Während sich die Menschheit langsam zur Dollhouse-Technik hinarbeitet, gibt es hier drüben ein paar Gedanken zum derzeitigen Science-Hype im TV. Dollhouse kommt sehr gut weg:

The current masters deal in out-of-body, back-in-time, parallel universe, cybernetic and robotic issues. They don't rip headlines so much as tear the space-time continuum.

They hire M.I.T. script advisers to keep the quantum physics real.

They're blinding me with science.

As you can perhaps tell, I've just screened "Dollhouse," the upcoming Fox sci-fi drama from Joss Whedon. Clever, fast-paced, futuristic and starring Eliza Dushku, it's slated to begin Feb. 13. I have that happily hungry feeling, like I need to watch the pilot twice. This series is going to be as riveting as it is eagerly anticipated.

In a secret lab, "Handlers" program "Actives" to do whatever needs doing, wiping their minds clean and implanting whatever memories will serve the purpose — extra languages, professional skills, martial arts, whatever suits the next assignment. What happens when an Active goes rogue? (No Sarah Palin jokes, please.) In "Dollhouse," matters of bioethics are at the fore.

Jau für postive Resonanz!

Als ich vor ein paar Tagen über schier unglaubliche ecken und Kanäle ans Drehbuch zum ursprünglichen Dollhouse-Piloten "Echo" kam, war mein Urlaub sehr versüßt worden. Eine längere Rezension samt Inhaltsangabe sollte folgen, sobald ich wieder da bin. Aber das Internet ist natürlich schneller.

Spoiler TV hat eine Sammlung an 22 Pilot-Scripts anzubieten, gemütlich zum online schmökern. Darunter Ron Moores Virtuality, das Dollhouse den Post-American Idol-Platz wegschnappende Lie to Me, Nathan Filion's Castle und eben... Dollhouse' "Echo". Gehet hin und leset. Wer Lust hat, kann sich heute Abend im fluc mit mir darüber unterhalten.

Mein Online-Senf folgt dann später.

Ein sehr netter Artikel:

The actor will also have to dodge Whedon fans' anxiety over "Dollhouse." Rife with rewrites and reshoots, the series' troubled production has been documented online by those who remember all too well the doomed trajectory of Whedon's last show, “Firefly,” but Penikett is too excited to care.

"I don't like panicking," he said while relaxing over an Americano in Century City's Clementine cafe. "I'm also old enough now where I try not to stress over things too much."

Like Karl "Helo" Agathon, the loyal lieutenant he plays on the Sci Fi's space opera, Penikett lived day to day aboard "Battlestar," a show that's won Peabody Awards and the adoration of critics but never reached an audience big enough to guarantee long-term survival. His risk on "Dollhouse" is even bigger: Not only will the show need to find a much larger audience than did "Battlestar," but Penikett will also have to transition from supporting player to leading man.

His "Battlestar" costar Katee Sachoff doesn't think his transition will be much of a problem, recalling her first impression of Penikett: "I thought, 'I'm in a relationship. He's hot,' " she said. But seriously, she added, the actor has always been ripe for a meatier role. "He's really introspective and smart, that was always clear."

Whedon, a very vocal "Battlestar" fan, echoed the sentiment. "I don't know where it comes from, but Tahmoh has this wonderful sadness amidst being tall and handsome and strong. He was the first name I came up with to play Paul.

"He brought up this book I'd read, Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Never Let Me Go,’ that I'd completely forgotten about as a precursor to 'Dollhouse,' " Whedon said. "At that point we just absolutely clicked." (Penikett said Whedon's reaction was more like: "Oh, my God, I think I jacked the idea from there!")

In the first episode of "Dollhouse," Paul is revealed to be a lethal combination of loner and relentless cop. Penikett couldn't resist.

"I've been wanting to play someone darker. Helo's got his demons, but ultimately he's the most moral, ethical, family-man hero there is," Penikett said. "Paul, you question right off the bat. He's divorced, doesn't have a lot of friends, messed up career-wise a few times and very self-righteous. I immediately wanted to play around with this guy."

If you take the ratings out of the equation, Penikett has had a rather charmed career so far. After growing up the oldest of three kids in Canada's Yukon region, he studied drama in Vancouver and went to work on the city's various productions, including "Dark Angel," "The L Word," "Smallville" and the Canadian police procedural "Cold Squad." His initial stint on the "Battlestar" miniseries turned permanent once the project was ordered to series.

"I knew 'Battlestar' would go on for a while. You could feel it," Penikett said.

He added that the feeling was the same on "Dollhouse" -- even while he was having a tough time keeping track of his character's now-jumbled story. "One of the writers told me they had to make a chart for Paul's arc to keep it all straight," he said. "We just shot Episode 9, and I'm only now beginning to figure things out."

They're all good things, he added quickly with a laugh. But patience will be key.

Oh, ich mag diese chart-Idee!

Die, die damals noch so begeistert waren vom Drehbuch zu "Echo", sind nun not amused. Im großen und ganzen scheinen sie etwas auf der "es wurde zu sehr vereinfacht"-Schiene zu laufen. Aber den fehlenden Humor bekritteln sie auch. Beides ist mir persönlich egal, aber dass so viele Leute schon so merkwürdig darauf reagieren, könnte Ratings-mäßig schief laufen. Oder es kommt zum wirklichen Knaller: Joss Whedon schafft erstmals eine critically un-acclaimed, aber kommerzielle erfolgreiche Serie. Das wär doch auch mal was.

Auch wieder positiv und negativ:

Hour One: Dollhouse

This one was of particular interest, given a) the long absence of fan-favourite fantasist Joss (Buffy) Whedon from our TV screens, and b) the characteristic abuse heaped upon him by a meddling and trigger-happy Fox network (one word: Firefly).

The resulting pilot shows aspects of both: a nifty concept, sporadically witty dialogue, a way-cool set (Whedon is as masterfully visual as he is verbal) ... and several glaringly dumbed-down story issues he clearly had to compromise on to even get the thing on the air.

I will not spoil it for you, except to warn you of one particular, ludicrously coincidental plot point that will cause you to spout whatever beverage you are drinking out through your nose (in my case hot coffee – it wasn't pretty).

I also worry about lead actor Eliza Dushku, who is supposed to be playing a radically different character every week, for which I seriously doubt she has the range.

Apparently, one of these will be a 60-year-old woman and it's a pretty safe bet it ain't gonna be another Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button.

There is also the show's unfortunate resemblance to the quickly cancelled My Own Worst Enemy.

Of all my Sunday screeners, this is the one we'll have the longest wait for, debuting in its Friday-night "death slot," with a relocated Terminator as its lead-in, on Feb. 13.

That's Friday the 13th.

I'm just saying.

Die Frage nach Elizas Range nervt schön langsam, weil sie a) viel zu simpel, und b) nach einer Folge schlicht nicht beruteilbar ist. Das hier neu angeführte (und problematisierte) "dumbing down" ist allerdings interessant. Ich gehör nicht zu denen, die davor Angst haben. Fox wollte Firefly down-dumben, und das Ergebnis war der Übergang von "Serenity" zu "The Train Job". Immer noch großartig.

Wow, wie ich gezittert habe, dass diese Forum in den ewigen Jagdgründen des Internetzs verschwunden sein würde. Aber dan hat es wiedergeholt, das beste Dollhouse-Forum da draußen:

https://www.dollhousetvforum.com

Okay, ich glaube angesichts der vielen, merkwürdigen negativen Meldungen bezüglich des Clips, hier mal mein Take, den ich grad nem Freund schrieb:

gut, bis sehr gut. wie schon beim ersten piloten sind 2 sehr ruhige, merkwürdige minuten ausgewählt worden, die kaum aufschluss geben über das ganze. strange pr-strategie. aber vielleicht gibt es einfach keine trailer-moments in dem ganzen zeug. der dialog ist aber spot-on whedon-subtilität und charakterisierung. shakespeare und arendt, exposition und creepiness, und das alles in 2 unwichtigen (sag ich mal) minuten. das hat schon potential, doch doch.

Soviel mal vorerst. Vielleicht später mehr.

Während sich Gerüchte mehren, dass manche Terminator-Fans Angst davor haben, Dollhouse würde ihre Show in den Abgrund reißen (wtf?!), haben wir am Fan-Wiki folgende süße Nachricht erhalten:

Hi, Whedon fans!

I'm wiki member "Raivon" and I'm here to make a proposal. As you all know, Dollhouse is premiering on Friday nights, a position that has earned the reputation as the "good show graveyard", and will be coupled with Josh Friedman's brilliant series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles".

TSCC is a rising star that has the potential to become one of the greatest sci-fi shows ever created, but has unfortunately received poor ratings for its second season (due to its Monday night position and the decline in overall viewing for FOX shows). However, the show is greatly adored by its fans and has maintained a level of loyal viewers (typically over 5.0 million every episode), which has led to FOX granting TSCC a chance to grow a larger fan base by moving it to Friday nights and partnering it with Dollhouse.

I am a fan of both TSCC and Whedon's creations, having followed all seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", all five seasons of "Angel", and the short-lived wonder that was "Firefly". Whedon's protege in "Firefly", Summer Glau, has taken her extraordinary talents from playing the psychotic River Tam and transferred those wonderful skills to the portrayal of Cameron Phillips, a deadly and adorable cyborg in TSCC.

So it is my hope that when February 13th 2009 arrives, all the Whedon and Dollhouse fans will tune-in one hour earlier and watch TSCC too. Terminator fans will likewise stay tuned for another hour and watch Dollhouse. By helping each other, we can garner a healthy level of viewers to keep both shows afloat. Our combined loyalty to these two brilliant shows can ensure a bright future for sci-fi television. Together we can earn at least five seasons for both shows.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope our two respective fanbases can band together.

Ich kann zwar von hier aus nicht viel machen (Ratings und Nielsen-wise), aber gut zu wissen, dass es auch den Wunsch nach Fan-Kollaboration gibt.

Haha:

Asked about appearing in Dollhouse, Harris laughed. "Wow! Well, you know, I'm in CBS' corner right now because of How I Met Your Mother, so I don't know that I'd be able to, but I think it's produced by 20th Century Fox, so, you know, they're sort of cousins," he said. "That would be fun! All right. I'll ask Joss! I like being a cousin in the Whedon family, so whatever he wants me to do. Except porn."

No Joss porn?

"Well, twice," Harris said, with tongue in cheek. "It will drop next year. And, you know what I mean by 'drop.'"

I really don't. Kann mir wer erklären, was diese letzten paar Sätze heißen?

Oh ja, verlibet ich bin:

I know we said we weren't exchanging this year, but I saw this exclusive Dollhouse clip while out shopping this weekend and, well, I just had to get it for you guys.

The set-up: The following scene from the Feb. 13 premiere is the first time we see Echo (Eliza Dushku) wake up after having her memories wiped in the special memory-flushing chair. That 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.

Long story short: Coolest. Stocking. Stuffer. Ever.

Link

Die beiden Entertainment-Chefs bei Fox, Peter Liguori und Kevin Reilly, geben ein Interview:

CI: Many people were surprised that you didn't put Whedon's "Dollhouse" in one of those post-"Idol" spots, instead opting for the relatively sleepy zone of Fridays. Why put such a buzzed-about show on that night?

Liguori: It's a night where there's not a hell of a lot of competition. So we're able to get the show on there. We're able to allow the show to grow. The expectations may be slightly lower for its performance.

Reilly: By nature, this show has a particular kind of audience. That's just what Joss does. You could say, why "Lie to Me" [on Wednesdays] after "Idol"? I think that's a broader show. You don't want to put in something with more of a sci-fi bent.

(...)

CI: On Mondays, you've had "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," which has struggled for traction in its second season and is about to move to Fridays to join "Dollhouse." Why's "Sarah Connor" so ratings-challenged?

Reilly: Overall, the numbers are not where we hoped they'd be. And yet it has a very, very loyal core audience. Ultimately, moving it to Fridays, pairing it with "Dollhouse," felt like a cohesive strategy, two very compatible shows. Hopefully the Joss loyalists will show up.

Oh yes, we will.

Ein paar Dollhouse T-Shirts gefällig? Ich würde mal nicht darauf wetten, dass die offiziell sind, aber trotzdem schön zu sehen, dass es sowas schon gibt.

Derzeit kommt wohl wieder ne Menge Presskits an, denn auch IGN rezensiert nun brav die erste Folge:

So… I've seen the first episode of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. Yes, the much anticipated, much discussed, much stressed over -- by Whedon fans nervous about network tampering -- series arrived on my desk yesterday.

As you may have read by now, Dollhouse tells the tale of Echo (Eliza Dushku), a young woman working (though some would use more damning words) for a mysterious company as an "Active." Her memories have essentially been wiped clean, leaving her in a simplistic, childlike state... until she gets an assignment, at which point she has a completely new identity and skill set imprinted upon her, as she temporarily becomes whomever the client wants or needs her to be for a given situation.

The show doesn't feel like anything Joss Whedon has done before, in ways both positive and negative. On one hand, it's great that the man who brought us such amazing television as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly (all among my very favorite TV shows) is creating another new world and a series that isn't directly evoking his earlier work or feeling like a simple copy of something he's done before. And there's no doubt he's come up with an idea that is noteworthy and raises lots of intriguing questions.

On the other hand, some small moments aside, the first episode – and note, this is the new first episode, replacing the earlier one which has been discarded – is surprisingly lacking when it comes to the trademark wit Whedon is known for. Even the most outwardly geeky character, Topher (Fran Kranz), has only some mildly amusing lines rather than anything all that funny or memorable, and he's the type of clever audience proxy and/or sarcasm supplier Whedon usually excels at.

There is definitely a strong concept at work here – In a nutshell, you have a show that feels like Alias meets The Matrix, which is a pretty cool combination. The idea that Echo and her fellow "actives" can have any identity and skill imprinted upon them means the show has tremendous opportunities as far as exploring very different scenarios and even delving into multiple genres, depending on what Echo is sent to do each week. Without getting specific, the two scenarios in the first episode do a good job showing how very different these situations can be, as one is basically about romance and excitement, while the other is truly about life or death.

Simply by virtue of the way he is investigating the rumors of "the Dollhouse" – the nickname given to the place where the actives live and are programmed – Tahmoh Penikett's FBI agent Paul Ballard feels a bit disconnected from the main story in the first episode, but that will no doubt change as time goes on. The always dependable Olivia Williams and Harry Lennix meanwhile quickly resonate as two of Echo's bosses, who have very different sensibilities regarding Echo and the other actives – and the morality of what they are doing.

There have been questions regarding Dushku, and if the actress – so often cast as the tough girl – is the right person to pull off a role that will presumably need to show a tremendous amount of range. The first episode leaves the answer to that question unclear. Certainly, Dushku seems a bit more at home in one of the personas (hint: it's the more lighthearted one) we see her playing than the other, but she also doesn't embarrass herself in the least in the other. Whedon is clearly going to ask a lot of her in the episodes to come, and as a longtime fan of Dushku (Faith ruled!), I'm definitely pulling for her.

The first episode lacked a certain energy Whedon's work usually has, and I felt myself thinking "this is interesting", without actually getting caught up in the story on a visceral level. It should be noted that Whedon has said that FOX has asked for the show to be more action-oriented, but that's not exactly the case in the pilot, which has thriller elements, but not much in the way of kicking ass – at least not from Echo as yet. That's not to say this (or any) show needs gun play and martial arts to be exciting, but there was a certain overly mellow tone to the entire episode that was surprising – one only need look at an episode like Buffy's "The Body" to see how much Whedon can do with dialogue and emotion alone.

FOX infamously demanded a new pilot for Firefly -- though Whedon is quick to point out that shooting a new first episode for Dollhouse was his suggestion this time -- and the result, "The Train Job" was one of the weaker episodes of that wonderful series and far from the best example of all Firefly could be. Still, it did have that pivotal moment where Malcolm Reynolds kicked a tough talking prisoner into an engine that made you sit up and go, "Oh yes, this is a Joss Whedon show alright!" Unfortunately, the Dollhouse pilot has no such moment, either in dialogue or action. It's certainly laying the foundation for something that can be quite compelling, but in and of itself, the first episode doesn't exactly grab hold in the manner I hoped for.

However, the circumstances under which this episode was made, as part of a decision to re-tool the series, have to be taken into account and I'm definitely curious where the series will go in future episodes. Whedon has proven his talent time and again his involvement is reason enough to make Dollhouse a show worth keeping on your radar… and your DVR settings.

Link

Sind ebenso verwundert wie die Leute gestern:



The Daily Blink got one of those posable figures for drawing along with the screener for Joss Whedon’s new Fox series “Dollhouse.”

The series is about an “underground group of individuals who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas,” the box says.

The Daily Blink supposes the figure is in reference to that clean-slate idea, but the Daily Blink thinks paper dolls that you could dress up as anything you want them to be (“Who do you want me to be?” is printed all over the box) would have made more sense. Good luck finding clothes to dress up your drawing figure.

Link