Eliza Dushku finally has all her new playmates for her Dollhouse. The principals and recurring roles have been cast for Joss Whedon's ambitious return to television. They include a familiar face from the Buffyverse, as well as lots of new additions. As if that wasn't enough, critics have gotten their first look at the pilot script for the identity implanting/erasing sci-fi series, and the reviews are pretty much the definition of glowing.

The series follows the burgeoning awareness of Eliza's character Echo, one of a house full of living dolls who are imprinted with personality packages — from memories to physical abilities and more — for assignments. While we imaged a dream cast when the roles were first revealed back in March, the actual cast looks pretty impressive. First, returning under Whedon's wing is Amy Acker, aka Fred from Angel. Amy will play the recurring role of Dr. Claire Saunders, the woman who looks after the physical well-being of the dolls.

Dr. Saunders is described as having an acid wit and physical scars from a razor attack in her past. Well, we know Amy can play smart, since Fred was the big brainiac of Angel's gang. At 31, she falls on the low end of the casting call's description of a woman who is "30-60, attractive, smart and a little sad." But if Amy can pull off blue skin and tight leather as the demon goddess Illyria, I think sad with a couple scars should be no problem. … continue reading

As you've probably heard, last night the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunited at the Paley Center in Hollywood. Here are some links to coverage of the event. (Unforunately, Alyson Hannigan and Eliza Dushku did not attend, but Amber Benson, Charisma Carpenter, Joss Whedon, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, Marti Noxon and Sarah Michelle Gellar did.)

I've included excerpts, but be sure to click the links for more!

1. Coverage on Whedonesque:

The first question of the Q&A (of course) is: Would Joss and cast ever consider making a new Buffy movie? Joss casually replies, "Oh, I don't know," before turning to Sarah and asking, "Well, you wanna?" Sarah just smiles and says, "Eh, sure. Why the hell not." Half the crowd faints. The other half suffers a severe heart attack.

Asked about a Buffy Musical on Broadway, Joss didn't rule it out. Asked if they would participate, most of the panel indicated that they would. Sarah was not among them. She was more like, "No way," but laughingly.

2. TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello:

Greenwalt revealed that shortly after word leaked that Willow was going to be coming out of the closet, he got a call from an unnamed WB exec who said, "Is [Joss] really going to do this gay thing?" Whedon threatened to quit when the network asked him to leave Willow and Tara's first kiss on the cutting-room floor. "It's the one time I pulled that out," he said. "And they were like, 'No, it's OK. Leave it in.'"

3. Watch With Kristin (E! Online):

Sarah didn't know until someone told her tonight that Buffy's hooking up with a girl in the comic. Joss, on Buffy's temporary change of team: "They have a lot of time on their hands...What? None of you went to college?"

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Who wants to play house — Dollhouse, that is? The ambitious new Joss Whedon/Eliza Dushku sci-fi series is currently casting its principal characters.

Eliza plays Echo, one of the living “Dolls,” a group of men and women who can be imprinted with personality packages — from past memories to physical abilities and language skills — for different assignments. After each assignment, their memories are erased, and they all live together in a dorm/lab dubbed the Dollhouse. The show will follow Echo’s burgeoning self-awareness and how it affects everyone around her. … continue reading

The Scoobie Gang is getting back together. On March 20, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast will reunite for a panel discussion as part of the annual Paley Center for Media Festival in Los Angeles. Feel free to scream with delight. I’ll wait.

Confirmed to appear so far are series creator Joss Whedon , along with Buffy herself Sarah Michelle Gellar and almost all the past Scoobies: Amber Benson (Tara), Nicholas Brendon (Xander), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Seth Green (Oz), James Marsters (Spike) and Michelle Trachtenberg (little Dawnie). The reunion is part of the 25th annual PaleyFest, an interactive pop culture event that connects fans with the creators and stars of their favorite TV shows. The event is sponsored by The Paley Center (formerly known as The Museum of Television & Radio).

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I keep coming across lists I can't really improve on, so I'm just going to list them. In a list. Of lists. (A few of these are via Pop Candy, which is always a good source for lists and, well, just about everything else.)

1. 10 Star Wars toys that unintentionally look like other celebrities

When I was a kid, I often complained that my Princess Leia action figure just wasn't made right — it kept toppling over. And it annoyed me that her gun was so flimsy and useless, especially compared to Chewbacca's giant over-the-arm weapon. But at least the '70s toy version of Leia didn't look like Christian Bale:

And then there's Mon Mothma and Laura Bush:

The list includes other frighteningly spot-on comparisons, like Han Solo/Josh Brolin and Yak Face/Robert De Niro.

2. 13 movies worth preserving

EW.com readers recently named the films they'd like to add to the National Film Registry. I agree with Raising Arizona and The Women — and with the reader who submitted the latter and said, "I can't believe it's not already there." … continue reading

Ever wonder what would happen if Joss Whedon sent out a call to action? The answer appeared in the form of 400 actors, writers and fans walking the WGA picket lines with Whedon this past Friday, including Buffy writing alums Drew Goddard and Jane Espenson.

Sarah Michelle Gellar brought doughnuts. … continue reading

When the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 comic turned out to be so true to the television series — and so much fun — many Joss Whedon fans dared to hope that more of his canceled shows would continue in graphic form. Angel fans got their wish in November (with mixed reviews) and now comes confirmation that a new Serenity comic will be published in March 2008.

Serenity: Better Days is a three-issue series set between the end of Firefly and the 2005 Serenity feature film — the same setting as Serenity: Those Left Behind, which was published in 2005. … continue reading

Sometimes a list is so close to the hearts of AfterEllen.com readers that all a blogger has to do is tell you about it and sit back to watch the fun. So, I was tickled to find this list in the Los Angeles Times of the "Women of Whedon." The Times asked Joss Whedon to name his five favorite female creations. I was less tickled once I perused the list, however, thanks to at least one dreadful omission. (Get ready to be indignant.) Where's Willow?

While your ruffled feathers relax a bit, let's look at the women he did name. I certainly can't quarrel with the first. … continue reading

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. … continue reading

I bought a couple of issues of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic while the show was still on. They were OK, but, with the notable exception of a two-issue story about Willow and Tara (by Amber Benson and Terry Moore), I didn't find the series interesting enough to add to my subscription list. Then came "Season Eight," with Joss Whedon himself at the helm, and by issue No. 2, I was hooked.

What surprised me most about the comic was not that the dialogue and pacing were in keeping with the show — after all, Whedon wrote it — but that the characters had the same look and feel of their live action versions. Pleasing fans of a cult classic isn't an easy task, but that is exactly what artist Georges Jeanty has done.

As you might expect from obsessive Buffy fans, no detail is too small to be noticed. When Jeanty released pencils for the cover of No. 2, for example, it sparked a debate on Whedonesque about the appropriateness of Buffy's sneakers. Maybe it's just me, but when I see that picture, I don't think of footwear. … continue reading

I guess there might be better ways to start a Monday than by reading an online comic by Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon. But there can't be many of them.

Sugarshock is one of several titles in the MySpace Dark Horse Presents collection. In the first issue, "Battle Royale With Cheese," the band Sugarshock (mostly riot grrrls, plus robot Phil on bass) delivers messages to secret government agencies and competes in a Shrimp 'n' Taco Rock-Off on the way to the Intergalactic Battle of the Bands. The lead singer and main character, Dandelion, offers up plenty of Buffy-esque quips. Let's just say I'm already hooked.

New issues will be uploaded monthly and will always be free. Click on over and have a happy Monday!

After learning of the Sci Fi Channel's Firefly marathon yesterday, I decided I could think of no better way to spend a Friday than by reminding myself how much I like Joss Whedon and the characters he creates.

So I spent the day reacquainting myself with Firefly. The only wrench in this system came when all the episodes had aiered. I was left wanting more. I simply cannot get enough of quirky mechanic Kaylee, cool-as-ice-but-vulnerable consort Inara, weird and wacky River, or tough-as-nails and second-in-command Zoe. And, yeah, the boys aren't bad either.

What I want, ultimately, is a sequel to Serenity, Whedon's big-screen wrap-up to the TV series. Seems Mr. Whedon is not against the idea. Talk of a sequel has been ongoing since the movie was released. And while such talk has cooled, it's never really disappeared entirely. We sci-fi fans don't tend to let go easily. With the new and improved DVD edition scheduled for release in the not-too-distant future, the sequel talk has resurfaced. Comments made by Joss in the newest round of chatter indicate that getting all of his actors back together for such a sequel might prove difficult, based on their current workload. Now, I consider myself a TV-phile, but I can't recall seeing his troops in any starring roles lately. So I decided to check in to see what they've all been up to. … continue reading

There's an interesting list over on DoubleVixen.com showcasing positive female TV characters. The list includes Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Liz Lemon from 30 Rock, George Lass from Dead Like Me, Zoe Washburne from Firefly and Rose Tyler from Dr. Who.

Looking at this compilation suggests several things. First, it suggests that the number of positive female characters on the telly is even lower than I thought. I know that the number of strong, intelligent women I see staring back at me from the TV screen is woefully inadequate. However, I didn't think it was so bad that we could only find five such examples, especially since three of them come from shows we can only see on DVD or in rerun land. Second, it suggests that Joss Whedon knows how to write wonderful women. Both Buffy and Firefly provided more than one example of a positive female character. Clearly this guy needs to write more TV shows. … continue reading

OK, so it's not actually a date, but you can bid via eBay to have dinner with Joss Whedon at Comic-Con in San Diego on July 27. (The auction starts July 2, so don't start throwing money at him just yet.)

What's even better than dining with Joss, the man who brought us Buffy, Willow, Firefly and more quotable quotes than you can shake a stake at? ("Someone else's loss is my chocolatey goodness!" "I'm a bloodsucking fiend! Look at my outfit!") One hundred percent of the proceeds from the auction benefit Equality Now, a charity organization that works to protect the rights of women around the world.

Here are the details:

Bid to win a place at quasi-celebrity Joss Whedon's private dinner!  This Comic-Con weekend, Joss will take five winning bidders to a swank San Diego restaurant for drinks and dinner in a private room.  Three hours of intimate conversation, hilarious anecdotes and dark, awkwardly personal secrets.  (Not to mention a little swag.)  It's a fan experience like no other, to benefit Equality Now.  Any subject you like is on the menu (not the actual menu; that'll probably just have food).  For three hours, Joss gets to be your biggest fan.

This just goes to prove that Joss is seriously the best man on the planet. If only I had the dough to bid on this. Hey, maybe we can all pool our money together and send a representative of the lesbians! … continue reading