Okay, time for some news.

Some of you have noted my marked absence here the last month or so, just
the occasional quick note, and gone again. There's a reason for this that I
haven't revealed until now.


To the question, "When will we begin filming?" the answer is...some time
ago. We started shooting mid-July. I've withheld that information so that
our crew and cast could get started in less of a pressure-cooker environment,
without feeling that the world was peering in over their shoulders. It's a
very tense process to get a series up and running, and the more breathing
space you can give your people, the happier they'll be.

I didn't want to withhold that information, but I felt that it was best
for the team. Getting the show made has to take precedence, and you have to
do right by your people.

We've been rolling film for some time now, and as of this moment we are
on schedule, and on budget, and the performances we're getting are absolutely
wonderful. The shows are coming in with energy, they're crisp, they're
funny...there's some VERY dramatic stuff, good action and good character drama
going on. I've been chomping at the bit to give you some insights into and
reports from the front lines...and now I feel comfortable in doing so.

(And I'd like to parenthetically thanks J.HUDGENS and K.A.LAWRENCE for
keeping their lips zipped. Both visited our sets, the latter a day or so
before we were actually slated to begin filming, and I asked of both that they
not mention this until later. So Katherine, NOW you can make the observations
that I yelled on you about posting last time....)

The cast is working wonderfully together. Jerry and Michael are a great
team. And there are some scenes, in which Jerry has to be very serious, when
he just lights up the screen. And as for Michael...I think that after you've
seen what he's doing now, nobody's going to use the term "stiff" ever again.
He's strong, and personable, and likeable, and the character is really coming
out strongly. Delenn is absolutely terrific; elegant and mysterious and
exotic. And our new additions are going to be very popular, I think,
particularly Claudia Christian as Ivanova, who has a very wicked, mischievous
take on the character.

We've got episodes already in the can, being edited in post production,
and they're tight, and fast-paced, and the look is *very* different from the
show in that now we have time to get the look of each shot right. Our
director of photography is John Flynn, who was the main DP on Hill Street
Blues, who's brought a wonderful, moody look to the show, a great deal of
style, playing with lights and colors and shadows. On every conceivable
level, it's a quantum improvement over the pilot.

But the most important news, again, is that we're *filming*, and have
been, and the stuff is terrific. I don't think anyone here is going to be
disappointed in the results. THIS is the show I've been working six years to
bring off. In the months to come, I'll try to bring you bits and pieces of
background stuff about the shooting, as I did on the pilot, though not in as
concentrated a form.

The train has again left the station, and this time we're on for the long
haul...twenty-two episodes. And if what I've seen on film so far is any
indication, it is gonna be one hell of a ride.

jms