Fox Network's solicitation preview for Dollhouse Season 2 - Dollhouse

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May 19 2009

Fox Network's solicitation preview for Dollhouse Season 2. The synopsis presented to advertisers regarding season 2 of Dollhouse. Contains some new plot information.

Barclay | Dollhouse | 12:10 CET | 69 comments total | tags: dollhouse, season 2

It seems at least the main cast is all still on board, yay :)

Pretty_Hate_Machine | May 19, 12:12 CET

Everyone but Amy Acker and Miracle Laurie (though that's not much of a surprise).

The spoilers are pretty minor, though it does reveal what Paul will be doing for the Dollhouse. (On the other hand, the info, aside from the spoilers, is pretty much just a synopsis of the premise/plot of the first season, so there's not much new there.)

[ edited by Septimus on 2009-05-19 12:25 ]

Septimus | May 19, 12:21 CET

It's not really that spoilerish so I've removed the tag.

Simon | May 19, 12:28 CET

Amy Acker and Miracle Laurie were guest stars in s1 so that's why they're not listed. I do hope they both come back for at least the premiere.

J.I.G. | May 19, 12:40 CET

Yeah, the only new information was the bit about Paul and that was already given away by the April Fool's video... Which makes me wonder from which episode that scene came from? It should be Epitaph One, but that episode is supposed to be set in the future... Or is it present AND the future?

BTW, I hope that Season 2 won't focus on "Echo’s blossoming self-awareness and her desire to discover her true identity". She already became self-aware and discovered her true identity in Omega and if she has for some reason willingly decided to wipe it all away (as we’ve seen at the end of the episode), then I’m not particularly interested to see how she tries to regain it. I think there are more interesting stories to tell. So hopefully this was indeed just a slightly adjusted synopsis of the premise of the first season and second season will revolve around something different.

And I don't think that Amy's and Miracle's absence in the cast credits means, that we won't see them in Season 2. After all, their characters were only recurring and those aren’t usually listed with the main characters.

ETA: Or what J.I.G. said...

[ edited by Anuris on 2009-05-19 12:46 ]

Anuris | May 19, 12:45 CET

How does the pay for guest stars work? Is it measured per episode, per line of dialogue, or ...?

I'm wondering which is more cost effective -- sprinkling in small doses of the guest stars across multiple episodes or doing a heavier focus on a particular guest star in a single episode (e.g., "The Whiskey/Sauders episode")?

SteveP | May 19, 12:51 CET

I want Amy to come back but I kind of hope that's it for Miracle/November. It kind of looses the impact of her being set free at the end of 'Omega' if she comes back again.

The only new tidbit is Paul being Echo's handler which I kind of guessed would happen anyway. Poor Boyd though, I hope they keep going with the Echo/Boyd relationship that was one of my favourite things about s1.

vampmogs | May 19, 13:02 CET

Surely Miracle's character is now the perfect opportunity to see how well they can survive going back in to the real world after five years doing god knows what?

flugufrelsarinn | May 19, 13:04 CET

Vampmogs - I'm thinking the wipe free return to normal doesn't quite work properly and poor old Mellie suffers.

I'm pretty sure Miracle twittered yesterday about the fact that should couldn't wait to get back to her dollhouse buddies. So, I think she'll be back.

bubblecat | May 19, 13:06 CET

I can understand why Miracle Laurie wouldnt be in season 2 but Im still hoping she could have some sort of Paul-related story or something.

I doubt Amy Acker will be gone. In Omega Whiskey seemed content enough to continue her role as Dr.Saunders. Maybe she'll become a regular?

Progressive_Stupidity | May 19, 13:07 CET

Amy is now a series regular (not reoccuring like on DH) with ABC's "Happy Town".

gossi | May 19, 13:12 CET

I agree with flug, it is a perfect chance to do that.

I also really hope that Amy becomes a member of the main cast. She's one of the better actresses on the show.w

geratongs3000 | May 19, 13:14 CET

Ballard made a point of getting November's real name. Surely he'll try to locate her--not in a stalkery way, just to see that she's doing OK. What if she isn't?

Maybe she's retired to a nice house in the hills--teaching a bit of Hawaiian dance just to pass the time. (Hey, we got to see Tahmoh go all martial! Why not let Miracle show what she can do?) But--somebody recognizes her from her Dollhouse antics. Trouble ensues.

Yes, this is a good way to see how ex-Dolls function. Do they really get all their "old" self back? Or might their contract specify that certain painful bits be left out? It appeared that November really did have a pain filled, needy self that kept bleeding through. And we know that Dollhouse Tech isn't perfect.

Since she's "beginning" actress, I'll bet using Miracle in some episodes wouldn't break the budget.

not_Bridget | May 19, 13:18 CET

So...how are they going to explain pencil-mustache Travis' going away?

edcsLover9 | May 19, 13:22 CET

He fell on a crayon. It was horrificly hilarious.

gossi | May 19, 13:27 CET

Isn't Happy Town being kept back til mid-season? It might be that she'll be able to guest a few times on Dollhouse at least.

flugufrelsarinn | May 19, 13:28 CET

What the web page says about Paul for season 2 was what I suspected, although his original objective may not be done.

impalergeneral | May 19, 13:31 CET

Re: Travis' going away?

Collateral damage from the Alpha/Omega rampage. (*guess*)

SteveP | May 19, 13:31 CET

Oh yeah. I'd completely forgotten about him if your talking about Echo's new handler...I didnt even remember his name.

He didnt exactly do a fantastic job, maybe they just fired him for letting his charge get chased by a shovel weilding maniac and then kidnapped?

I did that at a job once. It totally didnt go down well.

Progressive_Stupidity | May 19, 13:34 CET

He didnt exactly do a fantastic job, maybe they just fired him for letting his charge get chased by a shovel weilding maniac and then kidnapped?

I did that at a job once. It totally didnt go down well.

Progressive_Stupidity | May 19, 13:34 CET

It's been a long time since I had a job that interesting. :)

Shey | May 19, 13:41 CET

I bet Travis is hanging out with Dom now in the attic.

wilder | May 19, 13:56 CET

The Ballard thing is news to me Probably because I didn't 'get' the palaver about the april fool's thing at the time.
Bleah. Can't Boyd become her handler again? *whines*

Caroline | May 19, 14:03 CET

Well, if Miracle's posts on Twitter are any indication, then it seems she'll be around somewhat next year.

JMaloney | May 19, 14:28 CET

Dollhouse getting a 2nd season was the best birthday present I got 2 day, tho it was broke at the weekend, infact 1 of the coolest presents in my 19 years!

Gota luv that Buffy | May 19, 14:46 CET

It will be interesting to see if November's mind wipe and restore are complete. Maybe the old "triggers" still work.

There are three flowers in a vase...

Passion | May 19, 15:12 CET

Quoth Passion:

There are three flowers in a vase...

Aww crap. I woke up with blood all over me and now there's some dead guy in my living room...

Curse you Passion!! *shakes fist at sky*

crystalsinger | May 19, 15:30 CET

Yep, I've posted this before but I would miss Mellie most of all. She had me from the lasagne (in a Jerry Maguire way), and I loved Miracle Laurie's performance throughout all her changes.

I'd like to see her front and centre throughout season 2 - which is why I want her back in the Dollhouse - but I'd be happy enough seeing her struggle with normal life. Add in some Hawaiian dancing, and, well, I'd be the happiest girl in the world!

Ildeth | May 19, 15:36 CET

Paul in his new role should be pretty interesting all around. Both in terms of how he deals with it and how other people react to him being in their space.

Sunfire | May 19, 16:04 CET

Amy is now a series regular (not reoccuring like on DH) with ABC's "Happy Town".

So does that mean that she definitely would not be able to appear on Dollhouse at all or would she still be able to make an occasional guest appearance? I can think of quite a few instances of someone having a recurring role on one show while being a regular on another, Armin Shimerman being an example with DS9 and Buffy.

SteveJ2008 | May 19, 16:06 CET

ABC just announced that Happy Town will be a mid-season show, so I think and hope that Amy will be able to find some time for Dollhouse. She would be greatly missed if she didn’t. :-(

Anuris | May 19, 16:50 CET

crystalsinger- I couldn't resist.

I would find it interesting if Paul found the trigger sentence (while working at the Dollhouse) and tried it on November just to test that she is really clean, and found out it still worked. The mind reels at the possible stories Joss can decide to tell.

Also I want me some more Amy in season 2.

Passion | May 19, 16:56 CET

Amy appearing on Dollhouse could also be subject to ABC's willingness to let her do it. Bill Lawrence wanted to bring back Masi Oka and Sarah Lancaster for the ~~series~~ season finale of Scrubs, but NBC turned him down. Granted, that may have been a bit of sour grapes due to the show jumping networks (NBC->ABC) this season, but it's still a factor.

JMaloney | May 19, 17:12 CET

Here is the April Fool's video. I just saw it for the first time, and now I desperately want to know where this is from. I don't think it's from the original pilot, and doesn't seem to be from Epitaph One either. Eliza did say many times she had to speak russian on Dollhouse, I've been wondering about it since I saw Omega.

danhaes | May 19, 17:15 CET

JMaloney, I think something smilar happened when TheWB wanted Alyson Hannigan to guest star on Angel. UPN agreed to let her do it if the let David Boreanaz appear in the Buffy series finale.

danhaes | May 19, 17:18 CET

'Happy Town' may be mid-season, but that doesn't mean it shoots late. Think Dollhouse - it premiered in February this year, but it started shooting Summer 2008.

It's possible Amy could appear in Dollhouse, but it's down to shooting schedules (she's a regular on 'Happy Town', which means that's quite complicated to sort out), and both ABC and FOX agreeing to it. It's possible you may seen a guest appearance or two, but in terms of regular feature of Dollhouse? Nada.

It's absolutely not Amy or anybody elses fault. It's a bummer for us, but Amy deserves as much screen time as possible if you ask me. She should be workin'. If 'Dollhouse' outlasts 'Happy Town', I'm pretty sure Joss would bring her back. 'cos seriously: Acker.

gossi | May 19, 17:27 CET

That is seriously confusing, danielgm. All I can figure is... maybe an alternate ending to Omega? They end with Paul taking his new active out on a mission? I am so intrigued.

sumogrip | May 19, 17:35 CET

Well, I hope the Whiskey story line doesn't have to be dropped entirely, even if they bring her back very rarely.

AnotherFireflyfan | May 19, 17:35 CET

That's what I said in another post. If anyone deserves a big shot, high-profile, big Hollywood fame it's Amy. For that I'm very glad and very proud of our little Acker, and I hope she becomes the next big thing with this show. But I really wish her character on Dollhouse could be more explored, she interests me more than some of the main cast, like Ballard or Topher.

danhaes | May 19, 17:36 CET

I too had not seen that April Fool's clip. Strange. Glad I wasn't spoiled by it, but that scene never actually happened. Alternate ending to Omega makes sense, we already know a lot had to be cut from that episode. Maybe it will be on the dvd as a deleted scene.

AnotherFireflyfan | May 19, 17:36 CET

I'd love to see Amy return in some form, too. But remember, this is Dollhouse, we don't need the ACTOR to return in order for the CHARACTER to return.

Septimus | May 19, 17:38 CET

Having someone else become the doctor next would be wicked awesome.

Sunfire | May 19, 17:46 CET

Victor.

gossi | May 19, 17:53 CET

Yeah, that's my guess as well.

swanjun | May 19, 17:54 CET

Victor! yay!! I am very happy that he'll be in season 2.

angry_puppy | May 19, 18:00 CET

I really look forward to a whole season of ensemble storytelling. If Victor does receive the Saunders imprint, will he battle with awareness of his dollness eventually as well?

swanjun | May 19, 18:05 CET

Victor.

That'd be pretty great, yeah. There'd have to be a hell of an arc for him there to warrant limiting Enver to one character though.

Sunfire | May 19, 18:08 CET

< Honesty> This is all well and good, but I want to gaze longingly at Amy Acker, thanks very much. < /honesty>

ThorpeWithoutShrimp | May 19, 18:14 CET

Well if we have to lose Amy, at least it looks like we'll still have Miracle Laurie on the show in some form, at least judging by her recent tweets, so that's good news.

And maybe Amy and Alan as well can still pop up for the occasional guest appearance somewhere along the way, I know Alan did say in an interview that he would most likely be able to be freed up for an appearance if they needed him.

SteveJ2008 | May 19, 18:30 CET

In other news, ABC has Ugly Betty on Fridays 9PM now. Different audience, but still.

J.I.G. | May 19, 18:32 CET

Yeah, Victor would be the logical choice for new doctor. But, Joss is never logical, and Enver is so brilliant it'd be almost sad to see him in one role and one role only!

I'd love to see Dominic as the Doc Saunders.

brynmars | May 19, 18:34 CET

I'm not sure in which of the new threds about DH's return I saw it, but I find it interesting that they commented that the idea of Echo regaining her identity was in part their way to provide a character the audience could identify with- which would seem to directly address criticisms that were lodged about S1 by people (including me) about the need to have someone to invest in. So in and of itself, that would represent a change in direction.

As to Mellie, I could see her remaining in the show. Just because she was freed does not mean the reason she "volunteered" in the first place is resolved. We know she lost a child; now that she is free, she has to face that loss again. She was freed but not freed, if you get my drift. As to Dr. Saunders, I suspect she gets a small role at best, and knowing that they had to cut costs and with AA signed to another show, that's one way to save money.

If I recall, a recurrent character on a TV show usually gets union scale, which runs around 8-10g per episode, if my memory serves. Unless they have negotiated something different. Perhaps someone can correct me here.

Dana5140 | May 19, 18:52 CET

I could definitely see Victor as Saunders happening, though it would be a shame if it meant no Amy (I wish her all the best, but I'd prefer to actually see her on television) and I also really liked Victor in different roles (the actor was really a nice find, I think). But Joss 'd propably make it work. We will see (because Dollhouse is renewed!)

I think having all the main characters on the same side (no more Ballard as an enemy) could help solve the indentification issue, cause it could help to make it easier to make the audience sympathize with the Dollhouse.

the Groosalugg | May 19, 18:56 CET

A House where Boyd and Paul are working security for Adelle is a House with only one side to nothing at all. ;)

Sunfire | May 19, 19:14 CET

Heartbroken to think we might be losing Dr. Saunders... and Amy Acker... though of course it's great for her to be a regular on a series blah blah blah ;). I'm slightly comforted and very intrigued by this, though:

Victor.

That'd be pretty great, yeah. There'd have to be a hell of an arc for him there to warrant limiting Enver to one character though.

Yes! Give him one hell of an arc!!! In fact, what Sunfire said, x 2. (Which makes me wonder, where is Saje? How can we all agree with him if he doesn't show up?).

I have mixed feelings about Paul as Echo's watcher (I want BOYD to be her watcher! wah!) but then I had mixed feelings about the whole concept, and am very excited about S2 now, so we'll see where it all goes. (Yay! We'll see where it all goes!). OK, I'll stop abusing exclamation marks now...

catherine | May 19, 19:33 CET

I can't see Joss not fighting to get Amy to at least wrap up her story, or give her a reason to run away in to the sunset for the time-being.

flugufrelsarinn | May 19, 19:44 CET

Or bring her back and kill off Saunder ;)

gossi | May 19, 19:53 CET

I'll proper beef if Joss kills Amy again :(

flugufrelsarinn | May 19, 19:57 CET

Miracle Laurie really was one of the only cast members who stood out for me this season. Everyone was praising Dichen, but I don't know... only Miracle (and Enver) did it for me and really showed off her acting chops. I would love for her to somehow come back to the Dollhouse, but the way this season ended is worrying me.

[ edited by NathanG on 2009-05-19 20:15 ]

NathanG | May 19, 20:14 CET

I don't think she'll be back in the Dollhouse, but I think she'll be a part of the story, and maybe most particularly Ballard's arc.

catherine | May 19, 20:21 CET

Mellie joined the dollhouse for a reason-did she have her bad memories wiped? If not she's going to be at the same place she was before she became a doll and I have no idea where that leads.

beckyboo | May 19, 20:28 CET

Hoping that season 2 gets into more of the characters' backstories. Which would certainly mean more of Mellie. I'm still intrigued by that series of mug shots of her that flew past on the FBI computer. Possibly those all occurred while she was on engagements, and the dollhouse sprang her, but - we haven't seen any other doll arrested and we have seen a willingness to eliminate Echo altogether when she was in danger of arrest. So my thinking is that Mellie may have a far more interesting past, and greater incentive for having joined up than being just a sweet woman who couldn't deal with the loss of a child.

I keep rehearing the question Paul's FBI colleague posed, but with a slightly different connotation - "Are you sure she's a victim?"

barboo | May 19, 20:51 CET

I said it elsewhere and I'll say here too, I'm only on board for DH season two if Dichen and Miracle are back. And Enver. They're all so talented I gotta collect them all.

gossi | May 19, 21:55 CET

Like Pokemon.

Or, more aptly, dolls.

brynmars | May 19, 22:12 CET

Okay, Ballard being Echo's handler is blowing my mind. I never saw the April Fool's video, and I never dreamed that that's what was meant by his being coerced into working for the Dollhouse. Psyched.

UnpluggedCrazy | May 19, 22:22 CET

I figured from the beginning that Ballard would be working for the Dollhouse (I actually thought that he was being manipulated into it). I have to admit, I was a little surprised to find out I was right. :)

redeem147 | May 20, 01:53 CET

Ballard ought to be interesting. I thought they'd have him going after Alpha, but then that would work like a season long mystery which might actually be quite boring if that's all he's doing.

The only reason I think they probably wouldn't push a Mellie story with Paul (at least at first) is that although I think he cares for her, are we sure he could forgive himself for his own actions while she was a Doll? I still think his behavior was largely in the interest (with one glaring exception) of "self-preservation" since he knew she was capable of killing him if she suspected something was wrong, but I'd find it shocking if he could forgive himself. I don't know any man who considered himself moral could unless they were completely delusional.

azzers | May 20, 02:55 CET

Ballard becoming Echo's handler creeps me out. I thought he'd redeemed himself in Omega, but this just seems like another way to get close to his "obsession." Yucky.

Also, I want Boyd to be her handler still :(

ShanshuBugaboo | May 20, 03:27 CET

Did anybody else notice that this link lists Tahmoh Penikett with second billing after Eliza? Interesting, because he's going to be her handler, and when Boyd was her handler he had second billing.

(There's a distinct possibility that this point won't be interesting to anybody else at all - credits sequences in general, and billing order in particular are a weird obsession of mine.)

Somebody mentioned only ever being really impressed with Miracle Laurie in the first season. That got me thinking which actors had moments that impressed me... definitely Olivia, almost all the time, Enver on several occasions, Fran Kranz most of the time, Tahmoh (especially when he had a fight scene) and Eliza herself on a few occasions. Oh, and Miracle of course.

edit: I realized that list only excludes Harry and Dichen... and they've both impressed me in other things, if not here. :p

[ edited by Revolver on 2009-05-20 04:17 ]

Revolver | May 20, 04:16 CET

Interesting. My immediate assumption, once Paul was inside and Adelle made it clear that he couldn't just walk away, was that he would become Echo's handler. And that he'll still be working to bring down the operation, from the inside.
I couldn't be happier that he's going to be a more prominent presence on the show. Love the character, love Tahmon and love that he'll be more a part of the ensemble, allowing him more interaction with the other main characters.

Shey | May 21, 12:19 CET

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