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Dollhouse

KoshFan

Regular
Joss Whedon -- the creator of Buffy and Firefly -- has a new TV show in the works. He's teaming up with Tim Minear, his partner in crime on Firefly, and Eliza Dushku, who played Faith on Buffy and is a) quite the actress and b) a real cutie (check out this thread over in NC17 for pics: http://b5tv.com/showthread.php?t=10051).

It's only just been announced, no word yet on when it will be released, and it's going to be on Fox so expect it to last a few seconds. But they should be good seconds.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

Why is he still with Fox ?

I don't think he has much of a choice there.

Anyways .. good news, also if it only lasts a few seconds :D .. while I'm not too huge a fan of Eliza Dushku (she truely annoyed me as Faith in the early seasons .. I got to learn to stand her later on, though) .. anything touched by Joss Whedon = worth the time.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

This should provide some information (about what the show is about and apparently there is already a seven episode commitment).

Good news indeed, I suppose - I can't say the description interests me, but anything Whedon would at least be worth checking out. It might be a pleasant surprise.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

Dollhouse it is, then.

Good news indeed, I suppose - I can't say the description interests me, but anything Whedon would at least be worth checking out. It might be a pleasant surprise.

Seems to be a trend with Whedon shows :D .. I did not touch Buffy for years as the premise just sounded so stupid to me.

And neither Angel nor Firefly had a premise that looked in any way interesting on paper.

God knows what will happen if Whedon ever makes a show out of a GOOD concept :p
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

Why is he still with Fox ?

I read an interesting article about this. Some folks in TV, if they are good enough, get signed to "Exclusive" contracts with TV networks. Tim Minear is one of those people. Fox has him under an exclusive contract, so whatever shows he comes up with, it is for Fox --- he has no option to shop around. That is why Drive was on Fox, and that is why his new show is on Fox.

Now I don't know of Joss has an exclusive deal with Fox either, but its possible he might because Firefly was his last TV stint.

So its on Fox more than likely because it has to be.

chilli said:
And neither Angel nor Firefly had a premise that looked in any way interesting on paper.

This, more than any other reason, is why I think Joss's TV shows like Firefly fail --- and I don't entirely blame the networks.

Joss is a brilliant guy. He can come up with ANY idea and turn it into an amazing TV show. His problem is that he comes up with concepts that are HARD TO MARKET to Average Joe Citizen.

Take Firefly on paper. Ok, its a show that takes place in space in the future (sci-fi) yet deals with people being out on the "frontier" (western) and has elements of Drama, Government conspiracies, action and comedy all rolled in. If you are a TV executive who sees a description of this show come across your plate, and its your job to come up with an Ad campaign to get people interested in watching it, HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO IT?!?!

Firefly caught on with the Joss fans....but it needed to have MORE fans than that to succeed. It was a hard show to market. It needed to be allowed to grow (like it has on DVD sales).

So I can only wonder what the concept of this new show will be and if there will be enough buzz to get people into it, AND if Fox realizes that Joss has some skills because Firefly did well and was turned into a movie that they could have gotten a profit off of if they were smart....and will let his show have a bit of a chance this time.

Either way good news.

Oh, and Eliza is in my Top 5, so I'm happy about that. :)
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

This, more than any other reason, is why I think Joss's TV shows like Firefly fail --- and I don't entirely blame the networks.

Neither do I.

But I do entirely blame networks for only thinking about this AFTER they've commissioned a show, started producing it, got their (GOOD) results, but .. before they even tried airing it.

I do understand that TV is, basically, a business like any other. In any other business, indecisive stupidity like that would get you sacked. :D
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

I do understand that TV is, basically, a business like any other. In any other business, indecisive stupidity like that would get you sacked. :D

If you were a business CEO, you'd be getting a million dollar bonus for it, instead. ;)

All joking aside, perhaps there is a bit of a link between the truly horrifying stupidity of a business CEO and this American television lack of patience with a new series. Both are now focussed almost exclusively on making not just profit, but massive profits.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

I read an interesting article about this. Some folks in TV, if they are good enough, get signed to "Exclusive" contracts with TV networks. Tim Minear is one of those people. Fox has him under an exclusive contract, so whatever shows he comes up with, it is for Fox --- he has no option to shop around. That is why Drive was on Fox, and that is why his new show is on Fox.

Now I don't know of Joss has an exclusive deal with Fox either, but its possible he might because Firefly was his last TV stint.

So its on Fox more than likely because it has to be.

More to the point, Eliza's got an exclusive deal with Fox; they want her to star in a show, she got Joss involved because he's the best show-maker she knew. It's her gig as much as his, and if it's hers it has to be on Fox.


As to the growth/profits issue: M*A*S*H* had pretty bad ratings its first season, and that was when it was only up against two other channels! That's as good a reason as any for allowing shows some time... but that doesn't really make sense to the suits these days, because we live in an instant-gratification culture.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

More news today: there's a rumor going around that Tamoh Peniket (BSG's Helo) has been cast opposite Dushku, along with a bunch of minor/unknown actors in the other lead parts.

Take it with salt, and ponder the implications for BSG, but I think it's promising.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

More news today: there's a rumor going around that Tamoh Peniket (BSG's Helo) has been cast opposite Dushku, along with a bunch of minor/unknown actors in the other lead parts.

Take it with salt, and ponder the implications for BSG, but I think it's promising.

Tis no rumor. Peniket is, indeed, going to be in Dollhouse! I think it's frakkin' great! And I'm sure Antony's libido will be very healthy indeed, as will mine.

As for implications for BSG, there will be none. BSG is currently filming the final eps and will be long completed by the time shooting will most likely begin on Dollhouse.

As for FOX and why the hell Joss is going through them...it's called money. From what I recall about this project, it was shopped around and FOX snatched it up. Now Joss just has to hope they don't poop on it as they did with Firefly.

Another great example I often use (because it involves FOX who has become the greatest perpetrator of the 5 minute attention span) is X-Files, which struggled until its 3rd season. Back then the fledgling FOX network held on to anything that looked like it might be working and gave it the chance to grow. Too bad they don't learn from their own lessons.

CE
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

Joss is going back to Fox because this is really Eliza's deal -- she's got producer credit and all -- and her contract is with Fox. So Joss has said himself.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

As for FOX and why the hell Joss is going through them...it's called money. From what I recall about this project, it was shopped around and FOX snatched it up. Now Joss just has to hope they don't poop on it as they did with Firefly.

What I heard is that Eliza Dushku still has an exclusive with Fox, and they approached HER for what they wanted out of her contract and career. She basically got together with Joss and he tossed the idea together, and it became something that Dushku and Fox were interested in. So I don't think Fox approached him at all.

edit:
Yea....what Koshfan said.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

As for FOX and why the hell Joss is going through them...it's called money. From what I recall about this project, it was shopped around and FOX snatched it up. Now Joss just has to hope they don't poop on it as they did with Firefly.

I hope he put a clause in the contract that allows him to sell the show to a second network when Fox gets bored with the show.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

What I heard is that Eliza Dushku still has an exclusive with Fox, and they approached HER for what they wanted out of her contract and career. She basically got together with Joss and he tossed the idea together, and it became something that Dushku and Fox were interested in. So I don't think Fox approached him at all.

edit:
Yea....what Koshfan said.

I had not heard that. Thanks guys for the info. It is standard to shop new shows around and go with the biggest bidder. It's not unheard of for a creator to go with a network that's "screwed" them in the past if the deal is sweet enough or they think they can get a protective clause or two in the contract.

But the way it happened also happens. Cool beans...we still get more Joss Whedon creativity!

CE
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

According to the story Eliza met Joss over lunch and said, "I need a showrunner, and you're the best. Got any ideas?" Joss said, "No, not at the moment." Then Joss went to the restroom, came back, scrawled something on a napkin and said, "I've got it."
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

Here's more news, collected and distilled:

Cast:
Eliza Dushku [Buffy, Tru Calling] as Echo
Enver Gjokaj [not much] as Victor, another Doll/Active
Dichen Lachman [also not much] as Sierra, another Doll/Active, the closest thing Echo has to a friend
Miracle Laurie [astonishingly little] as November, another Doll
Olivia Williams [Rushmore] as Adelle DeWitt, who runs the Dollhouse
Harry J. Lennix [Titus] as Boyd, Echo's handler
Fran Kranz [nothing major] as Topher Brink, the Dollhouse tech guru
Amy Acker [Angel] as Dr. Claire Saunders, who looks after the Dolls (Acker getting cast is a shocker to absolutely no one)
Tahmoh Penikett [BSG] as Paul Smith, an FBI agent obsessed with the Dollhouse in general and Echo in particular

Echo, Sierra, November, and Victor (note the highly impersonal nomenclature) are called either Dolls or Actives. They have varying degrees of personality when Inactive, ranging from child-like Victor to Echo, who starts remembering things she's not supposed to. When Active they're pretty much whatever they're programmed to be. The Dolls are programmed to perform perfectly in scenarios, mostly catering to the fantasies of the ludicrously wealthy.

For writing and production, it seems Joss has in essence imported the Angel crew, with plenty of people who worked on Buffy and Firefly as well -- or worked on all three. The first read-through of the script is very soon, possibly even today; the show will be pitched to advertisers in mid-May. Set construction has begun.
 
Re: New Joss Whedon show

Sounds wonderfully creepy, and full of the kind of misogeny that will get rampant feminists with no sarcasm awareness reaching for their pitchforks...
 

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