You can catch many "Firefly" cast members on TV this fall.
If you loved Joss Whedon's short-lived sci-fi series "Firefly" or its movie spin-off, "Serenity," you'll want to turn on the TV Tuesday. Two members of the "Firefly" cast, Alan Tudyk and Morena Baccarin, star in the series premiere of "V" on ABC. Let's take a look at how the new TV roles of some "Firefly" cast members compare to their times as space cowboys.
Joss Whedon will direct an episode of Fox's "Glee."
Joss Whedon
On Monday, both Whedon and Fox confirmed that he will direct one of the final nine episodes of the musical comedies freshman season. Fox picked it up for a full season earlier this fall.
"Why GLEE?" Whedon wrote on fan blog whedonesque.com. "Because I love cops, serial killers and gritty urban drama (I haven't seen the show yet). Why me? Because they're struggling and can't afford real directors."
He went on to say who he will kill off on "Glee" and talked about "Dollhouse" and other news. Read the full post below.
Are you giddy about Whedon directing "Glee"? Read what Whedon posted on his fan site below:
How cool are the new "Dollhouse" poster and tag line, "Anyone can Happen"? Love them. Fox photo
Joss Whedon's Fox series "Dollhouse" returns for its second season at 8 p.m. Sept. 25. Whedon directed the premiere, which reunited "Dollhouse" co-star Tahmoh Penikett with his "Battlestar Galactica" co-star Jamie Bamber, who guests on "Vows" as a wealthy arms dealer. Below is a sneak peek of the upcoming season, along with videos showing Penikett, Whedon and star Eliza Dushku talking about their series.
It's only fitting that Ryan Kwanten (left) and Alexander Skarsgard of "True Blood" are Scream 2009 nominees. Who doesn't squeal when they are onscreen? HBO photo
"Star Trek" boldly took the most nominations for Spike TV's Scream 2009 awards.
J.J. Abrams popular reboot of the sci fi movie franchise earned 17 nominations, followed by 13 each for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "Watchmen."
HBO's "True Blood" earned nine nods, the most for a TV show. Unlike other awards, Scream pits TV and movies against each other.
Summer Glau joins the cast of "Dollhouse" this fall. Fox photo
OK, I want to see an ass-kicking, all-gal showdown on "Dollhouse" this fall. Summer Glau is joining the series.
Eliza Dushku and Alan Tudyk starred in the Season 1 finale of "Dollhouse." Fox photo
Fox is pushing back the second season premiere of Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse" by one week this fall. The premiere now will air at 8 p.m. Sept. 25, the network announced Wednesday.
Updated July 29
Fox changed some of its fall premiere dates, pushing up the debut of "Glee" and "So You Think You Can Dance." Here's the updated schedule.
Posted at 9:45 p.m. Thursday, May 7
INTERVIEWS WITH JOSS WHEDON, ELIZA DUSHKU, TAHMOH PENIKETT
SAVE "DOLLHOUSE"
SPOILER ALERT IF YOU AREN'T CAUGHT UP WITH "DOLLHOUSE."
Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” may not last beyond Friday’s first season finale, but it’s going out with a bang.
Alan Tudyk promises a bumpy ride in "Omega," which debuts at 8 p.m. Friday. “I really like this next episode coming up,” he told reporters earlier this week.
INTERVIEWS WITH TAHMOH PENIKETT, ELIZA DUSHKU and JOSS WHEDON.
SPOILER ALERT IF YOU AREN'T CAUGHT UP WITH "DOLLHOUSE."
Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse" may not last beyond Friday's first season finale, but it's going out with a bang.
Alan Tudyk promises a bumpy ride in "Omega," which debuts at 8 p.m. Friday. "I really like this next episode coming up," he told reporters earlier this week.
Posted at 9 a.m. Friday, March 20
Joss Whedon’s fans know that his current show, “Dollhouse,” had a shaky start on Fox after its well-documented, troubled trip to the small screen.
But things are looking up. The audience for last week’s episode grew by 21 percent, to 4.3 million viewers. That’s not bad for a show that airs at 8 p.m. on Fridays.
Those numbers could improve with this week’s installment, titled “Man on the Street,” which Whedon wrote and is very excited about. He’s been calling it a game-changer.
In the episode—which is indeed an improvement over earlier episodes—FBI Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) comes as close as he ever has to uncovering the secrets of the Dollhouse, the clandestine group that erases the memories of its agents, or dolls, and implants them with new personalities for their missions—which can be anything from being a rich guy’s date to a hired assassin. He also comes face-to-face for the first time with the doll he knows by her former name, Caroline, who is now called Echo (Eliza Dushku).
Sound complicated? No worries, Whedon says. Even if you’ve never seen the show, you’ll understand everything after Friday’s episode.
“It explains the premise and at the same time really gets under the skin of the Dollhouse and of Paul’s character,” he told reporters during a conference call this week.
Click the link below for more excerpts from the call.
Joss Whedon's fans know that his current show, "Dollhouse," had a shaky start on Fox after its well-documented, troubled trip to the small screen.
But things are looking up. The audience for last week's episode grew by 21 percent, to 4.3 million viewers. That's not bad for a show that airs at 8 p.m. on Fridays.
Those numbers could improve with this week's installment, titled "Man on the Street," which Whedon wrote and is very excited about. He's been calling it a game-changer.
Posted at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 19
Tahmoh Penikett with Grace Park (left) and Eliza Dushku (right). Sci Fi, Fox photos
Tahmoh Penikett gets all the ladies.
The Canadian actor spent four seasons romancing Grace Park on “Battlestar Galactica,” then moved on to “Dollhouse,” where he’s in hot pursuit of Eliza Dushku.
On Friday, he catches her. Penikett’s been living a fanboy’s dream, and this Friday fans will get the final one-night double dose of Penikett. “BSG” wraps up its run with a 2-hour, 11-minute series finale beginning at 8 p.m. on Sci Fi, while “Dollhouse” airs a “game-changing” episode at 8 p.m. on Fox. (Ready, set TiVo people!)
“I’m pretty grateful to have been able to work with two of the best [writer-producers] on TV now,” Penikett said of “BSG” boss Ronald D. Moore and “Dollhouse” creator Joss Whedon.
Penikett was in Chicago a few weeks ago to promote both shows. I pumped him for information about what will happen to his “BSG” character, Capt. Karl “Helo” Agathon, his Cylon wife Sharon “Athena” Valerie (Park) and their hybrid child, Hera.
He was, as you would expect, evasive.
“Sorry man,” he told me over tea. “I know everyone’s dying to know. But I can’t say any more.”
What we do know about Friday’s “BSG” finale is that Helo, Athena and a group of volunteers led by Admiral Adama will attack the Cylons and attempt to rescue Hera, who could be the savior of humanity (and the Cylons, come to think of it).
“It’s such an epic finale—epic and just,” Penikett said. “I think of it so much like a feature [film], because it has that weight and resonance. It’s going to stick around for a long time in people’s minds. It’s clearly one of the biggest finales and it’s going to blow people away.”
Penikett did say that he and Park share a “massive, emotional” final scene together, and that he is pleased with the unpredictable way Helo’s story ends.
"There will be some conclusions and a lot of questions, which is perfect and the way it should be,” he said.
As for Friday’s “Dollhouse,” Penikett said the show hits its stride with the “Man on the Street” episode.
"'Man on the Street’ and the last five episodes [are] so strong,” he said. “It’s so obvious the show has found its feet.”
Penikett’s character, loner FBI agent Paul Ballard, comes face to face with Echo (Dushku), the operative who is implanted with a new identity for every mission she is sent on by the mysterious Dollhouse organization. Up to this point, Ballard has been thwarted at every turn as he investigates the Dollhouse.
He’s been tipped off about Echo and her past life before her real personality was erased. He wants to save her, but their meeting isn’t a pleasant one.
“You’ll see an interaction, for sure, and it’s going to be violent,” Penikett said.
Click the link below for a few more tidbits from the interview.
Tahmoh Penikett with Grace Park (left) and Eliza Dushku (right). Sci Fi, Fox photos
Tahmoh Penikett gets all the ladies.
The Canadian actor spent four seasons romancing Grace Park on "Battlestar Galactica," then moved on to "Dollhouse," where he's in hot pursuit of Eliza Dushku.
On Friday, he catches her. Penikett's been living a fanboy's dream, and this Friday fans will get the final one-night double dose of Penikett. "BSG" wraps up its run with a 2-hour, 11-minute series finale beginning at 8 p.m. on Sci Fi, while "Dollhouse" airs a "game-changing" episode at 8 p.m. on Fox. (Ready, set TiVo people!)
"I'm pretty grateful to have been able to work with two of the best [writer-producers] on TV now," Penikett said of "BSG" boss Ronald D. Moore and "Dollhouse" creator Joss Whedon.
Posted at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20
The "Dollhouse" cast: Tahmoh Penikett (from left), Enver Gjokaj, Eliza Dushku, Dichen Lachman, Fran Kranz, Olivia Williams and Harry Lennix. Fox photo
DOLLHOUSE
8 p.m. Fridays, Fox
Tune in or out? 
out of four.
I’m a big fan of Joss Whedon and his series’ “Firefly,” “Angel” and, of course, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
“Dollhouse” is none of those. And honestly, I’m disappointed. I’m not suggesting the guy needs to repeat himself to make me happy, but his Web hit “Dr. Horrible” was perfectly different and I loved it.
Whedon’s getting a little too serious with “Dollhouse,” in which a covert group is convincing people who have no other options to have their minds wiped clean of their own memories. After that, the “dolls,” or “actives,” are imprinted with the memories of others in order to assume different identities for each mission.
It’s a little human trafficking mixed with fractured identities injected with a little weird science—and a whole lot of boredom. "Dollhouse" seems to be devoid of any of the joy in those other shows.
At this point the actives, chief among them Echo (who in her past life was Caroline), mindlessly trade pleasantries at the Dollhouse, get massages, swim, shower and sleep. Nothing too exciting there.
My belief was that their missions, or engagements as Dollhouse doyenne Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams) calls them, would allow the actives to really bust out the personalities and action. But Eliza Dushku, as nice as she is to look at as Echo, seems kind of brain-drained no matter who she is. In last week’s misfire of a series premiere, she played a troubled hostage negotiator. On tonight’s much better second episode, she’s an adventurous gal on a hunting date with the devil. Bows and arrows, backwoods, dead rangers—you’d think there’d be plenty of opportunity for Dushku to give us just a glimmer of her “Buffy” slayer Faith. Instead, she’s a scared victim until the last part of the episode.
Yawn. I want some action. I want some mystery. I want a lot more smart-ass dialogue. (Ironic boy genius Topher (Fran Kranz) provides some, but even he’s a little lethargic.)
Hope comes in the form of FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett), who is hell-bent on uncovering the “urban legend” of the Dollhouse, as well as the series’ mythology involving an escaped active called Alpha. This guy has recovered his memories (and has kept a lot of imprinted knife skills) and is secretly feeding Ballard hints about the dolls, as well as killing people. All that becomes more firmly established tonight and next week.
Maybe Dushku’s Echo—and the series—will get more interesting as she and the other actives start to malfunction like Alpha, regaining some of their own memories. Maybe then she’ll show us all some personality.
Posted at 1:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13
"TERMINATOR" STAR SUMMER GLAU'S ROBOT LOVE
Eliza Dushku stars in Joss Whedon's new show "Dollhouse." Fox photo
As Faith in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Eliza Dushku killed vamps and demons. As Echo in Fox’s new “Dollhouse,” she faces as much danger, just not from otherworldly foes.
Echo is an “active,” a clueless operative who is programmed to be anyone a Dollhouse client requests—from a hostage negotiator to an art thief to a sexy gal who gets hunted by her bow-carrying date. After each assignment, the actives return to the Dollhouse, where their memories and personalities are erased.
“She’s blank. She’s had her personality and memories erased and she’s ... a child with no inhibition, no fear,” Dushku told reporters during a conference call earlier this week. “It’s exciting in the sense that every week there’s sort of a new star of the show and it’s whatever character I am imprinted to be.”
“Dollhouse,” debuting at 8 p.m. Friday on Fox, reunites Dushku with her longtime friend, “Buffy” creator Joss Whedon, who came up with the idea for their new venture during a chat with her over lunch.
According to Dushku, the ideas the pair explore in the series, including what makes a person, altering a person, objectifying people and allowing powerful people to get what they want, will make some viewers uncomfortable.
“It’s provocative. It’s disturbing in some ways. It’s controversial,” she said. “We’re dealing with altering and programming people and I think that that’s a very sensitive topic, but I think that it’s relevant.”
Dushku talked more about playing Echo, the myriad personalities implanted in her, and what happens when Echo starts to remember. Click the link below to read excerpts form the conference call Q&A.
Eliza Dushku stars in Joss Whedon's new show "Dollhouse." Fox photos
As Faith in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Eliza Dushku killed vamps and demons. As Echo in Fox's new "Dollhouse," she faces as much danger, just not from otherworldly foes.
Echo is an "active," a clueless operative who is programmed to be anyone a Dollhouse client requests--from a hostage negotiator to an art thief to a sexy gal who gets hunted by her bow-carrying date. After each assignment, the actives return to the Dollhouse, where their memories and personalities are erased.
"She's blank. She's had her personality and memories erased and she's ... a child with no inhibition, no fear," Dushku told reporters during a conference call earlier this week. "It's exciting in the sense that every week there's sort of a new star of the show and it's whatever character I am imprinted to be."
Posted at 10:45 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13
ELIZA DUSHKU WANTS TO MAKE YOU UNEASY WITH "DOLLHOUSE"
Summer Glau has kicked butt in space in “Serenity” and on Earth in “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” And she’s not tired of being an action star.
“I really cannot complain,” the 5-feet-6 actress told reporters last week. “I’ve really been—it’s great to be on TV, on a TV show and get to play a complicated girl. And for that I’m very, very grateful.”
That girl actually isn’t a girl at all; or even human. Glau plays Cameron, a cyborg sent back in time to protect John Connor (Thomas Dekker), the savior of humankind, on Fox’s “TSCC,” which returns at 7 p.m. Friday after a two-month hiatus.
Friday’s episode, “The Good Wound,” offers a reunion of Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and John’s father, Kyle Reese (Jonathan Jackson, left). The cyborg Weaver (Shirley Manson) will protect John Henry.
Glau also hinted that Cameron will be doing a few "unexpected things" in Friday’s episode, although she wouldn’t elaborate beyond saying that the final nine episodes will be action-packed.
“People are going to be on a rollercoaster wondering what is going to happen next,” Glau said. “I think everybody is going to be really thrilled.”
Glau said all that action meant she’s been wearing quite a few squibs—the special effects devices that explode to imitate bullet shots.
“It seems like I’m always putting on a squib jacket and running around and shooting people and I’m having a blast,” Glau said. “The back half is going to be exciting.”
Click the link below to read more from Summer Glau and “TSCC” creator Josh Friedman.
Posted at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12
Don’t panic just yet, Joss Whedon fans. “Dollhouse” isn’t going anywhere.
This week Zap2it.com reported that the Fox series starring Eliza Dushku, scheduled to being in January, was shutting down production. It’s only temporary, a Fox spokesman told TV Guide, adding that the show will resume shooting on Sept. 25.
“Joss had been directing, so he wanted a couple of weeks to write, catch up on some scripts,” Fox mouthpiece Chris Alexander told TVGuide.com.
The Fox series “24” also stopped its clock this week, taking a two-week break so that writers can come up with the next moves on the Kiefer Sutherland drama.
The Hollywood Reporter said that production stopped on Monday and will resume Oct. 9. The paper said the downtime was made by showrunner Howard Gordon in order to rewrite scripts and decide what will happen in the season’s final six episodes. That is the latest delay for “24,” which didn’t air this year because of the 100-day writers’ strike.
The two-hour “24” film “24: Redemption,” will air in November and the season will begin in January. Fox will show a preview of the film during its encore presentation of “Fringe” at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Posted at 1:10 p.m. Sunday, July 27, Cali time
All these years and Buffy the Vampire Slayer still surprises her creator, Joss Whedon.
“You know, I can’t believe she took out the Bat,” Whedon told me Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con when he learned Buffy won RedEye’s Best Superhero tournament. “That freaks me out. Although in my Buffy-Batman crossover that I dream of writing one day in the comics, she could take him. I’m just saying—she’s got powers.”
After a panel discussion about Whedon’s upcoming new series “Dollhouse,” which stars “Buffy” series alum Eliza Dushku, I got a minute with Whedon to talk about Buffy’s win. By the time the tourney ended Friday, Buffy had beaten Thor, Batman, Silver Surfer and Superman to reach the final—where she trounced Spider-Man.
“Spidey never had a chance,” said Whedon, who writes the Buffy comic books. “He would just feel weird about fighting her and she would just pummel him before he’d have a chance to get his [crap] together. That’s my feeling.”
Buffy’s first-round win over Silver Surfer didn’t surprise Whedon either. “I mean I could take out the Silver Surfer,” he said. “He’d be all like, 'Shalla-Bal,' and I’d just whack him with a two-by-four.”
Along with her win against Batman, Buffy’s victory over Superman surprised Whedon—even though he says Buffy does have superpowers.
“Yeah she does,” he said when I suggested she didn’t. “She’s superhumanly strong. She is not just a girl with a stake in her hand. She can leap—not tall buildings—but smaller buildings. She lives in Southern California where the buildings are smaller and easily lept.
“I have to say I’m really kind of shocked. But Buffy doesn’t just have superpowers, she has super fans, and they can take out a Man of Steel. I’m just saying.”
More from Comic-Con 2008.
Posted at 12:24 p.m. Monday, June 2
Joss Whedon fans, here’s a video treat for you. Whedon and Eliza Dushku sat down to chat about their upcoming Fox series, “Dollhouse.” Enjoy!
Fans of Whedon, who created "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly," already are rallying to "save" "Dollhouse" even though it won't debut until January 2009. I've written about the campaigns, which were created because fans still feel the sting from Fox cancelling "Firefly" after just a few episodes aired.
Here’s a "Dollhouse" clip with Dusku and Tahmoh Penikett.
Posted at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, May 28
Some Joss Whedon fans might be doing their hero’s upcoming series, “Dollhouse,” more harm than good.
Eight months before it’s set to debut on Fox, die-hard Whedonites (Whedonistas?) are organizing to “save” the sci-fi drama about a group of brain-washed assassins.
The campaign at dollhouseforums.com urges fans to show the trailers to as many people as possible, create new fan sites or supports existing ones and pimp any online signatures or avatars in a way that promotes the show.
Whedon, who was responsible for such TV faves as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel,” was chased from TV a few years ago when Fox canceled his “Firefly.” Many fans are still outraged by the move.
“After seeing some of my favorite television shows get canceled in the past—as well as the 'save this show' campaigns that followed—I had the idea that a fan campaign BEFORE the show begins may be the best thing to do,” Dollhouse Forums’ Nathan wrote in a post on the site.
A Facebook fan page dedicated to the online campaign already has more than 2,300 members.
But I fear this could turn out badly by creating some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. Such an early campaign makes it sound as if even fans don’t think it will last, which doesn’t build confidence in potential viewers.
Maybe we can wait until we actually see the show before we dedicate ourselves completely to it?
In full disclosure, I admit I have high hopes and great confidence it will be great. I’ve already posted that opinion. But let’s hold off on the full-court press until closer to the show’s January 2009 debut.
Posted at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. May 20
Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett—those are three big reasons I can’t wait to see “Dollhouse” when it debuts on Fox in January 2009.
2009! Yes, we have to wait forever for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Whedon’s first series since 2002’s “Firefly” to come to TV.
I have little doubt that “Dollhouse,” about an underground group that imprints its “actives” with personalities and abilities needed to carry out specific missions, will be worth the wait. I loves me some science fiction, after all.
Whedon’s never let me down in that department in the past. I’m a big fan of his “Buffy,” “Angel” and “Firefly.” I love the way he combines humor with drama, witty dialogue with slapstick moments and believable characters with sci fi freakiness. And if the “Dollhouse” clips I’ve seen are any indication, he’s adding some real bendy plot twists to the mix.
Whedon also excels at creating bad-ass female characters. There’s River Tam from “Firefly,” and of course Buffy. You can add the dark slayer Faith Lehane from “Buffy” and “Angel,” who was played by Dushku.
It’s nice to see Dushku back on TV kicking butt. “Dollhouse” should offer the actress great opportunities, since she plays Echo, one of the actives who gets a new persona and skill set for each assignment.
Somehow Echo’s personality wasn't completely lost, because she begins to investigate the Dollhouse, the lab where the organization does its work and the actives live.
“It’s really perfect for my personality, which is kind of ADD. It's nice to not have the same wardrobe every day,” Dushku told Entertainment Weekly.
Speaking of wardrobe, I’m hoping Penikett’s is kind of sparse, or at least he wears those sleeveless shirts he’s always in as Helo on “Battlestar Galactica.” Wow. Easy on the eyes much?
Penikett plays FBI Agent Paul Smith, who also is investigating the Dollhouse. I hear he and Echo eventually become involved romantically too. Penikett’s a great actor and I’ll enjoy seeing him move beyond Helo and “BSG,” which ends its run next year.
This is one show I am so looking forward to watching. And by the way, Fox has upped its order to 13 episodes from the originally reported seven episodes.
Here’s another clip that gives us a hint of the direction the show may take in its first season. In it Echo and Agent Smith argue over Echo’s missing sister.
It could be a deliberate ploy to mess with Smith’s investigation of the Dollhouse, or Echo could actually be taping into memories that weren’t wiped clean.
For more on "Dollhouse" from Fox, go to the jump.
