the camera, how the show was put together and even shot a bunch of small cut-away shots for other episodes while I was there.

The Continuum: Have you seen the episode?

Palmiotti: I have seen a rough cut without any of the effects and I gave them some notes to alter some stuff in post-production. I have not seen a finish disc of it and that's cool because I want to watch it raw Friday night when it airs. I think it's more fun like that. I post a blog and reply to people on the scifi.com message boards, so if anyone wants to stop by and say hi or comment on the episode, please drop by. Those boards are a real blast.

The Continuum: What do you think of the show so far? Strengths? Weaknesses?

Palmiotti: Well, the episode I wrote, I would say 80 percent of what I wanted made it on screen, but the limits of budget and censorship made them take a lot of things out that would have made it, I think, more exciting. The show has limited funds and I wrote a lot of scenes outside the usual stage set because it's a pet peeve of mine that they are always in front of the computers discussing the cases. I wanted them outside as much as possible, but they had to move a lot of the scenes back indoors. Again, costs and such.

I think the actual show has been getting a lot better in the last few episodes and the actors are a lot more relaxed with each other and things are starting to come together nicely. It's 22 episodes and they are near the halfway point, and the second half of the season is going great.

The strengths of the show are the cast all the way. They are dynamic, talented actors and Kristanna (Loken) gets better each week. It really is fun to see. The weaknesses are what I stated before -- getting the cast outside, into different surroundings and focusing more on Jane and less on the supporting cast. Personally, I would give anything for the show to be more like the comic book, but it's not and I have to roll with it. You have to understand that when you sell a property like this, every set of hands that it falls into makes it their duty to change it a little bit more each time. That said, I am glad that the Jane character stays true to the mood and attitude of the comic character. I wish they would beat her up a little more though, in a visual over the top way. (laughs) That's my comic roots talking!