New Joss Whedon Show Starring Eliza Dusku

[BlackFlagg 0]

Joss Whedon Returns to Fox With New Series 'Dollhouse'

 

Joss Whedon, the creator of acclaimed cult favorites “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly,” is returning to Fox and reuniting with “Buffy” regular Eliza Dushku for a new action-drama called “Dollhouse.”

 

Fox has given a seven-episode commitment to the 20th Century Fox Television project for a planned debut next year.

 

“It deals with our darkest impulses and our best ones,” Whedon says. “It deals with all the things I like to deal with—strength, weakness, power and corruption.”

 

“Dollhouse” stars Dushku as Echo, one of a group of secret agents living in a futuristic dorm. Each has the ability to be imprinted with custom personalities and abilities for special assignments. When they return, their newly acquired memories are wiped. The show follows Echo as she takes on a variety of assignments—some romantic, some adventurous, some uplifting, some illegal—and gains awareness of her role and confinement.

 

The show represents a few reunions: Whedon with Fox, which aired the short-lived fan favorite “Firefly”; Whedon with Dushku, who starred in Fox’s “Nurses” pilot during the last development season as well as Fox’s 2003 series “Tru Calling”; and Whedon and Dushku with studio chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden, whose 20th Century Fox Television also produced his other shows.

 

Dushku will have a producer credit on the show. Sources say she was instrumental in helping bring Whedon back to television after his three-year absence as a prime-time showrunner. Dushku, who was keen to reunite with Whedon, met him for lunch and he came up with the “Dollhouse” concept. He sold the show to Fox one week later.

 

“The show was pretty much fully formed,” Whedon says. “I wrote a synopsis, treatment, pilot episode and six suggested future episodes. I made a poster in PhotoShop because I couldn’t sleep.”

 

Whedon discussed the show with TelevisionWeek Wednesday evening:

 

TVWeek: How did this idea come about?

 

Joss Whedon: Rather suddenly. It just sort of blurted forth. I was having lunch with Eliza and she was talking about wanting to do something and I made up the show. We went to Fox and they said, "Yeeeaeah!"

 

TVWeek: "Buffy" fans are sure to be excited, too.

 

Whedon: If they could only see what’s in my head right now.... They should be.

 

TVWeek: Every "Firefly" fan is going to wonder: Was there any reluctance to return to Fox?

 

Whedon: It’s a brand new day over there. It’s a completely new bunch of people and they seem really intelligent and supportive. Walking back into the building was a little strange. But no. It was absolutely the last thing I saw coming, but absolutely the right thing to do. It’s like one of those movies where you keep waiting for somebody to fall in love with the hot girl. It was sort of meant to be. ... I mean, a network is a network. They have an agenda and it is not yours. And that’s OK, as long as you work hard to make the agendas coincide.

 

TVWeek: So they’ll air the episodes in sequence this time?

 

Whedon [laughs]: One can almost guarantee.

 

TVWeek: The project sounds ambitious. Do you have the budget you’re going to need?

 

Whedon: That was part of the offer. The network said we want to do seven and it’s a grown-up show. It’s not going to be wasteful, but it has a certain production value. When they said yes, it rang out loud and clear.

 

TVWeek: Is there anything new with "Buffy" spinoff "Ripper"? [Whedon previously announced he’s trying to set up that show at the BBC.]

 

Whedon: There isn’t anything new. It might become too problematic. The rights issue with "Ripper" becomes complicated. There are other characters in the woods. We may have to do some fancy footwork. Obviously I’m committed to ["Dollhouse"], but that does not mean I’m not doing "Ripper."

 

TVWeek: Just recently you were disappointed that 20th shut down the "Buffy" sing-along screenings. Did that make things awkward while doing the "Dollhouse" deal?

 

Whedon: This is how it works. It’s a small town. The problem they ran up against was a genuine problem. It wasn’t the Disney lawyers telling preschoolers they couldn’t draw Mickey Mouse. They’re not trying to cheat anybody out of their fun. The fact of the matter is that I know they’re trying to make the musicals work.

 

TVWeek: "Heroes" recently added a character who’s sort of like Echo, in that she can instantly learn any ability. Did that give you an "uh-oh" moment?

 

Whedon: I didn’t actually know that. I was fine until now. Thanks a lot. One of the first rules of a pilot, you will see everything you are doing somewhere else the year before you do it. I saw "Bionic Woman" and I was like, "Oh, I better change my thing." I like to think that means you’re smack dab in the middle of the zeitgeist. The real thing that’s important is what do you have to say about that person. And what I have to say is never what somebody else has to say. On "Buffy," all the hoariest old tropes—the evil twin, the Monkey’s Paw—what’s important is what you have to say about it.

 

TVWeek: With "Firefly" star Nathan Fillion doing a lot of guest work right now, any chance of him being in the cast?

 

Whedon: My first instinct is to look in new places, especially since Eliza and I are already reuniting. It’s a series, not a party. That said, I do not rule anything out.

 

TVWeek: I was told the series would be for next spring or fall, depending on how fast you write.

 

Whedon: I can write for spring. There’s a hiccup in that process because of the [potential] writers strike. I will be good to go the moment we are in agreement with the studios. But I won’t pick up a pencil while we’re not.

 

TVWeek: Since it’s the topic of the hour, any thoughts on the possible strike?

 

Whedon: I don’t have any terribly original ones. I do know this: The studios are very entrenched and the issues are very crucial. I dislike the idea of the strike because it’s going to hurt a lot of people I love. But if it’s necessary, we’ll go all the way with it. Because we’re talking about the future of media that didn’t used to exist. And if we can’t get a fair deal on that, then it’s just not worth it. Next year, you’re going to see a lot of new novels.

 

http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/james-hibberd/

[AnonymousBroccoli 0]

Yay. I don't see much happening with it, though.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Sounds cool. I find it interesting Dushku pushed him to do it - Tru Calling didn't do it for her, eh?

 

Cool concept, but really it matters more how they build around it. If its Alias part 2, it would suck. looking for some sort of arc.

[Ripper 0]

Good. 7 eps of Whedon TV. Because, you know...thats how long it will last.

[Jingus 0]

Sadly, that's my thought too. I'm glad that Whedon is coming back to TV, he's never worked as well in any other medium. But why fuckin' Dushku? Her star ain't exactly rising, and she was never that great an actress; some of Faith's line readings had me grinding my teeth over just how damn fake they sounded. So, yeah, expect to buy a Dollhouse: The Complete Series DVD boxset in a couple years.

[Craig Th 0]

Watch this show suck, but it will stay on the air.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

I'd be happy if Joss Whedon never did anything again.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

I dunno, i think it can survive. The "base premise" sounds like the sort of thing the Networks really like pushing (Bionic Woman, Dark Angel, Journeyman, etc etc).

 

You gotta remember, a show like Firefly, which was great, is sort of cult-ish to begin with, virtually any space based TV show has that bias to overcome. Not to mention FOX just not getting the show (anyone remember the "Smash Mouth" music commercial? them refusing to air the pilot until the end?).

 

It really depends on how much faith one has in Joss. I think he can produce something significantly better than say Tru Calling or Bionic Woman.

[Ripper 0]

The problem with Firefly was that they showed the 3rd show first, the 2nd show 2nd and the pilot near the end of the season. That shit was confusing.

 

When I saw it on DVD, it flowed and was great. On television, i got thrown into a show not knowing who any of these characters were and didn't care.

TV needs Joss Whedon and his ilk. I just don't think it will stick just because of the nature of television. Fox should be expecting ratings in the high 3's low 4's if they are going to greenlight this show, because thats all its going to get. If they are expecting more, the DVD set will be out in a few months.

 

 

[Atticus Chaos 0]

I thought Joss vowed to never work with fox again?

[Mecha Mummy 0]

I thought Joss vowed to never work with fox again?

 

There was apparently a regime change that made him change his mind on the matter.

[Ravenbomb 0]

And the growing list of characters with weird names Dusku has played gets one more name added.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

btw they should call it ECHO instead of DOLLHOUSE.

[luke-o 0]

But they have a house with girls that are being used as dolls, so it kind of makes sense.

 

As you all know, I'm not the biggest fan of Whedon, Firefly was ok and Serenity would have been good if my housemate hadn't claimed it was better than Star Wars. And Buffy was just meh, the first three seasons were good but everything after that was crap. Angel was pretty balls too.

 

This sounds like a good concept, but as someone else said, I wouldn't mind if Whedon never did anything again.

[Ripper 0]

But they have a house with girls that are being used as dolls, so it kind of makes sense.

 

As you all know, I'm not the biggest fan of Whedon, Firefly was ok and Serenity would have been good if my housemate hadn't claimed it was better than Star Wars. And Buffy was just meh, the first three seasons were good but everything after that was crap. Angel was pretty balls too.

 

This sounds like a good concept, but as someone else said, I wouldn't mind if Whedon never did anything again.

 

That sounds like retard logic honestly.

 

And Angel was awesome.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

It was better than Star Wars................................ prequels.

[Ravenbomb 0]

I'm not crazy about Star Wars, actually. I can appreciate that they were groundbreaking technically and everything, but given a choice between the two, I'd probably pick Serenity.

[Ripper 0]

Either a movie is good or it isn't. What another person said about said movie has nothing to do with its quality at all.

 

Thats like the people that say they don't like Shawshank Redemption because so many people said it was the greatest movie ever. So now you claim a movie isn't good because of something someone else said about it. Retard logic.

 

And yeah. I liked serenity better also. because the dialogue wasn't pure crap.

[starvenger 0]

I thought Joss vowed to never work with fox again?

Funny what a little extra green will do, eh?

[Hawk 34 0]

Why do networks still bother with this guy?

[Jingus 0]

Because out of his three tv shows, two were proven ratings hits and critically acclaimed, and the third sold so damn many DVD box sets that they made it into a movie?

[starvenger 0]

Because out of his three tv shows, two were proven ratings hits and critically acclaimed

A peak rating of 118th (2000-01), and a 5.4 million viewers for season three. But since it's on a weblet... it's all relative

 

I don't really care much for Whedon outside of Astonishing X-Men, but I do think the guy always talks a good game, so getting another show doesn't surprise me that much.

 

[Anakin Flair 0]

Well, it sounds like a good show, but everybody here knows what will happen- Fox will preempt it, postpone it, move it around the schedual so many damn times that nobody remembers when it's on, and it will be canceled after 5 episodes. The last two eps will then get added onto the DVD box set.

[Craig Th 0]

I hope they make the 7 before they cancel it. Or a whole season, IE, Buffy Season 1.

[dubq 0]

Because out of his three tv shows, two were proven ratings hits and critically acclaimed

A peak rating of 118th (2000-01), and a 5.4 million viewers for season three. But since it's on a weblet... it's all relative

 

I don't really care much for Whedon outside of Astonishing X-Men, but I do think the guy always talks a good game, so getting another show doesn't surprise me that much.

 

Really, that's probably one of the worst things of his you could actually care about. That and Alien Resurrection.

[starvenger 0]

Well, I never got into the the Buffyverse and I'm into X-Men, so you can see where my Whedon likes might be contrary to the norm...

[luke-o 0]

Either a movie is good or it isn't. What another person said about said movie has nothing to do with its quality at all.

 

Thats like the people that say they don't like Shawshank Redemption because so many people said it was the greatest movie ever. So now you claim a movie isn't good because of something someone else said about it. Retard logic.

 

And yeah. I liked serenity better also. because the dialogue wasn't pure crap.

 

It isn't really retarded logic.

 

I went into the theatre to watch a film that was promised to me as being better than Star Wars. It wasn't. Not by a long shot. So I came out of the cinema thinking, "that was good, but not as good as Star Wars".