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Fox has said it will air all 13 episodes of Dollhouse this season, depsite it’s abysmal television ratings.  It might have something to do with it’s huge DVR audience — the largest in all of television.  The announcement doesn’t mean the show will get a third season, but hey, at least it won’t be abruptly cancelled. 

Said Preston Beckman: “If you cancel it, you’re an asshole; if you renew it and then don’t put it back on, you’re an asshole. I’m still paying for ‘Terminator.’ ‘Dollhouse’ has a small rabid fan base that in the world of social media seems bigger than it is. We gave them another season knowing full well we were going to burn in hell if we pulled it.”

As a bonus, series mastermind Joss Whedon says he’s writing Dollhouse’s season-two finale in such a way that it could serve as a series finale if it had to:

“We’ll definitely have closure, but will leave some doors open … When we got our first numbers, which were bad, the first thing [Fox president of entertainment] Kevin Reilly said was, ‘You’ll have all 13,’ which was great. They’re not going to pull the rug out from under us.”

Anyone who stuck around with Dollhouse after the uneven first five or six episodes was rewarded with some classic Joss Whedon storytelling.  Luckily for those peeps, FOX was kind enough to bestow a second season on the show — something they don’t normally do for low-rated sci fi. 

Season two starts tonight and hopefully it’ll really find it’s sea legs.  Based on the adendum episode “Epitaph One” we know the show is eventually going in the direction of a fullblown apocalypse with zombie human wrecking havoc on the world. 

That’s where we are headed, but for now Alpha is still running wild, Echo is beginning to remember her life and hold on to her identity, Ballard is now working for the Dollhouse and given the way Joss Whedon tells stories it’s going to make for some juicy tv.

Big TV Week for SciFi Fans

This is shaping up to be a big week of television for fans of science fiction. Monday we started with the two hour premiere of Heroes, which returns for its fourth season. Last year’s storyline was far superior to the lame second season, so it will be interesting how the show develops, especially given its ratings plummet since the first season.  I know a lot of people have jumped off the Heroes train, but it’s still be enjoyable for me. 

Tuesday saw the season finale of the pretty good–if not quite great–original SyFy series, Warehouse 13. They’ve done a decent job of mixing the world-in-peril stuff with the comic relief stuff, and the cast is uniformly appealing.  Not unlike Fringe and Dollhouse, the show struggled to define itself in the early going but really hit a good stride in the second half of it’s run.  Given that it’s the highest rated SyFy show ever, we will see a second season and that’s pretty exciting.  Especially how the season wrapped up on a good cliffhanger.

Tonight at 8 on ABC is the series premiere of Flash Forward, about what happens after the entire world blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds.  ABC has high hopes for the show and so far the previews have looked intriguing/promising. 

Following, on Fox, is actually the second episode of the second season of Fringe, a J.J. Abrams created series which is consistently intriguing and suspenseful and has one of the best characters on television. John Noble plays the goofably loveable (possibly insane) mad scientist, Walter Bishop. Again, an excellent cast throughout, in particular Anna Torv as a strong, yet vulnerable, FBI agent.  Now that the show is weaving a strong mythology into it’s weekly story arc, this one has become must watch tv for any lover of creepy sci fi.

For me, Friday is the cherry on the sundae. That is when we get the return of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. Admittedly, the first season was a little uneven. The appearance of Alan Tudyk toward the end definitely “kicked it up a notch.” BSG’s Tahmoh Penikett manages to play FBI agent Ballard as earnest and stoic without making him boring; and, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit I would probably watch Eliza Dushku reading the phone book.

Another Whedon Alumnus Finds a New Home

It looks as if Nathan Fillion has finally found a quality home after the ignominious loss (to us) of the brilliant Firefly. Since then–with the exception of Joss Whedon’s clever web vid. Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog, where Fillion did a great parody of the macho/heroic persona of Captain Mal–he hasn’t really had much to work with as an actor. Until this spring.

Castle was given a shortened (10 episode) first season, where it garnered decent ratings.

More importantly, it turned out to be good. Nathan plays Richard Castle, a wealthy and famous divorced novelist of murder mysteries, who manages to wangle his way into a squad of homicide detectives so he can observe the real cops in action. Stana Katic almost manages to out-Mariska Mariska Hargitay when it comes to playing the hard-assed and competent detective Beckett, who — just coincidentally, and often to her own frustration — happens to be heart-stoppingly beautiful. Of course, she finds the flirtatious Castle’s presence in the middle of her investigations to be a huge irritant; but, he’s a personal friend of the mayor’s, so what can she do?

Excellent cast of characters in support here, as well. Susan Sullivan is a kick as Castle’s mother, a one-time Broadway star. Molly Quinn is appealing as his pretty teenage daughter, who manages to be a good girl most of the time, while eschewing cuteness. Jon Huertas, Seamus Dever and Ruben Santiago Hudson are the other cops, who, to Beckett’s chagrin, all seem to enjoy having Castle around. I’m pretty confident that you’ll enjoy it, too.

Season premiere was last Monday, where it airs at 10 pm on ABC. You can also catch up with episodes on abc.com or Hulu.

Summer Glau — star of beloved canceled sci-fi series Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles — will join the cast of Dollhouse’s second season as “Bennett, a Dollhouse employee who shares a secret past with Eliza Dushku’s Echo.”

She’ll make her debut in Episode 5.

My excitement meter just went up a tick, given all the other sci-fy actors joining the cast: Jamie Bamber and Michael Hogan (Apollo and Saul Tigh from Battlestar Galactica), among a few others.

Io9 runs down the 2009 fall television listings for new and returning sci fi shows.  They’ve even provided launch dates and clips. 

Of the new shows, V and Fast Forward look the most promising; returning shows to look forward to include Dollhouse and Fringe. 

Fox has renewed Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse for a second season.  Changes are afloat, i.e. the budget will be considerably less, but this is good news for anyone who loves television that aims to push the boundaries of what is possible.

For stories on the renewal, go here and here.

Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune makes the observation that, “the campaign to renew “Dollhouse” probably wouldn’t have caught fire had Whedon never been allowed to make the weird, unsettling, unexpectedly moving and complex show that he ultimately came up with in the second half of “Dollhouse’s” season. When shows are given time to develop, when they’re allowed to be different, when they’re allowed to be ambitious and strange and challenging — all that can lead to the kind of fan passion that we’re talking about here.”

We finally caught up on the last few remaining episodes of Dollhouse last night and while we’re not still hooked on it, it’s a fairly solid show, with an interesting premise.  It’s also not a lawyer, cop or doctor procedural so that makes it practically apointment viewing.

Now, FOX just needs to take their hands off and let Joss be Joss.  He’s done a good job of establishing the show’s universe and the big bad for Season One – known as Alpha.

And now that Alpha’s “identity” has been spoiled by the show’s set designer Leonard Harman, we’re definitely not giving up because of the actor portraying the first active to go completely screwbluey.  MORE »

Joss Whedon says that starting with episode six, his new FOX show Dollhouse, might ascend to the heights of his previous efforts. 

In a note to reporters (or “Newsly Types,” as he puts it) accompanying a DVD of “Man on the Street” (airing March 20) and “Needs” (April 3), Whedon says, “These two episodes represent a much stronger vision of what I consider the show to be.”

The show has been a decent enough effort, but not appointment television.  My interest began to wain after episode three, not because the show was bad or anything, but because I don’t have time to waste my television hours on a ho-hum show. 

Still, Whedon knows how to build a show.  He’s laid a solid groundwork of characters, created an interesting universe, layered several mysteries to unravel and set up the season one big bad.  Not bad considering I’ve only watched three out of five episodes. 

With Battlestar Galactica ending next Friday, I’ll have room to replace that show with another.  Will Dollhouse solidify itself in my television lineup?  Hard to answer that question, but if Whedon is correct (and I trust him implicitly) then I may have to give his sci fi show another shot. 

Says Whedon in his missive, “For me, the question isn’t just whether a show is enjoyable, but whether it’s more than the sum of its fun, whether it truly touches, surprises or connects with you. These [episodes] may do none of the above — I’m not the boss of your opinion — but I feel strongly that they, and the eps to follow, are pretty intense, and very much worth the watching.”

I get the sense that the first six episodes had FOX meddling in them, but since the show lasted beyond that point, hopefully afterwards Whedon’s fingerprints will be much more evident. 

Prove it to me.

Not every network is going the Showtime route and letting you see the pilot episode (in this case “The United States of Tara”) a few weeks in advance for their buzzed-about midseason shows.

But if you are curious enough about Dollhouse, Caprica, Cupid, or Boldly Going Nowhere (a sci-fi sitcom spoof from the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia gang and easily my most anticipated new show) and the numerous midseason replacements, SpoilerTV has posted pilot scripts for 22 new TV series.

“If you dare to peek, take them with a grain of salt: Some of the shows have been rewritten, and there’s no guarantee that what you see will match what makes it to air,” says Whitney.

True, but you will get the flavor of the show and a hint of what is to be expected.   Still, we wish more networks would debut their shows online.  Who wouldn’t want to get a look at Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse to see if it is or isn’t a trainwreck.  Everyone I talk to is approaching this show with fingernails firmly bitten.

Matt Ausiello at EW got his hands on a new clip from Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. It’s strange that FOX seems to be doing everything possible to sabotage this show and we find it curious that Whedon after having the excellent Firefly assassinated by the network would allow that to happen again.

“Fox has saddled it with the confidence-killing, viewer-allergic time slot of Fridays at 9, meaning it’ll probably get canceled halfway through its first season and we’ll just end up disappointed,” writes the guys over at Vulture.

And with this clip, they’ve done Whedon fans and potential new viewers no favors by releasing what could be a boring clip.? There is nothing they are doing to get people excited about the Feb. 13 pilot.? Basically, the buzz is that despite being created by Joss Whedon people are still confused/not sure what to make of the show.? But because Whedon is involved and his track record is sheer excellence most are willing to hold out hope.

I would expect that this show could become a Hulu favorite, with lots of people watching on Saturday morning while nursing a hangover. That’s how this show should be judged and not be network ratings. What FOX should have done is paired this with American Idol or some such thing.

In the clip, we see the first time we see Echo (Eliza Dushku) wake up after having her memories wiped in the special memory-flushing chair which leads into a discussion between lab tech Topher (Fran Kranz) and Echo’s handler Boyd (Harry Lennix) about her last date, delving into just what being a doll/active means.

The damn is starting to break on Joss Whedon’s upcoming FOX show Dollhouse, which was conceived alongside star Eliza Dusku.� The idea for the show came during a lunch meeting between the two, according to an interview that Joss gave with the LA Times.

“But I was trying to get a movie off the ground, “Goners.” “Wonder Woman” had already crashed and burned. “Goners” they had already lost control of the instruments, but who knows? So things were not that auspicious, but I was working it. Not shunning television but not intending to come back. But as we discussed Eliza’s predicament, I started giving her some ideas about what I thought she would need: a genre show so she could be political without being partisan; an ensemble show so she didn’t have to be in every scene. And I thought about it for a bit and then literally went, oh, curse word, I just came up with the show and the title. And it was the title that I knew I was doomed. Because if you have the title, you know it’s right. And that’s just bad,” said Whedon.

“When we really discussed the whole thing, she said, ‘You’re talking about my life. In my life, everybody tells me who they want me to be while I try and figure out who I am.’ And that spoke to me. I agreed that I’ll write and maybe oversee the pilot. So I went home and said, ‘Honey, I’m sorry, I accidentally agreed to a Fox show at lunch.’”

The show is set up as a midseason replacement that will air as the lead in show to 24, probably as good as any time slot as you could hope.� It’s just dependent on how fatigued the audience is for 24. The past two seasons have been pretty poor quality wise.� Regardless, it’s a good slot for Joss and Eliza’s new show.

What’s interesting though, is that FOX is going to try a new advertising model with Dollhouse and the J.J. Abrams produced Fringe. According to the Hollywood Reporter, FOX has decided to show only five-minutes worth of commercials during the hour-long shows, which is significantly less than the standard 15-20 minutes.

“It’s a simple concept and potentially revolutionary,” Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori said. “We’re going to have less commercials, less promotional time, and less reason for viewers to use the remote. We’re going to redefine the viewing experience.”

But ultimately that depends on the quality of the shows.� Whedon and Abrams are two of the best in the business and now FOX needs to stand by them and support the shows by guaranteeing a full season order.� That’s one reason why people don’t become invested in shows right away, because there is no guarantee that the show will air for more than five or six episodes.

So, what can you expect of Dollhouse? Here’s the press release:

Joss Whedon, creator of groundbreaking cult favorites �Buffy the Vampire Slayer� and �Firefly,� returns to television and reunites with fellow �Buffy� alumna Eliza Dushku for a thrilling new drama, DOLLHOUSE.

ECHO (Dushku) is an �Active,� a member of a highly illegal and underground group who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Confined to a secret facility known as the �Dollhouse,� Echo and the other Actives including SIERRA (Dichen Lachman, �Neighbours�) and VICTOR (Enver Gjokaj, �The Unit�) carry out engagements assigned by ADELLE (Olivia Williams, �X-Men: The Last Stand,� �Rushmore�), one of the Dollhouse leaders.

The engagements cater to the wealthy, powerful and connected, and require the Actives to immerse themselves in all manner of scenarios romantic, criminal, uplifting, dangerous, comical and the occasional �pro bono� good deed. After each scenario, Echo, always under the watchful eye of her handler BOYD (Harry Lennix, �Commander in Chief,� 24), returns to the mysterious Dollhouse where her thoughts, feelings and experiences are erased by TOPHER (Fran Kranz, �Welcome to the Captain�), the Dollhouse�s genius programmer. Echo enters the next scenario with no memory of before. Or does she?

As the series progresses, FBI Agent PAUL SMITH (Tahmoh Penikett, �Battlestar Galactica�) pieces together clues that lead him closer to the Dollhouse, while Echo stops forgetting, her memories begin to return and she slowly pieces together her mysterious past. DOLLHOUSE revolves around Echo�s blossoming self-awareness and her desire to discover her true identity. But with each new engagement, comes a new memory and increased danger inside and outside the Dollhouse.

Sounds intrigueing and the premise leaves lots of room for Whedon to balance the mythology of the show with stand alone episodes.� Something he did to great effect with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Given the time he no doubt would have done it superbly with Firefly.

Update: Seat42F has an exclusive clip of the show.� I’m at work so I haven’t been able to watch.� The clip appears to be a finished scene and is, in all likelihood, out of context.� Take it for what you would.�

Zap2It has script reviews for two highly anticipated television projects. The first is for Fringe by JJ Abrams, starring Joshua Jackson (Pacey) and the second is Dollhouse by Joss Whedon, starring Eliza Dushku (whom I attended high school with when she was there and not filming some movie or whatnot).

Both series will air on FOX in the fall season.

Fringe is “going to be sold as FOX’s attempt to reclaim the X-Files demo that the network has jeopardized with the swift cancellation of too many shows from folks like Whedon and Tim Minear. The script lends itself to a large-scale pilot and it should leave viewers knowing exactly what to expect in the episodes to come, which is more than can be said for.” Also, getting into the JJ Abrams business is a good thing. His track record is fairly spotless and his following is very loyal.

The same thing can be said about Joss Whedon. His following is not so much loyal as it is messianic. But his track record with FOX is horrible. They’ve canceled every good show he’s done and not just his shows, but shows from Whedon’s acolytes like Tim Minear.

“While recognizably Whedonesque, Dollhouse finds Joss going in different direction, one that may be less quippy and less plot-driven than some might expect. The fans will still love it, I suspect, but will Dollhouse be able to find an audience beyond the Whedonverse? I’m not sure. So this could be one of those “Enjoy it while you’ve got it” gems.” That doesn’t sound good. Well it does, it just sounds like it will get canceled too soon.

In case you’re wondering how these could potentially play out as pilots, the article goes on to expound on what makes a compelling pilot.

A good pilot should do one of two things: It should either lay out the blueprint for the rest of the series or it should intrigue you so much that you can’t wait for the second episode. Fringe falls into the first category. It leaves almost nothing to the imagination in terms of what’s coming next. Dollhouse falls into the second category.

There’s a big rhinosaurus in the room for a lot of my friends. Many of them don’t quite no how to react when I admit my undying love for all things Joss Whedon. Sure, there’s probably a few of them who get it, but the majority of people don’t understand just how wonderful Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly truly are. I suspect this is the same for a lot of Whedon fans, because I suspect that we are a vocal majority on the internet and find comfort in people from across the globe that share that love. Out in the real world we are viewed as something akin to lepers.

I won’t bother with the histrionics of Whedon acolytes or with trying to convert the unconvertable. But I will say, that I have no shame in loving his television programming, his sense of female empowerment, his sense of verbal foreplay, or his deft blend of action and humor. His voice is unique in the same way that Judd Apatow’s voice is reshaping the scope of what a comedy can be. Both manage to make geek chic, in their own identifiable way.

And for that we say welcome back to the small tubes Joss. Hopefully, your next series with Eliza Dushku will be more of a success than your last venture with FOX.

Dushku will star in the Whedon-penned series “Dollhouse,” which has been given a seven-episode order by Fox. News came as an extra-big Halloween treat for Whedon fans, considered some of the most passionate in all of TV.

Produced by 20th Century Fox TV — the studio also behind “Buffy,” “Angel” and Whedon’s late, lamented “Firefly” – “Dollhouse” follows a top-secret world of people programmed with different personalities, abilities and memories depending on their mission.

After each assignment — which can be physical, romantic or even illegal — the characters have their memories wiped clean, and are sent back to a lab (dubbed the “Dollhouse”). Show centers on Dushku’s character, Echo, as she slowly begins to develop some self-awareness, which impacts her missions.

Sounds like an interesting concept, one that won’t see the cathoray tubes until Fall of 2008. Apparantly, the show started as a germ when Whedon and Dushku sat down for lunch to discuss her options after signing a talent deal with FOX. Tim Minear, a long time Whedon collaborator, is also involved with this project.

“It was a mistake!” Whedon said. “I sat down with her to talk about her options, and acted all sage, saying things backwards like Yoda and laying out what I thought she should do. But in the course of doing it, I accidentally made one up. I told it to her, and she said, ‘That’s exactly what I want to do.’ “

It should also be noted that Eliza Dushku went to high school with me, not that we were friends or anything but it was a small enough high school and she always seemed like a good person. I once acted in a few plays as a young lad. So you know, I’ve got that going for me.