Dollhouse (TV series)

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Dollhouse
Logo from trailer
Genre	Drama
Created by	Joss Whedon
Starring	Eliza Dushku Tahmoh Penikett Dichen Lachman Fran Kranz Enver Gjokaj Olivia Williams Harry Lennix Amy Acker Miracle Laurie
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer(s)	Joss Whedon Elizabeth Craft Sarah Fain
Producer(s)	Eliza Dushku Tim Minear Steven DeKnight
Broadcast
Original channel	Fox
Original airing	January 2009
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Dollhouse is an hour-long American drama series created by Joss Whedon which went into production in April 2008. The show will air on Fox as part of their midseason lineup in January 2009 on Mondays at 8PM, before 24.^[1][2][3] The series stars Eliza Dushku, who worked with Whedon on the cult television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain will be showrunners, while Tim Minear and Steven DeKnight will serve as consulting producers.^[4][5] The writing staff will include Tim Minear, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Elizabeth Craft, Sarah Fain, and Joss Whedon.^[6] Whedon will direct a number of his own episodes, as he has done in past series. Tim Minear and Buffy alum David Solomon are also set to direct.^[7] A viral marketing campaign promoting Dollhouse was started on May 26th, 2008.^[8]

Dollhouse, which is to be produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Mutant Enemy Inc.^[9], has been granted a thirteen-episode production commitment by Fox, with a reported license fee in the range of US$1.5 million to US$2 million per episode.^[10][11] Fox has decided to forgo the pilot episode of the series, opting to put funds towards the construction of the elaborate set and cultural context of the television series. It has been described as a "life-size Dollhouse".^[12]

Dollhouse, along with J. J. Abrams' Fringe, will air with half the commercials and promo spots, adding about 6 minutes to the shows' run times, as part of a new Fox initiative called "Remote-Free TV".^[13]

It will also air on Global in Canada;^[14] the premiere dates in other parts of the world are not yet announced.

[edit] Premise

In Dollhouse, Dushku plays a young woman named Echo, a member of a group of people known as "Actives" or "Dolls" who volunteered for the work in the Dollhouse. They give up five years of their lives, and at the end they receive a large sum of money and no memory of anything they did for the Dollhouse. The Dolls have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas, including memory, muscle memory, skills, and language, for different assignments. They're then hired out for particular jobs, crimes, fantasies, and occasional good deeds. On missions, Actives are monitored internally (and remotely) by Handlers. In between tasks, they are mind-wiped into a child-like state and live in a futuristic dormitory/laboratory, a hidden facility nicknamed "The Dollhouse". The story follows Echo, who begins, in her mind-wiped state, to become self-aware.^[15][2]

Beyond Dushku's character, the show will also revolve around the people who run the mysterious "Dollhouse" and two other "Dolls", Victor and Sierra, who are friendly with Echo. Although the Actives are ostensibly volunteers, the operation is highly illegal and under constant threat from Paul Smith, a determined federal agent who has heard a rumor about the dolls on one end and an insane rogue Active on the other.^[2]

[edit] Casting

The Dollhouse Cast

Anya Colloff and Amy McIntyre Britt, who previously worked with Joss Whedon on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Serenity, are the show's casting directors.^[16]

On March 26, 2008, it was officially announced that Tahmoh Penikett, Dichen Lachman, Fran Kranz, and Enver Gjokaj had been cast in four principal roles for the show.^[17][18] On April 3, 2008, it was announced that Olivia Williams would be playing the role of Adelle DeWitt.^[19] On April 17, 2008, it was announced that Harry J. Lennix had also joined the cast.^[20] On the same day, Joss Whedon announced on whedonesque.com that Miracle Laurie and Amy Acker were to complete the cast.^[21]

Brennan Elliott auditioned for the part of Paul Smith but lost out to Penikett. Ian Anthony Dale and Paul Campbell auditioned for Victor, but Gjokaj got the part.^[22]

[edit] Characters

The following lists the known characters and the casting information.^{[23][24][25][19]} The dolls are apparently named after the NATO phonetic alphabet.^[26]

[edit] Series Regulars

• Echo played by Eliza Dushku — The main character. A Doll who begins, in her mind-wiped state, to become self-aware.
• Adelle DeWitt played by Olivia Williams — Beautiful, sophisticated, cold as an alp. Runs the Dollhouse with an efficiency that is both ruthless and protective. Would die before she showed anyone how lonely she is.
• Paul Smith (or Paul Ballard)^[20] played by Tahmoh Penikett — An FBI field agent, he's been chasing the urban myth of the "Dollhouse" long enough to have lost any shot at promotion. Becomes obsessed with, and twisted romantic foil for, Echo.
• Topher Brink played by Fran Kranz - Genius programmer who's articulate, nerdily attractive, and blithely amoral. He's responsible for imprinting the dolls — and making sure they stay unaware of anything. Is fascinated by the science and kind of digging the illegality. Fun to be around, but might not be remotely trustworthy.
• Sierra played by Dichen Lachman - A Doll like Echo, she has every personality in the world but her own. Is not as self-aware as Echo, but is instinctively drawn to her as a friend.
• Victor played by Enver Gjokaj - A Doll, and the other closest thing to a friend Echo has. Childlike when he's inactive, and everything from Errol Flynn to (young) DeNiro when he's active.
• Boyd Langton played by Harry J. Lennix^[20] - An ex-cop, Boyd is Echo's 'handler' - her guard/bodyguard. Hates himself for taking this job, but he'd lay down his life to protect the people he feels he's exploiting.

[edit] Recurring

• November played by Miracle Laurie ^[21] - Another Doll, a hopeful child in the house and everyone else you need her to be outside. A comforting, radiant presence who tends to get fewer of the criminal gigs and more of the personal ones.
• Dr. Claire Saunders played by Amy Acker ^[21] - Looks after the physical well-being of the dolls. Has an acid wit that she usually reserves for Topher, who may only be kidding about being smitten with her (or not). She is scarred from a razor attack.^[20]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Trailer presented at the Upfronts 2008
• Hollywood Reporter article
• Pilot Details: Welcome to the Dollhouse!
• Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain interviewed by fans from dollhousetvforum.com