I Am A TV Junkie

Re: Fox's Terra Nova Pushing Premiere Date from May to September

News today in the LA Times' Showtracker blog (still don't understand why they have TV bloggers and not full staffs overseas, but that's another story for another time) on the big Spielberg/Fox project Terra Nova, they are pushing their premiere date from May sweeps to September. The plan was to pull off a Glee-like opening to then prime the pump all Summer in advance of a big September official first season.

Apparently there are a lot, a LOT, of FX shots that need to be completed and it won't happen by May. That's fine, bring it complete.

However, the question at the end of that LA Times blog post was: "Will you watch the show whenever it does appear?" To which I said (reprinted here because it may never show up in their moderated comment thread):

I'll watch the show but that doesn't mean it won't fail. I watch Fringe, I watched Dollhouse, love them both. Just b/c Spielberg has his name on it doesn't mean it won't meet the same fate. Americans don't seem to have interest in a large scale scifi epic adventure.

Personally I don't think most Americans are smart enough or pay attention enough to get these shows. Most of them are eating, scratching and farting or kind of paying attention while they quip on Twitter.

I opened up Entertainment Weekly the other day to find out that the third most popular show on iTunes was Kourtney and Kim Take Manhattan. This is the America we live in, Americans only care if you've been in a sex tape or you have a big rear end.

TV's the best, except when it sucks. Still looking forward to it, still wary, still glad I didn't waste more time than I had to this season watching The Event as I did the previous season with Flash Forward.

Can you believe that crap V is still on? ABC drama dept. must have a strong gag reflex.

Watch some video in support of the show by clicking this or this.

Maybe Dollhouse is a Show That is Made Just for Us, But That Business Model Won't Hold Up

I'm posting the full episode from Hulu after the jump so that you can see it, because apparently a lot of you have something better to do at 9 Fridays besides watching the show.

(What did I say about happy hour going a bit too long for some of you on Fridays? You should check into that. TV might be addictive, but it won't destroy your liver.)

The Us in the headline means the fans of the show. The problem with Dollhouse is that it shoots in Los Angeles, has some big salaries to pay (Joss, Eliza, etc.) and looks remarkable on screen  ... but the numbers just don't support the production.

TV By The Numbers posted yesterday and extrapolated the DVR viewing of the show over 7 days past the premiere date based on season one averages and notes:

Kevin Reilly is often cited about the time he talked about how much he liked  the average numbers for Dollhouse’s first season, especially when it came to DVR increases.  The problem is, that average was arrived at with a 2.0 adults L+SD 18-49 rating in the premiere that ended with a 1.0 L+SD adults 18-49 rating in the finale.

Friday night’s numbers are not very different than the numbers for the season one finale.  However, the season one finale was well below the season average for the show even though it was included in the average.  While not much different than the season one finale, Friday night was ~31% worse than the first season’s average, even when projecting the DVR numbers in. And the 18-49 numbers are down 50% from the season one premiere (or the season one premier did 100% better in 18-49 ratings, depending on how you want to look at it).

If you need explainers for such, click over to their site, link above, and learn about TV metrics from my go-to guys for ratings info.

More, including the episode (thanks, Hulu) after the jump.

Video -- LA Times at the Con With Dollhouse's Topher & Sierra

And "nameless faceless fanboy reporter" working for the Times (is that you, Geoff Boucher? You, Robert Lloyd?) tests out his theories about the meta-backstory of the show. Which is kind of self-indulgent but you would do the same thing given the chance.

Also, the press gets one of the few spots to set up where you can actually hear yourself think, which you can imagine is a plus.

Dollhouse season one DVD with two unseen eps (which we will have the pleasure of discussing soon) is available Tuesday in the US from retailers including the one below. Click the icon to order. Clip after the jump.

         

First Person to Explain the Last Six Minutes of Dollhouse to Me Wins!

Wins what? Wins my respect.

This clip starts right at 44:20 and shows Echo bobble the cartridge and then shows Ballard catch it, then there was a commercial and after the break we're in the Dollhouse and there no further mention of Alpha.

So, I'm to infer that Boyd and Ballard and Echo just walked away from the abandoned power plant and left Alpha there? Really?

Did I miss something?

Here, watch it for yourself and please point out what I'm missing.

Just Checking In and Passing on Some Great Links

Thought I would check in quickly while I had a moment.

I'm assisting in some familial matters lately and it's gotten in the way of me getting to this space, and as I either promised or previewed some things that I haven't gotten a chance to post I thought I would say thanks for holding on.

I'm trying to keep your regulars fed with at least the timely stuff.

And, I have to admit to taking the opportunity last night to run up to the WGA Theatre to see my friend Jeff Greenstein interview Ron Moore, which was great but frankly if I hadn't bought a ticket ahead of time I probably would have bailed.

But eventually you'll be able to buy a DVD of the evening and I'll be back with a link for that when it's up at their site. Because the sales benefit the WGA Foundation and its work I highly recommend its purchase.

And I'll tell you all about that when I can get back to it. With pilot season closing down, upfronts coming, early renewals, etc ... and, frankly, me getting invited to some really cool stuff thanks to this blog ... I've got lots to share.

In the meantime, some links I'm passing along that I'll cover in more detail in the days ahead:

Heroes Nowhere Man Webisode 3  starring David Lawrence

Funny or Die UK has a lot of your britcom favorites (Peter Serafinowicz, Lucas and Walliams) and some new ones you'll like (Bishop and Douch, start with A Brief History of Bishop and Douch and then to Bishop's Gay, which brings some needed ambiguity, certainly, to that argument)

Zach Galfianakis gets awkward with Natalie Portman at Funny of Die US.

Stewie Griffin guests on an all-new episode of Bones. 'Cause he's that good. First episode of the show I will have ever watched, tomorrow at 8 on Fox.

Finally ...

Alan Tudyk commenting on those who suggest out of all the players in the Joss stable, Alpha had to be him (Fox conference call transcript):

I’m sure there’s plenty of Joss people that it could have been.  I would have liked to have seen—I don’t know the actor’s name, the one who plays Moist in the Dr. Horrible series.  I think he would have been a surprise because you really would have bought the Steven Kepler part of it maybe even a little more totally than me.  You wouldn’t have seen that turn come as easily. 

Well Alan, except that Simon Helberg is on this own show, which has become much more of an ensemble comedy this year and Wolowitz is a go-to character.

Tudyk is upcoming in ABC's V pilot, btw, but gave away nothing. Sworn to secrecy, he said.

Watch the Dollhouse finale Friday please.

And there's that CBS thing about not wanting their sitcom stars to guest on other networks, like Kaley.

I'll be back ASAP.

I miss you.

Video -- When Did I Know it Wasn't the Dollhouse Designer and It Was Alpha

When was it? It was the moment you see "Stephen Kepler" in the green (I think green, I'm colorblind) t-shirt, the Doll uniform.

Because an eco-friendly designer who buils the self-contained environmental systems like the Dollhouse, who lives with massive marijuana plants and eats take out Thai food wouldn't have Alan Tudyk's body.

He would have man breasts and he certainly wouldn't have that vein running up his bicep (see photo above).

Though I certainly appreciate that vein. Nice work, Alan.

So he's Alpha! Not Matt Keeslar. I really thought it might be him, that the reason we never saw any cast member but activated Doll Echo see Keeslar close up in his episode was because he was Alpha and he'd come back later in the season.

I was wrong.

Because I let the show unfold on its own terms (welcome Entertainment Weekly Ausiello blog readers) and I don't scour the 'net for ways to ruin my viewing experience I didn't even know that Tudyk was in the episode until the opening credits. 

Conjecture based on story analysis, btw, is different than spoilers. Spoilers happen because someone has, if you will, actionable intelligence from an inside source. Right, Michael?

You'll notice I also didn't post this season recap clip that claimed spoilers inside it from Fox two days ago, but I did save it for today and it's after the jump for those of you on my homepage.

(If you enjoy letting the shows unfold ont heir own terms as well, please bookmark this site and come back, often. Every day, maybe. Or multiple times. Or, just leave your computer on with it on screen, that would be great!)

I'll have more on Tudyk on Monday night, but not so much that I let the conference call from Fox Monday ruin the season finale for me.

Please don't let this be the series finale. I would like to see this play out, if not on Fox maybe there's a Dr. Horrible-type distribution stream that could be developed for the show.

Can we get some thinking outside the box on this one, please?

Dollhouse's Tahmoh Penikett Attached to Sci Fi Channel Backend Pilot. What?

Oh no you don't. (Even he looks concerned, see?)

Hey, you people at the channel that is changing their name to SyFy (how ridonkulous!), keep your hands off Penikett, he belongs to Joss for the time being.

Hibberd at the Reporter:

Penikett is best known for playing Helo on "Battlestar." In "Riverworld," he will play war correspondent Matt Ellman, who is killed along with his fiancee (Vandervoort) but awakens in a mysterious world populated by everyone who has lived on Earth.

Alan Cumming will guest star as the Caretaker; Jeananne Goossen and Mark Deklin also have been cast.

Plus, they already tried this project in 2003 with Brad Johnson (name from the past, he was in that Spielberg movie with Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss about pilots, remember?) and it didn't work that time.

In fact, the SciFi.com page for the project is still up at their site.

Plus, it's a RHI project (Robert Halmi, both senior and junior, I believe) and if you look at their slate of projects its really hard to distinguish the decent stuff from the utter crap.

Do they think Dollhouse isn't gonna make it? Even after yesterday I read from, of course, an anonymous source that Sarah Connor would go away but Dollhouse would be given another round?

And what does Joss think about his male lead going off and shooting a backend pilot?

I just don't understand why all the jobs have to go to the same small pool of performers. Sure, I get that some of them bring a following with them, but Tahmoh? Battlestar was never a ratings powerhouse and certainly the on the bubble Dollhouse can't be considered one, yet.

Though I have my hopes, especially based on Friday's episode which I thought was very intriguing.

So, that leaves me and some other geeks to follow him from show to show, but even that goodwill doesn't last forever.

And one more thing, if you keep throwing the same actors at us time after time, we're going to lose that ability to gin up that ability to suspend my sense of disbelief.

(Hey, you didn't really think, btw, that I was gonna miss the opportunity to post a pic of Tahmoh shirtless in bed, did you? Even without this news today, this image gets posted. I know my audience.)

Video -- Dollhouse Breakout Episode, Watch Two Patton Oswalt Clips

"Eat it, F Bitch I."

I would have paid Fox to say that on TV. No, I don't have anything against the Bureau, it's just the a great line.

Check out Patton Oswalt after the jump in his two great scenes with Tahmoh Penikett from the episode that I guess we can all agree changed the tone on this show. Almost made me forget the bad news suicide-by-fan-abuse pop star from the second ep. Almost.

Lots happening in this one, in fact massive amounts of exposition. Can we all agree that either Dr. Claire or smarmy Topher's lab assistant (whose name I can't come up with) that changed the personality implanted in Echo to allow her to warn Paul? Because I don't think Boyd would have those skills and no one else has motivation.

I find it interesting that they also chose this week to show us that not all the handlers have the best interests of their actives in mind. The story enforces the notion that Boyd, Echo's handler, is one of the good guys, he has his policing skills to fall back on and I imagine that he will eventually have a crisis of confidence that will lead him to FBI Paul.

And, in a nice piece of scripting, we find out that our favorite Italian food wielding single girl across the hall , Mellie, is a sleeper active when she's killing Sierra's handler. I don't think I've ever seen Kevin Kilner on TV as a bad guy, let alone getting killed.

Sleeper active? Are there other technologies we don't know? That threw me, but what didn't throw me was Mellie's having a connection to the Dollhouse. I had a hunch about her right at the beginning of the episode, then when I saw there was surveillance in her apartment I thought I was dreadfully wrong but then it all played out.

(I did have one point of contention ... last week they all marveled over the fact that Echo was wiped by cell phone. This week DeWitt herself is activating sleeper agents with talk about the number and color of flowers. What the frak is up with that?)

(And, about this Sierra-Victor storyline ... this handler stuff with Sierra still doesn't explain why Victor is getting erections in the show and on a personal note I don't get why no one on the show wants to bother to watch those hours and hours or security video from the shower. I'll do it. You know, just to help out.)

Anyhow, the last few moments (you can catch those moments after either of the clips I've posted from Hulu, they'll give you the option of watching the whole ep again) sets up the big umbrella arc for the next seven episodes, and well see where it goes.

This was much better than any of the others. If it's a network issue, I think Fox just got its answer about working with Joss and this story.

Just let him do what he wants.

Oh, another great line Patton gets to spew? "They'll throw the Kindle at you."

Hey, Jeff Bezos, do I get a Kindle for mentioning this moment of unintended product placement?

Video -- If I Was the Gang at Fox Promoting Dollhouse ...

If I was, I would have bought up all the spot cable I could for tonight's Battlestar finale on SciFi and ran countless ads for the show.

And I would have shot a special promo with Joss and Eliza and Tahmoh.

Countless, meaning so many you can't count them. Because as Entertainment Weekly tells us today, tonight's ep is the one to watch.

Of course, I've watched them all so who's the fool? Actually a couple of them (the Matt Kesslar episode and the art heist ep) were fine, it's the others that were ... meh.

Ken Tucker at Entertainment Weekly:

Dollhouse apostates unite! It's time to rise from your pod-beds and become "actives" once again: be sure to watch or DVR tonight's episode, a Joss Whedon-penned doll-changer that finally sends the series spinning into hyperdrive. Plus, it features the great Patton Oswalt in a key role.

That's right, my Facebook friends continue to run the entertainment industry.

Wouldn't it be a rush if all your Facebook friends showed up for lunch one day? I would have to keep

Patton's website at this link, and in eight days on 3/28 he'll be live at Largo in LA, click over to his site for more info.

I've seen him live and it's worth it. Go.

Dollhouse needs eyes. Give them yours today! Watch some footage of the cast at NY Comic-Con after the jump.

"Remote-Free TV" on Fox Will Not Return, Which is No Matter to DVR Users

You know how when you watch Fringe and Dollhouse there aren't as many ads? Well, that's ending.

Who cares, I fast forward thru them anyway.

You will not monetize me, evil pirate Rupert.

Honestly, I'm just not very ad susceptible, though I have just bought a ton of Massive Dynamic stock.

Isn't it just sick that we're still waiting for another new episode of Fringe? April 7? I don't know if I'll hold up that long.

After the jump, cast members Jasika Nicole, Kirk Acevedo and Joshua Jackson talk about The Pattern and more at NY Comic-Con.

Haven't watched Friday's Dollhouse yet, but this week is that magic episode six that Eliza says will bring in all together. She promised, read it here at the Onion AV Club.

Question: Are Sci Fi Fans to Blame For Their Shows' Ratings Woes? Is It a Network Commitment Issue?

Topic du jour right now on a number of sites I visit.

At Slashdot ...

"Dollhouse. The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Fringe. Three science fiction shows that Fox commissioned, put on the air, and — in the case of at least one of them — has won rave reviews. But why does it seem that Fox is trying to kill some of its own shows with crazy scheduling decisions? How can Fringe survive after being pulled for two months, and what hope is there for Sarah Connor and Dollhouse on a Friday night?"

At Den of Geek:

I think that Fox likes to keep big name creators like Whedon and Abrams tied up and off the competing networks by any means necessary. Fringe and Lost would be huge back to back. You don't think the CW would love to have a Joss Whedon show to give it an actual audience to go alongside Supernatural? You don't think NBC would love to have something (anything) to put on the air instead of the awful Knight Rider or another iteration of Law & Order? The CBS show The Big Bang Theory promoted Sarah Connor more this week than Fox has in a month simply because they had Summer Glau as a guest star!

Hey, Ryan is talking about it on his Twitter account. Who's Ryan? I have no idea, I'm sure he's a very nice person and he's wearing a lovely tie in his photo.

(I told you I'd be using my Twitter account ironically.)

Back in 2007 a sci fi site called SF Signal was talking about how DVRs were killing the genre on TV because we are early adopters and not counted properly.

Yesterday at TVByTheNumbers.com I saw the latest figures on illegal torrent downloads of US series and noticed that five of the top six are scifi (including the entire Fox scifi arsenal) and the other is geek comedy The Big Bang Theory.

On top of that #7 is Chuck, a show that's always reportedly on the bubble, though I can't figure out why you aren't watching, it's rare that anything on NBC is so consistent these days.

And sure, I'm no angel in this regard, but as the guy who owns everything on DVD that once resided temporarily on my hard drive I feel like I'm supporting my shows quite adequately.

Here's another thought, I wonder exactly how many Nielsen homes have people in them who know how to do that? And if they did, and they liked science fiction shows on TV, wouldn't they make sure they were watching them traditionally to keep the numbers high so they could have more of this thing they enjoy?

Because as a Nielsen viewer it would be antithetical to their cause to illegally download a US show they liked because that behavior could eventually lead to its cancellation.

Dollhouse -- Third Time Is Certainly Not the Charm

Given all the rigamerole over Dollhouse getting to its premiere; the first pilot, the second pilot, the public uproar from the Jossverse fan legions who started the Save Dollhouse campaign even before the show started, I thought after the first episode I would just give the show a little time to settle in before I came to any conclusions.

But after Friday I realized that was a mistake, because it should be getting more compelling and it's not. It's really not.

And this story of the pop singer with the death wish having the murder pas de deux with the crazed fan who made a rifle out of his fake crutches made me wanna jump through the TV and smack that pop singer into another show.

Any other show.

Oh, poor poor pop star with the pseudo-Rihanna looks (got kinda lucky there, huh?) and the pseudo-Britney issues. Boo hoo. At least she was self-aware enough to know what was going on, though it apparently came with a death wish that the actual pop tart hasn't cultivated.

I wanted this character to die. If you want the character that your heroine is charged with protecting to die, why are you watching? I mean, why was I watching? To get some of that juicy Tahmoh Penikett b-story/umbrella arc?

Should I care about agent (I have to look up his name, I've watched three episodes and I still have to look up his name, that's not right!!!) Paul Ballard (thank you Dollhouse website) when the only person who shows up at the hospital after he gets ambushed is the somewhat pitiful neighbor with her ever-present tray of lasagna?

And come on, singleton neighbor woman, does Paul Ballard (trying to use the name so it makes an impression) look like a lasagna kind of guy? No, you and I look like lasagna eaters, not Paul Ballard (even you'll know his name by the end of the episode). Send me the lasagna and get on with your life or your pitiful attempt to make him you BF is gonna get you killed.

I don't wanna see some poor single girl with a crush get killed because of it, sounds like something that would happen to me -- it's why I don't date anymore.

And now that we know that the foreign guy (Bosnian? Serbian? That country from Dynasty -- Moldavia?) is an "active," who else is? Is the security guy (Reed Diamond from Journeyman)? That bitch that runs the thing? Good guy Boyd?

And, am I the only one that's pretty sure, reasonably sure, sure about being sure that Matt Keeslar's character from the second episode is that Alpha active that keeps being referenced? Especially now that ABC Family has failed to pick up The Middleman for a second season?

Can I ask many more questions?

Okay, no more questions. I'll just say that I'm giving special dispensation to this show because; a) It's Joss, b) The network did some screwing with the show, and c) There's really nothing else suitable at that hour.

But get better fast, before they can your ass, Dollhouse. And get a better lead-in, Sarah Connor, for all her personal firepower, does not have your back.

If you haven't seen it, you can click over to Hulu right now (if you live in the US) and watch it right now and see for yourself. I would recommend watching episode two first, then one, then three.

Oh, and next week, Echo infiltrates a cult. Not a cult of Joss Whedon fans who play Firefly on an endless loop and chant to make Rupert Murdoch break a hip, but a cult still.

Video -- Outtakes From Tonight's Dushku/Glau Wraparounds on Fox

I love it when the hot chicks start goofin' on each other.

You people in the east have already seen Dollhouse. So, what did you think?

Comment below!

LINK

I've Just Read 95 Questions For Joss Whedon

They are at this link at NYTimes.com.

I recommended many, especially the Doctor Who/Torchwood questions. You can always count on me for that.

Joss will be answering them, evidently, later in the week (betcha it's Friday) at some NYT link.

I'll try to clue you in.

The New York Times? They like-a the Joss, too.

The guys after the jump? They like-a the juice.

A Living Doll Named Echo Sends Her Valentine's Day Wishes, See Her Friday at 9

Get yours at this link.

Debuts Friday at 9, on Fox. IGN talked to Joss (because you like-a the Joss) and I have that clip after the jump.

2 Clips -- Dollhouse Countdown: Joss Talks About His Star, Eliza Dushku

Five More Days!!!

Today is Monday, show preems on Friday. At 9, on Fox.

He says:

Eliza is, apart from being, in my opinion, as great a star as I have ever known, she has a genuinely powerful electric and luminous quality that I’ve rarely seen. She’s also a really solid person. She’s a good friend. She’s a feminist. She’s an activist. She’s interested in the people around her. She has a lot of different things going on, and I’ve watched her over the years, as a friend, try to take control of her career, and try to get the roles that weren’t available to her, and protect the ethos and the message of what it was that she was doing, and I respect that enormously. Being part of that progression is, for me, one of the greatest benefits of this show.

Now, about the episode we will see this week ... which one was that again? Time's James Poniewozik isn't sure if what he saw was that episode, but he says:

It was both better and worse than I expected, in different ways. One of my concerns about it was that—given Joss Whedon's talent for making absorbing serials—the case-of-the-week nature of the show would make it harder to grow attached to. (I'm assuming that anyone who cares at this point knows the premise already, but in case I'm wrong: Eliza Dushku plays Echo, an "Active," which is a person who has agreed to let a secretive organization erase his or her original memories and personality and implant new ones in them for "assignments" involving rich clients.)

Yes, this is certainly Joss Whedon trying to do What People Think Works on Broadcast TV Today—the legendary serial-procedural hybrid. But the first episode—in which Echo is imprinted with a kidnapping-negotiator's personality to secure the return of a rich man's abducted daughter—is well enough written to be absorbing. Writing a crime hour doesn't seem like Whedon's thing, but the episode is tight, suspenseful, with intriguing psychological twists and flashes of Whedonesque humor.

That was back in December. What do I mean "back" in December? Well, things happen quickly in the Joss-verse, and I'm generally confused.

All this talk about "this is the pilot" and "no, that won't be, this will be" has just totally screwed me up on this. How about we just all watch this Friday at 9 and then we'll talk about it over the weekend?

And, all this week, more about Dollhouse.

After the jump, TVGuide.com clips with Eliza and Tahmoh Penikett. Note that the interviews are from July and the schedule that they refer to is completely different now. 

Like I said, there has been a lot of reworks on stuff, and based on the Firefly experience that Joss had with Fox and the fan uproar back then, I understand why people are tentative, but I've just decided to tune in on Friday and see for myself and I think you should, too.

And come back all week for more Dollhouse preview stuff.

Video -- Fox's Hot Hot Chicks With Bikes and Guns -- So, They're Soulless

Each and every Friday night starting February 13th. No date for Valentine's, geeky guy? These robots will take care of that (if you DVR the show and watch it the next night, no hot robot chicks will come to your home, your mileage may vary).

Quentin Tarantino would be proud.

Or he'll sue.

LINK

Fringe's Anna Torv on Her Way to New York Comic-Con, Details Here!

The Fringe star and just about everyone but Joshua Jackson and Mark Valley  (don't know why) will be there next weekend.

I know, I would have been just a plane trip from meeting John Noble. Well, maybe Noble comes out to San Diego this Summer and meets me, huh? He is my favorite part of the show. I loved a couple weeks about when Walter was dosing something slimy with LSD. He would have been Best Science Teacher Ever!!!

I'm getting my info on the event from my pals at Fringebloggers.com, but you know that there will be stuff all over the web. Personally, I'm hoping that Fox will shoot the panel and throw the video up on Hulu so I can share it will all of you.

But if that doesn't happen, I'll be scouring the YouTube and the Imeem and all the others to find suitable fanvids for you.

NY Daily News:

For actress Anna Torv, star of Fox's paranormal series "Fringe," the convention is a chance to hobnob with the viewers who made the show a cult hit.

"If it wasn't for the fans, we wouldn't have a show - the fans are everything," says Torv. "And you don't get many opportunities to get to meet the fans, so I am really excited for this."

In addition, Joss (You like-a the Joss, huh?) will be there with some footage from Dollhouse. And hopefully, with Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett. In fact, if Tahmoh was on my show, I would insist that he travelled with me everywhere.

I mean EVERYWHERE!

But Joss and I have different tastes in these things.

Dollhouse premieres on the 13th at 9 on Fox.

Fringe BTS clip about last week's The No Brainer after the jump. New episode Tuesday at 9.

More Dollhouse Video -- "Enter the Jossverse" Again and Learn to Scream!

"You like-a the Joss, huh? I'll give you more Joss." Evidently, Tahmoh and Eliza like-a the Joss!

If you don't know to what I am referring above, click here. Just read the first couple graphs, the rest of it is about Roger Clemens doing growth hormone.

And, btw, IO9.com has a calendar of all the big February scifi events, and it's at this link. It does not include mention of the Gallifrey One (Doctor Who) convention starting the 13th, but I'll be there geeking out and if you see me come say hello.

Dollhouse premieres on that same day, at 9 after Terminator: TSCC. Fox.

Clip's after the jump, because it's loading slowly.

Whedon Video -- Tahmoh Penikett Enters the Jossverse

I'm not even watching it first, just getting it to you ASAP.

Dollhouse debuts on Fox in Friday Feb. 13 at 9 pm right after Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

LINK

If You're Looking for Me ...

... I'm at the Universal Hilton in Universal City hearing about the Fox winter programming schedule.

Back later.

In the meantime, look at Eliza Dushku from Dollhouse and Kara DioGuardi from Idol.

There's a party later. I don't know if I'll stay, but I might.

Around the Horn -- Joss Whedon's House of Dolls Edition

So much out there right now about Joss Whedon's midseason Fox show Dollhouse because the network has done the equivalent of what you do when people are at your home and you want to go to sleep.

Seriously, they are stretching and yawning and looking at the front door. They're also making references to the early meeting they have the next morning. And how much cleanup there is to do, if you catch my drift.

Okay, they're not really, they're just putting the show on Fridays. But the effect is the same.

The Whedonverse is aghast, of course. They remember what happened to Firefly, it wasn't that long ago, folks.

Of course, whenever I do something on a Joss show, I start with Whedeonesque, the Joss shrine on the web. They send me this AM to a Joe Adalian article at TV Week where he talks to Preston Beckman, their schedule guru:

While “Dollhouse” has been plagued by production shutdowns and rumors that Fox executives are uncertain about its commercial appeal, Mr. Beckman said scheduling the show on Friday is simply a byproduct of trying to design the strongest possible schedule for the network.

Mr. Beckman doesn’t pretend that “Dollhouse” and “Terminator” have an easy path ahead of them. But, particularly in the case of “Dollhouse,” Mr. Beckman thinks the less competitive Friday night will give the show a better chance to build an audience than a more high-profile night.

“If we put it on Monday and it didn’t do well, we might have to yank it,” he said. But because Fox’s winter lineup should be solid on Saturday through Thursday nights, “We can afford to let these shows run their course. We can give them 12 or 13 weeks to find an audience.”

That's just a difficult line to buy, isn't it? Because who in the demo is gonna find this show on Friday night? Unless they DVR it and watch it later. And hopefully, that happens in the three days after it airs (which includes the weekend) or the rating numbers don't update for DVR usage.

Hmm.

How do the rabid Joss fans feel? Let's go to Livejournal user Dreamlyfe for the end of an imagined conversation between blogger and fanboy/girl demigod:

Me:  Um.  Joss?  JOSS?  They're putting it on FRIDAY?  Joss, that's where they put Firefly!  That's the X-Files timeslot of No Return!  Not even the X-Files stayed there, and they were a HUGE hit!  Joss?  What's happening, Joss?  What are they doing to you?

Joss ::: silence:::

Me:  Joss?  I'm scared, Joss.  I know I said I'd be happy with anything, but this is outright sabotage.  It is, isn't it?  Joss?  JOSS? 

Awaiting Joss's response to this one...

Finally, our pal Robert Seidman at TVBytheNumbers.com has this analysis:

I’m not very optimistic for Dollhouse on Fridays, though I agree with those who suggest that Fox can be more patient with it on Fridays than it could if it put it on as the lead-in for 24.  But with the goal of making the most money, expensive scripted shows like Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles don’t seem well married with Friday nights (and though I am a TSCC fan, I am not optimistic for a 3rd season of TSCC regardless of when Fox airs it).

And what do I think? I think Fox should have left Joss alone and let him make the show that he sold them, not the show that they thought they were buying:

They bought something somewhat different than what I was selling them, which is not that uncommon in this business. Their desires were not surprising: up the stakes, make the episodes more stand-alone, stop talking about relationships and cut to the chase. Oh, and add a chase. That you can cut to. Nothing I hadn't heard before on my other shows (apparently my learning curve has no bendy part) but frustrating as hell given our circumstances - a pilot shot, scripts written, everybody marching together/gainfully employed... and then a shutdown. Glad I was for the breathing room, but it's hardly auspicious. So back into the writer cave I went, wondering why I put up with this when I can make literally dozens of dollars making internet movies.

Because I trust Joss' brain a lot more than any of the MBAs who line the halls of power at the network.

Hey, sorry I had no Around the Horn this weekend. I got really lazy.

Chi Tribune: "Dollhouse in the Doghouse?" No Mo, More Like the Outhouse

Mo Ryan at the Chicago Tribune (and, let's just say before we go to Maureen that I think this headline is genius! Then again, it's 9:30 on a Sat morning and just getting the coffee cup to my lips is genius):

The positioning of Whedon's new show inspires gloom, if not dread and fear as well.

Fridays are regarded as the dumping ground of the prime-time schedule, and given that "Dollhouse" has already endured its share of trauma and drama and stop-start production ... well, we Whedon fans believed the "Buffy" creator when he said, way back when he got back into business with Fox, that he thought the "Dollhouse" would not be a replay of the "Firefly" debacle. But darned if the experience so far with this new Whedon show isn't a case of déjà vu all over again.

So I did the obvious move and clicked over to Whedonesque, where there's this:

Dollhouse premiering on Friday, February 13. So says the Fox Broadcasting account on Twitter, but offers no other details. Edit: The Hollywood Reporter says Terminator will be joining it.

That was certainly short and sweet, huh?

Okay, not sweet at all, actually. Friday? Ugh. With Terminator? More ugh. Sarah Connor isn't exactly a popular chick these days with ratings scraping the bottom.

And of course, all over the web people are making comparisons to the rollout of Firefly. Can't blame them.

No one wants their big hitters on Friday night because of low viewership.

So many other changes to the Fox sked as well. House moving, the Tim Roth series getting a post-Idol slot ...

... and what happens to Fringe? It apparently goes on some sort of hiatus during the beginning of the Idol season (with their double-wide episodes) and returns later on so that we don't see so many reruns?

A press release from Fox indicates the show returns on January 20, but I have no idea when how long the hiatus will be.

Speaking of which, I just don't think I'm gonna do Idol this year (not that I tuned in much last season either).

I'm just ... done.

While I Wasn't Looking, A Joss Post on Whedonesque Re: Dollhouse

It was my birthday. I was eating cake. Actually, there's still cake.

Joss said:

Basically, the Network and I had different ideas about what the tone of the show would be. They bought something somewhat different than what I was selling them, which is not that uncommon in this business. Their desires were not surprising: up the stakes, make the episodes more stand-alone, stop talking about relationships and cut to the chase. Oh, and add a chase. That you can cut to. Nothing I hadn't heard before on my other shows (apparently my learning curve has no bendy part) but frustrating as hell given our circumstances - a pilot shot, scripts written, everybody marching together/gainfully employed... and then a shutdown. Glad I was for the breathing room, but it's hardly auspicious. So back into the writer cave I went, wondering why I put up with this when I can make literally dozens of dollars making internet movies. Why I do put up with this is divided into three parts.

Those three parts? You gotta click over there. He's Joss. Some things just aren't done.

And, since there's cake ...

Video -- Joss on Dollhouse Changes

Hey Joss, I know it's part of the lexicon, now, but please don't use the term preemptive strike in interviews. I hate it when military jargon bleeds into the vocabulary of creative people.

Oh, and here's the clip.

LINK

And, btw, as of right now, 862 mentions of wonderflonium in a Google search.

TV Notes From My Facebook Inbox: Torchwood, The Inside

I got two things this morning.

Number one ... from my involvement in the Dollverse page (for the new Fox show Dollhouse):

Dollhouse consulting producer Tim Minear, who also wrote on and ran Angel and Firefly, once wrote a show called The Inside. I don't know how well known The Inside is. Most Mutant Enemy fans I speak to have heard of it, but not seen it. It aired in 2005 on FOX, didn't get a lot of promotion and started airing only three weeks after being given an air date. It was dark, psychological and touched on many of the themes that Dollhouse will probably touch on. The characters were complex and although the show was a procedural on the surface, each case illuminated a different aspect of the main character Rebecca Locke, who was gradually deconstructed over the course of the show's thirteen episode run.

Anyway, point is: it's one of my favorite shows. And it has no DVD release. This pisses me off.

So, myself and Dev have created another site (linked above) to try and stir up some interest and get Fox to release a boxset. More obscure shows have got DVD releases. I'm not after another season or anything unrealistic, just a boxset of the show. So if you have a few moments, check out the site. Not sold on the show? There are some vids on the site that may change your mind. The aim is to get as many people who may be interested aware that the show exists.

You can click on this link for more.

Then there's this, and it's more details (I refuse to use "deets" no matter how many times The Seacrest says it on the air) on the Torchwood series three ripoff miniseries from BBC Wales' Julie Gardner.

She says:

“As you know, plans for a third series have been underway for a long time, and we now have a new producer and a new director in place, as well as brand new scripts all ready to go. It’s the longest and most ambitious story we have ever made, so be prepared for some shocks and surprises! Life at Torchwood is never quiet or easy, and the whole of Captain Jack's world is about to be turned upside down!”

Sure it is, just 8 hours less of it all, huh? I'm so disappointed. Even the DVD set won't match the others on my bookshelf now.

New Fox Video -- Joss Whedon Mistakes Himself for Eliza Dushku and Visa Versa

There are fanboys all over the world reading that headline and saying, "Joss, just look in the mirror, you are not a hot chick."

I think he knows that.

By the way, she's more than a hot chick. She has acting chops and "chopping chops" (I mean, she fights well on screen).

"Simply the most fabulous television in the history of radio," he says, but you gotta wait until January.

Other things you have to wait until January for?

1. Obama's Inauguration
2. CES
3. Addie's 50th birthday
4. Utah Gay Ski Week (I won't be there, I have had my lifetime fill of snow)
5. The next season of 24
6. San Francisco's Zinfindel Festival (Won't be there either, it's just pink wine)

Clip after the jump.

Joss' Dollhouse Trailer: "This is Cutting Edge Science In a House Full of Hot Chicks!"

And there's already a fansite. The link to that site is right here (and thanks for the pic).

And the trailer is after the jump. Sorry, trying to keep the homepage relatively clear of embeds, it slows the download.

Another clip, from the website Seat 42F, is at this link.

Yes, that is Tahmoh Penikett from BSG (above, far left). How cool is that?

UPDATE: Fox has two clips at YouTube and after the jump I have them for you in a custom player, because I care like no other blogger about your seeing them.

Just a menschy thing to do, especially since the previous trailer I had broke down practically the moment I posted it.

Fox Sci-Fi Pickups: Whedon & Abrams Yes, Ron Moore Held Till 2009

It looks like they will be the place for the scifi debuts in the Fall, though the Ronald D. Moore (BSG) penned Virtuality will be held for next season.

That's fine with me, as he his a lot on his plate with the Caprica prequel for SciFi (which is already being cast with, among others, Esai Morales as Joe Adama and Eric Stoltz (most notable in my head for being the male version of Molly Ringwald -- down to the hair color -- in Some Kind of Wonderful).

THR.com:

The Abrams thriller "Fringe," about a trio who explore paranormal mysteries, will have a two-hour premiere on Tuesday, Aug. 26. The show will then settle into its regular time period at 9 p.m. after "House." "We have high expectations for this," Reilly said. "We'll have huge campaign for it."

About the show from Variety:

"Fringe" mixes elements of "The X-Files" and Paddy Chayefsky's "Altered States" with what Abrams calls "a slight 'Twilight Zone' vibe." It will focus on brilliant but possibly crazy research scientist Walter Bishop, his estranged son and a female FBI agent who brings them together.

Episodes will explore self-contained mysteries of the paranormal, as well as the relationships between the three leads.

"So much of the story is relatable people in extraordinary situations," Abrams said. "The show is definitely a nod to 'Altered States' and 'Scanners' and that whole Michael Crichton/Robin Cook world of medicine and science."

Details on Whedon's Dollhouse, starring Eliza Dushku (love that name) after the jump.

Buffy Reunion Video From Paley Center Event, Whedon Talks About More

More? Yes, more. But before you get all prickly with excitement, think about all the schedules that would have to be arranged just so, just so they could all be available.

If you think that's easy, check out the IMDB pages of all your components, including Sarah, Seth, Alyson, etc. in front, and then Joss and the writers and directors and all the rest behind the camera. We're talking a major undertaking.

There would also need to be a media company willing to go back to the well. I'm guessing the first right of refusal goes to Twentieth TV, and although Joss is working on a series for them and the Fox network right now with another alum, Eliza Dushku (love her last name) it guarantees nothing.

So, don't get your metaphoric panties in a bunch about this. Yet.

I'll stay on this.

Speaking of SMG, I'm going out and buying Southland Tales is week on DVD. I loved Donnie Darko (though it freaked me out, maybe I loved it because it freaked me out) and on film is the only way I wanna see a post-apocalyptic Southern California.

Clip after the jump is from the Hollywood Reporter homepage.

Joss Whedon Explains Why He Walks The Line

LINK

More Joss at Whedonesque.com.

Whedon, Dushku Dollhouse Gets 7 Ep Commitment from Fox

It sounds awfully creepy (Hollywood Reporter):

The drama, whose license fee is said to be in the $1.5 million-$2 million-per-episode range, stars Dushku as Echo, a member of a group of men and women who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments. In between tasks they are mind-wiped, living like children in Dollhouse, a futuristic dorm/lab. They have no memories of their previous lives, until Echo begins to try to find out who she was.

Creepy, right? And yeah, some of it sounds like it could be a parallel season of Heroes with the Haitian taking more of a leading role, but I'm sure that they'll make every attempt to differentiate themselves from a show that's not getting the best press right now.

I've always enjoyed Eliza Dushku (and her name, Dushku, I like saying it) and I know that the fans will come out for a Whedon series. They've got seven episodes to prove themselves in a very tenuous environment, especially for a big ticket show.

I'd love to see the budget for the pilot. I'm sure they'll spend some big money.

I wouldn't worry about Fox's checkbook; as much as they lose money on a lot of their products (MyNetworkTV anyone?), that singing show they start airing in January can pay for a lot of experimentation.