Dollhouse 2009 Paley Fest Panel

[Gin]

from Fearnet.com

It’s Paley Fest 2009 and Joss Whedon is dishing out all the dirt on Dollhouse Season 2 and that mysterious 13th episode. Will Dollhouse return ? Will we see the 13th episode ? And what’s the deal with this post apocalyptic horror film ? Hit the jump for full details from the Paley Fest Dollhouse panel.

Joss Whedon - I’ve been talking with the network and the studio which are two very separate entities, although they have the same name, about this episode. It was made for the studio because they needed a 13th for foreign DVD, they didn’t even watch us make it because we made it on the cheap. It’s very strange and to me extraordinarily lovely episode and they weren’t necessarily going to air it and FOX studios was sort of going (in a mad scientist voice) ‘This is the DVD extra, we’ll sell all the DVDs in the world !’ And they weren’t really pushing it on the network. I’ve been sitting down with them saying I just want this to air as part of the season, I’m really proud of it. It’s unbelievably strange and they just said, ’OK we’re gonna take a look at it,’ and we’ve been talking to each other, so the jury is out on that right now.

Episode 12, Omega was meant to be the season finale. The birth of the 13th was very strange. They said ‘Can’t you just do a clip show ?’ And I said that sounds lame. They said, ‘Can’t you show the pilot ?’ I’m like no, that wouldn’t make any sense. And we’ve [already] cannibalized it for parts and it appears in almost every episode, so we couldn’t do that. And they’re like ‘But we’ve promised foreign DVD 13, it’s a thing we have to have. And I’m like, look, I can’t help you with your problems. I’m an artist. But I could shoot a weird post apocalyptic horror movie on the sets on video and pepper it with scenes of these people and do it while we’re filming everything else concurrently and it will hardly cost you anything and it will be the strangest most awesome thing you’ve ever had. And we made it and I’m just so proud of it.

We also talked about next season, they called me specifically to say we’ve been hearing you sound a little despondent, being very clear about this, the show is not cancelled. The numbers have been soft, but the demographic is wonderful. DVR is great, they [FOX] are big fans of the show and they’re waiting to see what happens, so now I’ve gone from a place that’s sort of ehhhhhh, they don’t even care, no one loves me, to a place of - God, I can’t believe I’m saying this...hope.

We might get the chance to do the thing we’re dying to do which is tell more of these stories with these crazy people because we have so many more yet to come. So basically It’s about what happens in the next few weeks. We have a few more episodes coming up whether it’s 12 or 13 and they are fierce, they are ridiculous I’m so proud of them. I know that we’re gonna go out of this season with a bang and hopefully get to come back for # 2.

[Gin]

from Zap2it.com

Last week the “Dollhouse” fandom was thrown into a tizzy when actress Felicia Day alerted fans via Twitter that her episode — the now infamous ep 13/14 — would not be airing on television.

Despite FOX’s fairly believable explanation of why the episode won’t make it to your TV set, and their reassurance that they had not made any final decisions on the future of “Dollhouse,” fans couldn’t help but predict that the end was near.

However, at the Paley Festival, where “Dollhouse” was honored last night, Joss Whedon revealed that second-season hope is actually still very much alive. To be clear, there has been no official pick up, but Joss is optimistic that the network — filled with execs who love the show, he says — will be looking at the full picture, including iTunes purchases, DVR playback, hulu streaming, etc., and he reassured fans that the people who canned his previous FOX TV endeavor “Firefly” are not a part of the team that will decide if “Dollhouse” returns.

God blessed me with a little one-on-one time with Mr. Whedon who also told me FOX may even end up airing bonus ep 13/14 before the first season DVD drops after all. “I’ve been in contact with the network and the studio making a great big push for them to [air that last hour],” Joss said. “The problem isn’t just with the network though, the studio also looks at it and goes, DVD goodness ! So, [my goal] is getting them both excited about putting it on the air. They’re looking in to it, I haven’t gotten an answer yet, but I know that they are honestly discussing it, the same way they are obviously discussing a second season. They have to weigh in all the factors. I know I’m being dealt with in a reasonable fashion, so whatever the outcome, I’ll know I pushed as hard as I could and they did what they could. I have hope [it’ll work out].”

Elizadushku Eliza Dushku (Echo) agreed with Joss that there is reason to hope for the best, but she has mixed feelings about the 13th episode not airing. “I think it’s an awesome episode. I think [episode 13] could be seen as a [series] ending episode, and I think episode 12 leaves more room open for what’s planned for a second season. I certainly don’t see [the 13th episode] airing or not airing as a death sentence or a sign [of the show’s future].”

So if the show lives on for another season, what can we expect to see happening for those "Dollhouse" relationships that have gotten oh-so-strangely-complicated ?

The Victor/Sierra romance was thrown for a loop last episode when it was revealed that Adelle (Olivia Williams) had been secretly arranging for Victor to be turned into her boy toy, Roger. So are they done ? Might Adelle continue to indulge ? Joss was cryptic about that, only saying, “I don’t think you can discount any relationships if the show gets to run longer. It’s easy for [Adelle] to say she’s done with Roger, but we all know that clearly this woman is hurting in a way that has not been solved. So whether it’s Roger she goes to or ultimately someone else, something’s gotta give.”

Despite Adelle seemingly getting the guy, Dichen Lachman (Sierra) thinks Victor and Sierra have a real chance of becoming a couple, despite the fact that they are dolls. “I think they could [make a relationship work],” Dichen told me last night. “I think the reason that they’re drawn to each other is that sort of basic fundamental reason anyone is attracted to someone. Sometimes, there’s just something. You meet a guy and you don’t know him or what he does, but there’s something there. And when they’re in their doll state, they’re completely wiped clean, all that is left is that something. So I think they just have this magnetic kind of energy and I think that would really serve as a good guide for a relationship to really go somewhere. That initial attraction."

Tahmohpenikett Another duo where the dynamic is getting weird ? Mellie and Paul. After all, in the last episode, the dollhouse mole used Mellie’s body to tell Paul she was a doll, and now he’s stuck pretending to be in this relationship with her so the-powers-that-be don’t figure out that he knows what’s up. Twisted, yes. But could there actually be a chance for them to work things out ? Miracle Laurie (Mellie/November) wants to believe it could happen. “I think Mellie hopes [the relationship can last],” she said. “[Paul]’s gotta try [to make the relationship work so the dollhouse doesn’t find out what he knows], and she’s sticking around forever.”

As for the rest of the season, we were told "Dollhouse" will be ramping up the action and reveals with many of the major storylines coming to a head.

Miracle said we may get one more major surprise from her character. And Joss teased that things will get especially tense for Amy Acker (Dr. Saunders) and Tahmoh Penikett (Paul Ballard)’s characters. “[As the season wraps up] Paul is in a different kind of dark [in terms of finding out about the dollhouses] than he expected — or even we expected him — to be in. Where Paul goes, it’s good. It’s where I always wanted him to go and it’s to a kind of twisty place. And I just want to hurt him more. Maybe it’s because [Tahmoh]’s so pretty... [And] clearly [Dr. Saunders] has a history with Alpha, so what would be the worst possible thing that could happen to her ? Probably running into Alpha. What are the odds I would do something like that ?”

Um, I’d say, astronomically high. You ?