Joss Whedon asked to do new series for Fox
Dollhouse will team Whedon with Eliza Dushku and Tim Minear once again

 

November 2nd, 2007 - Yes Whedon fans, the LA Times is reporting [link] that Joss Whedon and longtime Buffy the Vampire Slayer buddy Eliza Dushku (aka Faith) will be collaborating to launch a new one hour series titled Dollhouse for Fox.  Whedon will serve as creator, head writer and executive producer for the new series. Dushku's Boston Diva Production and Whedon's Mutant Enemy will produce the show. At this time, the team has a seven-episode commitment with a possible spring 2008 launch (barring any fallout from the coming writer's strike).

 

Here are the details as they've been announce so far...

Dushku will be a producer and play Echo, a young woman who is everybody's fantasy. She is one of a group of men and women who can be imprinted with personality packages, including memories, skills, language and even muscle memory, by a company/place called the Dollhouse.

 

Whedon ranks the character as one of his best, saying "she's absolutely the essence of strength boiled down. She's at her strongest when she's at her least powerful. She has an extraordinary tenacity. "

 

As a first-time producer, Dushku was given a lot of freedom to come up with a show. They "really gave me the blessing to go out and bring them the kind of show that I wanted to do and be the character I wanted to be." And Whedon, whom she dubbed "the ultimate feminist male writer," was the first person she called.

 

"It was like I was fiddling with a Rubik's Cube while watching TV, then looked up and it was done," says Whedon of his lunch date with Dushku in which the two came up with the premise.

How did Whedon get involved? Over on TV Guide [link] he explains... "Eliza was wearing a hat with a big spiraling wheel on it, and she kept saying, 'Look into the wheel. You want to make television. You want it to be about me….' It sounds hokey, but it really worked."

 

Making the news even more exciting is the recent announcement [via TV Guide] that Firefly and Angel Whedon collaborator Tim Minear will once again work with Joss for the Dollhouse series. Discussing the new series and Joss on his site [link] Minor commented...

"I serve at the pleasure of The President. Wait. Am I Colin Powell? Right. Since it's Joss, I'll be involved as much as I can. I know that's not much of an answer. Ask harder questions. Or easier ones."

To say that this news made my day would be a complete understatement. It would be easier to simply say the news was the best thing I've read, entertainment-wise, in weeks. Whedon is a creative voice I welcome back to television even if I am a bit apprehensive (given Firefly) that it's happening at Fox.

What a great couple months for fans of Whedon, Buffy and Angel? Lets do the numbers, James Marsters (aka Spike) is returning to Smallville and doing a multi-episode run on Torchwood. Anthony Stewart Head (aka Giles) is coming back to the Buffy-verse with his BBC Ripper movie (please, please let there be a series to follow). Alyson Hannigan (aka Willow) and David Boreanaz (aka Angel) have found successful shows with How I Met Your Mother and Bones respectively. Sarah Michelle Gellar (aka Buffy) is gearing up the promo engine for her new film Southland Tales [link] with a scheduled appearance on Letterman and tonight's November 2nd premiere at the Arclight Cinema in Los Angeles. Even Nicholas Brendon (aka Zander) is popping up on the November 21st episode of Criminal Minds.

 

I'm sure there are other actors/actresses from the Whedon-verse with sold projects taking place, but I have to admit I'm a little busy rereading the Dark Horse Buffy series and digging for more information on IDW's Angel: After the Fall (hitting the streets November 28th) to do much more rooting around.

 

Long story short... Watch me join Numfar in The Dance Of Unbridled Happiness! If Fox blows it with Joss two times running, I will be joining Numfar The Dance of Eternal Boycott, but that's a dance for another day.

 

Still haven't had enough?
Joss and Eliza talk Dollhouse over at E. Click here to keep reading.

 

The Related Recap is a daily column by site creator, Chuck Moore.

Follow this link to visit our previous Related Recap update