If you're one of those Whedon fans that gets a throbbing vein in your noggin when the subject of Firefly, Fox, and the original pilot come up, you might want to have a seat before you continue. It seems that the newest member of the Whedonverse, Dollhouse, is getting a new pilot.
As Whedon explains in a post over at whedonesque.com, the original episode "...didn't bring the visceral pop the network had expected from the script. The network was cool about it, but not sure how to come out of the gate with the ep." If you read that and immediately think of the network wanting a different opening for Firefly, I can't blame you, but it doesn't seem as bad as all that this time.
He goes on to explain that the idea for a new first episode was his, after hearing what the network thought of the one they had made. That episode will now air the second week. He adds that he has a million stories to tell about these characters, and he doesn't care which order he tells them in.
I'm still optimistic, but cautiously so. The mid-season launch and the re-tooled pilot do give one pause. His missive is well worth a read as you'll also find references to his fan dancing talent, his smooth skin and elegant hands, and the fact that the showers in the Dollhouse will be co-ed.
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-22-2008 @ 11:19AM
Anita said...
Yea. This has firefly written all over it. Buffy as low-key when it started, but the acting and writing was what caught me from Day 1. Sometimes these decisions are for the best. But, I just wish studio heads would trust the people they hired, at least, for the first couple eps -
Reply
7-22-2008 @ 12:28PM
Oreo said...
Oh dear, here we go again.
But I like how he is planning the show that it doesn't matter what order the episodes are in. That's a great move considering it's on Fox.
Reply
7-22-2008 @ 1:23PM
keithnl said...
Anyone started a Dollhouse Deadpool yet?
Reply
7-22-2008 @ 1:25PM
Midnight13 said...
This will attract more viewers then "Firefly". "Firefly" casting had no recognizble actors. Eliza Dushku, Amy Acker, and the actor from BSG (his name always escapes me he plays Helio) will bring in the viewers for the first episode, after that, its up the those viewers to stick with the series to make it a success.
Reply
7-22-2008 @ 3:13PM
Darryl said...
For most series it take a while for the cast to come together, redoing the pilot is probably a good thing. Speaking of Buffy did you see the original pilot? They changed up some of the actors for the real start. The pilot was pretty bad.
Reply
7-23-2008 @ 10:30AM
Eric H said...
That was an unaired selling pilot, this was a pilot intended for public viewing.
7-22-2008 @ 3:15PM
C C said...
The problems Dollhouse is facing: Fox has several genre series in development, including J.J Abrams' Fringe (already picked up for fall) and the "backdoor" pilot Virtuality from Ron Moore and Peter Berg. In addition, the premise of Dollhouse, in my opinion, is less accessable than Joss Whedon's previous series. It seems darker and more along the lines of "hard-core" science fiction than Buffy, Angel, or Firefly, all of which had a lighter side to them. I know the Whedon fans want to immediately jump down Fox's throat, but Fox may be wise in asking for a new pilot. This is going to have to be really, really good for it even to have a fair chance to succeed.
Reply
7-22-2008 @ 4:09PM
Kat said...
You guys did read the part where the new pilot was Joss's idea, right? Yeah, FOX had some issues with the original pilot, but they didn't make him do anything. This was something where he agreed with them and took the initiative to fix a potential problem. If you read his blog he talks about how because they had so little time to start things after the strike there were things that didn't get worked out before they filmed it, and he seemed genuinely very open to their input once they saw what he was doing. I'm a Firefly fan, so I understand wanting to jump on FOX for this, but this isn't even close to the same thing. Don't freak out until there's actually a problem (which, since this is on FOX, is probably inevitable, but not yet).
Reply
7-22-2008 @ 4:55PM
Brett said...
Kat,
You make a good point, and it's why I noted that he said it was his idea in the entry. It's also why I said I didn't think this was as big an issue as the Firefly shenanigans. But I think Joss gets to what is the root of these concerns in the blog entry as well with the bit where he asks whether or not this is him being a good soldier. He says no, but you have to take his position into account.
I'm sure that if we could go back in time to the premiere of Train Job, nobody was screaming OMG, it's not the right episode. Certainly nobody from production. They have plenty of pressures on them from all sides, and I don't think it's completely unreasonable to think that there might be a bit of the company line involved here.
And you hit on the rest of it, fans have a laundry list of good reasons to not trust the network. To expect them to do any different is asking a lot.
7-22-2008 @ 6:42PM
StillBash said...
They should've done thise with season 6 of 24. Actually I hope they saw what the writers had in store for season 7 and canned it because of that until 2009.
Reply
7-22-2008 @ 11:03PM
moreartplease said...
Remember that the man in charge of FOX, Kevin Reilly, is not the man who was in charge during the Firefly episode. When he was with NBC, he stuck with shows like The Office to let them blossom, so I would counsel some benefit of the doubt in this regard. They seem to care about this show, and I think will get behind it.
Reply