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Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku reunited: Best. TV news. Ever.Attention, Joss Whedon fans. I want you to look around before reading this post. I mean it: Please take careful note of your surroundings. Be on particular lookout for small children and the elderly. If you see either, I want you to find a pencil, put it in your mouth and bite down. This will prevent you from making loud, delirious and possibly profane pronouncements of joy that could frighten and/or alarm the young and weak-hearted. Because believe me when I tell you that this news is going to make you scream. Are you ready? Pencil in place? Joss has a new TV show. And — chomp down a little harder — he is bringing Eliza Dushku back to TV with him.
I know, right?! When I heard this, I made an involuntary part-squeal, part-screech, part-strangled chicken sound that scared the cat. Joss and television are like bacon and a cheeseburger. They’re both great apart, but together they’re nothing short of genius. To wit, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly. Stop me if you’re familiar.
Now that we’ve stopped gleefully yelping over this news (seriously, stop; now the neighbors are starting to worry), let’s get the details. The new show, called Dollhouse, stars Eliza (the artist formerly known as Faith the Vampire Slayer), who also serves as a producer. The show already has a seven-episode commitment from Fox. Barring an extra-long writer’s strike, it should be ready to premiere next fall. OK, sorry, I’m squealing again. Here is the official Fox description:
First of all, whoa, that is some high-concept sci-fi. Second of all, damn, it sounds really cool. Joss broke the big news to E! reporter Kristin Dos Santos, of Watch With Kristin fame, yesterday. Both he and Eliza also gave her one-on-one interviews about the new show (read the whole thing here). And Joss was his delightfully deprecating self.
The show was born during a lunch he had with Eliza, during which they started talking about her development deal with Fox:
Besides Eliza, Buffy and Angel
alum/writer/producer Tim Minear should come on board for the new series
as well. But Joss said he wants to get some distance from the Buffyverse,
so don’t expect a very special Sarah Michelle Gellar episode just
yet. He said he wanted to work with Eliza again so he can showcase her true
For her part, Eliza proved herself to be a card-carrying member of the mutual admiration society:
Amen. Joss totally gets women. He loves women, he respect women, he never underestimates women. Forget diamonds: He’s really a girl’s best friend.
Eliza said she is excited about tackling all the different dimensions to Echo. As she told Entertainment Weekly:
Amen, again. God, I can’t wait. Did I mention that Eliza told Variety that she is in training to get in “Dark Angel-on-crack shape where I can do everything.” Oh, sorry, that was me making that strangled-chicken sound again. Now it’s your turn. Squeal away.
Submitted by on November 1, 2007 - 11:02am. |
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Okay Fox, You Have One More Chance
in agreement
...
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok...my roommates are staring now...gotta go
Yay!
Hee...
My brain is only working on "fire bad, tree pretty" level now, in the good way of course.
"Bad jokes are us, ur me."
Whedonitus
What? I have something in my eye...that's why they're watering...yeah...
I feel like putting on some footie pajamas and doing a ceremonial dance around a decorated evergreen tree.
And I've found out about this new talent I have for being able to read an entire article without the benefit of oxygen.
Whedonitus: Your symptoms my vary.
Sounds a little bit like..
..the movie The Island. The whole part about becoming self-aware and realizing there's more to life than what's in front of you.
I'll definitely check it out. Eliza is hot!
Yes!
OMG!OMG!OMG!
I do love me some Eliza Dushku...as evidenced by the fact I slow down to watch "Bring It On" every time I catch it on cable.
Such good news...this might be the 1st tv show in quite awhile that I get addicted to.
hehehe
:)
Joss is my Master
Seriously, I would go straight for this man....maybe.
Got a new job today, texted the wife about it, she texted back "Congrats!" Found this article and texted her about Joss and Eliza's new show (yes, these people are on a first name basis in our Whedonverse loving home) and she IMMEDIATELY calls.
New job = No call
New Whedon show with Eliza goodness = call
Something wrong here? Nope, not at all. Life is good. Guessing Fall 2008 for this one? Anyone heard anything different?
More speechless than squealing
Right now I'm geeking more than I have in a very long time. Plus just as I finished reading the article fireworks started going off outside my window. I know this is because it's vaguely near Nov. 5th but I like to think it's actually an omen that the grudge Fox seemed to have against Whedon and Tim Minear is finally over.
I really can't think of better TV news than Joss coming back and bringing Eliza with him. Finally no more sitting through Wrong Turn or Soul Survivors (I know, I need help) to get an Eliza fix. Furthermore, it'll mean more excuses for people to post pictures of her in tank tops, which is always a good thing.
Now if he could just get Jane Espenson in to write an ep or two when she's not busy on her own new show.
humps monitor
Whedon ... Once more with feeling ...
Yikes.
Huh?
"I'm not a huge Eliza fan....mostly cause she's a bad actor. Although, I did like Tru Calling a lot."
Huh? That might make sense to me if Tru Calling had an ensemble cast.
"This show on-the-other-hand seems like a not as good sci-fi version of The Pretender that was on NBC a few years back. I won't hold my breathe that this will do well. I bet it lasts just the seven episodes that Fox promised to Whedon. "
Again I say, huh? That might make sense to me if this was anything like the Pretender. A sci-fi version of The Pretender would be Quantum Leap. In Dollhouse, the "dolls" have no memory of their actual selves. The don't just "act" or "pretend" to be these other people, they're programmed to be, and then they're wiped clean of the programming. But then Echo starts retaining the memories and starts to have a sense of self. That's nothing like The Pretender.
well
Huh? That might make sense to me if Tru Calling had an ensemble cast.
i liked the show concept...not her acting.
bottom line: this show is probably going to suck, cause the concept seems dumb to me. at first read of the plot it reminded me of the pretender but with cheesy "dolls" that are programmed to forget things then act like children. hence why i said it seems like a not-so-good sci-fi version of the pretender. : )
I had to speak my peace on
I had to speak my peace on this one.
First, how can you not be an Eliza Dushku fan?
Second, we are talking about Joss Whedon here, everything he does, has done, and will do will always be original. So, lets give him a little credit. I will definitely be watching this show. If high concept sci fi isn't your thing, that's fine, but lets just see what happens when it comes on. Even if you don't watch, lots of other people will be.
Joss is original? Seems to
This Year's Joss
Yes I've seen it. And yes
Yes I've seen it. And yes I'm a W/T shipper. I also liked Willow as a confident witch who used her power to solve her problems so I hated season 6 even up to Tara arguing with her about her power.
But Star Trek did a bodyswap episode in the sixties.
There was a vampire detective show in the 9o's, Forever Knight. Buffy is a traditional chosen one storyline, mixed with the chosen one being a character we normally assume is a victim.
Firefly just seems to be a standard space show. Let me note I only watched one or two episodes. Because it made so little impact on me I actually forgot it existed, and this was during a period where there was nothing on Friday nights.
Improved, if not New
The Pretender featured a
The Pretender featured a secretive organization, a person who could become anyone and he was grabbed by them as a child
This show features a secretive organization, a person who can become anyone and she lives like a child.
Simple is as Simple does
Virtually any show described in simplist terms sounds like another show. IE "It's a show about people." "It's a show about cops." "Its a show about doctors." Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly all involve a spaceship, but they're nothing alike.
The premise of this show is people who are programmed to be other people without their consent...like androids one could say, only using real humans. That is nothing like a person who has a talent for pretending to be other people and chooses to use that talent to help people.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BEST! NEWS! EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously. So excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will be dancing the happy dance for a long time!!!!
Dollhouse
Oh Goddess!
Oh, WOW! You just TOTALLY made my day!
Seriously, I LOVE whedon and Faith was my fave Buffy character. I started following Eliza after her appearance on buffy and never stopped :D
It's great to see Eliza in something that might help her break through full time and get her out of the god awful world of cheap horror flicks.
The series looks interesting, sort of Dark Angel meets Alias, which I can definetly appriciate! Joss is so my kind of man :D
So, can't wait! It's really cool they get a seven episode arch.
I've never wanted a year to pass so quickly ;)
Who you gonna be if you can't be yourself,
you can't get it from t.v., you can't force it on
anybody else.-- Ani Difranco
I gotta say I don't see much
I gotta say I don't see much success for this. It could just as easily leave her totally stuck in sci-fi/horror for life.
There's jsut to much controversial about this. They spend their off time living as children, BUT they can be turned into criminals or have some sort of sex thing going on. That's going to draw a lot of attention. I see a lot of people focusing on the women and sex parts, even though men are also there and it's not jsut about sex, leading to complaints about treating women as programmable sex toys.
Marvel comics had a character called Echo, she can do things because of what she sees other people do. It's a power called photographic reflexes. She also assumed another identity, Ronin, apparently at the request of another person.
And the fans of this showed are just waiting to be taunted. If this show lasts I guarentee the first sign of her old life Echo finds will just be people from another dollhouse designed to undo the problem. In fact a show like this seems almost designed to spit in the face of the audience.
FINALLY - some good news
after the god aweful parade of new shows (with the exclusion of Pushing Daisies) this year.
Let's just hope Fox are going to employ some patience and open mindedness with this one, as the show sounds incredibly "genre" and thus rather limited in viewership. Perhaps the posthumous success of Firefly taught those suites something about creativity and audience reception and how they correlate.
Neuromancer?
Was this idea in Gibsons 'Neuromancer' - I have vague recollections of a similar concept?
I *heart* Dushku in just about anything. It's the voice I think, or the eyes...
:)
Overall this is sounding like a great offering from ole Whedon - definitely will be on my must-see list (when it eventually makes its way to the UK)...
M
I believe the sound that
I believe the sound that just came out of my mouth is known as a "squeal-gargle-choke-squee-fkljsdlf;jasdlfkjasdl;fjasdfl;kasjdfl;"
This makes my day. And my week. And my month. AND YES.
Fox, for a biased news source, you sure do pick up a lot of good shows. *__________*
squealing like a little girl
Joss
so hott
eliza is so hottt. my fave picture of her is when she's in the wife-beater on the blog. whenever the day comes where this show airs on fox it will be like christmas day. too bad i can't unwrap her like a christmas present ;)
Bart: Mom, am I a butch or a femme?
Marge: [with hand lifted] Honey, you can be anything you want to be.
Squeeee!
That is the best entertainment news I've heard in... maybe ever. What a neat idea for a show, too. They can do ANYTHING with that premise, and with Joss' evil brain running the show, and the hotness and funniness of Eliza to look forward to weekly.... damn. I can't wait!
I heard about this first
I heard about this first thing this morning on my Yahoo Group and I did almost *faint*
This could be so so good. Let's hope Fox doesn't screw it up :/
My only reservation is that they might make Eliza's character into an airhead who's only becoming self aware cos she goes gooey eyed over some dude. I'd hate, hate. hate that to be the case. We need strong female leads, not girls who seem to only exist for the sake of men.
If anybody can keep it right it's Joss so *fingers crossed*
psyched
This is the best news I've heard in a long time! I'll watch Eliza in anything, I don't care how horrid the show/movie is (Soul Survivors, Wrong Turn, The New Guy..doesn't matter, I love them all).
Lots of luck to Joss and Eliza!
reply
i have to disagree with you there. i thought the new guy was a great movie. one of my favorites and it was so funny
Bart: Mom, am I a butch or a femme?
Marge: [with hand lifted] Honey, you can be anything you want to be.
You want a strong female
confident
No matter what Joss does with this concept, the very least of my worries is in his ability to create strong characters, male or female. I don't care what the premise is going to be, I trust Joss with characters. I love how much passion you are putting into your posts regarding a show you have no faith in.
I wish I intended that pun, but really it just happened. Honest.
Maybe it was the other
Maybe it was the other writers after he stopped paying attention but I stopped believing in the strength of his characters. In the one shot eps of Buffy I could believe it, but whenever they were doing the over all arc all their backbone vanished. They were emotionally weak, insecure.
In the last season when Buffy backed off from the Scoobies emotionally I believed it was because of how much bad stuff had happened that if she allowed her feelings to show she'd have been unable to function. That if she started to cry she wouldn't have been able to stop.
weird and awesome
Joss and a possible return to television came up in a conversation I had a couple days ago. I am eating my words now, because I said I didn't see it happening; being wrong never felt so good.
I'm afraid to feel the joy in this news, I fear Fox might take it away from me. I also assume this means Nurses is on the cutting room floor. NOT complaining there, as it makes way for Joss and Eliza and well that's just... Damn skippy.
Love all the Eliza pics. I can't wait for Joss to develope more characters. Fanfic world, here we come... Hmmm... shall I start the page on Fan Fiction forums now?
Sigh...
Despite my utter adoration of all things Eliza...
This series is simply another excuse for Joss Whedon to do a storyline where he creates a lesbian character; gets the audience all interested and involved; and, either murder her brutally, or...Make her evil and go on a killing spree.
Sorry, I'll pass. Rest in HELL, Joss Whedon!
Next...
Uh...yeah...
Or maybe an excuse to make an awesome lesbian superhero. If you look at everything with negativity, you're going to get negativity.
Indeed, it sucks that Tara died and Willow went evil for 3 eps. But it's not as if he never portrayed lesbians in a positive manner. It's not as if he portrayed every lesbian character as a stereotype. It's not as if he didn't portray lesbians being physically affectionate and having a healthy romantic relationship.
If all you see in the the Willow and Tara story is one dies and the other briefly goes evil, then you miss the best parts. The irony is he did the worst BECAUSE he did the best. And I for one am tired of seeing people boil two of the best lesbian characters in fiction down to the worst bit. You're the one using the worst moment to define them.
Sadly...
That single moment of TV bigotry defined them...Not I.
And, it's hard to see anything past that, or beyond that...Because, it was so tragic; it can't be redeemed by anything prior to that moment...
As far as negativity...I prefer to see it as realistic...
Next...
I disagree
I disagree. I'm a W/T shipper, so I get it, but still, it's a TV show, a storyline where Joss killed off one character to make Willow go evil so he could build on the consequences of that for the rest of the next season - so aren't you taking this a little too seriously?
It's a story; it's not real. And it doesn't necessarily make Joss Whedon a bigot - not when he's created such strong female characters, who don't need a man to rescue them all the time, and portrayed such great lesbian characters who are/were capable of having a deep and meaningful relationship extending over several seasons, which is more than one can say for most other shows with lesbian characters. If it had been anyone else, I would've considered the bigotry issue more seriously, but this is Joss we're talking about.
And before you judge someone, look at the whole picture instead of looking at that ONE moment where he killed off a lesbian character, because the latter just suggests that you see exactly what you want to see, when you exclude all the other facts. But that's just my opinion.
Squee!
I practically fell out of my chair when I read about this on Wednesday night... I could not be more excited that Joss Whedon is returning to TV! He really is a genius... I agree with Eliza 100% on that one. And I'm really excited that he's bringing her along - and producer Tim Minear, who's awesome. The world always seems a little better to me when I'm watching a Whedon show, so I'm excited to have a weekly dose of Whedon-ness.
The news is still too new for me to make any sort of sense while talking about it, so the random yelps of joy has been my version of "talking about it" haha It sounds like a ubber-version of "The Island" but since that movie was freakin' amazing (Scarlett *swoon*) I'm totally down with it.
*fangirl scream* ... I swear it'll pass soon lol
Interviewer: "Why do you write these strong female characters?"
Joss Whedon: "Because you're still asking me that question." - Equality Now speech
If I'm borrowing your icon, I'd be happy to give you credit, just let me know :)
You are so wrong, Omega
You are so wrong, Omega II...or I should know better than to read these at work. I had a Buffy flashback and cracked up!!!!!!!!
As soon as I learn how to imbed an avatar, I think I will update my profile and all. I love my After Ellen.com; and have come to recognize some of the frequent posters by their names.
this is a great community...
Thank You
If I embarrassed you at work, I've done my job.
"Bad jokes are us, ur me."