Joss Whedon preps Fox series

[Sylph]

Joss Whedon preps Fox series

'Dollhouse' to star 'Buffy's' Eliza Dushku

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Joss Whedon is heading back to TV-- along with his "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" ingenue, Eliza Dushku.

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.

Whedon has already hammered out the basic outline for all seven segs. Barring a strike, Fox hopes to have the show in production by spring, giving the net an opportunity to be so far ahead of schedule by fall that it could potentially air a full season uninterrupted by breaks. Long lead time also gives Whedon, as well as the net and studio, plenty of time to evolve the show if need be.

"To be sitting here talking about episodes of a series in November; that's exciting," said Fox Entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly. "I think we're in great hands."

Whedon said he wasn't plotting a comeback to the smallscreen, having turned his attention back to features. But Dushku -- who last toplined 20th's and Fox's "Tru Calling" -- called up the scribe after sealing a talent deal with the studio and network this summer (Daily Variety, Aug. 27).

"He's my favorite genius," Dushku said. "And my favorite friend. He's been like a big brother ... and the only person out here I've ever wholeheartedly trusted, because he's never let me down."

What was originally simply a lunch to meet up and discuss Dushku's career options soon turned into a partnership, as Whedon threw out a random concept Dushku loved.

That germ of an idea turned into "Dollhouse."

"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.' "

Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Liguori had been pursuing Whedon about making a return to TV for some time, and said he couldn't believe his luck when Dushku brought him in the door.

"There was a lot of work and serendipity that came into this," said Liguori, who bought off-net runs of "Buffy" back when he ran FX. "Fortunately for him, his movie career was quite fertile, and he was only going to do something in TV that he felt quite passionately about. The guy has two unbelievable skills that are so rare: He's totally innovative creatively, and he's a terrific showrunner."

As a result, Whedon is suddenly once again donning the titles of exec producer-showrunner-creator-writer -- a job he didn't think he'd once again assume so quickly, particularly after the cancellations of "Angel" and "Firefly."

And because she helped convince Whedon to sign on to the project -- and had a hand in its creation -- Dushku will serve as a producer on the show.

"It's exciting to know that my voice and who I am as Eliza is going to be in this show every single week," she said. "I'm ready to take control of the person I want to be in this business."

Whedon said he and Dushku hammered out an idea they believed would showcase the thesp's wide range (having done comedy, like the feature "Bring It On," in addition to drama).

"She's someone who gets pigeonholed as doing one thing, but she's constantly changing and could do anything," Whedon said. "I said to her, do you want to do the same thing for seven years? This show comes from her particular circumstance. We can take this show to a lot of different places."

Dushku agreed -- and said she could relate to the idea of people's lives constantly being scrutinized, and being told who you should be.

"As actors, we're expected to play characters, and in a way it feels like people are trying to download the latest trend into a Hollywood actress and make them like everyone else," she said. "I even love my character's name, Echo. And I'm starting my training, so I can get into that 'Dark Angel'-on-crack shape where I can do everything."

Newman said the "Dollhouse" pitch reminded him of an earlier time, when Whedon brought the "Buffy" universe into being.

"He's creating this fascinating universe that's a little bit out of the ordinary," Newman said. "The emotions and experiences play beautifully as metaphors for real issues. ... His ability to combine suspense, humor, action and emotion is remarkable."

It's not the first time Whedon and Dushku have plotted to work together; the duo briefly flirted with creating a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" spinoff featuring her character, Faith. But the two ultimately decided not to pursue the idea.

Beyond Dushku's character, the show will also revolve around the people who run the mysterious "dollhouse" and two other "dolls," a man and woman who are friendly with Echo. Then there's the federal agent who has heard an urban myth about the dolls, and is trying to investigate their existence.

Whedon admitted there's a little dose of "The Matrix" in the plot -- "I do have that entire movie tattooed on my brain" -- and said "Dollhouse" will enable him and Dushku to explore some political and social issues.

Given Whedon's popularity as a sci-fi brand, Liguori said he wished the project had been ready to announce at ComiCon.

"He's got an unbelievably loyal following, and that's an earned brand," Liguori said. "So much of it is based on Joss' love of what he does and the genius of how he does it."

[Juliajms]

I kind of wish they had gone with the Faith the Vampire Slayer idea, but I'll watch this.

[Sylph]

If it gets made eventually.

[Skin]

I hated that psychotic tramp with a burning passion.

No, seriously I thought she was one of the worst Buffy characters EVAH!

[JackPeyton]

worse than Buffy herself? not possable.

[Cat]

Awww, c'mon, let's not be dissing the Buffster!

I just hope ED shakes off some of the Michael Easton mannerisms (hands-on-hips, husky-voice, rolling eyes). However, I didn't find her as annoying as Amy Acker (Fred) got in Season 5 Angel. And anybody remember that godawful Kennedy in BtVS's final season? {{{shudder}}}

I still sometimes wish Joss Whedon would pen something for Charisma Carpenter. Behind the Valley Girl voice, girl is seriously underrated as an actress. Still, I'll watch this. Just because it's, you know, Joss Whedon.

[Skin]

Really? I loved Buffy. True I thought she was immature and whiney when the series first started and could be alittle holier than- thou at times (who wouldn't be when you have to die so other people can live and when you had to protect an entire human race, ect.) but I thought as the series progressed she was one of the most dynamic tragic heroines in television history. I don't think Buffy gets enough credit, the show and the main protagonist. She was a hella better than those Halliwell sisters from that never-ending show "Charmed".

I think Elisha D. is a fine actress, she has a prescence about her and she does work best when she is portraying the crazed, deluded, psychotic vixen (she is just so-so in normal/ingenue/heroine roles) I know Whendon felt that she was one of the best actresses that he worked with and I just didn't see it. I thought that Alyson, Sarah, Emma and Amy were all stronger actresses then she was. She was a good guest star, however by comparison to the portrayals of villians such as David Boreanez, Clare Kramer, Juliet Landau, Harry Groener and even Julie Benz she was especially limited.

Kennedy was awful but I have to say that I thought Amy Acker (as Fred not Illyria) possesed a very human and likeable quality about her, that I just had to take notice.

[Bright Eyes]

I am already in love with this idea. I get people not liking Faith on Buffy but when she was on Angel and she and him became friends kind of, I loved her. But honestly Julie Benz is someone I really want to see back in action. Darla is the most underrated Buffy character of all.

[d_wsb]

Eliza Dushku!

I loved Faith. awww too bad it aint a spin-off of her.

I stopped watching Buffy when she was in college but I loved Angel and than I stopped that when Cordelia was killed off.

I really really wanted Cordy & Angel in the end (dont kill me )

[Skin]

Honestly I hated Faith just because they took her character way too far. They had her do too much to fast with no real catalyst or motivation for her change, which is quite odd in Buffy since Whendon ALWAYS looks for the grey in stuff. There is no absolute good or absolute evil. Their is always some inbetween in there. You can usually find some understanding in most of the characters and in general get where they are coming from and even get to genuiniely like the characters (even the villians). Faith was the exception. IMO. She was just introduced and executed completely wrong. She turned evil and we had no clue WHY. I mean for what purpose. I understand that she was lonely, isolated and all that crap. But why did she feel the need to go out and kill people? Especially since she was the slayer and wanted to originally kill the bad guys?

I just thought her fall from grace didn't make sense. One day she was fighting on the side of good, the next she is the Mayor's personal hitman killing humans left and right. She tried to kill both Xander and Willow the former even tried to help her and ended up being choked to death, then she tried to kill Buffy and then tried to kill Angel. The latter two multiple times. I just didn't understand her motivation and several times Buffy tried to help and reach out to her she was slapped in the face.

Then she went so far over the line and tried to kill Buffy's mother (a woman who was nothing but nice to her) and to top it off stole her body, used said body for sex and made Buffy go threw torture for her crimes! I just was never able to like Faith after that. I hated her so much in seasons 3 and 4 as well as in Angel seasons 1 and 4. I wanted Angelus to kill her. I just couldn't stand the ho anymore.

I will always and forever be a fan of the doomed tragic romance that was Buffy and Angel. Seasons 1-4 (Buffy) and Season 1 (Angel). "I Will Remember You" and "Becoming Part 2" are my all time favorite (saddest) episodes. I never saw the kind of chemistry between Angel and Buffy ever be duplicated even with the respective fandoms that they had with Cordelia, Darla and Riley, Spike.

[Skin]

I thought Drusilla was the most underrated. The woman had so much wealth as a character and they seemed to only want to develop her character as a loon, when she had one of the strongest backstories to develop. We never found out why she got those powers or how the murders of her family members and friends really affected her, we got no insight into her character. We just got what performences Juliet gave to us which were so ingenious that it worked.

I thought Darla was an interesting one. However I think they did as much with her as they could. She was in large part the biggest portion of Angel's season 2 and had a sizaeable part in season 3. They made her human, made her a mother, made her a vampire, gave her a soul and made her Angel's lover and then killed her off and gave her a moment of humanity. Something that was needed to make her sympathetic.

Julie Benz is on showtimes new drama "Dexter"

[Siggy]

As will I.

Darla and Dru were two of my favorite characters, but I loved them more on Angel than I did on Buffy. The exception was Dru's appearance on Buffy in Season 5 (I think). Faith is another character I liked more on Angel than Buffy.

I loathed Kennedy. Why, oh why, couldn't she have died?

[JackPeyton]

Angel & Cordelia will always be that one couple i watched for eve. wanted forever. crave forever. lusted forever.

and nothing. but that goodbye episode was the best episode of angel - ever.

i will always be a fan og angel over buffy. angel was such a more adult show.

[Skin]

Meh. Angel had it's moments. But I thought Buffy's characters were more real and more fleshed out. The characterization on Buffy was much more realistic, I also like that during it's entire 7 year run the core cast stayed together and the premise as a whole didn't change. They're was always the three best frineds that were united together and as a result were very likeable and human. It made you care about the characters and you had history and investment in the relationships which made the impact that much greater. Willow's descent into darkness was much more emotional and trying then Wesley's detachment from the group. Buffy's death to me was much more heartfelt then that of Doyle's when both died in similar ways.

I also felt that as a whole thier secondary characters were so well developed that they made you care about them and that made their deaths that more poignant and heartfelt. Tara, Joyce and Anya's death I will always remember and mourn because they were such a great part of the show and added so much emotion and depth. On contrast I can't say that about the death of Doyle. I think Angel did really good during it's last season. The only time I cried on Angel was when Fred and Wesley died because that was my favorite Angel couple.

As to Angel being a more adult show. Perhaps it was. But it was also pretty dark. While I felt Buffy in the end was more character driven and more centered around the characters then Angel was. Overall. I cared more about Buffy because I cared more about the characters. I was more invested in Buffy then I was with Angel because I felt more of a connection with Buffy then Angel. I didn't care about Doyle, Lorne, Lindsey, Harmony, Gunn, Conner or really Cordelia towards the end. I truely cared about three characters on Angel and they were Angel, Fred and Wesley. All the rest I just didn't care about and I think that was due mostly because they didn't expand on their characters and in large part made their characters either second to the plot or unlikeable.

For example. When Willow went bad and went evil, I cared. For Cordelia it was so haphazardly done that I truely didn't care. It didn't help that Cordelia's possession lead to one of the worst storyline plots of the series (I will never forgive them for making me endure the "Jasmine" era). Even Buffy at it's worst (Seasons 4 and 6) was more poignant and powerful then Angel at it's worst (Seasons 2 and latter portions of Season 4).

And I never saw anything on Angel that compared to the greatness that was season 2's Buffy. Angel also IMO lacked good defined villians. In seasons 1 and 2 there was no real evil. That was another weakness, It had no real direction. Something I felt Buffy lacked in season 6 as well.

[Cat]

Oh, yay, another Buffy/Angel fan! I *adored* them. And I cannot have been the only one -- even when "Angel" became a spin-off, both shows refused to break Buffy and Angel up, trotting them out for special Sweeps episodes. Hell, they even dusted off GH's Pumpkin-with-a-Wig to masquerade as Buffy during the final season of "Angel."

"Becoming Part 2" is probably BtVS's best ever episode. I could watch that again and again, there are so many layers to it and so many great moments that literally tug at the heart. The final few minutes of The Prom also leave me crying, actually. And pretty much confirmed to me that Sarah Michell Gellar is a really strong actress who carried seven years of BtVS on her back.

I will say, though, that I particularly liked Cordelia & Angel and was seriously bummed by the way they ruined Cordy's character in Season 4. It wasn't so much the Cordelia-turning-evil part, because I think Charisma Carpenter could do evil great (especially when she killed Lilah). It was the Cordelia pity-f*cking that whiney bitch Connor. And then giving birth to Jasmine, the most boring villainess in the history of the Buffyverse (although Glory came close).

ITA with JackPeyton that "You're Welcome" -- when Cordy returned to "Angel" -- was the best episode of its entire run. "Angel" was really missing something in its final season, and when Cordy came back, the spark instantly returned. Angel turning into a Muppet puppet and wrestling with Spike was also a great episode, though. And I liked the idea of Angel and his crew joining Wolfram and Hart. The biggest mistake Whedon made was to write off Lilah. Stephanie Romanof was a freakin powerhouse actress, and the chemistry between her and Wesley, her and Angel, heck, her and Cordelia would have powered Season 5, I think. Imagine Spike in that mix, too! They even brought back her corrosively HOT former law partner with the chopped hand (forget his name but he was smouldering with Darla in Season 2) for the final season! For the life of me, I will never understand why they fired SR and hired that bimbo Sarah Thomson as Lilah-lite.

Speaking of Darla, ITA with whoever said Darla was underrated. I thought Julie Benz was an amazing actress and Darla's presence really made "Angel" a stand-out show and not just a "Buffy spin-off." You know, I once hoped Benz would appear in Daytime in some great role. Heh, I'm sure she never did!

I watched both BtVS and "Angel" in tandem and admired the way they complemented each other so well. I did find that, despite "Angel" Season 4 being incredibly dark and misguided, it was much more watchable than BtVS Season 7. Sorry, but Buffy's final season sucked gigantic donkey balls. Who the hell penned that sh!t?