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.

Dollhouse-Fest: Fran Kranz and Enver Gjokaj Play With Dolls

E!Online is having a Dollhouse extravaganza today, posting interviews with Fran Kranz and Enver Gjokaj in a one-two punch.

First up, Fran Kranz (Topher) talks about his character’s past, being obnoxious, and his relationships with the women in the Dollhouse:

Is the Dollhouse good or bad?
We see different shades of that. Ultimately we agree it’s bad, right? It’s human trafficking. It’s a place where people go to escape pain that seemed insurmountable; it provides a service, whatever the case may be. In terms of Topher, is he good or bad? That’s sort of irrelevant. He’s as much a computer as the computers he works with.

What would you like to learn about Topher in season two?
I’d like to see the backstory of Topher, before the Dollhouse. I see him as a lonely person who couldn’t relate to anyone, and I think the Dollhouse gave his life some sense. His own intellect was so out of control he couldn’t get along with parents or friends, but then he found something he could challenge and control on his level. He’s like an adolescent, like an infant. I’d like to see what happens next.

Do you feel that Topher is likable?
He’s an annoying, cocky, nerdy kid. Those aren’t appealing qualities. I wouldn’t be playing the character right if I was trying to make him all cool and suave and humble at the appropriate times. He’s not. He’s not that kid; he’s a total jerk. He has an ownership over the place the same way it does over him.

Where does Topher fit into the hierarchy?
The Dollhouse in L.A. is the nicest, but there are lots of Dollhouses, so you can infer that the L.A. Dollhouse is the original. Topher is as much a part of creating these things as Adele and the Rossum Corp. Once you write this technology down, the next guy can go do it, but Topher’s the innovative guy behind all this—or at least the technician who can crank the wheels.

Read the rest of the interview here…

Enver Gjokaj (Victor) called in from his native Albania to answer some burning questions about Victor’s past, his attraction to Sierra, and the assignment he hopes Joss will give Victor:

Have you fantasized about certain assignments you’d like to see Victor take, just for fun as an actor?
Yes. I would like to shoot a rocket launcher into a busload of bad guys from a moving car. I’ve informed Joss of that, but still no word back so I can only assume he’s looking for a way to fit it into future episodes.

Is there anything you can tease about Victor’s background, before he was a doll?
We know he has a military background and that something bad happened. Joss and I have talked briefly about that, but nothing is official.

What have you learned from working with Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku?
Wow, so much. What really stands out to me is their professionalism. It’s been a rocky road finding this show, but never once did any tension or frustration trickle onto set. I don’t know how he does it but Joss creates a truly creative atmosphere. And Eliza basically has to live on set, but I never once saw her tired or cranky or complaining. Couldn’t ask for better people to work with.

Do you have any sense of what it is that attracts Victor so strongly to Sierra?
Hmm…Pheromones? I’m not sure, but we know it’s something deeper, more instinctual than liking her personality, because we don’t really have those as dolls. I personally think Joss is asking, “What if there is such a thing as true love?” Something more than a pat psychological answer. What if two souls are attracted to each other even in the absence of memory? It’s a great question.

Read the entire interview here…

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.