I suspect that they have spent a lot of time on story arc(s). When J. Michael Straczynski went on Usenet and said that he had planned and pre-written out a 5 year long sci-fi television series, with all of the intertwinded arcs, all of the character development, even trap-doors if an actor/actress wanted out mid-stream, people were both skeptical and excited. Babylon 5 was pretty damned amazing. If Jones and company say that they have 10 years worth of story/universe and "stuff"? I am willing to be less skeptical and more interested to see.