New Joss Whedon TV Series - Dollhouse

[Rico]

Interesting.  Now that is some future planning & thinking ahead.

[Geekyfanboy]

Man this sounds like deja vu..

Joss Whedon: Welcome to the New Dollhouse

Natalie Finn Tue Jul 22, 11:51 AM ET

Los Angeles (E! Online) - As all Buffy, Angel and Firefly fans know, when Joss Whedon gets it right, he gets it very, very right. And if he gets it wrong—he'd rather us not know it.
The writer-producer confirmed on his Whedonesque website today (via a faux Q&A with "Rutherford D. Actualperson" ) that he is reshooting the pilot for his upcoming Fox series Dollhouse after both he and some network execs—who picked up the Eliza Dushku-starring sci-fi drama earlier this year based on concept alone—became concerned that his intended opener didn't make a whole lot of sense.

"What's that, you say? A second first? How can such a thing be? Does it defy the laws of all physics?" the show runner blogged.

"I said [the pilot] was grand, I didn't say it was comprehensible. I showed some scenes to David Lynch and he's all, 'whuh?' Bad sign. But I kid," assured Whedon.

"The fact is, I'm very proud of the ep we shot and the series is making me crazy with the excitement. But I tend to come at things sideways, and there were a few clarity issues for some viewers. There were also some slight issues with tone—I was in a dark, noir kind of place (where, as many of you know, I make my home), and didn't bring the visceral pop the network had expected from the script. The network was cool about it, but not sure how to come out of the gate with the ep."

The intended pilot will instead be Dollhouse's second episode and the production delay isn't supposed to affect the Monday-night series' midseason premiere.

"Joss came to the realization that there was a better way to start the show," a spokesman for 20th Century Fox Television told Variety. "After he wrote episode two, he asked the network to use that as episode one."

The drama, about a group of Actives—or Dolls—who have had their minds wiped clean so that their Handlers can impress upon them any persona, information, or skill necessary to carry out a particular mission, also stars Angel alum Amy Acker, Tahmoh Penikett, Dichen Lachman, Fran Kranz, Olivia Williams and Enver Gjokaj.

During a live Q&A Monday with WashingtonPost. com readers, Whedon was asked where Dollhouse measured up on the funny scale alongside Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly.

"Less overt humor," Whedon responded. "Dollhouse is more a real-world piece. But asking me not to make jokes is like asking Monet to lose the lily pads. We've all got our tics."

[Geekyfanboy]

Whedon's "Dollhouse" Halts Filming
By Garth FranklinThursday, September 11th 2008 12:05am

Joss Whedon's new drama "Dollhouse" shut down production on Thursday for a couple of weeks to work on scripts, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Creator/executive producer Whedon, who has been busy directing the first two episodes of the series, asked Fox for a timeout as he wasn't completely happy with the quality of upcoming scripts.

Shooting came to a halt just as the third episode of the new season wrapped. Filming will resume September 25th and the show will premiere in January.

[Geekyfanboy]

http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2008/10/27/whedon-throws-out-original-dollhouse-pilot/

Whedon Throws Out Original Dollhouse Pilot
October 27, 2008 by Michael Hickerson   || Category: TV

Fans concerned about Joss Whedon's upcoming series "Dollhouse" may be able to breath a sigh of relief today.  Over the weekend, Whedon took a few minutes to update fans on the current status of his mid-season Fox series on his blog at Whedonesque.

Whedon told fans that the original pilot has been "scrapped" and that the decision to do so was his.  The decision came after meetings with Fox execs, who wanted asked for changes.

"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," Whedon wrote.

Once Whedon took Fox's notes to "up the stakes, make the episodes more stand-alone, stop talking about relationships and cut to the chase" he made the decision that a new pilot was needed for the show.

The show was forced into a shutdown after the meeting that Whedon called "frustrating as hell," but says that the changes have made the show better in the long run.

"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," he wrote.

Whedon also assured fans that things are still on course for "Dollhouse."

"Nothing essential has changed about the universe," he said.  "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."

"Dollhouse" is set to debut next year on Fox.

[Rico]

Interesting comments.  What I don't ever get is why the changes are not made at the script stage before they spend time and money filming?  Maybe TV executives can't read?!?!   :roflmao

[Geekyfanboy]

Interesting comments.  What I don't ever get is why the changes are not made at the script stage before they spend time and money filming?  Maybe TV executives can't read?!?!   :roflmao

Well to be honest.. things can look and sound great in a script but once you visually see it (after shooting), it might not work. Happens all the time... and executives are idiots.

[Rico]

That's true Kenny, but it sounds like they had some pretty big issues with things.  I get the feeling they sort said, "hey Joss, go make us a show."  And when they saw it they wanted to change stuff.  I really thought if Joss ever came back to TV he would hold out for more control and say.  I hope this all works out because this show sounds like a great concept.

[billybob476]

it also seems like Joss keeps having issues with Fox in particular.

[KC]

The good sir Whedon actually posted a blog over at Whedonesque--which is quite a rarity, let me tell you--about what is going on with Dollhouse and the shenanigans going on behind the scenes with the network.  It's a really good read, especially with Joss's colloquial language.  I highly recommend checking it out. 

http://whedonesque.com/comments/17945

[Geekyfanboy]

New Trailer is out.. can't wait for this series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WwPpfyPUC8

[Geekyfanboy]

hmmm for some reason the link isn't working...

but if you click on it, it will take you to youtube and the video.

[billybob476]

hmmm for some reason the link isn't working...

but if you click on it, it will take you to youtube and the video.

I see it fine...

[Geekyfanboy]

hmmm seems to be working now...

[Rico]

Still looks great!

[Geekyfanboy]

This doesn't look too good.. give it the death slot.. oh well guess will have to wait and see.

Dollhouse Friday Debut Set

In a surprise move, Fox announced that it will debut Joss Whedon's much-anticipated but troubled SF series Dollhouse in a problematic Friday-night timeslot on Feb. 13, 2009, following Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which also moves to Fridays from Mondays on that day.

Dollhouse, starring Eliza Dushku, will air Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, nicknamed "the death slot." The X-Files flourished in that timeslot, but no other show has survived it, including Whedon's earlier Fox series, Firefly.

Sarah Connor, which has struggled in the ratings in its Monday 8 p.m. slot, moves to Fridays at 8.

Dollhouse was originally envisioned as a follow-up to Fox's hit 24 on Mondays. The show, which scrapped its original pilot and took several weeks off to retune its concept and scripts, is now in production.

Meanwhile, Fox's Fringe, the top new series of the season among adults aged 18-49, will air in its regular time period, Tuesdays at 9 p.m., and will undoubtedly get a boost from a new lead-in, American Idol, starting Jan. 20, 2009.