Today at Comic Con - the Dollhouse panel - Dollhouse

Sat in the room now. Bones panel. Good atmosphere.

Whedonage apparently talked to Frank Kranz. He said that "There's a piece from Cabin in the Woods floating around Comic-Con, that no one's aware of" and that (possible spoiler for Dollhouse Season 2) "season 2 of Dollhouse is darker, starts in period of Epitaph One".

wiesengrund | July 24, 14:52 CET

Those are some good spoilery bits wiesengrund.

Sunfire | July 24, 14:54 CET

Hee. I said the darker thing here I while ago.

I think the panel may have surprises. Tbc.

gossi | July 24, 14:55 CET

There's a piece from Cabin in the Woods floating around Comic-Con

A flying plank?

Simon | July 24, 14:56 CET

Oh, shall I inviso all of it? Or just get rid of the "possible"?

I think Dichen said the darker thing in an interview a while ago, but there was some addendum that I can't remember now.

wiesengrund | July 24, 14:57 CET

Is John Cassaday there? *jealous*

Simon | July 24, 15:08 CET

Here I was wondering why no one had posted anything yet, then I realized there was a time difference. D'oh.

SteppeMerc | July 24, 15:11 CET

Janina Gavankar (who plays Lynn in "Epitaph One") is about to see the ep for the first time today... :)

wiesengrund | July 24, 15:13 CET

Picture of Joss & Eliza being interviewed in the press room.

Sunfire | July 24, 15:19 CET

Panel starting.

deanna b | July 24, 15:19 CET

God I love Comic-Con. :)

Rhodey | July 24, 15:23 CET

Joss - got a couple things going on, a little something he wants to show, for those who haven't Torrented it to bits. Another guest coming in, but would like to natter on about himself for awhile. Made a TV show, then a movie and comic books and then a TV show again, and he's looking at the reason for that. The people, expecialy with TIVO, kept the show alive, so thanks for ruining his summer vacation. Started filming two days ago. DVD coming on sale, and limited SDCC edition, yay. February is Cabin in the Woods, teaser posters at the MGM booth, but otherwise keeping mum. Bufffy season 8. Jane Espenson is finishing her run, will be followed by Brad Meltzen (sp?), followed by Joss. Shepherd comic coming, Jed is doing Doctor Horrible comic, and Dark Horse is even doing a Cabin in the Woods comic.

deanna b | July 24, 15:26 CET

There's some more Whedon actors in season two. (or actors we know)

Shep book comic happening for sure.

Cabin posters at MGM booth.

gossi | July 24, 15:28 CET

Yay, I'm glad to hear that Shepard comic is still on!

More familiar actors intrigues me.

SteppeMerc | July 24, 15:41 CET

I don't believe the season 2 rumor...unless it's a mislead...like just the opening scene opens like that.

marvelknight616 | July 24, 16:04 CET

Man, I wish I was at SDCC. This sucks...CURSE ME FOR NOT TRYING TO BUY TICKETS EARLIER!!!! AHHH!!!!

In other news, is anyone gonna post a video of the panel/q&a later so all us people that weren't cool enough to be there can still watch, hours later, drooling hungrily in front of our screens for the melodious sound of Joss Whedon's witty rejoinders?

I think I may have taken that metaphor too far, but question still stands.

Rune | July 24, 16:05 CET

Honestly? I'm also not sure, marvelknight616. We do know something about the sequence of things from Joss, so it might be just a minimal thing like you suggested.

wiesengrund | July 24, 16:09 CET

I think the "familiar actors" was just meaning Epitaph (which is still playing).

deanna b | July 24, 16:09 CET

marvelknight616, I'm going with your theory. I can't see a way that the rumor could pan out in full without being alienating or jarring.

UnpluggedCrazy | July 24, 16:14 CET

Epitaph over. Joss introduces Eliza.

deanna b | July 24, 16:16 CET

And there she is.

wiesengrund | July 24, 16:19 CET

Will we see Victor or Whiskey come back into their bodies and discover their scars? Yes, but... Victor might get better. Quickly.

deanna b | July 24, 16:20 CET

What has Joss read that gives him inspiration for the show? Wired. Um, he's also reading Julia and Julia, but that's not something that could enter the show.

deanna b | July 24, 16:22 CET

deanna b, you are the best, year after year!

marvelknight616 | July 24, 16:25 CET

Go deanna b!

UnpluggedCrazy | July 24, 16:26 CET

Alexis denisoff in dollhouse.

gossi | July 24, 16:28 CET

Eliza loved Man On The Street, and joss loved the doily dress.

The staff is the best first season staff Joss has ever had. Best collaborative effort, they've all came up with things he wishes he had and is grateful he didn't have to.

Writers' room is round table. Show came about because Joss knew that Eliza could play sophisticated and funny and

Sorry, behind. Alexis Denisof next season.

deanna b | July 24, 16:28 CET

Possibly also Glau, not set in stone yet.

gossi | July 24, 16:29 CET

New visual style for season two.

gossi | July 24, 16:29 CET

Inspired by the people. On episode directed by John Cassiday.

deanna b | July 24, 16:30 CET

Ah, "Glau." Couldn't quite make out the name. Klow? Oh, duh. Not a certainty, thought, but it might happen.

deanna b | July 24, 16:31 CET

WTF? This man has never directed, has he?

Awesome.

And stealing the DP of 24? Genius.

wiesengrund | July 24, 16:31 CET

You guys with the updates, you are my heroes.

Rune | July 24, 16:37 CET

Looking forward to Alexis next season.Hope Summer works out.I'm still disapointed in losing T:SCC.

Buffyfantic | July 24, 16:37 CET

If Eliza could have been on Firefly, what sort of character would she have played. Ask Joss. Um, a missionary?

Why does Joss kill people? Sometimes because the actor is leaving, so it's a contractual thing, but he tries to make that hurt as much as the ones that are for plot reasons.

THere's only one person on Dollhouse who can be trusted, so he's going to die.

S2 won't show things as bad as Ep 13.

Darn, I keep getting distracted by listening to Joss and forgetting to type.

deanna b | July 24, 16:37 CET

They talked about a lot of things when they accidently forgot to get cancelled, but some memories might not be actually true. We'll see the characters from ep 13 in the first episode in their future world in some scenes. What we've seen isn't always the whole truth. Not intending to be a post-apocalypse-sometimes show, but that will be in the background.

"Miranda" and "Ariel" weren't meant to be direct Tempest references, he just liked the names, he's a lazy writer. Hey, he named a character "Illyria."

Will Joss do another musical? Well, the other writers of Doctor Horrible are backstage....

Hang on, new panelists. Sierra (dammit I forget her name) and Tamoe.

deanna b | July 24, 16:45 CET

Sierra is played by Dichen Lachman.

UnpluggedCrazy | July 24, 16:48 CET

deanna b said (and a HUGE thank you to her!):
THere's only one person on Dollhouse who can be trusted, so he's going to die.
OMG That means they're going to kill Boyd.... can't we have him turn evil instead?!?!

Oh I wish I was in San Diego! Jane Espenson just tweeted that she was riding around in a bicycle rickshaw.

embers | July 24, 16:51 CET

They have a dartboard in the writers' room with "Gets killed," "Is wiped," etc. with foam darts. No, really.

Joss - As long as we don't send anyone to feudal Japan, I think we'll be okay....

Will Australia get Dollhouse outside of paid TV. Paid TV? You come from a bad country.

Who doesn't love a good zombie apocalypse. Yes, they're sort of like Reavers. I told you, no new thoughts.

deanna b | July 24, 16:54 CET

Theoretically, the writers of Dollhouse just stood up, but I can't see them. They are the brains of the operation, and Joss is the lymph node.

deanna b | July 24, 16:55 CET

It must said (again) Deanna b , so awesome for doing this.

Rhodey | July 24, 16:55 CET

I'm trying to contain how excited I am at the news of Alexis and possibly Summer (please please let Summer be in it).

As an attendee of NY Comic Con, I say darn all you Pacificers. Don't get me wrong, seeing Joss and Tahmoh was awesome. But wow, they also get Eliza and Dichen? I am jealous, not to mention all these amazing news, and seeing Epitaph 1 (though showing it back before the show started may have been odd).

SteppeMerc | July 24, 16:57 CET

What gives Joss the idea of companies messing with your mind. Have you BEEN in America?? Its like runing the day care on the Death Star. There is power and manipulation that's controlling our every thought. It's a documentary.

deanna b | July 24, 16:57 CET

Gosh I'm sad I missed it to get into the really screwed up line. A ticket is no guaruntee for Fox to let me meet Joss.

whimsy38 | July 24, 17:03 CET

I'm confused! No one has said anything in nine minutes from any of my sources! Is the panel over?

marvelknight616 | July 24, 17:07 CET

Panel over.

Bit I didn't finish: The actors inform and influence the direction of the character by their talents and personalities. Joss came up with the idea by knowing that Eliza could play sophisticated and funny and smart, and that nobody else was going to cast her as those types of characters unless he did her himself. Wait, that came out wrong. But things he learns about the actors lead to other things. After a Buffy episode with Spike, he started the Shakespeare readings at his house because of James' background, and that led to the musical, etc.

Joss cast Felicia in Dr. Horrible because of a bit in a Christmas epsode of The Guild where she sings, and in Dollhouse because another actress was unavailable, so someone suggested her.

Um, and other stuff. ANd Joss wants Eliza to record a CD, because she's got a good voice.

deanna b | July 24, 17:08 CET

Thanks so much to all the typers! Very much appreciated!

Hope someone is at the Angel panel tomorrow to do the same thing:)

angeliclestat | July 24, 17:09 CET

Thank you, far fun correspondents, especially the legendary deanna b!

Pointy | July 24, 17:10 CET

Thank you so much deanna b! You're such a rockstar!

marvelknight616 | July 24, 17:10 CET

Um.. wow.. Alexis on Dollhouse!!! I hope its just not a one-time thing.

LaneMeyer | July 24, 17:11 CET

I'm very happy we seem to have confirmation that Joss will be finishing of Season 8. I was very very disappointed when he started talking about getting someone else to write it

Let Down | July 24, 17:12 CET

Oh yeah and Alexis on Dollhouse is the coolest thing ever. He's such a great actor

Let Down | July 24, 17:12 CET

Um.. wow.. Alexis on Dollhouse!!! I hope its just not a one-time thing.

I think I read somewhere that he said "a few episodes" re: Alexis.

wiesengrund | July 24, 17:13 CET

Yeah Alexis - great that he is finally getting some work!

baxter | July 24, 17:15 CET

Alexis should be one of the most sought after actors therer is. Dont know why he is not working more. Personal choice maybe>

angeliclestat | July 24, 17:17 CET

So my understanding was that there was the Dollhouse panel followed by the screening of Epitaph One followed by a Dark Horse panel with Joss. Is that right? Does that mean Joss will be talking again soon or is it all done?

Let Down | July 24, 17:21 CET

It was E1-screening and then panel, but I've no idea if the Joss solo q&a has already happened.

wiesengrund | July 24, 17:26 CET

Eliza is doing a live action movie version of WET? Or were people on twitter misunderstanding her?

edcsLover9 | July 24, 17:28 CET

Apparently it's past 6pm in San Diego so I think the solo q&a has happened

Let Down | July 24, 17:28 CET

Eliza is doing a live action movie version of WET? Or were people on twitter misunderstanding her?

I think she WANTS to do ii, not that she does it, but I might be mistaken.

Meanwhile there's apparently a signing going on.

And yeah, I guess the solo q&a melted with the Dollhouse q&a into one long... dollhouse q&a.

wiesengrund | July 24, 17:32 CET

Yeah, that makes sense since he mentioned the Shepherd Book comic as well as Buffy, Cabin in the Wood comics and Dr Horrible comics

Let Down | July 24, 17:40 CET

What's going on with the Buffy cartoon project? Is that even real? And I thought we'd hear a little more about the Buffy comic. Oh well.

GhostsWatcher | July 24, 17:54 CET

The Guardian reports from Comic-Con and talks about Eliza, Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana and the role of female action heroes.

zz9 | July 24, 17:57 CET

Alexis on Dollhouse will be tres sweet. Considering Wesley was my favorite Angel character, and how awesome he was as Sandy Rivers on HIMYM, this should be the most amazing thing ever. Well, at least close.

Rune | July 24, 18:23 CET

deanna B- thank you so much. Can I send you some cookies.

madmolly | July 24, 19:00 CET

deanna b thanks so much for your coverage!

Emmie | July 24, 19:05 CET

Hurray, hurrah, huzzah, hazzoo etc. The lad Denisof once again graces our screens (well, my screen anyway, I know he's been on 'How I Met Your Mother'). Criminally underused actor IMO (unless it's personal choice obv.).

Kinda read with one eye closed and the other squintin' cos of potential spoilers (bigger than casting I mean) but once again you've done yourself (and us) proud deanna b, thank-you ! You make it bloody hard to be jealous of you getting to go to Comic-Con every year (but I think i'm up to the challenge ;).

Saje | July 24, 19:35 CET

Thanks for the coverage guys!

patxshand | July 24, 20:43 CET

I too would like to offer a serious thanks for the coverage, it brought me more than a single smile.
As much fun as comic-con sounds I don't think I wanna go until I'm on the other side of things and at the rate I'm going by the time I get there comic-con will be taking over the entire state of California and they'll be having panels for online reviewers to meet their fans. Yikes.
But thanks again for letting me live through you.

theMidnighter | July 24, 20:56 CET

Thank you!

Anonymous1 | July 24, 21:20 CET

Awesome on the fly reporting deanna b. Just one correction: Tahmoh was not at the panel, but Fran Kranz (Topher) was. :)

MizBehavin1 | July 24, 21:28 CET

Amazing, deanna b! Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call you Amazing deanna b!

Thanks to all.

newcj | July 24, 21:34 CET

Wisengrund, just to clarify, Rodney Charters DP'd Epitaph One only, he's not on Season 2. Not that you said he was. Can't recall the name of the female DP shooting Season 2. She worked on Epitaph One. The visual style of Epitaph One is so different from 24 that specifying him as 24s DP is not terribly significant, IMO. Rodney also normally shoots Film, and shooting digital is a whole 'nother ball game. He did a great job.

Also, Wisengrund's above possible spoiler is not true based on what Joss said at the panel, but there will be more of what we saw in Epitaph One, which is just awesome.

Eliza is in talks to do the live action Wet and is hoping it goes through. It was clear to me that it is in the works, not just a hope of Eliza's. It seemed like she's completely game so long as they get the green light.

Also, I happened to sit next to Deanna B never having met her before and I smiled throughout the panel as I watched her diligently update this thread. Way to go!

bobw1o | July 24, 21:48 CET

I'd like to thank deanna b as well, her reporting is always a highlight for me.

Simon | July 24, 21:53 CET

I'm assuming WET is 'Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory' BTW ? Or is there some other WET of significance ? We live in an acronym/TLA heavy world ;).

Saje | July 24, 21:55 CET

WET is Eliza's thongtastic new video game.

Simon | July 24, 21:57 CET

Thank you, thank you, deannab!

Such good news about Alexis. I miss that guy.

jcs | July 24, 22:05 CET

Something went very wrong with the signing and the pink "tickets" that were handed out. Anyone have a comment? I got shafted.

stardotgeek | July 24, 22:10 CET

WET is Eliza's thongtastic new video game.

Little known fact but thongs were actually standard German issue throughout WWII.

... no wait, it was guns, guns were standard issue, I dunno where I got thongs from.

Saje | July 24, 22:49 CET

I finally just got back to my room (exhausted) and agree with what Deanna B said- it was awesome!

Joss was also asked why he kills off all his characters and answered in a funny voice "Because I'm a mean person!". He also mentioned not liking people very much. Dichen and Fran were quite obviously a little overwhelmed. Fran hardly said a word and just kept looking around the room. But what really struck me is that Joss and Eliza were comfortable enough to even drink from the same water bottle on the stage. (Squick?)

I, too had signing tix and raced down from the panel, only to be told the line was closed. My nephew (age 11) was with me and we both started blubbering, fortunately a very kind gentleman who was already in line pulled us in front of him amongst all the bedlam. Joss, Eliza, Fran and Dichen passed directly in front of me on their way in, and I did speak briefly to them. Which was lucky, as we only had one signing ticket and being a kind aunt I sent in my nephew with a few items- who froze up and couldn't say a word!

I did pick up some great CITW posters (from the SG booth), there are three different versions.
1. 'If an old man warns you not to go there...make fun of him.' 2. 'If something is chasing you...split up'.
3. 'If you hear a strange sound outside...have sex.'

BTW David Boreanaz was not at the 'Bones' panel or at SDCC (awwww!) as his wife is heavily pregnant and he didn't want to travel far. He did send a video message, thanking fans for all their support over the years.

And now to bed!

missb | July 24, 22:56 CET

An amazing panel! And I gotta say...I'm quite in love with Fran now. The guy is actually quite stunningly beautiful in person. He is now my new TV crush.

I don't know if it was mentioned, but there was a really good question about Spy in the House of Love. Basically are we supposed to believe that the mole was Dominic or could there perhaps be someone else who is sending Paul the messages via dolls? And the answer is, you can't trust anyone in the dollhouse....so I'm guessing the mole was NOT Dominic by that answer. What do others who were there think?

I won't go into any spoilery detail about Epitaph One, but OMG....you guys are in for a treat!! It was by far the best episode of the season. For me, it was up there with Out of Gas.

Harmalicious | July 24, 23:54 CET

Thanks for that Harmalicious. It doesn't make sense to me that Laurence was the mole and I've been waiting for the reveal of the other mole since Spy. When it didn't come I wasn't sure whether it was just that the writers made a mistake (it happens) or whether it might still be coming. Fingers crossed

Let Down | July 25, 00:24 CET

Oops at the Tahmoh/Topher mixup. Starts with "T"

Best collaborative effort, they've all came up with things he wishes he had and is grateful he didn't have to.

Wishes he had THOUGHT OF.

The Heroes "Feudal Japan" part was asking about Time Paradoxes, and whether the future we've seen will actually happen, or if it's just something that MAY happen. He doesn't want to do alternate futures, so if you see it, it happened or will happen.

deanna b | July 25, 00:58 CET

I heard the signing area was all kinds of messed up, similar to the Fox Store online when people initially ordered their DVDs (me being one of them). Another case of someone not having their act together. It was so bad apparently, that my friend who was picking up my DVD for me and getting it signed, decided not to go. So now, I'm out a ton of money (not just the 57 bucks I paid for the DVD. Long story.) and all I have to show for it is a slightly different box (the word Dollhouse is blue instead of black) and a letter from Joss. Yippee.

I've no idea when the DVDs will get to me, or even if they were picked up (I didn't want to ask, as she seemed peeved at me for some reason). Suffice to say, I am not a happy customer. I'm not getting what I paid so much for, much like a lot of people, apparently.

I'm going to Dragon Con (first con ever) and now I'm worried I'm not going to have a good time. Following people and their experiences at Comicon through Twitter and such, and seeing how much money they spend and how crazy and hectic it all is... I don't know. I'm afraid. If I had just waited until Tuesday (just a few days from now), I could have easily avoided this whole mess and just walked up to Target or some place and bought the DVDs for under $30. Or, just rent them from Netflix (which is almost like getting them for free anyway) and be satiated for new Dollhouse content that way.

Does anyone else feel this way, or had a similar experience this year at the Con? Is it like that every year? If it is, I don't think I ever want to go.

kungfubear | July 25, 01:56 CET

Just, just Alexis!! Yes!!! I hope he will star in more then one episode. I hope he gets a really, really good part. An arc! Yeah, give him an arc!

angry_puppy | July 25, 02:12 CET

Re: the Shepherd Book comic, the discussion on i09 is focussed on an old quote (not sourced) from Joss saying that we'd get the full Shepherd Book story only when there's absolutely no hope for continuing Firefly or Serenity.

Edit: Nevermind, this interview from last year's Comic Con gives a clearer statement (basically saying that there's no reason to wait for a sequel that may never happen to tell this story).

[ edited by Ildeth on 2009-07-25 11:49 ]

Ildeth | July 25, 02:16 CET

A million thanks to all. deanna b, you are a goddess. ;)

Also thanks to all for the great stuff on the Posterous site - you guys even included some BSG stuff - you rock!!

And .... Alexis ! Just a a word of yay! And way too many exclamation points. :)

Shey | July 25, 03:10 CET

Alexis freakin' Denisoff! Hooray! :-D

Anuris | July 25, 03:12 CET

Wisengrund, just to clarify, Rodney Charters DP'd Epitaph One only, he's not on Season 2. Not that you said he was. Can't recall the name of the female DP shooting Season 2. She worked on Epitaph One. The visual style of Epitaph One is so different from 24 that specifying him as 24s DP is not terribly significant, IMO. Rodney also normally shoots Film, and shooting digital is a whole 'nother ball game. He did a great job.

Thanks for clarifying. So, Rodney Charters just guest DP'd on "Epitaph One", and the DP of Season 2 is somebody else that worked on "Epitaph One".

Also, Wisengrund's above possible spoiler is not true based on what Joss said at the panel, but there will be more of what we saw in Epitaph One, which is just awesome.

Yeah, that comment got cleared up during the day, I think what Fran might have meant is the part that there is a scene involving Felicia and that it ties back to E1 in that way.

Eliza is in talks to do the live action Wet and is hoping it goes through. It was clear to me that it is in the works, not just a hope of Eliza's. It seemed like she's completely game so long as they get the green light.

Thanks for clarifying!

wiesengrund | July 25, 03:36 CET

Kungfubear, it is true that Comic-con is crowded and frustrating, there are like 150,000 people there and not everyone is going to get to do everything. When I was there two years ago it seemed clear to me that it was almost impossible to both get in to see the panel AND get in line soon enough to get autographs too, people have to decide what they want the most and then line up super early.

Even Brian Lynch couldn't get into the IDW party on Thursday night, even though he was there for the IDW panel on Angel. And I read that Joss & cast couldn't get into the wrath of con party. There are huge crowds, everyone wants to go to everything, and that is just never going to happen.

But there is fun to be had in every single thing you DO end up doing, don't let disappointment over one signing ruin an awesome event for you.

[ edited by embers on 2009-07-25 13:37 ]

embers | July 25, 04:34 CET

Hope some of you were tuned into our Twitter account. It was a blast to be there tweetimg the panel live - will post many pics when I can!

zeitgeist | July 25, 07:34 CET

Hey folks, I made screengrabs of several journalists', and Zeitgeist's, live-tweets of the panel; posted here.

So much awesome, awesome stuff at the con this week, yowza!

ProgGrrl | July 25, 08:39 CET

deanna b is a fine human being, many thanks.

Alexis. Very good news indeed.

toast | July 25, 09:02 CET

Hope some of you were tuned into our Twitter account. It was a blast to be there tweetimg the panel live - will post many pics when I can!

Some people were even actively promoting your tweet-coverage... it was THAT good! :)

Thanks to everyone who let us participate in this event. San Diego is about 10.000 km away from me, it's awesome to get these glimpses into something that far away.

wiesengrund | July 25, 09:08 CET

Cheers ProgGrrl (and zeitgeist and everyone else that tweeted), will look through those.

And I love your domain name BTW, made me smile ;).

Saje | July 25, 09:08 CET

Your a little late on the "Alexis Denisof is going to be on Dollhouse". I posted a couple days ago that he was going to be in it! But I guess nobody noticed my post!

Little Green Kid | July 25, 11:09 CET

I did notice it, but I think you referred to an imdb-post, and these are seldomly accurate.

wiesengrund | July 26, 11:51 CET

Someone must of leaked the news, and I got lucky that IMDb was accurate for once!
Wish I could of been there! It sounds like this years Comic Con was a huge success!

Little Green Kid | July 26, 13:38 CET

July 24 2009