Whedonesque : Comments on 18346 : Joss bans final Cylon talk on the set of Dollhouse.

This site will work and look better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

December 11 2008

Joss bans final Cylon talk on the set of Dollhouse. At the recent Battlestar Galactica convention in England, Tahmoh Penikett revealed that "[Joss] asked a couple of times, but it's a game. He doesn't really want to know, he's banned everyone on the set from talking about it."

Simon | Fandom&Fun | 20:10 CET | 46 comments total | tags: battlestar galactica, joss whedon, tahmoh penikett

Hehehe, Joss is such a fan.

BrownCoat_Tabz | December 11, 20:11 CET

The final Cylon is of course Joss' evil twin, Josh Wheldon!

quantumac | December 11, 20:27 CET

I'd always understood Joss' evil twin to be named Ross. What didn't occur to me until just now is that Ron+Joss=Ross. Evil twin Ross was no doubt cloned from the evil parts of their combined genius.

"He and Ron are very similar, particularly in smarts. They’ve finally met for lunch, after all this time!"

I should think so. Here's a fairly crappy photo I took of Joss with Ron on "Pencil Dropping Day" for the WGA - coincidentally, exactly a year ago today.

[ edited by QuoterGal on 2008-12-11 20:55 ]

QuoterGal | December 11, 20:54 CET

Speaking of the pencils, weren't there prizes and such, like phone calls? Did we ever establish if those happened? (I mean, we're not supposed to discuss the final Cylon, right?)

The One True b!X | December 11, 20:57 CET

There's a list of winners on their old site - whether winners received their prizes for sure, I couldn't say, but since Jeffrey Berman of United Hollywood and The Write Environment was one of the project's primary movers-and-shakers, I'd imagine they did. We can always poke him on twitter and find out for sure.

However, I'd love to hear from whoever got Joss' drunken, crying phone call.

QuoterGal | December 11, 21:14 CET

I volunteer to be Baltar's instrument of death. >.<

And why not link to the genesis of Ross Whedon, QG? I think silvius deserves more credit for his subconscious' creation. ;)

cabri | December 11, 21:28 CET

Probably 'cause I 1) preferred to link to our current, standalone Goners and 2) it was important to me to try and deny sil proper and public acknowledgement of his genius creation of Ross.

But I am no match for the Clever Carping Cab. Curses! Foiled again, and all that...

QuoterGal | December 11, 21:38 CET

o.O

cabri | December 11, 21:46 CET

QuoterGal, what you've linked makes me wonder how Joss' Curse on Josh Friedman will effect the Friday slot. Do they still chuckle about the placement of the Hellmouth?

These are the thoughts that happily occupy my day.

korkster | December 11, 22:11 CET

(Clyne) said: "Babies! They weren’t very professional. Crying, throwing tantrums, going to the bathroom… "

I thought she was talking about the diva actors. (drum rimshot)

Callis: "Playing Doctor Who is just not the right idea for me right now…"

I just dug out my old Games Workshop board game from 1980. It is always the right idea to play Dr Who!

OneTeV | December 11, 22:36 CET

I've always found Battlestar hard to get into. On the one hand, I've heard praise for it by so many people whom I respect - Joss not least among them - but on the other, I've watched the miniseries and the first season, and I just haven't seen the genius yet. There was a modicum of commentary that I appreciated in the episode that introduced the terrorist, but some things, like the cylon ship that Starbuck finds having pedals and a steering wheel under an organic exterior, ask for more suspension of my disbelief than I am capable of providing.

If this seems like an acceptable forum, could fans of the show please briefly tell me why I should go on watching?

Mercenary | December 11, 22:56 CET

If you haven't seen any genius yet (were you watching with your eyes open? I kid!) it would be hard for me to figure out why you should keep watching, though I will say that it just gets better and better as it goes along. Those weren't pedals and a steering wheel so much as tendons and muscles and guts that she pushed and pulled to get the ship to react as if its "brain" were moving those tendons/muscles/what have you.

zeitgeist | December 11, 22:59 CET

I take BSG in small doses. It's not really a fun show, but it does have a lot to say. (Mostly after the first season).

gossi | December 11, 23:01 CET

I was completely sold by the end of the miniseries. Or maybe by the middle of the miniseries. If you don't like it after the whole first season, I would guess that you're not going to like it.

jcs | December 11, 23:05 CET

Same here. I think it is a fantastic show but ultimately, if people are telling you it's great and you can't see it by "Kobol's Last Gleaming," then I wouldn't bother putting yourself through more. Personally, I love it for asking the hugest questions ever and allowing us to find our own answers, in a way involving lots of pretty death in space (and Apollo in a towel).

Edited because answering is pretty different from asking. I need sleep...

[ edited by skittledog on 2008-12-11 23:26 ]

skittledog | December 11, 23:11 CET

I should think so. Here's a fairly crappy photo I took of Joss with Ron on "Pencil Dropping Day" for the WGA - coincidentally, exactly a year ago today.

I can't believe that's been a year. Ah, memories....

Pliny | December 11, 23:17 CET

I can't believe Dollhouse was announced well over a year ago now..

gossi | December 11, 23:18 CET

I think my favorite season as a whole is Two. I like all of BSG, and I think my favorite episode is in Three - and I eagerly await whatever more is to come, including Caprica and webisodes - but I was most moved by Season 2 - although it would have meant way less were it not for everything that led up to it in Season One. I was hooked by the end of the miniseries.

I think you should go on watching because it is smart, well-done and has a lot to say about the nature of identity, war and the military, social organization, love and hate, and other human-and-cylon emotions.

But Mercenary - if it's not engaging you, I'm not sure I would say "Persist endlessly, no matter what." Maybe it's just not to your taste...

QuoterGal | December 11, 23:19 CET

I appreciate BSG, it's well-acted, well-written, etc., but aside from Baltar, there's little humor (I don't mean jokey humor, I mean from a character place, just to break the damn tension), and it's just so damn dark and the characters seem so damn miserable that I just wonder why they haven't all committed suicide, sometimes.

We very rarely see them doing non-plot related things with each other, too, which all bugs me from a "I want to root for these people, but can't" perspective.

pat32082 | December 11, 23:21 CET

Yes I know what you mean. I do enjoy watching BSG but I could never rewatch an episode over and over again like I do for Buffy and Doctor Who. Well apart from the mini-series as that was amazing telly.

Simon | December 11, 23:26 CET

pat32082, that's why I watch BSG in small doses.

gossi | December 11, 23:27 CET

having pedals and a steering wheel

I'm pretty sure this is not the case. She spent a good deal of time crawling around in the muck to find the organic components that controlled various ship functions, often having to yank them out of the muck to get to them. There weren't any ready-made pedals or steering wheels in there.

The One True b!X | December 11, 23:30 CET

it's just so damn dark and the characters seem so damn miserable

You realize this might be because there are only 40k or so of the human race left, down from millions or billions. ;)

The One True b!X | December 11, 23:31 CET

I have embarked on a full rewatch with my friend before the final chunk comes out. Enjoying it a huge amount actually - although I wouldn't easily go back and watch individual episodes, it's quite fantastic to watch its trajectory through the seasons now we know where it's heading. Some major shifts of tone and theme are noticeable, which is interesting.

I would agree with QuoterGal that s2 is overall the most powerful, but there's been at least one stellar episode in every season for me (incl mini-series which I love).

skittledog | December 11, 23:32 CET

Thanks for the input. The reaction time of whedonesquers continues to amaze me.

Re QuoterGal: I guess I'll give season two a try, and see if I like it more. I know that I'm often too critical of new shows, and I might not have given BSG (and its actors) time to find their feet. I actually have some problems with Buffy season one, as well; as much as I now appreciate seeing the early stories of the characters I came to love throughout the rest of the show, the first time through it was only my love of Firefly that propelled me into season two.

Mercenary | December 11, 23:33 CET

Yes, b!x, I'm aware. ;-)

pat32082 | December 11, 23:39 CET

Well, if you had said you still didn't like Buffy after the first season, I'd definitely have said--"KEEP WATCHING!!" But although BSG has developed in satisfying ways, it hasn't grown & changed the way Buffy did from season to season. I think you pretty much know what BSG is by the end of Season 1.

jcs | December 11, 23:43 CET

I've loved watching Galactica, but damn, talk about pendulum swings between great and terrible episodes.

The season premiers, middle, and finales are so incredible, mixed in with many awful episodes that seem to just be filler. I've often wished the seasons could be shorter and tighter.

Succatash | December 12, 00:18 CET

Weird. I find very few episodes to feel like filler, and most of those were in season three. (But then I think even Ron Moore has sort of copped to that, mainly due to bigwig interference.)

[ edited by The One True b!X on 2008-12-12 00:25 ]

The One True b!X | December 12, 00:24 CET

I've borrowed the season one DVDs from friends, so I'll see what I think. I like dark. I like depressing.

My dad was a big original BSG fan, and he died just as the new show was starting, so I never got into it.

I'm willing to keep an open mind.

redeem147 | December 12, 00:45 CET

I agree with Simon that, although I enjoy BSG - and was hooked by the end of the miniseries - I haven't felt any real desire to rewatch any of it, the way I do Buffy, Angel, Firefly or Serenity. As a matter of fact, I was thinking one day in the spring that if I were given a choice of watching BtVS or a new episode of BSG, I would probably choose the former, when I realised that I had a couple of new BSG episodes taped which I hadn't watched while I was watching a rerun of BtVS S6!

I am looking forward to the last few episodes, though; still more excited about Dollhouse, however. ;)

samatwitch | December 12, 02:16 CET

I rewatched all of Buffy and Angel this summer. Getting set to rewatch all of BSG over the next few weeks of rerun filled TV.

TamaraC | December 12, 02:20 CET

I'm watching BSG all the way through now and absolutely love it.

While the setting of the show is very dark, I find the character's to be so darn endearing and watching them fight to survive is fascinating.

Also, "The Hand of God" is one of the finest hours of television I've ever seen.

Rhodey | December 12, 02:59 CET

BSG is a flawed masterpiece, but truly amazing in spots -- and if my Grand Unified Theory about where the show is going actually pans out, it'll be one of the most provocative shows ever made.

Just an aside -- the article seems to imply Mark Shepherd is going to be on Dollhouse as well. Is this news? Have we known this for a long time and I forgot?

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | December 12, 06:45 CET

We've known that for awhile now, yeah. At least two episodes, I think.

The One True b!X | December 12, 07:00 CET

I actually think that Battlestar Galactica is kind of a masterpiece. It's smart, controversial, , character-driven, topical, artistic and though-provoking. It's also incredibly dark, and in the past two seasons, at times distractingly abstract.

I actually think even the worst episodes of BSG (Well with the possible exception of Black Market) still have some small kernel of greatness keeping it from falling to the quality of lesser Sci-Fi shows.

I don't think Battlestar is really intended to be a show that you watch six times on DVD and get that warm feeling you do watching your favorite episodes of Buffy. It has no qualms with having characters you love doing despicable things, and forcing you to sympathise with people you find unlikeable. It asks tough questions and very rarely cops to one answer being correct. It's meant to provoke you, and keep you watching.

I have a really tough time comparing Buffy/Angel and Firefly to BSG for that reason. Joss' shows are fun to watch, even when Joss is torturing his characters. The ebb and flow means that you will feel excited and terrified and a whole web of emotions even during the characters darkest moments. BSG asks you to separate yourself from the material, you aren't there with a writer having a ride, you are observing it and questioning it.

[ edited by rabid on 2008-12-12 08:18 ]

rabid | December 12, 08:18 CET

BSG is a bit of a love/hate relationship, and who doesn’t love those? For the longest time I couldn’t figure out if it was for or against religion, or neither. I still can’t (BSG, always good with surprises), but I think I see whereto it’s leaning. It sure harps on the issue though, and if it all turns out for nothing I’ll hate it some more.

Mark was brilliant in BSG. He does well with characters with a bit of an edge, but didn’t get to shine in Firefly. I hope we’ll see more of him in Dollhouse than two episodes.

ETA: imdb has him down for three episodes, if that is saying anything.

[ edited by hence on 2008-12-12 10:30 ]

hence | December 12, 08:23 CET

BSG is an unmitigated masterpiece, IMO. Even it's rare mediocre eps are a gazillion times better than most anything that has ever been on TV.
Solidarity with Joss, yay! ;-)

Shey | December 12, 11:48 CET

Mark was brilliant in BSG

Though he did have some woeful material to work with, the cat episode was just appalling.

Simon | December 12, 11:51 CET

Yeah that was bad, that was.
But I kind of liked how he presented his part as a caricature with a core of honesty. It was a silly character to begin with.

hence | December 12, 12:56 CET

So, since we seem to reminiscing (and talking about BSG, of which I've only seen a couple of episodes due Norway's habit of inconsistent televising), does anyone know who got to be Joss' common law wife?

I liked what I saw of BSG and will eventually get around to ordering the series on DVD. But then, I loved the original series, so I'm already biased. Some of the new BSG though -really embarrassing to watch with the kids. It was actually my 11-year-old who found the series by accident. She declared it really good, and then spent the better part of an episode involving some rather adult behaviour with her hands over her eyes and saying "Gleh" at regular intervals. Didn't stop her from watching it though, and that's something when you're eleven.

MysticSlug | December 12, 16:57 CET

MysticSlug: "...does anyone know who got to be Joss' common law wife?"

Since it only took six boxes of pencils to enter into common law marr-i-ahge with Joss, I would imagine there's a bunch of us, including myself.

"Also if anyone buys more than six boxes of pencils, I will become your common law wife." - Joss

(And now "gleh" is my new favorite word.)

ETF: linky-loss

[ edited by QuoterGal on 2008-12-12 18:53 ]

QuoterGal | December 12, 18:51 CET

Wait! It's Joss' common law husband? *slap forehead*

That's even funnier, and I need to pay more attention.

"Gleh" is apparently a very useful word given its frequency of use in our home.

ETA QG: How's that working out for you?

[ edited by MysticSlug on 2008-12-12 21:05 ]

MysticSlug | December 12, 21:04 CET

I would think the life-sized Sean Maher chained up in his basement gets first claim at common law husband, no?

The One True b!X | December 12, 21:05 CET

Ah, what a twisted sort of family I married into!

korkster | December 12, 21:29 CET

Ah, what a twisted sort of family I married into!
korkster | December 12, 21:29 CET

Me too!!(I bought more than enough pencils).
Which means this is the third twisted family I've married into (not simultaneously) plus my own twisted family.
I need to go scrub out my brain now (right after I check the basement). ;-)

Shey | December 13, 14:53 CET

You need to log in to be able to post comments.
About membership.

« Older Total Sci Fi talks to Joss about D... | All About Tahmoh Penikett Posts Ga... Newer »

Home . Archives . About . . Membership . Log in . Shop . Search

© 2002 - 2009 - WHEDONesque.com (e-mail)
Individual posts are copyright their respective authors

This is a non-profit, unofficial website, not affiliated with Mutant Enemy, Inc., 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers or UPN.

Click to see the XML version of this web page.