For me the problem has always been the title. Every time I see "Dollhouse" I think of Todd Solondz's "Welcome to the Dollhouse," which, while critically acclaimed, is artsy-fartsy, more than a little bit precious, and nothing I want to see week in and week out. In fact, my interest in "Dollhouse" wasn't peeked until I saw a still picture of Dushku (bless you!) looking hot in her "Dollhouse" costume in a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly. The astro-cowgirl chic - think Gina Torres in "Firefly" - gets to me. It's just the way I'm hot-wired.
~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "Tracey de Morsella" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Is Dollhouse Doomed? 7 Trouble Signs > > Rejoicing ensued when word came that Joss Whedon--creator of the beloved > Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly--was returning to network TV with Fox's > upcoming SF series Dollhouse, starring Buffy/Angel alumna Eliza Dushku > (Faith). > > But that was months ago. And in the wake of news about the show's troubled > development process, the buzz may be turning ugly. > > "This may sound ridiculously nerdy, but I'm kinda scared to get all > emotionally invested with another of Whedon's shows after the cancellation > of Firefly," one person posted on YouTube.com after Dollhouse's trailer > debuted there. > > We are all big supporters of Whedon, too, but we have to worry ourselves, > just like these others: > > "In Joss we trust, but not Fox. Should we start the 'Save Dollhouse' > petitions now? :0)>" > > "So true. Let's hope Fox doesn't mess this up!! There is a space on the > market for a show like this. Alias, Dark Angel, BTVS, Bionic Woman ... all > gone. My fingers are well and truly crossed." > > One of the most anticipated shows of the season, Dollhouse has had one of > the most troubled preproduction journeys of any show in recent history. > Dollhouse follows a group of mind-wiped secret agents who have different > personalities and skills implanted in their brains for each mission. Dushku > plays "Echo," one of the dolls who is starting to become self-aware. Going > by premise alone, the show should be Whedon gold. But the devil is in the > details. Here are seven reasons to worry. > > This story continue below the video window. > > http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1545148137/bctid19025203 42 > > 1. Pilot issues. Whedon filmed the pilot episode, "Echo." Then it was > announced that "Echo" would now be the second episode, and a new first > episode was being shot. Then the pilot was thrown out completely. This is > disturbingly similar to what happened on Firefly, Whedon's last network > show, which Fox canceled abruptly in the middle of its first season. In the > case of Firefly, the original two-hour pilot was bumped to later in the > show, and a new one-hour segment was shot to introduce viewers to the > complicated 'verse of the series. In the case of Dollhouse, Fox suits were > reportedly concerned that the original pilot was too hard to follow. "Once > it became clear what paradigm the network was shooting for, it just didn't > fit at all, even after I'd reshot more than half of it," Whedon posted on > the site Whedonesque.com. How do you not know what the network is looking > for? Didn't they tell you? > > This story continues below the image. > > dollhouse > > Stars Tahmoh Penikett (left) and Eliza Dushku (right) with creator Joss > Whedon. > > 2. Work stoppage. Production was actually halted. Twice. Once for script > issues on the fourth episode, and once for the sixth and seventh. Whedon > said in a blog, "To get a sense of how completely turned around I was during > this process, you should know there was a scene with Eliza and the > astonishing Ashley Johnson that I wrote and shot completely differently > three different times, with different characters in different places > (actually I wrote it closer to eight times), and none of it will ever see > air." Really? The creator of the show had to reshoot something three times, > and it still didn't work? > > 3. Bad buzz. Fans started a "Save Dollhouse" campaign pretty early on, even > before the show began production. Check out this fan video: > > http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0 > <http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=62579> &id=62579 > > Scroll down > > I asked Joss about the fear at Comic-Con this year. "I think the campaign is > a little bit of a ... it makes people think, 'Hmm. What's wrong with > Dollhouse? Why does it need saving?' I say, 'Wait, whoa, whoa, we're not on > yet! We're OK.' I think." > > 4. Bad dialogue. I watched the trailer, hoping for a laugh. Whedon is known > for his snappy dialogue and witty lines. But not this time, at least not in > the trailer. Where is the "Prince of Night, I summon you. Come fill me with > your black, naughty evil." Or "Every well-bred petty crook knows that the > small concealable weapons always go to the far left of the place setting." > In the Dollhouse trailer, we get "Did I fall asleep? For a little while." > > 5. Friday night Death Slot. On Nov. 10, Fox announced that Dollhouse would > debut on Friday nights (starting in February), following the > ratings-challenged Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Friday night has > traditionally meant cancellation for shows of the sci-fi persuasion, The > X-Files being the lone exception. We're talking Sliders, Dark Angel and the > infamous Firefly. The term "Friday Night Death Slot" even has its own page > on Wikipedia. I'm pretty sure Fox has seen it. Contrary to popular belief, > TV watchers sometimes have dates on Friday nights: "Moving a brand- new show > to a horrible time and night, and moving a highly rated, already established > show to a great timeslot, is just insulting," one person posted on YouTube. > > In an interview with SCI FI Wire > <http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=1&id=62509> , Dushku > dismisses the death slot sentence. "Dude, we're in the age of DVR," she > said. "People watch what they want to watch." > > "I suppose you can talk yourself into saying that Fox has enough faith in > the show to pull in ratings in the Time Slot of Death," another fan wrote. > "But you can also say that Fox has already written off the show and isn't > even going to bother." > > This story continues below the image. > > dollhouse2 > > 6. Cast/crew issues. Viewers loved Dushku as the kick-ass slayer Faith on > Buffy and Angel. They loved her as Tru in Fox's Tru Calling, which aired for > two seasons. But hot as she is, Dushku's buzz is taking a bit of an ugly > turn. Some are calling her "tired-looking" in the trailer and saying she > seems bored. > > Time magazine, which recently reviewed the first episode, said that > Dollhouse "is less a series concept than an actress' showcase." Of Dushku, > the magazine adds, "I thought she was fine on Buffy. But she's not exactly > Toni Collette. ... Watching her inhabit her imprinted 'personality' [of] a > tough negotiator with secret vulnerabilities, I did not see her becoming > another person. I thought, 'Oh, look! There's Eliza Dushku with glasses and > her hair in a bun!" > > As for other cast members, the show scrapped the character of November, > played by the strangely named Miracle Laurie, who will instead play a > different character. The entire character description of Dr. Claire, > meanwhile, was altered so that Angel alumna Amy Acker could play her. It's > arguable that such alterations are par for the course, but added to the > show's other upheavals, they are troubling. > > Behind the camera, the show lost former Buffy writer Steven DeKnight early > on. The good news is that he was replaced with another Buffy alumna and > favorite, Jane Espenson, who is currently writing Dark Horse's Buffy comics > and <http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/> Battlestar Galactica. > > The Time review wasn't all bad. It said it was both better and worse than > expected. But the draw seems to be Whedon, not the actors, which doesn't > exactly scream success. "If it weren't for Whedon's pedigree, I'm not sure > I'd be dying to see a second episode. But for me, the main draw now is not > seeing Dushku become a different person every week, but getting to see Joss > Whedon become a different writer every week." > > 7. Lack of network support. The move to Friday, the constant requests for > reworking, the low-ratings lead-in: All signal a lack of support on the part > of Fox. Reports say the network spent all the money on sets instead of the > pilot. Sure, I get the whole "It's called Dollhouse, so let's make a pretty > one" thing. But it's all going to be very expensive trash once the show > passes its fourth episode and gets the ax. To add insult to injury, the show > debuts on Friday the 13th this coming February. Coincidentally, that's the > day Angel was canceled. --Jenna Busch > http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/images/spacer.gif >
