Helping Put People Together

Friday night, while attending a screening of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog and season two of The Guild with friends, I did two things I’m not used to doing: I facilitated two different groups talking to people they’d missed before at other events. My friend Hollywood Jane has often been near Joss Whedon, but never talked to him, despite her love of his collective works. Some of her friends had walked past two Dollhouse cast members at Comic-Con, but didn’t say anything either.

Before the screenings on Friday started, a group of us went over to talk to Dichen Lachman and Enver Gjokaj, explaining the situation about the Comic-Con experience gone awry and talked about parts of the previous week’s Dollhouse, before being fannish and asking for a photograph. (The result is quite scary, as our group was too spread out and poor Dichen looks like a disembodied head at the bottom.)

The screening and question and answer session brought up some of the same pieces of information I’ve heard several times before, but after the event, I saw Whedon leaving the venue, so I took Hollywood Jane with me to make the introduction that she’d never had.

By the time I could make the introduction, I had to give the reason he might remember me (it’s a bad story from Comic Con during The Guild panel and calling him a Corey for wearing sunglasses inside) before actually letting Jane talk to him. The conversation was brief, but at least she can now share a story of the time she finally talked to Joss Whedon.

Should you want to read her story about that experience, you can find it here.

Dollhouse Stars Drop Clues for Second Season

With Dollhouse being one of those shows that keeps most stories under wraps, the Critics’ Association party in August was a chance to try to garner some clues for the show’s second season. Carefully worded questions, and a few cocktails, yielded a few useful pieces of information about what’s in store for viewers as we re-enter the Dollhouse.

Fran Kranz, who plays Topher, revealed that this season the show is “going for broke,” with the back nine not yet secured, before going on to explain that the show is “twisted and dark” so far this season.

Before the event, news came from the set that Jaime Bamber, former Battlestar Galactica co-star of Tahmoh Penikett, and Alexis Denisof would be appearing, though the specifics of their guest roles had yet to be announced. While talking to Kranz, he revealed that Denisof would be working as some political figure (Kranz mentioned a senator) for four episodes. At the time Kranz had yet to work with the Whedon alum, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility in as the arc unfolds.

Later on in the evening, Olivia Williams, who portrays cold-as-ice Adelle DeWitt, disclosed that there will be serious fallout from her using the Dollhouse for her own means. Harry Lennix, who plays Boyd Langdon, spoke up to say that he is not the reason for the investigation of DeWitt. Sporting a short new hairstyle, Williams also wondered why Adelle would want to cut her hair, leaving that tantalizing question hanging in the air.

Dichen Lachman, who plays Active Sierra, suggested that her character would regain some of the power she continually lost last season. Enver Gjokaj confirmed that there will be more to Sierra and Victor’s “relationship” this season, although he couldn’t precisely define what sort of relationship it will be.

This season also will see a general shift away from engagements of the week to an overall arc about the inner workings of the Dollhouse.

Dollhouse returns tonight on FOX at 9/8c.

Casting Begins for Dollhouse

Ausiello at TV Guide has news about some of the first characters to be cast on Dollhouse, including a Battlestar Galactica alum:

Joss Whedon is letting his obsession with Battlestar Galactica get the best of him — and I couldn’t be happier about it!

Whedon has tapped Galactica stud Tahmoh Penikett (aka Helo) to play Eliza Dushku’s “twisted romantic foil” in Dollhouse, a spokesperson for Twentieth Television confirms. Also joining the Dollhouse ensemble are Fran Kranz (CBS’ Welcome to the Captain), Aussie actress Dichen Lachman and relative newcomer Enver Gjokaj.

Penikett’s character, Paul Smith (originally named Paul Ballard), is described as an FBI agent who becomes obsessed with both the urban myth that is Dollhouse and its most recognizable inhabitant, Echo (Dushku).

Kranz, meanwhile, has been cast as Dollhouse’s nerdy programmer Topher Brink, the dude responsible for imprinting the dolls. Lachman, who starred in the Australian series Neighbours, will play Sierra, a Doll similar to Echo, only not as self aware. And last but not least, Gjokaj will play Echo’s buddy Victor, a handsome Doll who is childlike when inactive and everything from Errol Flynn to a young De Niro when he’s active.