Whedonesque : Comments on 21048 : (SPOILER) A Guided Tour of Dollhouse Season 2!

Very good interview. Thanks for posting the link.

Simon | July 22, 19:31 CET

Damn, seems the website is now down...did we crash it?

Ashley | July 22, 19:41 CET

It's still there for me.

Donnie | July 22, 19:47 CET

An error occured. What the fish, man? What the fish?

Progressive_Stupidity | July 22, 19:50 CET

This has got me all kinds of excited!

luv4whedon | July 22, 19:53 CET

Hmm strange, tried it in a different browser and it work.

Anyway, great interview. Many thanks :)

Ashley | July 22, 19:56 CET

Can someone post the main points of the interview for the people who can't access the website?

Progressive_Stupidity | July 22, 19:57 CET

Main points (contains spoilers, of course):

* "No, we didn’t have to [fire half our cast], amazing enough. They cut the budget nominally. I respond very well to that kind of challenge."

* "we’ll still walk the line between standalone engagements and more arcing stories."

* "we could only get Amy for three episodes."

* "We have plans to bring [Alpha] back but not right away. We like Alpha as a looming presence. We’re going to be introducing a different kind of problem into the characters’ lives, but Alpha’s always on the periphery."

And my favorite quote: "There’s no fear that our numbers will go down because they physically can’t."

[ edited by Jobo on 2009-07-22 20:02 ]

Jobo | July 22, 20:01 CET

Amy Acker will only be in three episodes next season, since she's a regular on ABC's Happy Town and they didn't get her for more episodes. Alpha will be back, but not right away. Echo's journey to self-awareness will be pushed further. The question of why Paul demanded November's freedom and not Echo's will come up early on. We'll see more of Victor and Sierra and we'll see how everyone ended up at the Dollhouse. There will be a conspiracy, also a new threat for the Dollhouse. Joss is not worried about being on Fridays anymore, since the audience decreasing is physically impossible, he likes the challenge of the smaller budget and thinks it actually helps the show.

Donnie | July 22, 20:02 CET

What’s your answer to those who are queasy with the idea that the Actives are basically prostitutes since they have no power over who they sleep with?

I never thought of that! No, I did.

Heh.

catherine | July 22, 20:14 CET

* "we could only get Amy for three episodes."

Sadfaceage.

Progressive_Stupidity | July 22, 20:17 CET

Someone posted on IMDb that Alexis Denisof is also going to appear on Dollhouse for three episodes. Does anybody know if this is fact, or just fan rumors?

Little Green Kid | July 22, 20:27 CET

Seems like it doesn't work when you visit the site from Europe; use an American proxy and you should be able to see it.

Tristan | July 22, 20:32 CET

OK, now I'm ridiculously stoked for S2. Especially by this:

We know Boyd is a moral guy; he was a cop so his presence here is a little incongruous. We want to tease that for a while and then actually explain it.

I think Boyd is a part moral, part not-so-moral, part not-moral guy, meaning he's really interesting. And I have a burning yearning for his "Chinatown" episode. Which already is set in stone (in my head, smooshed in with the rest of the stone). There's always a girl, and he misread her, and got her killed or worse-than. And that's why he's no fan of the "people reading" that Topher mentioned in "Man on the Street," but does "the work" instead to make sure his hunches are right.

Pointy | July 22, 20:33 CET

Makes me sad that Amy will be most likely gone after three episodes. Is it terribly wrong for me to really hope that Happy Town fails hard?

I assume, if it's a success, then Whiskey will start to malfunction and be sent to the attic.

Knuckleball | July 22, 20:38 CET

Yay. Can't believe how fast season 2 is happening. Dare I say, hurray for Fox?

stuffy | July 22, 20:38 CET

Seems like a less-humorous, and much more giving-of-information interview than usual from Joss.

CaptainB | July 22, 20:44 CET

Don't worry guys, Happy Town is absolutely awful and will find a quick and messy death. Amy will be back soon enough!

VaughnOfTheDead | July 22, 20:46 CET

Fantastic! I am spoiler-averse, but not Joss interview averse. He mainly gives a lot of hints, and no concrete details that really bother me. I must say everything he hints about sounds really exciting and I am so happy we got a season 2 of Dollhouse!

AnotherFireflyfan | July 22, 20:59 CET

If Happy Town only has a seven episodes order and it fails, maybe when they'll done filming Amy can be available for the last episodes of the season. After that, they need to do a bulletproof contract to her :P

Angel TheVampire | July 22, 21:03 CET

We'll see more of Victor and Sierra

This is a very good thing.

jcs | July 22, 21:04 CET

I like the sound of this. Good interview.

Joss is someone who can create sympathy for people doing awful things better than anyone I know. So far that is not part of the mix for me on Dollhouse, but I'm looking forward to seeing if he can manage it with...somebody or another in season 2. He managed to make the end of season 1 interesting even without it, so this should be very interesting.

newcj | July 22, 21:08 CET

dollhouse needs much more than 3 Acker episodes. :(

However, great interview. Is it anyway possible they'll show S2 footage at CC?

Rhodey | July 22, 21:14 CET

I'm sure they'll be able to make the 3 Acker episodes really count. Still wish she would be in more of them.

What I really still want to know is - are they planning on putting the finale at episode 13? Or are they banking on a potential back-nine order? My personal preference would be to have a finale - and then a second story arc if they get more episodes this season.

AnotherFireflyfan | July 22, 21:16 CET

Absolutely do a fianle at episode 13...and again at 22...and again...

It is like bringing an umbrella so it won't rain.

newcj | July 22, 21:19 CET

Nice. I like where they seem to be going with Season 2. Very much.

Sunfire | July 22, 21:52 CET

Only three episodes for Amy? I has a sad.

Maybe they should do what UK shows like Doctor Who do, film in "Blocks" and not episode by episode, that way if they had Amy for four weeks (how long it takes to shoot three episodes) they could spread her scenes throughout the season.

But that would mean waiting far longer for episodes to air of course.

zz9 | July 22, 21:55 CET

Nice interview, and not too spoilery specific.

I rather imagine AA will be back after her other project fails, which seems almost inevitable, from what I've read (unless everybody I've read is wrong). But it's still too bad that Joss could get her for only three eps.

palehorse | July 22, 22:21 CET

I'm just happy they got Amy at all! Dollhouse needs their Whiskey.

AnotherFireflyfan | July 22, 22:51 CET

I have mixed emotions about Amy. I would like to see her back on Dollhouse, but would also like to see her become a success on her own show. Like David B.

Little Green Kid | July 22, 22:52 CET

What's wrong with being a success on Joss's show?

AnotherFireflyfan | July 22, 23:41 CET

Can't believe I'm the first saying this, but I'm really looking forward to seeing Topher get worked a little more in terms of character growth. I think Fran Kranz's is a hell of an actor and maybe some were turned off by his character too much to notice. He makes some great facial expressions, both comedic and dramatic. I think he's very convincing in both roles.

[ edited by LaneMeyer on 2009-07-23 03:05 ]

LaneMeyer | July 23, 00:27 CET

I am grateful they got Amy for 3 episodes but like what a lot of people have said, I want more Amy on DH! I sincerely hope they snatch her up if things go south for her new show.

silent knight | July 23, 00:32 CET

Only bad news is Amy only being there for 3 episodes. Other than that, I'm exited about S2. Also: Joss' opinion of S1 sounds a lot like mine (and quite a few others' ;)). Which is a good thing :).

I'm pretty sure S2 is going to be great :).

GVH | July 23, 00:42 CET

Fabulous interview; sounds like the season's going all kinds of good places. I'm thrilled we're getting more Victor and Sierra, and equally thrilled that Topher's got an interesting journey in store. Backstory for Boyd is also a plus, and I'd love to see Dominic back at some point . . . so yeah, happy news pretty much all around. Kinda goes without saying around here, but I can't wait. :-)

And is it just me, or does the Jossir look really happy in that pic?

erendis | July 23, 01:02 CET

He gets to make a TV show, working with Eliza all day, while being paid huge amounts of money.

Wouldn't you have a smile on your face?

zz9 | July 23, 01:05 CET

Great interview.Glad they'll have Amy back for some episodes.

[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2009-07-23 01:54 ]

Buffyfantic | July 23, 01:54 CET

From the article:

Why did Paul demand November’s freedom rather than Echo’s . . .

I assumed it was because Ballard knew Alpha would be back for Echo and figured she would be better protected in the Dollhouse rather than free, out in the world as Caroline, where Alpha would be able to easily track her down. This seemed to me to be more logical than the conflict Ballard supposedly had gone through (in Joss's answer).

StinkyCats | July 23, 03:08 CET

No mentioning at all about the religious aspect. Is that because it has been dropped, it’s too much of a taboo, or that generally subtext is left to its own devices (but then why’s the prostitution thing often brought up). I sure hope we get more of that in season two anyway.

hence | July 23, 03:29 CET

Why did Paul demand November’s freedom rather than Echo’s

I always assumed it was guilt over what he did to November.

Simon | July 23, 07:12 CET

Whoa, that was quite a bit of info. Also, this:

We don’t have the burden of being a hit. We’re not being overly scrutinized. There’s no fear that our numbers will go down because they physically can’t.

Very funny, this guy.

wiesengrund | July 23, 08:48 CET

So, Eliza tweeted that she and Amy might be making out this season...is that a spoiler worthy of invisi-text? Is it a joke? Shall I be better safe than sorry? I'll think of it as all of the above.

edcsLover9 | July 23, 13:06 CET

I am actually more intrigued by her coining of the term "Tahmoment". I could eat that word. Or a crisp.

wiesengrund | July 23, 13:10 CET

"Tahmoment" is one of those obvious things that makes you kick yourself for not thinking of it first. Good on you Eliza!

edcsLover9 | July 23, 13:17 CET

I want Whiskey's three episode's to be Whiskey-centric, then! I want lots of Amy time. She's my favourite. Also, I want John Barrowman to play a smarmy superhero in Dr. Horrible 2.

Liam Mars | July 23, 18:08 CET

I never saw that tweet.

Eliza has already said in an earlier interview that they're looking to possibly do some gay/lesbian storylines, although I was hoping it would be gay, seeing as we already had Willow in Buffy and Inara was a companion to women as well as men.

There was Andrew obviously, but I found him to be semi-stereotypical.

Progressive_Stupidity | July 23, 19:51 CET

July 22 2009