How much stuff is Minear working on these days? It's a good world that keeps getting him work.

Jobo | January 21, 12:32 CET

Tim Minear really seems not to mind working on lots of projects in smaller chunks which may partly explain why he's prolific. That and he's bloody good at what he does of course ;).

Sounds like a good idea for re-visiting, maybe not a million miles away from 'Dollhouse' thematically in that it's a build-a-human story about what makes us us but told via the traditional Trek style "outsider looking in" character.

Hope he gets it (if he wants it obviously).

Saje | January 21, 12:48 CET

I know I'll probably get strung up to the gallows for saying this, but I feel Tim Minear had a better understanding and focus of the themes presented in Dollhouse than maybe even Joss did, which is why I'm interested in this project. Additionally, a Roddenberry property that's not Star Trek has me very curious and excited. :)

kungfubear | January 21, 13:15 CET

Odd thing to say, seeing as the idea and themes for Dollhouse came from Joss himself, even if they did get slightly skewed. I have to say though, I found myself being disappointed with the Tim Minear episodes (although, not seen Getting Closer as I'm watching UK pace.) Real shame, as I loved his work on Angel and Firefly.

This show sounds interesting. Kind of like a show entirely focused on Data's character. Could be good and certainly one to watch out for if Minear is at the helm. Hopefully, it won't suffer from his usual curse of cancellation.

Vandelay | January 21, 14:24 CET

@Vanderlay To each their own. I do agree with Tim's work on Firefly and Angel. "Out Of Gas" is my favorite episode of Firefly.

Between this, "Alien Nation" and "Terriers", provided they all get picked up, it's going to be a very good year for Tim and his fans, such as myself. :)

kungfubear | January 21, 14:33 CET

I don't understand the concept of "disappointed with" a "Tim Minear episode". Does not compute! ;)

zeitgeist | January 21, 15:17 CET

That Old Gang of Mine?

gossi | January 21, 15:22 CET

Y'know, it still has moments IMO (are there any episodes of Whedon shows that don't ?), even though he apparently hates it himself.

(I thought 'True Believer' was better than "workmanlike" too)

Saje | January 21, 15:36 CET

@Saje Agreed, re: True Believer, but of course that's clear to anyone who's heard our commentary. :) My 2 favorite things about the episode: 1. It actually validates the need for an Active. 2. The imprint gives Eliza a subtle, understated and nuanced role to play, which I think is more interesting and rewarding than being loud and melodramatic most of the time.

kungfubear | January 21, 16:00 CET

Actually, True Believer is probably my favourite of the Tim Minear episodes and was my favourite of the original 5 episodes, particularly Eliza's performance, as Kungfubear points out. I was underwhelmed by Belle Chose and disappointed with Omega, but probably more due to it following my favourite episode of season 1.

That is not to say I disliked the episodes, just that they didn't meet my expectations of a Minear penned episode.

Vandelay | January 21, 16:21 CET

I always felt that Tim was the go-to man on Angel; many of his episodes there are among my favorites (Joss' too - in fact, he'd probably turn up in my top 5 more often, but Minear seemed more intimately involved with the show and story arcs - at least until season 5). I'd also say he was Joss' equal on Firefly (and that's high praise). But for Dollhouse, the writers that seemed to grasp the show most impressively were neither Joss nor Minear, but Jed & Maurissa. It seemed to me that they - even though Joss created the show and its themes - had a better grasp at how to translate that to compelling television. But having not been in the writers room for any of those shows and not having seen these writers inspiring and influencing each other, it remains pretty hard to state anything definitively.

As far as this show goes: I always look forward to new stuff from Minear (although I do tend to enjoy his solo stuff just a tiny bit less than I do the stuff he does inside of the ME mold; but then again, not much of his solo stuff has gotten a chance to actually shine).

Having said that: past non-Trek outings from the Roddenberry legacy were of debatable quality. Earth: Final Conflict was almost embarrassingly bad and though I haven't seen much of Andromeda, I always felt that show thrived more on a high camp-factor, than anything else.

Still, at the end of the day, I'd be interested to see where Minear takes this idea. So I'd definitely be there. (What's happened to his Alien Nation reboot, by the way? Kind of lost track of that one).

GVH | January 21, 17:20 CET

Could be interesting, though mostly because Minear might be involved.

Belle Chose is my favourite S2 episode so far (but I've only seen the first 5) and Omega is my favourite Dollhouse episode al around (despite the rushed ending) so I'd say Minear did an outstanding job on Dollhouse. True Believer was pretty good too, though I prefer the other two.

the Groosalugg | January 21, 17:20 CET

I always like watching a Minear episode, no matter what show really. He might not hit it out of the park every time, but everything he writes is above-average.

Jaymii | January 21, 19:10 CET

Vandelay - Kind of like a show entirely focused on Data's character.

Definitely.

I can also envision how some of the themes of Tim's other show Miracle Man (which I assume never made it out of development purgatory), could fold into a show like this.

Znachki | January 21, 19:54 CET

Getting Closer is the only Tim Dollhouse ep I'd put in my top five - the rest of his eps are just middling for me. That was an unwelcome surprise, believe me. I wish him good luck on his new projects and hope he blows me out of the water again on one of them, because I'll certainly be checking them out.

shambleau | January 21, 20:19 CET

Is Minear still working on Alien Nation?

electricspacegirl | January 21, 21:04 CET

I actually really like 'True Believer'. In terms of the stand alones, it sells the premise well and gives Eliza something to show - which was, after all, the original point of the show. Also the man reaction stuff with Topher, Victor and Sierra was great. Also much love for 'Belle Chose' for giving us more funny Victor than you can shake an incredibly camp man at. I think Tim writes exposition and padding (or point A to B) very well, which 'Getting Closer' proves very well. That's an awesome episode. Although when you lay out the actual plot, it's pretty plain sailing.

He's also not afraid to mess with structure, and punch the audience in the face. I'm all about being abused.

gossi | January 21, 21:37 CET

Yes, please! I've been wanting a Questor remake since... Well, since the original didn't make it as a series. I've often thought that if they were to bring it back in the right context and with the right production values, there's no reason it shouldn't be a long-running hit. I'm thinking the new Battlestar Galactica meets the new Doctor Who with a good bit of Dollhouse thrown in. And Tim Minear doing it is the shiny dark chocolate ganache and whipped cream pirouettes on the cake.

From Wiki: "The Questor Tapes was a pilot for a television series. In fact, a 13-episode go-ahead was given for the series before the television movie was aired, with Foxworth and Farrell reprising their roles. Joining the actors behind the scenes were producers Michael Rhodes and Earl Booth and story editor Larry Alexander. The green-lighted series was slated for Friday nights at 10 pm on NBC — the "death slot" where the final season of the original Star Trek withered.

However, conflict between Roddenberry and both Universal and NBC over the content of the proposed series doomed it, most notably ignoring the revelation at the end of the TV movie and eliminating the key character of Jerry Robinson. These changes were too much for Roddenberry, who abandoned the project. No episodes were produced."

Hmm... Sounds a familiar tale. The more things change, eh?

D'you think Tim could get Fran and Enver to play Jerry and Questor?

Grotesk | January 21, 23:48 CET

Even liking Tim's works, the "new" Rodeenberry show I would like to see was the Bryan Fuller remake of TOS, but it seams to be dead :(

Earth: Final Conflict was almost embarrassingly bad

You mean the later seasons right GVH? Cause, to me, the first one was moderately good.

Brasilian Chaos Man | January 22, 18:08 CET

Hey, Minear and Fuller worked together before, I'd love to see them collaborate again! Along with Joss himself, those two are writers that I'll follow to any show. (I'll also add in Ron Moore, and if Lindelof/Cuse decide to do something after Lost I'll check that out as well.)

I still have yet to see the second half of The Inside. Why didn't they put it out on DVD or even digital release?

AnotherFireflyfan | January 22, 18:51 CET

Wish I knew. I thought it was a fantastic show.

Simon | January 22, 19:03 CET

Tim just can't win. He does scifi - it gets cancelled. He does quirky fantasy - it gets cancelled. He does a cop show - it gets cancelled. He does a car racing show - it gets cancelled. Glad to have him back in genre though. ;-)

Also, I would have loved to have seen his Moon is a Harsh Mistress. That was a great script!

[ edited by AnotherFireflyfan on 2010-01-23 06:22 ]

AnotherFireflyfan | January 23, 06:21 CET