Q: What is a "Buckyball" (the nickname J.T. and Neil used for each other)?

A "Buckyball" is a buckminsterfullerene, or the geometric shape of pure carbon which was founded in 1990.  At first thought to be artificial, it was used in industry and was manufactured under specific requirements of heat and pressure.   It was later discovered to occur naturally, and it was found that inside the latticework, other atoms, sometimes quite old and from sources very different from the original fullerene, could be trapped in a sort if cage.  It was obviously named after the scientist who discovered it, Buckminster Fuller, but because the shape resembled a soccer ball everyone started calling it Buckyball for short- hence J.T. and Neil's nickname!  Lots of thanks to Michele G. and Kristen V. for this info! 

Q:  What exactly was "UB2B"?

It was the big science project that J.T. and Neil were working on throughout the show.  It was either a self-perpetuated rocket fuel, or a self-perpetuated rocket (meaning a rocket ship that's able to move without fuel, kind of like solar power, I guess).  Anyway, UB2B was considered to be a huge and exteremely important project, and if it was completed, J.T. and Neil would've won the Nobel Prize.

Q:  Who were those big, bald guys with the bad Russian accents?

They were the infamous "Baldies".  Basically, they were a couple of guys (agents, perhaps?) from a country called Rodavia who were tracking down the fictitious "Professor Vann" in order to get more information on UB2B.  They were most likely bad guys because they kidnapped Glory and threatened her with knives and snakes, thinking she was somehow connected to "Professor Vann".  They were also really weird, always sporting the same black outfits and they always had cotton balls stuck in their ears.  One Baldie had a habit of hitting himself on the head, and always wore a huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle band-aid.

Q:  Who was "Professor Vann"?

He was the fake identity that J.T. and Neil assumed so they would be able to order the elements needed for UB2B without any hassles for being underage.   According to J.T. and Neil, "Professor Vann" was a 30 year-old astrophysicist who graduated from Harvard.

Q:  Was Barek a good or bad guy, and what was he up to?

Barek came to town as the new manager of the Tool and Die (the local motorcycle garage).  However, it was pretty obvious that he was doing something else on the side.  He was frequently found spying on all the teenagers in town, had a jeweler's eye-piece which he secretly used to study rocks and minerals with, and was often carrying around bag of cotton balls (like the ones the Baldies had in their ears).   Barek was probably working with the Baldies because of the cotton balls, and because he had a mini-walkie talkie that he used to communicate to one of the Baldies with.  But it was also hinted at that Barek might've been working for the government as an undercover agent.  Whoever he was working for, he was obviously trying to get more information on UB2B.  I don't really know whether Barek was a good or bad guy, but if I had to pick one or the other, I'd probably say he was a bad guy.  He was just so creepy, the way he followed everyone around. Also, he tried to hurt Callie by rigging the ladder that she fell off of.  Plus, he probably worked with the Baldies and we knew they were bad because they kidnapped Glory. But then again, Barek might've just been some sort of undercover agent who was trying to protect J.T. and Neil from the Baldies.  He might've just pretended to be working with the them in order to get more info on UB2B. I think this is probably what the writers had in mind.  I don't know... to this day, the story behind Barek's true identity still confuses me!   

Q:  Were Sydney and Sandy really switched at birth?

No.  Garrett switched their birth records himself to get back at Sydney.  I guess there's a possibility they could've been switched at birth, but the birth record Garrett was blackmailing Sydney with on the show was fake.  

Q:  Is Swans Crossing airing anywhere currently?

Yes, right now it's airing on a cable/satellite network in the UK called "Trouble" every weekday at 2pm. It's also airing in the Philippines and on the Children's Channel in Norway. Thanks to Paul J., Sansan, and Anne for this info.

Q:  Do you know where I can get the Swans episodes on tape?