Dollhouse (TV series)

All you want to know about Dollhouse (TV series)

This article is about the 2009 US television series. For other uses, see Dollhouse (disambiguation).
Dollhouse

Logo from trailer
Genre Drama
Created by Joss Whedon
Written by Joss Whedon
Tim Minear
Maurissa Tancharoen
Jed Whedon
Starring Eliza Dushku
Tahmoh Penikett
Dichen Lachman
Fran Kranz
Enver Gjokaj
Olivia Williams
Harry Lennix
Amy Acker
Miracle Laurie
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 13 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Joss Whedon
Elizabeth Craft
Sarah Fain
Producer(s) Eliza Dushku
Tim Minear
Steven DeKnight
Location(s) Los Angeles
Broadcast
Original channel Fox
Original airing February 13 2009[1]
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Dollhouse is an American, science fiction television program created by Joss Whedon and set to premiere February 13, 2009 on Fox.[1]

Contents

Premise

In Dollhouse, Dushku plays a young woman named Echo, a member of a group of people known as "Actives" or "Dolls." The Dolls have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas, including memory, muscle memory, skills, and language, for different assignments. They're then hired out for particular jobs, crimes, fantasies, and occasional good deeds. On missions, Actives are monitored internally (and remotely) by Handlers. In between tasks, they are mind-wiped into a child-like state and live in a futuristic dormitory/laboratory, a hidden facility nicknamed "The Dollhouse". The story follows Echo, who begins, in her mind-wiped state, to become self-aware.[2][3]

Beyond Dushku's character, the show will also revolve around the people who run the mysterious "Dollhouse" and two other "Dolls", Victor and Sierra, who are friendly with Echo. Although the Actives are ostensibly volunteers, the operation is highly illegal and under constant threat on one end from Paul Ballard, a determined federal agent who has heard a rumor about the dolls, and an insane rogue Active on the other.[3]

Production

The show is scheduled to air on Fox as part of their midseason lineup in February 2009 on Fridays at 9 PM, following Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.[4] The series stars Eliza Dushku, who worked with Whedon on the cult television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain will be showrunners, while Tim Minear and Steven DeKnight will serve as consulting producers.[5][6] The writing staff will include Tim Minear, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, and Joss Whedon.[7] Whedon will direct a number of his own episodes, as he has done in past series. Tim Minear and Buffy producer David Solomon are also set to direct.[8] Jonatha Brooke and Eric Bazilian have written the theme song for the show[9]. A viral marketing campaign promoting Dollhouse was started on May 26th, 2008.[10]

Dollhouse, which is to be produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Whedon's Mutant Enemy Inc.[11][12] and Dushku's Boston Diva Productions, has been granted a thirteen-episode production commitment by Fox, with a reported license fee in the range of US$1.5 million to US$2 million per episode.[13][14] Fox has decided to forgo the pilot episode of the series, opting to put funds towards the construction of the elaborate set and cultural context of the television series. It has been described as a "life-size Dollhouse".[15] On July 22nd, 2008 Joss Whedon announced that the first episode shot, "Echo", will be pushed to be the second, while a new episode will become first, saying that this "idea to do a new first episode wasn’t the network’s. It was mine."[16]

Dollhouse, along with J. J. Abrams' Fringe, will air with half the commercials and promo spots, adding about 6 minutes to the shows' run times, as part of a new Fox initiative called "Remote-Free TV".[17]

On July 22, Whedon announced he was planning to shoot a significant number of Dollhouse webisodes—one for every regular episode produced. [18]

Casting

The Dollhouse Cast

Anya Colloff and Amy McIntyre Britt, who previously worked with Joss Whedon on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Serenity, are the show's casting directors.[19]

On March 26, 2008, it was officially announced that Tahmoh Penikett, Dichen Lachman, Fran Kranz, and Enver Gjokaj had been cast in four principal roles for the show.[20][21] On April 3, 2008, it was announced that Olivia Williams would be playing the role of Adelle DeWitt.[22] On April 17, 2008, it was announced that Harry J. Lennix had also joined the cast.[23] On the same day, Joss Whedon announced on whedonesque.com that Miracle Laurie and Amy Acker were to complete the cast.[24]

Brennan Elliott and Michael Muhney auditioned for the part of Paul Ballard but lost out to Penikett. Ian Anthony Dale and Paul Campbell auditioned for Victor, but Gjokaj got the part.[25]

Characters

The following lists the known characters and the casting information.[26][27][28][22] The dolls are apparently named after the NATO phonetic alphabet.[29]

Series Regulars

  • Echo played by Eliza Dushku — The main character. A Doll who begins, in her mind-wiped state, to become self-aware.
  • Adelle DeWitt played by Olivia Williams — Beautiful, sophisticated, cold as ice. Runs the Dollhouse with an efficiency that is both ruthless and protective. Would die before she showed anyone how lonely she is.
  • Paul Ballard[23] played by Tahmoh Penikett — An FBI field agent, he's been chasing the urban myth of the "Dollhouse" long enough to have lost any shot at promotion. Becomes obsessed with, and twisted romantic foil for, Echo.
  • Topher Brink played by Fran Kranz — Genius programmer who's articulate, nerdily attractive, and blithely amoral. He's responsible for imprinting the dolls and making sure they stay unaware of anything. Is fascinated by the science and kind of digging the illegality. Fun to be around, but might not be remotely trustworthy.
  • Sierra played by Dichen Lachman — A Doll like Echo, she has every personality in the world but her own. Is not as self-aware as Echo, but is instinctively drawn to her as a friend.
  • Victor played by Enver Gjokaj — A Doll, and the other closest thing to a friend Echo has. Childlike when he's inactive, and everything from Errol Flynn to (young) DeNiro when he's active.
  • Boyd Langton played by Harry J. Lennix[23] — An ex-cop, Boyd is Echo's 'handler'—her guard/bodyguard. Hates himself for taking this job, but he'd lay down his life to protect the people he feels he's exploiting.

Recurring

  • Dr. Claire Saunders played by Amy Acker[24] — Looks after the physical well-being of the dolls. Has an acid wit that she usually reserves for Topher, who may only be kidding about being smitten with her (or not). She is scarred from a razor attack.[23] The role was originally conceived for a woman in her 40s or 50s. Since working together on Angel, Amy and Joss had been close friends; deciding Acker would be the best actress for the part, Whedon adapted the character, despite initial reservations about casting too many Buffy and Angel alumnae.[30]
  • Laurence Dominic played by Reed Diamond[31] — The Dollhouse head of security.
  • An as-yet-unnamed character played by Miracle Laurie[24] — Romantic interest to Paul Ballard.[31] Laurie was originally cast as November, another Doll, one who got fewer of the criminal gigs and more of the personal ones. Eventually, it was decided the character would not be included in the show. Joss Whedon has stated that "the show simply moves too fast now for me to do what I wanted with her". He has hinted, however, that the character November may emerge later in the series.[31]

References

  1. ^ a b "TV.com: Dollhouse: Episode Guide: Season 1: "Ghost"". TV.com (September 21, 2008).
  2. ^ Dos Santos, Kristin (2007-10-31). "Best News Ever! Joss Whedon Spills Exclusive Deets on His New Series". Watch with Kristin. E!. Retrieved on 2007-11-01.
  3. ^ a b "Production Weekly - 599 - March 6, 2008" (PDF). Production Weekly (2008-03-06). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  4. ^ "FOX ANNOUNCES 2008-2009 MIDSEASON SCHEDULE". The Futon Critic (2005-11-06). Retrieved on 2005-11-06.
  5. ^ Dos Santos, Kristin; Jennifer Godwin (2005-05-14). "EW Party Is TV Fan Heaven". Watch with Kristin. E! Online. Retrieved on 2005-05-15.
  6. ^ "Minear joins Whedon, Dushku for DOLLHOUSE". TimMinear.net. FanGeek (2007-11-01). Retrieved on 2007-11-02.
  7. ^ "Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain answer our questions....." (2008-04-22). Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
  8. ^ "Director David Solomon is in the Dollhouse". Dollrific! (2008-05-09). Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
  9. ^ "Jonatha Brooke". All the Crayons (2008-09-18). Retrieved on 2008-10-02.
  10. ^ "Name Sound Familiar?". Future on Fox. Fox Broadcasting Company (2008-05-26). Retrieved on 2008-06-24.
  11. ^ Phillips, Jevon (2007-10-31). ""Whedon returns to TV with 'Dollhouse'"". Show Tracker: What you're watching. LA Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-21.
  12. ^ "FOX '08 New Series: Dollhouse". Fox Broadcasting Company. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
  13. ^ Snierson, Dan (2007-10-31). "Joss Whedon taps Eliza Dushku for new Fox series". Hollywood Insider. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-11-01.
  14. ^ Whedon, Joss (2008-05-15). "Dollhouse news from Joss!". whedonesque.com. Retrieved on 2005-05-16.
  15. ^ Dana, Rebecca (2008-03-31). "Post-Strike, Networks Revamp Pilot Season", The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 1 April 2008. 
  16. ^ Whedon, Joss (2008-07-22). "Welcome (back) to the Dollhouse". whedonesque.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-22.
  17. ^ Schneider, Michael (2008-05-15). "New Fox dramas to limit commercials", Variety. Retrieved on 18 May 2008. 
  18. ^ Hibberd, James. "Fox plans 'Dollhouse' webisodes", The Live Feed, The Hollywood Reporter. 
  19. ^ "Want to be on Dollhouse? These Are the Folks You Need to Impress". Dollrific! (2008-04-08). Retrieved on 2008-04-09.
  20. ^ "Breaking: Battlestar Stud Playing Dollhouse with Dushku". TV Guide. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  21. ^ "Dollhouse Casting Alert!". E! Online. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  22. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (2008-04-03). "Olivia Williams cast in 'Dollhouse'", The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 16 May 2008. 
  23. ^ a b c d Dos Santos, Kristin; Jennifer Godwin (2008-04-16). "Exclusive Pilot Details: Welcome to the Dollhouse!". E! Online. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  24. ^ a b c Whedon, Joss (April 17, 2008). "Dollhouse gets a new cast member". Whedonesque.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  25. ^ "Dollhouse casting auditions". Dollverse. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  26. ^ Ausiello, Michael (2008-02-28). "Exclusive: Who's Who in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse". Ausiello Report. TVGuide.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  27. ^ "Dollhouse — Casting News". SpoilerTV (2008-03-28). Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  28. ^ "Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse' gets more cast", The Hollywood Reporter (2008-03-28). Retrieved on 28 March 2008. 
  29. ^ "ANGEL's Amy Acker Joins Joss Whedon's Upcoming Secret-Agent Sci-Fi Series DOLLHOUSE!!". Ain't It Cool News (2008-04-17). Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  30. ^ White, Cindy (September 05, 2008). "Acker Opens The Dollhouse Door". Sci Fi Wire.
  31. ^ a b c Whedon, Joss (2008-10-26). "What happened when the lights went out.". whedonesque.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-26.

External links

v • d • e
Joss Whedon
Television - Created
Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Angel · Firefly · Dollhouse
Television - Written or Directed
Films - Written & Directed
Films - Written
Comics - Written
Website/Blog postings
v • d • e
Dollhouse
Episodes · Quotes · Category
Characters
Dolls
Echo · Sierra · Victor
The Dollhouse
Adelle DeWitt · Paul Smith · Topher Brink · Dr. Claire Saunders · Boyd Langton
Cast
Eliza Dushku · Olivia Williams · Tahmoh Penikett · Harry J. Lennix · Amy Acker · Dichen Lachman · Fran Kranz · Enver Gjokaj · Miracle Laurie
Executive producers
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollhouse_(TV_series)"

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