Dollhouse

[hackett]

a girl with her memory wiped out completey?

I thought Samantha Who already talked that.

Wait Joss Whedon?

Cool , I'm on board.

[burlivesleftnut]

Damn it. Last week's EW had an artical about building fan support for this show, and my awesome petition didn't even get a mention. I should write them about it, but it's probably too late. DAMN MY LAZINESS!

[burlivesleftnut]

Has this been cancelled yet? I need something to get righteously indignant about and the real suffering of the world isn't enough for me.

[so sorry]

Whedon reshoots Dollhouse Pilot

[John-Locke]

I liked Firefly and all so I'm not here to shit on Whedons talent but the man is clearly a complete tool. That self interview thing was painful to read.

I think the best way to sum him up as a person is extremely dorky.

[Ribbons]

I liked Firefly and all so I'm not here to shit on Whedons talent but the man is clearly a complete tool. That self interview thing was painful to read.

I think the best way to sum him up as a person is extremely dorky.

Hehe... I'm glad you said it and not me.

I love Firefly like it's a part of myself, but the people who contest that Whedon is in love with hearing himself talk/write might be onto something...

Anyway the news itself doesn't seem too worrisome. Like the man himself said, he's shot several pilots before, and he's produced some pretty good work on duress from the network, like the last season of "Angel." I just saw the preview for this like... a day or two ago on YouTube, and it seemed pretty interesting. Look forward to seeing what they come up with.

[RogueScribner]

I was surprised to read about Angel being put on hold when the network saw the second episode script. I didn't realize that show experienced any issues its first season (outside of the Glenn Quinn stuff).

[Gheorghe Zamfir]

I liked Firefly and all so I'm not here to shit on Whedons talent but the man is clearly a complete tool. That self interview thing was painful to read.

Especially for those of us who remember the Firefly debacle involving that pilot, where Whedon came out and defended the network and the decision almost the same way. Here's Joss when he was forced to rewrite the Firefly pilot:

''Fox came out of the box saying we're looking for flash, we're looking for comfort. Though I'm very much in love with what we did, there wasn't a lot of either there,'' admits Whedon. Despite the early confusion, Whedon insists fans will find ''Firefly'' easy to follow. ''I make every episode early on like a pilot, so everybody who hasn't seen the first one'' won't be confused, says Whedon. ''The first six episodes are very stand-alone, very expository, and hopefully not boring.''

Gotta give Whedon credit for at least being able to take the high road in these situations, rather than starting these shows off amid controversy and blame.

[Leckomaniac]

I liked Firefly and all so I'm not here to shit on Whedons talent but the man is clearly a complete tool. That self interview thing was painful to read.

Especially for those of us who remember the Firefly debacle involving that pilot, where Whedon came out and defended the network and the decision almost the same way. Here's Joss when he was forced to rewrite the Firefly pilot:

''Fox came out of the box saying we're looking for flash, we're looking for comfort. Though I'm very much in love with what we did, there wasn't a lot of either there,'' admits Whedon. Despite the early confusion, Whedon insists fans will find ''Firefly'' easy to follow. ''I make every episode early on like a pilot, so everybody who hasn't seen the first one'' won't be confused, says Whedon. ''The first six episodes are very stand-alone, very expository, and hopefully not boring.''

Gotta give Whedon credit for at least being able to take the high road in these situations, rather than starting these shows off amid controversy and blame.

HA! OMG!

Reading that just gave me chills. I was at the Dollhouse panel at Comic Con and, no joke, he said almost VERBATIM the same thing about Dollhouse and Fox. Although he did add that this time it felt more "organic" and that with Firefly it never felt that way.

What was funny was that he showed the trailer on the big screen and I noticed right away that the style looked different than past Whedon shows. Then, on the panel, he mentioned how FOX had an "identity" that you had to be aware of as a creator. That they expect a certain look and a certain pop and a certain amount of action beats. And suddenly I realized that what I saw from Whedon looked more like FASTLANE than it looked like Buffy or Angel. That got me extremely worried.

Anyway, it was weird hearing Joss basically admit that he was fully committing to adopting his style to fit whatever the network asked of him.

[burlivesleftnut]

Maybe Joss Whedon is a whore and all my work into that petition was for NOTHING.

[Leckomaniac]

Maybe Joss Whedon is a whore and all my work into that petition was for NOTHING.

Actually, I believe the petitions to save Dollhouse were mentioned at the Q&A.

Burl, it looks like you and I have our own little Zone going on here.

[burlivesleftnut]

Suddenly feels gayer.

[instant_karma]

Now kiss...

[RogueScribner]

New scoop from Dragon*Con!

Uh, the show premieres in January before 24? No, we knew that already. Um, it's by Joss Whedon? No. Eliza Dushku stars in it? Crap.

Okay, there was a whole panel discussion with Tahmoh Penikett but it was actually kinda lame. He was hung over from the night before so he wasn't very lively and he basically didn't tell us much about the show because "we've only shot 3 episodes." He plays the FBI agent investigating the existence of the Dollhouse facility. He said a couple of times that this panel is too early and we should come back in a few months. Hmmm.

So, there ya go. Exciting stuff.

[burlivesleftnut]

Thanks for NOTHING. You guys do realize it takes time away from IMPORTANT things to click on lame additions to threads, right? I could have cured cancer in that moment, but now I am all cynical and shit.

[RogueScribner]

You're right. There's a Werewolf game I need to play somewhere . . .

[Chilli]

Well, I rewatched the original Firefly Pilot... and honestly, any logic they might have had for NOT airing that as the first episode is non-existent. It's a brilliant episode of TV, and if the original Dollhouse Pilot was anything like that, then nuking it and making a BRAND SPANKING NEW FOX STYLE Pilot is just going to result in one confused audience.

[Leckomaniac]

A message from Joss:

(SPOILER) What happened when the lights went out. Sadly, this is not a naughty post. It's just Joss nattering on again.

I thought it was time to check in with you once again, gentle viewers. Or readers. Or pictures-looker-ats (that might be viewers). Also listeners, sniffers, haberdashers, Olympic hopefuls, the elderly, the youngerdly, and the mighty state of Oregon (go Oregon-based sports franchise!) Welcome all. Welcome... to me.

What's me up to? I'm glad me asked. Me've (I'm not doing that any more) been working on a little show called Dollhouse. Yes, perhaps you've read about how it's blazing an untrammeled path to surefire success, with nary a hitch or a hiccup, just pure blazing blazery, comet-like and meteoresque. What's that, you say? You've read other things? Dark, Yog-Sothothy rumors about shutdowns and delays? Poppycock! They’re true. But I never pass up a chance to say "poppycock". ("Balderdash" is so '07. Let it go.) I know there's been a lot of concern, various fabulous hues of panic alert readiness. So here's the skinny. Some of the names have been changed.

The show was ruined by Flim Flinear. Okay, that's another lie, and you're probably close to giving up on this blog, so here we go. Yes, we've had to make adjustments. Yes, it's been hard and I've been depressing to be around for awhile. Basically, the Network and I had different ideas about what the tone of the show would be. They bought something somewhat different than what I was selling them, which is not that uncommon in this business. Their desires were not surprising: up the stakes, make the episodes more stand-alone, stop talking about relationships and cut to the chase. Oh, and add a chase. That you can cut to. Nothing I hadn't heard before on my other shows (apparently my learning curve has no bendy part) but frustrating as hell given our circumstances - a pilot shot, scripts written, everybody marching together/gainfully employed... and then a shutdown. Glad I was for the breathing room, but it's hardly auspicious. So back into the writer cave I went, wondering why I put up with this when I can make literally dozens of dollars making internet movies. Why I do put up with this is divided into three parts.

One: They're not wrong. Oh, we don't see eye-to-eye on everything, but wanting the first episodes to be exciting and accessible is not exactly Satanic. Being Satan is, but that's in their free time and hey, there's no judging in the Dollhouse. This kind of back and forth has happened on every show I've done, so if you liked those, chances are that was a part of why. And the need to focus on the essentials of what makes this universe tick - and which wire to cut to make it stop - really does bring up our game. So we as a staff have gone from blinking like unhoused moles to delving in with the same relish we had when we started. The show is really coming together now, in a way that I believe excites us and satisfies the Network. Of course, I have no idea if anybody else will like it, but I have the same faith in the staff, the crew and the remarkable cast that I always did. More, in fact. And what's more crucial:

Two: Nothing essential has changed about the universe. The ideas and relationships that intrigued me from the start are all there (though some have shifted, more on that), and the progression of the first thirteen eps has me massively excited. The episode we're shooting now I wrote as fast as anything I have before, not because I had to (although, funny side-note: I had to) but because I couldn't stop the words from coming. Because I can feel the show talking to me; delighting, scaring and occasionally even offending me. It's alive. Alive! Which is a far cry from how I felt a month ago. It's been hilarious trying to keep up with what's in, what's out, who's met whom and when - we've shot all of the first seven episodes out of airing order - but it's come together in a pretty thrilling way. My huge gratitude to our cast for their precision and patience. Which also includes...

Three: Eliza. Watching her on the monitors at two o'clock this morning I was reminded forcibly how much I wished I were in bed – but also how strong, radiant and unmistakable her presence is. She's someone who could coast on talent and never ever does. I love to watch her work. In fact, I think I got myself into this mess for that very reason, and though I have this fall occasionally sworn never to eat lunch with an actor I like again, I’m pretty pleased and crazy proud.

So here's me, slogging away on a show like days of old and not hating life. Again, you guys will be the judge, jury and execu... lawyer, but we do have something to show you. Something, I'm chuffed to say, still pretty damn strange.

As for what's been changed, well, some things I obviously can't tell you. Some I can, for the record: The original pilot was in fact thrown out. Again, at my behest. Once it became clear what paradigm the Network was shooting for, it just didn't fit at all, even after I'd reshot more than half of it (see above re: despair). To get a sense of how completely turned around I was during this process, you should know there was a scene with Eliza and the astonishing Ashley Johnson that I wrote and shot completely differently three different times, with different characters in different places (actually I wrote it closer to eight times), and none of it will ever see air. Which is as it should be (though I'm determined to get Ms. Johnson back in the future). The scene just didn't belong anymore. Similarly, the character of November has fallen out of the mix, because the show simply moves too fast now for me to do what I wanted with her. Season three, anyone...? Happily, Miracle Laurie is still with us in a new role, playing against (and pining for) Tahmoh's character, Paul Ballard. Their chemistry is deeply nifty. The only other major cast shift is that the Dollhouse head of security, Laurence Dominic (played by Reed Diamond), who was written just for the now-defunct first ep, has stuck like fly-paper, and Reed is very much in the family for the present. (Most of my problems seem to involve my actors making themselves indispensable. This is the good problem kind.)

Apart from that, it's all hush-hush: some things I'd intended to hold back are laid out much sooner, and some are rolling out more slowly. We're still heading toward Tim's intense two-part mind-blower - right before a thirteenth ep that may actually just be insane.

And finally, young Steve DeKnight, after writing and shooting an ep so cool it helped not only define the show but save its ass, is ending his consulting duties, the f#%&er. I will be crying on the shoulder of Jane Espenson come Monday, so congratudolences are in order. Excited for the Jane Flava.

And there you have it. I'll be writing more bulletins about "Cabin" and a certain DVD in the very near future, but I wanted to get you all some actual information for a change. I can count on you guys not to tell anyone, right? What's a blog?

Faithfully, -joss.

By the by, Steve DeKnight is leaving Dollhouse to serve as showrunner for the recently announced STARZ series SPARTACUS

[burlivesleftnut]

He's such a spaz. I can't decide if he's actually excited, or just being a douche to get us to tune into something he knows has become crap.

Anyway, I started an online petition to stop the show from being canceled.

[RogueScribner]

I already signed it!

[Leckomaniac]

As did I.

I am #3 in fact. Fucking Havoc.

[burlivesleftnut]

SIGN AGAIN!

[Ribbons]

New Promo

Is it just me, or does it seem like this show is a big studly metaphor for celebrity?

[The Vicar]

Co-signed.

[Leckomaniac]

Uh-oh.

Remember back when this was announced and it was going to have a juicy time slot? It was going to have the huge lead-in from HOUSE or 24 something? It was going to be on Monday nights...

well guess what.

FOX GIVES DOLLHOUSE THE FIREFLY FRIDAY TIME SLOT! And it is being paired with the plummeting Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles.

I think it is officially time to panic.

[Bob Samonkey]

Do they not realize this guy has kind of a fan base? A rabid rabid fan base...

[Leckomaniac]

Do they not realize this guy has kind of a fan base? A rabid rabid fan base...

I guess they are assuming that his fanbase will be home Friday nights...


...sadly that is probably more true than not.

[Ribbons]

I-don'tknowwhethertoPAMPfromLASHingorCASHing-ILASH/CASH

The thing that makes no sense about this to me is that this is exactly what happened with Firefly. They were all "Whoa, Joss Whedon, dude who wrote those cult shows on the WB! Let's land a deal with him and give him something of a budget to work with, it'll be awesome!" Then they started seeing the dailies and went "Whoa, this is weird, we've made a huge mistake!" and sent it to Friday nights (and all out of order an' shit) to die.

Then they realized that Firefly was actually good (and by realized, I mean moved a lot of DVDs), so they went "Whoa, we need to get Whedon back and give him a budget, give him a chance to do his thing!" Then they start looking at the dailies and go "Whoa, we didn't sign up for this! We made a huge mistake!" and send it to Friday nights to die. Wasn't the whole point of doing this twice to NOT do the exact same thing to him that you did last time? And shit, maybe it sucks, I don't know. But they've already made 7 episodes, they're pretty much locked in for 13, they're gonna take a bath either way.

Time to sign burl's petition?

[Leckomaniac]

I-don'tknowwhethertoPAMPfromLASHingorCASHing-ILASH/CASH

The thing that makes no sense about this to me is that this is exactly what happened with Firefly. They were all "Whoa, Joss Whedon, dude who wrote those cult shows on the WB! Let's land a deal with him and give him something of a budget to work with, it'll be awesome!" Then they started seeing the dailies and went "Whoa, this is weird, we've made a huge mistake!" and sent it to Friday nights (and all out of order an' shit) to die.

Then they realized that Firefly was actually good (and by realized, I mean moved a lot of DVDs), so they went "Whoa, we need to get Whedon back and give him a budget, give him a chance to do his thing!" Then they start looking at the dailies and go "Whoa, we didn't sign up for this! We made a huge mistake!" and send it to Friday nights to die. Wasn't the whole point of doing this twice to NOT do the exact same thing to him that you did last time? And shit, maybe it sucks, I don't know. But they've already made 7 episodes, they're pretty much locked in for 13, they're gonna take a bath either way.

Time to sign burl's petition?

The stunning sense of deja vu is inescapable.

All this has happened before and will happen again

[Ribbons]

Well all I can say is, if they cancel another one of his shows and try to get him back a THIRD time, he better do this:

http://music.metafilter.com/2380/Punch-Em-In-The-Dick-NSFW-lyrics

[RogueScribner]

Friday night? Has Fox had a hit show on Fridays since The X Files?

[Chilli]

Man, Joss just loves getting punched in the cock by Fox.

[The Vicar]

Uh-oh.
[url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=50324]FOX GIVES DOLLHOUSE THE FIREFLY FRIDAY TIME SLOT![/url] And it is being paired with the plummeting Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles.

I think it is officially time to panic.

Il bacio della morte

[burlivesleftnut]

Man this just gets more and more hysterical. I like Whedon's work, but this just proves what a loser he is. He must have lower self esteem than a studly 13 year old girl from India but living in suburban Houston with like THICK glasses, and her mom, like, totally makers her wear Indian garb to school.

[RogueScribner]

TIME Magazine's review

OK, a little preface. I've watched the Dollhouse episode (given the history of remakes on this show, I don't know whether I can properly call it the "pilot") once, casually, without taking notes. I reserve the right to change my mind after I've watched it and marinated on it more. And I wasn't crazy about Firefly when it first debuted, in retrospect one of the worse calls of my career.

It was both better and worse than I expected, in different ways. One of my concerns about it was that—given Joss Whedon's talent for making absorbing serials—the case-of-the-week nature of the show would make it harder to grow attached to. (I'm assuming that anyone who cares at this point knows the premise already, but in case I'm wrong: Eliza Dushku plays Echo, an "Active," which is a person who has agreed to let a secretive organization erase his or her original memories and personality and implant new ones in them for "assignments" involving rich clients.)

Yes, this is certainly Joss Whedon trying to do What People Think Works on Broadcast TV Today—the legendary serial-procedural hybrid. But the first episode—in which Echo is imprinted with a kidnapping-negotiator's personality to secure the return of a rich man's abducted daughter—is well enough written to be absorbing. Writing a crime hour doesn't seem like Whedon's thing, but the episode is tight, suspenseful, with intriguing psychological twists and flashes of Whedonesque humor.

And the more serial elements of the show seem promising, at least. At the same time, an investigator (Tahmoh Penikett, BSG's Helo) is looking into the rumored existence of the illegal "Dollhouse" where the Actives are housed. A scene with a skeptical colleague addresses head-on a basic implausibility of the premise: why the hell does a billionaire need to turn to some kind of bizarre sci-fi brianwashing whorehouse to get the perfect date, or the perfect crime investigator, or the perfect whatever, when they can perfectly easily go out and hire one who hasn't had their personality wiped? His response: when you have everything, you want something more—more exotic, more perfect, more specific. Not so persuasive on the surface, but if the show is well enough done, hopefully we won't care.

Now the minus. Dollhouse as conceived (a heroine plays a different "person" every week) is less a series concept than an actress' showcase, a sort of extreme version of an Alias undercover premise. (In fact, the reports of how the show was conceived have said that Dushku essentially broached the idea as a showcase.) And the actress being showcased is Eliza Dushku. Now, I have nothing against Dushku. I thought she was fine on Buffy. But she's not exactly Toni Collette (who's playing a multiple-personality case on Showtime's The United States of Tara, which I have not seen). Watching her inhabit her imprinted "personality"—a tough negotiator with secret vulnerabilities—I did not see her becoming another person. I thought: Oh, look! There's Eliza Dushku with glasses and her hair in a bun!

If it weren't for Whedon's pedigree, I'm not sure I'd be dying to see a second episode. But for me, the main draw now is not seeing Dushku become a different person every week, but getting to see Joss Whedon become a different writer every week.

[Ribbons]

Sounds pretty reasonable, although weren't Buffy and Angel sort of serial-procedurals in the beginning as well?

[RogueScribner]

Yeah, the but the main cast's memories weren't erased at the end of every episode. It'll be interesting to see where the emotional hook for this series will be.

[Ribbons]

I figure they're gonna start remembering things somehow... somewhy! There was a thingie in the preview (which may no longer be relevant) about how the Actives were "grouping," plus that just sort of seems like the natural thrust of a show where people are treated as disposable, reprogammable, etc.-able.

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

From what I recall Echo begins to remember things and eventually begins to question the work being done in the Dollhouse.

[MacCready]

I'd watch Dushku knit a freaking sweater. Can't wait to see how badly the network dicks this up.

[so sorry]

From what I recall Echo begins to remember things and eventually begins to question the work being done in the Dollhouse.

Sounds eerily similar to the plot of the Christian Slater My Own Worst Enemy show.

[MacCready]

From what I recall Echo begins to remember things and eventually begins to question the work being done in the Dollhouse.

Sounds eerily similar to the plot of the Christian Slater My Own Worst Enemy show.

And we saw how well that went.

[burlivesleftnut]

If there's no "Echo Remembers" hook, then this show is pretty pointless. And she's a hostage negotiator in the first episode? Man I was hoping for something insane like hitchick or debased sex slave... something gripping. They might as well have had the billionaire hire her to do his laundry.

My prediction: this show gonna suck.

[so sorry]

If there's no "Echo Remembers" hook, then this show is pretty pointless. And she's a hostage negotiator in the first episode? Man I was hoping for something insane like hitchick or debased sex slave... something gripping. They might as well have had the billionaire hire her to do his laundry.

Exactly.

My prediction: this show gonna suck.

Exactly again.

[Nachokoolaid]

Didn't that show THE PRETENDER do like a whole few years of a premise similar to this, where the guy was someone new every week? Or what about Quantum Leap? I think it can be done if done right? Will it? No? I'm Ron Burgandy?

[Leckomaniac]

Joss does damage control!

Or at least that is what it sounds like to me. It is going to be so fun to look back on these comments after the show is canceled 4 episodes (aired out of order) into the first season.

Whatever. The future is web based content. Dr. Horrible 2!

[so sorry]

Joss does damage control!

Or at least that is what it sounds like to me. It is going to be so fun to look back on these comments after the show is canceled 4 episodes (aired out of order) into the first season.

Agreed.

[TonyWilson]

Joss does damage control!

Or at least that is what it sounds like to me. It is going to be so fun to look back on these comments after the show is canceled 4 episodes (aired out of order) into the first season.

Agreed.

Thirdified.

[burlivesleftnut]

Did anyone sign my petition???

[TonyWilson]

Yes indeed, 251 signatures now.