Earlier this year, we lost Battlestar Galactica, but we had the consolation of Dollhouse. Now, we’ve lost that, as well. Dollhouse has been cancelled. According to news reports, the remaining episodes of the second season will air. I’m of two minds on this. On the one hand, a network, especially a broadcast network, cannot be expected to keep a show on the air when its ratings share is tiny compared to that of other shows on the same network. On the other hand, Dollhouse aired on Fridays, the graveyard shift, a timeslot in which it could not be expected to deliver the numbers of a show like House. I give credit to Fox for allowing Dollhouse to have a second season, but then I take away that credit when I think about the fact that it wasn’t promoted…anywhere. If I hadn’t been seeking out Whedon/Dollhouse news, I would not have seen any ads for the show, in any medium. Contrast this with Glee, which got a HUGE publicity push before its premiere, and which continues to receive a lot of publicity for its soundtrack album.

The only silver lining in the whole business is the fact that filming is ongoing (they’re currently working on the 11th episode), so Joss may be able to finish the series properly. Unfortunately, I doubt that the narrative will fill in the gap between the present time and ‘Epitaph One.’ Add this to Firefly and Angel in the List of Joss Shows That Are Cancelled Before Their Time. Only Buffy got to end on its own terms; Angel ended wonderfully (it’s my favorite series finale ever for any show), but it could and should have gone on another season. Firefly hurt, and an argument can be made that it was better than Dollhouse, which got off to a rocky start, but I have to say that Dollhouse’s cancellation stings more than Firefly’s. It grew into a show that opened a discourse on subjects that were much more disturbing and intimate than Firefly. I also thought that its mythology had more places to go than Firefly’s, despite the latter’s multi-planetary scope. Though imperfect, Dollhouse was tragic, melancholy, smart, haunting, beautiful and a million other things. From an aesthetic POV, the show was gorgeous to look at; the Dollhouse set was one I loved to see week in and week out. The show will be missed, for what it managed to deliver, but more so for the promise of where it was heading, and its continued and significant improvement from a less than stellar pilot (lest we forget, the critically acclaimed Buffy had a not-so-great first season, before growing into a truly great series). I think Dollhouse would have grown ever more compelling, daring and complex, but that is something that we will not be allowed to see.

Joss posted a comment about the cancellation over at Whedonesque:

I don’t have a lot to say. I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.

I’m off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I’ve read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear.

Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again. -j.

This year, Fox seems to be pushing its hit show House in a different, more insistent way than it has in past seasons, with a Caduceus-centered, pseudo-viral campaign designed to raise interest and curiosity in the show’s premiere. The Caduceus symbol, the centerpiece of the campaign, started as actor Hugh Laurie’s idea for gifts for the crew, and was adopted by the producers and network to push the show’s sixth season to the public. The campaign started with drawings of a cane within a Caduceus symbol that began to appear on other Fox shows, with no reference to the House title, but prompting viewers to visit the Snakes on a Cane website, which featured a countdown (fans of the show quickly realized that the site was counting down to the September 21st premiere). Posters also appeared in major cities. In the following weeks, the drawing turned into a more elaborate image, which then turned into a Caduceus on a black tee-shirt, which in turn was revealed to be Hugh Laurie himself, wearing the tee-shirt. In its final phase, the image revealed Hugh Laurie as House as the center of the Caduceus, with snakes wrapped around his body. Though the mystery surrounding the Caduceus campaign didn’t (and couldn’t) last very long in the days of such elaborate viral marketing as that which surrounded The Dark Knight and Lost, it nevertheless succeeded in conveying a sense of quirkiness that made it stand out from the rather bland publicity that preceeded some (though not all) of the previous seasons of House, as well as several other shows, for which the publicity focus is on the castmembers posing in front of nondescript backgrounds. House is not the only show that has received heavy publicity; with few shows premiering this fall, Fox has pushed its shows more heavily, especially Glee, but the push for House nevertheless remains surprising for a show that is entering its sixth season. One of the final steps in the campaign came about through Facebook (and only through Facebook), in which Fox offered a limited amount of tickets to an advanced screening of the premiere episode (“Broken”) on September 17th in New York and LA (the cast attended the latter).

Of course, House is important for Fox; not only has it performed consistently well through an actors’ strike and a cast overhaul, but it has just achieved the distinction of becoming the most watched drama in the world. On the other hand, it’s lost visibility against competition from the cable networks, as well as newer shows on the broadcast channels. Critically, it has lost some of the support that it enjoyed in its first three seasons, with its original cast. Despite this, the show still received Emmy nominations, including one for its long-overdue star. So, with this year’s increased publicity push, the question becomes: does the premiere deliver?

When we last left House, the show had pulled itself together after a slow start to season 5. In its last stretch, House’s 5th season saw one of House’s fellows, Lawrence Kutner, commit suicide, forcing the rest of the staff at Princeton Plainsboro to evaluate what, if anything, they could have done to prevent the tragedy. The unacknowledged guilt that Dr. House felt in regards to Kutner’s suicide was the straw that broke the camel’s back, compounding the guild that House already felt over his role in the death of another former employee, as well as his antagonistic relationship with his father, who also passed away. The toll of three deaths in the space of a year, in addition to House’s long-standing addiction to Vicodin, set of a wave of hallucinations that compromised his judgment as a doctor and the safety, not only of his patients, but of the people around him.

Season 6 picks up where Season 5 left off, with House checking himself into a mental institution, Mayfield Hospital. Breaking from the show’s regular formula, House is now the patient that needs healing, and his healing is less physical than psychological. The greatest deterrent to his recovery is his own unwillingness to let himself be treated (he has entered and resisted rehab in the past). If there is one thing that counterweighs his desire to get better, it is the fear that sobriety will make him a less effective doctor, since his leg pain is, without drugs, unbearable. Now that his medical license is at stake, he has his strongest ever incentive to get better. As he begins his stay at the hospital, House must forge a strategy to get a recommendation letter from the head of psychiatry, Dr. Darryl Nolan (Andre Braugher) in order to return to medicine, but this will prove no small task, since Dr. Nolan is not one to be swayed easily, especially in light of House’s unwillingness to cooperate.

The entire two-hour episode is set inside Mayfield, with no cuts to Princeton Plainsboro or the staff there. Other than Laurie, only one other member of the regular cast appears, and very briefly at that. The different location and different cast give the episode a feel that is completely separate from the rest of the series. Set over the course of months, it is almost a self-contained story, one that could have functioned as an inter-season movie. In a way, it will be a shame to go back to Princeton, since the residents of Mayfield were such very rich characters. In addition to Braugher’s Nolan, who is both healer and a damaged person himself, there is a stand out performance from Lin-Manuel Miranda (from Broadway’s In the Heights) as Alvie, House’s schizophrenic roommate, who tries his patience to its limit, but also becomes his most enthusiastic co-conspirator against ‘the Man.’ Braugher and Miranda are more compelling in these two hours than a couple of House’s fellows have been in years of being on the show, and I wish they would become regulars, or at least recurring. If there are any complaints about this season opener, they lie with the Franka Potente character, Lydia. She plays a significant part in House’s life and recovery process during his stay at Mayfield, where her sister-in-law is a patient, but the character doesn’t feel fleshed out enough to warrant the interest and attraction that House feels towards her. I like Potente in other roles, most obviously in Run Lola Run, but I found something lacking here, perhaps in the writing of Lydia. I found myself wishing that instead of Lydia, we got to see more of Megan Dodds (Ever After), who was sorely underused as Dr. Beasley, the poor doctor who is in charge of House’s therapy group.

All in all, I found this to be one of the strongest episodes of the show, and certainly the best of its season premieres. It shakes things up quite a bit and brings new energy to the show. It also sets House (both the series and the character) onto a possible new direction. Laurie, as always, delivers. In fact, in his sixth year playing this character, he has just delivered some of his best work in this season premiere, which he carries without the help of his supporting cast (which usually includes the excellent Robert Sean Leonard and Lisa Edelstein). This premiere is proof, if any was needed, that while House can boast a very strong ensemble, it is Laurie’s show all the way. Here’s hoping that he gets some award recognition this year.

So, to answer my initial question, the premiere certainly delivers. It’s rare for a show to deliver such strong material so many years into its run. Certainly, the show has stumbled along the course of the last couple of seasons, and it will be difficult to maintain the freshness of the premiere once the show returns to Princeton and to the regular patients there, but if the focus remains on House’s journey of recovery or self-destruction, then this sixth season of House has the potential to become one of its best. “Broken” kicks off the new season, airing this Monday on FOX.

Torchwood returns to BBC-America tonight. Instead of a full season of stand-alone episodes, the show will focus on one story, told over five consecutive nights. With the loss of half the Torchwood team regulars, and the adoption of the mini-series narrative style, the show takes a strong departure from its two previous seasons. In England, it has changed networks, and fans have wondered how, or if, this network change will affect the content of the series itself. The mini-series, which already premiered abroad, starts tonight on BBC-America. I haven’t seen it yet, but the show has not disappointed me yet, so I recommend tuning in. If you miss it, the R1 DVD is due for release on July 28th.

Visit the BBC Website.

Visit the BBC-America Website.

Have you ever had an impulse, one which has no foundation in logic, and which runs counter to our biological drive to hoard and be selfish? We admire heroes precisely because we recognize that our default mode is to be selfish, to care for ourselves and our loved ones before any stranger that may require our beneficence. We comfort ourselves with the notion that we’re not criminals, and therefore, at the very least, we are not actively making the world worse. Sometimes, we make ourselves feel better by throwing money at a cause. If we can’t ship out to South America or volunteer for the Peace Corps, perhaps we can send financial aid instead. Perhaps one takes a more cynical view, arriving at the conclusion that charity is in itself selfish, since those who do it are in it for the attention, or to ease their own gnawing consciences. Is there such a thing as a selfless deed? Nevertheless, isn’t it to our credit that we have those gnawing consciences? If our Darwinian drive dictates that we be selfish to protect ourselves and our families at the expense of others, then isn’t the fact that we feel for others, for strangers in far-off lands, a good thing?

The Philanthropist, NBC’s summer premiere about a billionaire-playboy-turned-humanitarian, may seem like too shallow a vehicle to tackle such questions. After all, what do the folks over in Hollywood know about human suffering on a global scale? Curiously, however, the show works, and it does so while feeling vibrant and human rather than didactic. James Purefoy stars as Teddy Rist, a fast-living, globe-trotting man who finds a moment of clarity in the middle of an African village. This brings us back to my opening question: the illogical impulse to do good, particularly when that good runs counter to our own well-being. In the midst of a hurricane, Teddy sees a poor boy and saves places him onto a safety raft, sacrificing his own place onboard. Upon returning home to NYC, Terry finds that he can’t put the boy out of his mind and returns to Africa in search of him.

With excellent production values, the show comes to life when Teddy is abroad. The exotic locations photograph beautifully, and even the impoverished towns that Teddy visits are a welcome respite from the monotonous settings of other tv shows. As a character, Teddy is but the last in a long string of rich boys playing heroes: from The Scarlet Pimpernel to Batman, the motif is a recurring one. Teddy measures up as a character because he seems genuinely concerned for the people that he is trying to help, and because he does it through charity, rather than violence. Teddy doesn’t don a cape and mask and beat up the bad guys; he tries to deliver vaccines to villages where they are desperately needed. This isn’t to say that the character (and the premise) are unproblematic. After all, Teddy seems to think that bribing people is a legitimate way of getting around the local systems of corruption. Furthermore, the people that he helps (at least in the pilot) are African, bringing forth racial questions to the tune of White Man’s Burden and Western Imperialism. Whether or not the show will tackle these questions remains to be seen, though the issue is briefly noted in the pilot.

In terms of casting, James Purefoy is an inspired choice. Having played bad boys in Rome (my favorite HBO show…ever) and Vanity Fair, James brings that Marc Antony-esque swagger and adventurous spirit to Teddy, but then he adds a deep sense of loss and empathy to the character that make Teddy more substantive and compassionate than Purefoy’s previous roles; he truly seems to care. If there is a problem with the show, it is with Teddy’s life in New York. Teddy’s turbulent background includes broken relationships and the loss of a son, all of which drive him away from his home in America. While I like the notion that Teddy is running from unhappiness, thereby bringing his motives into question, I find it too facile and reductive for the writers to give the rich playboy a dead son as the trigger for his quest to right wrongs. Can’t a person feel sympathy for a fellow human being without having anagolous experience in his/her own life story? I don’t need to have AIDS or see someone close to me die of AIDS in order to feel sympathy for an AIDS patient. It would have been more interesting to me if Teddy’s change were not so easily explained.

Teddy’s son is not the only problem he left behind in New York. He lost his former girlfriend Olivia (played by Neve Campbell) to his best friend Philip (Jesse L. Martin). Though Martin acquits himself well with very little to do in the pilot, Campbell seems out of place, and uninteresting. Lindy Booth, playing Teddy’s assistant A.J., has the same problem; she’s there to beg Teddy to stay out of trouble, and this gets tiresome very quickly. Perhaps these characters will get more development in future episodes? Do we even want to know more about them? The pilot itself is entirely about Teddy, and it works well, but I don’t know that it would, if centered on the other characters. In a previous post, I questioned whether the charm of Nathan Fillion would be enough to sustain my interest in Castle, despite its weak supporting cast and its uninspired writing. The answer to that is a resounding “No” and I gave up on that series. I think The Philanthropist falls more in line with House, as a series with a strong lead who has enough support from the other players and the writing to make me tune in time and again. Like House, The Philanthropist can choose to focus on one character alone, but the supporting players need to be strong enough to make that character’s world an interesting one. It could also go another way by becoming an ensemble piece, but I doubt that they will pull away from Teddy to make that happen.

As it stands, the pilot of The Philanthropist was very intriguing, fast-paced and surprisingly moving. It speaks to that gnawing conscience inside all of us that wants to alleviate the pain in the world. Put simply, it’s wish fulfillment, the desire to become the type of person who could rise above selfishness. Of course, it wouldn’t be fun if Teddy didn’t stumble along the way, but that’s what makes life (and tv) interesting: the flaws in the plan. I, for one, can’t wait to see what Teddy will be up to next.

The Philanthropist airs Wednesdays at 10PM on NBC.

“There’s a hole in the world. Feels like we ought to have known.”

I was going to write a review of Be Kind, Rewind. I was going to write an Actor Spotlight post about someone NOT related to the Whedonverse, since my first was about Giles and Wesley. Instead, I felt the need to write about this guy: Andy Hallett. Most of you probably never heard of him. Even people who have seen him on Angel probably wouldn’t have recognized him on the street. Andy was not the most widely known actor in the world, but those of us who were fortunate enough to catch him on Angel know what a great talent he was. I’m using the past tense here because it was just announced that Andy died on March 29th from a heart ailment. He was 33 years old.

Andy was discovered by Joss Whedon singing in a nightclub, and he was asked to come onboard Angel…as a singer in a nightclub. The big difference was that Andy’s character, Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan (Lorne, to his friends), was a green, horned demon from the dimension of Pylea, one who liked to dress in loud, flashy suits to match his larger than life personality.

Lorne wasn’t supposed to last; he was a green, red-eyed demon! He burst into song on a regular basis! If he didn’t become a caricature, he was destined to be too precious for the show to withstand, a distraction. The great thing about Andy is that he didn’t let Lorne become either cartoony or affected. Despite being “the Life of the Party”, he never let the very overt quirks of his character detract from the main story. In his hands, a character that was designed to be a temporary curiosity, a freak, became a most familiar and welcome face on the show. Lorne was a gentle soul who despised violence and loved music, qualities that made him an outcast in his world. Under his great humor and pizzaz, one sensed an undercurrent of sadness, first for the family that rejected him, and then for his friends, who were being corrupted and damaged by the fight against evil. Despite being a demon, Lorne was the most human and most humane of all the characters on Angel.

By all accounts, Andy the man was not very far removed from his character. He was thrilled to meet fans at conventions, and his colleagues have always spoken very warmly of him. Fan reactions to the news of Andy’s passing have been universal in their affection for the man, and the light he shone wherever he went. I think that bringing laughter and music to people is one of the best legacies a man can leave, so even if you don’t know who Andy was, I can assure you that his legacy was very great, indeed.

Random trivia fact: Joss Whedon has appeared only once in one of his shows, in a cameo as Lorne’s brother Numfar on Angel’s “Through the Looking Glass” episode in the second season. He famously did “the Dance of Joy for three moons” at his mother’s prompting when Lorne disappeared from his home. No longer do the Dance of Joy, Numfar!”

Random trivia fact 2: Andy was a background extra in the “Hush” episode of Buffy. He was sitting in the back of the classroom during Buffy’s dream sequence, in which she is kissed by Riley in the middle of Professor Walsh’s lecture.

-Artemis

The British show Life on Mars was an award winning series centered on a modern-day cop, Sam Tyler, who wakes up in the year 1973 after being struck by a car. It was so successful that an American remake was commissioned for ABC (the remake received mixed reviews and was cancelled in its first season), and a spin-off was created for the BBC, premiering this month in BBC America. This spin-off, Ashes to Ashes (both series take their titles from David Bowie songs), stars Keeley Hawes as DI Alex Drake, a detective with intensive training in psychoanalysis, who is transported back to 1981 after being shot in 2008. Drake had been studying Tyler’s case, and she is shocked to meet the same men that Tyler encountered during his time in the 70s. She begins to suspect that she is in a coma (as Tyler was during the original series), hallucinating about the case, and not actually travelling through time. Taking tips from Tyler’s notes, she tries to fix radios and other devices to receive messages and clues about her actual condition in the 21st century.

Both series combine the overriding cop genre with a sci-fi/fantasy twist, the ambiguity behind the time travel. Are the protagonists insane, in a coma, or did they actually travel through time? Will their actions in the past affect the reality in the future? If they are in a coma, will they wake up? There are aspects of horror as well, as Alex is haunted almost daily by a sinister clown from the David Bowie “Ashes to Ashes” video, who seems to have answers regarding her condition. Though life for Sam Tyler must have been difficult during his trip to the 70s (I didn’t watch the original show or its American remake), a situation of this kind must be infinitely more difficult for Alex, a woman trying to prove her worth in a 1981 police force. Besides her gender, her background in and reliance on psychology alienate her from the rest of the force. She has a desperate need to get back to the job and the life she left behind, a life that includes her small daughter.

The ensemble of the show is excellent, especially the returning characters from Life on Mars, who have aged and grown in the years since Tyler’s trip back in time. Dean Andrews returns as Ray Carling, a racist, sexist detective on the force, who is resentful of Alex Drake’s command. Marshall Lancaster also is back as Chris Skelton, Sam Tyler’s friend, who has grown in confidence and nerve since we last saw him in the 70s. Finally, there is the phenomenal Philip Glenister as Chief Inspector Gene Hunt, a man wise enough to know that Alex’s skills can come in handy, though he is also tied to the old way of doing things; he’s like a dinosaur who knows the end is coming for his kind, but who refuses to go without a fight. These men aren’t stereotypes, and their points-of-view, though very different from Drake’s, are not dismissed out of hand. In the leading role, Keeley Hawes is strong in that she is confident in her skills and her logic, and vulnerable in knowing that she is very much out of place and out of her comfort zone in this era.

In addition to a beautiful recreation of the 80s, and a rocking soundtrack (just like its predecessor), Ashes to Ashes is full of suspense and social observations regarding Margaret Thatcher’s England. The stakes are high for Alex Drake, especially in her role as a single mother, making the show feel very urgent. Hopefully, Ashes to Ashes will be embraced stateside, despite the failure of the Life on Mars remake.

The premiere episode of Ashes to Ashes will be re-broadcast this Saturday on BBC America.

-Artemis

So, I decided to create a category that lets my inner fangirl come out and play (more than she usually does, anyway). The result is a Spotlight category for past movies, television shows, and actors that I really dig (as opposed to current releases that fall into those categories). Today, we have my two favorite Whedonverse actors, the watchers Anthony Stewart Head and Alexis Denisof, both of whom are celebrating a birthday this week. This way lie spoilers….

First up, Anthony Stewart Head (February 20, 1954):

Giles: Buffy Summers’ beloved watcher, Rupert “Ripper” Giles, was my favorite character on that show, someone who managed to be both paternally encouraging and mighty intimidating (when he got his “mean” on, that is). He tried to set a good example for his Scoobies, but he could also be enough of a smartass to attack Maggie Walsh for being dismissive of his parental abilities and trying to replace him as the central authority figure in Buffy’s life (“A New Man”). Always great with swords and chainsaws, Giles also has been known to rough up his enemies with his bare fists, and to kill a guy (“The Gift”) or two (Buffy Season 8, # 9), if the occassion calls for it. In fact, of the core Scoobies, Giles is the one who will hesitate least when it comes to killing someone. Demons fear Buffy, but the rest of the world should fear Giles.

Tony: Before Buffy, Tony Head was known for his performances in a series of Gold Blend ads, and his post-Buffy career has seen a great deal of work over in the U.K. (he left Buffy in Season 6 to spend more time with his family overseas). Besides the hilarious Manchild, he has enjoyed success as Uther Pendragon in Merlin (scheduled to come stateside on June 21, 2009) and as the Prime Minister in Little Britain. Most recently, the new series Free Agents features Tony as company boss Stephen Caudwell, described by the show’s website as “a ruthless scoundrel completely without morals and possessing all the sexual responsibility of an alley-cat.” Though Merlin is the more high-profile series, I’m personally dying to see Free Agents, since it seems geared toward a more adult audience, in the same style that made Manchild such a delight. I hope that it makes it to our side of the pond. If you get a chance, try to netflix the aforementioned Manchild, or the first season episode of Spooks (American title: MI-5) called “Traitor’s Gate”, featuring Tony as rogue agent Peter Salter, who collaborates with a terrorist organization; a truly intense performance from our Mr. Head in a spectacular hour of television. Other than that, my greatest wish for Tony is that someone greenlights that Ripper spinoff/made-for-tv-movie that was in the works, focusing on that darker side of our beloved Rupert Giles. In the meantime, for those of you who require a Giles fix, I greatly recommend the Buffy Season 8 series, especially the No Future For You volume set, focusing on Giles and his partnership with vampire slayer Faith.

Alexis Denisof (February 25, 1966):

Wesley: My other favorite watcher, and my favorite character in the entire Whedonverse, was Wesley Wyndham Pryce. Seriously, how many times have you seen a character (on television or in any other medium) have such a great story arc? Wesley taught me a lot of things about the nature of characterization itself, especially the notion of growing/changing a character without violating the character’s core persona (contrast this with Cordelia Chase, a character who changed wildly beyond recognition, without design or consistency, and one of the few times that Mutant Enemy dropped the ball in the personal arcs of one of its characters). The uptight Wesley who was willing to let Willow die during one of his earliest appearances on Buffy (“Choices”) is the same Wesley who was willing to kidnap Connor several years (and a hell of a make-over) later (“Sleep Tight”). The ruthlessness was always there, as were the skills (he just couldn’t tap into them until he overcame his lack of confidence). The Buffy Wiki tells us that Wesley was the best marksman in the entire Buffyverse, even better than the slayers and vampires who fought at his side. One can see this even as early as his first season on Angel, in episodes such as “Expecting” and “The Ring”, when the normally shy Wesley turns dead serious. Eventually, Wesley would develop his fighting skills to a point where he could take on demons and vampires single-handedly, and regularly would shoot an opponent as soon as look at him. In the case of his own father, Wesley emptied a clip into the elder Pryce’s face with barely a blink of an eye (“Lineage”). When he wasn’t busy shooting up his enemies, Wes has also been known to torture people, keep women chained in his basement, and carry on an affair with a mortal enemy, all the while hoping to steal the girlfriend of one of his best friends….and he’s one of the good guys! Even Numfar agrees that Wes was awesome, as evidenced by his recent response to the question of favorite character arcs at Whedonesque: “For a long term arc, you can’t beat Wesley Wyndham-Price. Talk about empowering a geek!” There you have it from the Master himself, ladies and gentlemen.

Alexis: Of course, for Wesley’s arc to work, you need an actor who can deliver both extremes of Wesley’s personality, from pompous, ineffectual know-it-all to ruthless demon-hunting badass, and Alexis Denisof delivered the single most nuanced, subtle and engaging performance ever filmed for the ‘verse (or any other tv ‘verse, with the only possible match being James Callis as Gaius Baltar on Battlestar Galactica). The tragedy of Wesley Wyndham Pryce was Shakespearean in scope. Sadly, we haven’t seen much of Alexis since his days on Angel. He was in an English stage production of All My Sons, and he has guest starred as a bigamist on the tv show Private Practice and a self-centered news anchor on How I Met Your Mother (which stars his wife and former Buffy costar Alyson Hannigan). I’m hoping he’ll show up on Dollhouse eventually, and I told Joss as much in the two seconds I got to speak to him. Here’s hoping we see Alexis again, and soon! In the meantime, I highly recommend Angel: After the Fall for your Wesley fix; it’s a great and worthy continuation to the Angel series, written by the talented Brian Lynch (and crafted by Lynch and Whedon). Check it out! No, really, check it out….now! In fact, buy all of Lynch’s books, especially Spike: Asylum…seriously, Lynch is that good!

Random trivia fact: did you know that Tony Head recommended Alexis Denisof for the part of Wesley? They had worked together on the play Rope in England. The Hitchcock film of the same title was based on the this story of two college buddies/lovers who decide to murder their classmate, much to the horror of their disillusioned and cynical professor. Tony Head played the professor in the stage play, opposite John Barrowman (yes, Torchwood’s Captain Jack!) and Alexis Denisof as the two killers.

-Artemis

Joss Whedon attended an event at SoHo’s Apple Store to promote his show Dollhouse. As an added surprise, Joss brought the star of the show, Eliza Dushku, to participate in the presentation with him. A sequence from the first episode was screened, in which we are introduced to the concept of Echo (Eliza’s character) being imprinted with a different personality each week, as requested by each customer who purchases her time.

Joss spoke about the optimism that he feels for the show, especially since he feels that Terminator (which stars Whedon alumna Summer Glau) is a great lead-in and companion to Dollhouse. TV Guide critic and moderator Matt Roush also pointed out that Friday has become the new Geek trifecta, with a triple treat of Terminator, Dollhouse and Battlestar Galactica (the latter on the Sci-Fi Channel). Joss explained that he was very encouraged by the way that Fox had promoted Terminator, and the fact that the network has stuck by that show, despite a drop in ratings. Their treatment of Terminator makes him optimistic that they will stand behind Dollhouse.

Because Dollhouse is a mid-season replacement, it will only present 13 episodes. In an effort to attract fans and appease the network, Joss made a decision to move up some storylines from Season 2 to Season 1. His reasoning is that he wants to invite viewers to commit to the show as soon as possible, something that would be more difficult if he stuck to his original story-planning. Nevertheless, he still wanted to break the season in such a way that people can join in after the first episode. He said that the season will reach a major narrative juncture in Episode 6, where the mythology of the show really kicks off. According to Joss and Eliza, there is a good arc in place for the first season, but he has also plotted out five seasons of the show, should it require them.

Joss also announced some casting decisions for this first season. Amy Acker is onboard as a guest, as are fellow Whedon alumni Felicia Day and Alan Tudyk (or as Joss referred to him: “some guy named Alan that I impaled that one time”). I should add that I geeked out when I met the man and asked him to plleeeeaaaase cast Alexis Denisof, to which he replied, “I really need to work with him again!”

Finally, the question was brought up (it was also brought up by The NPR) regarding misogynistic overtones in Dollhouse, a show that is, for all intents and purposes, about human trafficking. Joss answered that he had talked with the organization Equality Now about the themes of the show, and he maintains that it is important to explore these themes of exploitation, first of all in order to tell a story realistically (if the Dollhouse technology existed, it would be used in exploitative ways), and secondly, because Echo’s arc requires that she start in a place of helplessness. The fact that Echo is the weakest of Whedon’s heroines (she lacks superpowers, and even memory) means that her journey to empowerment will be that much more impressive.

The event concluded with a signing, and free Dollhouse posters. Almost everyone brought a Whedon-related item to be signed, ranging from comic books to DVDs. In fact, there were a lot of Buffy Season 1 sets and Angel Season 5s, as well as Firefly. The most surprising thing was that almost everyone in the room had some sort of Joss comic book. I saw one person with Serenity comics, several with Buffy and X-Men. I think I may have been one of the few with Angel comics in tow (I got him to sign After the Fall #12 Runge cover featuring Wesley and my Angel AtF vol. 2 set, also featuring Wesley….did I mention that Wesley is my favorite Whedon character?). His response to the Runge cover: “Wow, this cover’s awesome!”

Side rant: I was glad to see a lot of love for Angel in the room (one of the questions was about a possible continuation to the series), since the organizers of the event (and a lot of people who interview Joss online) all seem to have forgotten that Joss once made a show called Angel. Seriously, why is Angel treated like the ugly middle child? There was no mention of Angel by the Apple guys (who promoted Buffy, Dr. Horrible, and Firefly in addition to Dollhouse), but I saw many fans with the Angel DVDs (all Season 5, as I said). Personally, I like Angel as much as I like Buffy, and I consider them both superior to Firefly, though I know that popular opinion holds Angel in last place. As I said, I was happy to see a lot of Angel fans in the audience last night, so perhaps Whedon fans haven’t forgotten the series, even if the press has.

To end on a positive note, the Dollhouse footage looked very exciting. I also have a feeling that the momentum will build and build as the season progresses, so I’m looking forward to seeing the arc unfold. Hopefully, the show will stick around, and we’ll have ourselves a weekly Whedon treat! Watch Dollhouse Fridays at 9 p.m. on Fox, starting this week.

-Artemis

According to Galactica Sitrep, Caprica, the prequel to Battlestar Galactica, will premiere its pilot on DVD and digital download on April 21, 2009. The series itself, which explores the creation of the Cylons, as well as the backstory of the Adama family, will have its premiere on the Sci-Fi network in 2010. Quote the press release:

FROM THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS OF SCI FI CHANNEL’S ‘BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’ RONALD D. MOORE AND DAVID EICK AND UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Caprica, the highly anticipated prequel to “Battlestar Galactica,” will enjoy its world premiere exclusively on DVD on April 21, 2009 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. In a groundbreaking move sure to delight fans of the long-running television phenomenon, the feature-length prequel will be available on DVD as a limited-edition uncut and unrated version before the series’ broadcast premiere on the SCI FI Channel in 2010. Caprica is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick (“Battlestar Galactica”) and Remi Aubuchon (“24″). Exclusive bonus features that take viewers behind the scenes of the creation of Caprica make this DVD a landmark event for any fan of “Battlestar Galactica.” The film will also be available at selected online destinations for digital download transactions.

As “Battlestar Galactica” wraps its gripping final season on SCI FI on March 20, 2009, Caprica begins a brand new epic saga that continues the franchise’s commitment to thought-provoking storytelling and extraordinary characters. Set over 50 years before the events of “Battlestar Galactica,” Caprica is a world at the peak of its power, grappling with new science and technologies and the issues they create. The series will star Golden Globe nominee Eric Stoltz (Mask, Pulp Fiction), Esai Morales (“Jericho,” “NYPD Blue”), Paula Malcomson (“Deadwood” “ER”) and Golden Globe(R) nominee Polly Walker (“Cane,” “Rome”) in a story laced with passion, intrigue and family conflict.

“We are thrilled to take the groundbreaking step of offering the world-premiere of the Caprica feature-length extended pilot episode on DVD prior to the new series’ television debut,” said Hilary Hoffman, Senior Vice President, Brand and Digital Marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “This innovative distribution model will serve to satisfy ‘Battlestar Galactica’ fans’ appetites for a new content while building excitement for the franchise’s next great adventure.”

“Ever since fans first caught wind of the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ prequel Caprica, they have been eagerly following its development,” said Mark Stern, Executive Vice President, Original Programming for SCI FI & Co-Head Original Content, Universal Cable Productions. “We wanted to give them a chance to see the pilot in its original form and experience the prequel to the BSG story while that series’ finale was still ringing in their ears. It also affords the creative team an unprecedented chance to get viewers feedback before production on the Caprica series begins this summer.”

“If ‘Battlestar Galactica’ offered us a way to shatter the conventions of space opera, Caprica will be a show which will challenge the conventions of science fiction storytelling as a whole,” said Ronald D. Moore, Executive Producer/Writer.

“Part sweeping soap, part meditation on the dangerous moral ramifications of artificial intelligence, this is a truly unique opportunity to continue telling stories which will be as daring and shocking as the best of ‘Galactica’ — and yet will be altogether different from ‘Galactica,’” said David Eick, Executive Producer.

Universal Cable Productions will begin production on the “Caprica” series in the summer of 2009 in Vancouver for a 2010 television premiere on the SCI FI Channel. The DVD of Caprica is priced at $26.98 S.R.P. Preorder close is March 3, 2009.

BONUS FEATURES:
Feature Commentary with Director Jeffrey Reiner and Executive Producer/Writer Ronald D. Moore and Executive Producer David Eick
Deleted Scenes
Video Blogs
What the Frak is Caprica?
The Director’s Process
The V Club
The Birth of a Cylon

SYNOPSIS:
Set 50 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families and their patriarchs – Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) and Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) – as they compete and thrive in the vibrant world of the 12 Colonies, a society recognizably close to our own. Enmeshed in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe-to-toe blending action with corporate conspiracy and sexual politics.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:

Street Date: April 21, 2009

Pre-Order Close: March 3, 2009

Copyright: 2009 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Price: $26.98

Selection Number: 61109037

Running Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

Layers: Dual Layer

Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1

Rating: Not rated.

Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

www.CapricaDVD.com

The 2008 writers’ strike had repercussions that resulted in a less than spectacular Fall 2008 television season, the casualties of which included critical favorites like Pushing Daisies. Cable and premium channels were somewhat less affected, aided by the more flexible nature of programming on cable networks, and the expectation of a reduced audience share, which is traditionally much lower than that of a prime time television show. Nevertheless, cable is hurting as well, with the departure of popular and celebrated series such as The Wire and The Shield. HBO has yet to recover from the double blow of losing The Sopranos and Sex and the City, giving way to rise of Showtime, buzzing with a reinvigorated Californication and Dexter, along with new audience favorites like The Tudors and Secret Diary of a Call Girl, while AMC has become a critical darling with Mad Men, a show which was first optioned and rejected by HBO, going on to win an Emmy for Best Drama for AMC. With all this TV chaos, what can people look forward to in 2009? Here are some shows that we’ll be watching:

Castle (March 9, ABC): Premiering on ABC, this show deals with a mystery writer, a la Jessica Fletcher, who becomes involved in the investigation of real crimes. Normally, this wouldn’t be enough to catch our attention, but this series warrants checking out, if only for casting Nathan Fillion in the lead role. Fillion has delivered strong and charismatic performances on Firefly, Serenity and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. He was also incredibly chilling in his guest starring stint as the misogynistic preacher on Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s final season. The question remains: will Castle give Fillion material as strong as the work he has done with Joss Whedon? If the material isn’t as strong, can Fillion sustain a series on his personality alone (as Hugh Laurie does on House)?

Scrubs (January 6, ABC): For the past 7 seasons, Scrubs has been one of the funniest, sweetest, and most poignant shows on television. Despite a decline in quality over the last couple of seasons, the show is still strong enough at its weakest to outclass most of the comedies on the prime-time and cable line-ups. Because of the goodwill that it has built up over the course of years, Scrubs merits a spot on our list of shows to watch in 2009, when it will enter its 8th season on a new network (ABC), and it will say goodbye to its original cast (if the show comes back for a 9th season, it will center on the new interns) of wacky doctors in the making at Sacred Heart Hospital.

Dollhouse (February 13, Fox): When given a great degree of control over a project, Joss Whedon can produce gold. Unfortunately for Whedon and his fans, Joss doesn’t often get that level of control or support from the suits, as evidenced by the mangled film adaptation of his Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a story which would win critical raves once Whedon took the reins in its subsequent television incarnation. Early word on Dollhouse is that there is trouble behind the scenes. Fox, the same network that sabotaged Whedon’s Firefly when it aired episodes out of order, demanded significant rewrites, and condemned the show to the Friday night TV graveyard, seems to have learned nothing from that fiasco, and has given Dollhouse the same treatment. They have scrapped the original pilot, demanded rewrites based on the supposition that fans won’t be able to follow Whedon’s mythology, and reassigned the show to the Friday night timeslot that has killed almost every series that has aired at that time (The X-Files and Law & Order: SVU are the only two significant hits to come out of the Friday night line-up). The rewrites have caused delays and production reportedly has shut down three times as scripts are being reworked. Through all of this, Whedon has defended Fox and he claims that the changes have enhanced the show to make it more accessible to viewers. Nevertheless, Whedon fans are wary of engaging with a show that has such an uncertain future, and perhaps the harbingers of the show’s demise will become a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Either way, Whedon’s writing (and the phenomenal cast and group of writers that he has assembled) makes the show worth checking out.

Battlestar Galactica (January 16, SciFi): The SciFi Channel’s reworked Battlestar Galactica is the epitome of the best that television has to offer. It is thought-provoking, dark and complicated in a way that few shows ever are. Like The Twilight Zone before it, it asks the questions that most “realistic” shows don’t dare to ask, questions of politics, humanity, war, and identity. Unlike most series, Galactica doesn’t divide its cast of players into good guys and bad guys, but instead creates a universe in which all characters are immensely flawed and yet worthy, a trait that makes its universe very much like our own. This month, Galactica comes back after a 6 month hiatus with its last 10 episodes ever (a television movie, The Plan, and a prequel/spinoff called Caprica are on the horizon). With a series that has delivered so consistently, so strongly, and with such excellence, the home stretch of Battlestar Galactica is must-see TV.

-Artemis