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Dollhouse deals with the aftermath of "Epitaph"
Now that Fox is letting Joss Whedon tell a continuing story with Dollhouse, the season-two premiere will pick up where the season finale left off. No more stand-alone episodes. The continuation follows episode 12, "Omega," not the DVD exclusive episode 13, "Epitaph One," said actor Harry Lennix, who plays Boyd Langdon on the show.
"I can tell you that it both is directly sequential to 'Omega' and also references in rather vague ways what happens in 'Epitaph One,'" Lennix said in an exclusive interview on Aug. 6 in Pasadena, Calif., as part of the Television Critics Association fall press tour. "It's in between."
Dichen Lachman, who plays the Active Sierra, offered more details about the season premiere. "Obviously Paul [Tahmoh Penikett] is in the Dollhouse because he got in there," Lachman said in a separate interview. "So, yeah, it's just kind of back to business. There are, as Joss said at Comic-Con, a few flash-forwards in the first episode, which will be nice for the audience to just be reminded of what happened [in 'Epitaph One']."
Planting those seeds for the future might not be as straightforward as viewers think, said Lachman. "There are some things which are harder to kind of get around, like obviously Amy Acker's character is very much in the Dollhouse in 13," Lachman said. "As everyone knows, she's got another job on another show, so we have her for a very limited amount of time now. So there are things they're going to have to negotiate around, but I think they'll be fine. They're all very, very talented people, and it's very exciting to get a script."
In the present day, the Dollhouse has more immediate concerns than the apocalyptic future suggested by the DVD episode. Echo (Eliza Dushku) is still out cavorting with Alpha.
"The Dollhouse is reeling from the encroachment by Alpha, obviously," Lennix continued. "This is an important thing, because obviously this man is now out, and he's on the loose, and he has access to technology which might be detrimental to the smooth functioning of the Dollhouse. So we still have to try to find her, and at the same time, we also have to continue to supply services to our clients. So we're somewhere in between knowing that something bad is out there that is an imminent threat, but also we have a job to perform by having our actors engage with the different clients."
Sierra is still available to be imprinted as any client requests, and Lachman said viewers will see her at work, if not as a central character in the initial plots of the season. "Well, the first time you see her, it's just an engagement," Lachman said. "Like, her coming back from an engagement, I guess. Then I don't really appear until a bit later on, like episode three. It's just her coming back, and she's very proper. She's British. It's a very short little moment, but then also Victor and Sierra's relationship starts to come through a little bit, and hopefully we get to explore that more."
Lachman expected upcoming stories to focus more on Sierra. "I think you can look forward to seeing her get her power back a little bit this season, develop her relationships a little more," she said. "I won't say which ones, but you probably know if you've been watching."
Newly promoted to head of security, Boyd has not had much to do yet. "As yet, I do not, and yet that's okay, because I think that quality trumps quantity any time," Lennix said. "Right now, being able to work with Olivia Williams directly is great. I also get to work with Amy Acker. I've got Olivia and Amy, and while I do not have as much to do with Eliza as I used to, I have the hope that maybe I can be in the best of both worlds."
Boyd still questions whether the Dollhouse is a good idea, but now he's also responsible for keeping it running. "Now that I am in a managerial position, I also have to be concerned about function," Lennix said. "Inasmuch as I am concerned about the metaphysics of why we're doing a certain thing, I have to make sure that it functions smoothly, that the Actives are safe, that the handlers have all the information they need. So now it is a kind of equally balanced thing between why and how. How do we make it happen is no less important than why we're making this happen."
Dollhouse returns Sept. 25 at 9 p.m. on Fox.
By The One True b!X at 7:58 PM ON 09/02/09
"Echo (Eliza Dushku) is still out cavorting with Alpha."
Um, since when?
By TheHaggard at 8:09 PM ON 09/02/09
The One True b!x:
They mean off screen.... it's a big scandal.... in all the tabloids and gossip blogs.
By AngryJonny at 8:35 PM ON 09/02/09
I finally watched this show on Blu-ray, and while it took over half the season to find its footing (not that the first half was bad, just uneven), it eventually got great. I loved where the season ended and I'm really looking forward to next season.
And sorry to reopen the "Which should have been canceled -- Sarah Connor Chronicles or Dollhouse?" debate, but definitely Sarah Connor. It had two seasons -- a good first one and a second one that meandered with ridiculous character development.
By David at 8:43 PM ON 09/02/09
Sorry AngryJonny but I must disagree. Dollhouse had 3 or 4 good episodes. Terminator had 3 or 4 bad episodes.
The only reason Dollhouse is back is because of Whedonites.
It is too late for Fox to make up for Firefly, I do not know why they gave him a pass for a particularly bad season of television this time around.
Who knows, maybe it can be good like the last two episodes of Season 1, without devolving into The Eliza Dushku Show; Mission of The Week.
By jolinar at 9:10 PM ON 09/02/09
She's married now people. Show some respect.
By Paulo at 11:22 PM ON 09/02/09
I think the "still out cavorting with Alpha" is in reference to episode 13 where they mention "Safe Haven" before it was called that. They say something amounting to: Thanks to Alpha we have a safe place to stay.
I don't know if its THE Alpha or a different Alpha, but that is why I think there may be some confusion as to whether or not Echo and Alpha are roaming around.
Clearly something with AN Alpha happens in the future that leads them to Safe Haven.
By mister_d at 12:03 AM ON 09/03/09
One worry I have for Dollhouse season 2 is how they've broken the Boyd/Echo relationship by promoting him. One of my favourite elements of the show was how Boyd was developing a father-like relationship with someone who didn't even know him, but that was largely sidelined towards the end of the season when the Alpha storyline developed and converged with Ballard's investigation. It seems they're going to replace that with Ballard/Echo which isn't really the same kind of relationship.
I'm sure Whedon knows what he's doing though. It just seems strange to break one of the primary character relationships in such a non-eventful way after the first season of a show.
By gorehound696 at 8:12 AM ON 09/03/09
this show is so bad i will never watch another episode again.josh said he could do it cheaper so he got lucky and we got screwed.go ahead and watch your whorehouse cause it is no Firefly the best thing that guy ever did.
need i remind you how boring it is to see the mission of the week.how stupid it is to see the ripoff plots like the most dangerous game episode or the episode with the girl singer band (BARFED).
later i hate this crud.
By Bald_Jason74 at 9:10 AM ON 09/03/09
I just finished the season a few minutes ago, and I'm impressed. I saw the first 1.5 episodes when they aired and thought they were crap, but it gets better as it goes, becoming excellent around episode 9. I'm excited to see what happens next.
@gorehound696 - his name is Joss. Also, the description of the Dollhouse as a whorehouse is rather simplistic given where the story ends up in the latter half of the season, though I wouldn't blame anyone for calling it that during the opening episodes.
By Tarc at 10:28 AM ON 09/03/09
Though I reject the whole idiotic "Terminator vs Dollhouse' thing, I need to point out that Dollhouse had six great episodes of six (where Joss was not under Fox exec restrictions). Terminator lost my interest shortly into the first season (so several seasons of boring). The whole Terminator concept is so over anyway - lazy writing due to the 'instant reset button' of time travel - that's literally been used over and over because the storyline dies - makes the show pointless.
By 3456 at 11:04 AM ON 09/03/09
Dollhouse deals with the aftermath of "Epitaph". I can't wait for when Dollhouse
has to deal with its own "epitaph" when it
gets cancelled and makes room for some-
thing else.
By David at 12:19 PM ON 09/03/09
@Tarc
Dollhouse absolutely did not have 6 great episodes. That is a misuse of the word great.
At the most I would say it had 3-4 really good episodes, and that is if you include the un-aired Epitaph One.
The first 5 episodes were so bad they were painful to watch. If it was anyone else but Joss Whedon Dollhouse would have been canned mid season.
The whole thing is a Vanity Project for Eliza, and that is why it is so bad and it is destined for cancellation. If it were a true ensemble it would fair much better. The supporting cast are what give the show any redemption, and they are disrespectfully ignored in the opening montage.
Will Joss be willing, or is he able to write Eliza off her own show? I doubt it, but that is what needs to be done to save Dollhouse.
By Whiskey at 3:19 PM ON 09/03/09
I really liked the second half of Dollhouse's season, but I agree, David, that it's a bit of a vanity project for Eliza. She just isn't that strong an actress, although I thought she got better and more comfortable as the season went on. The supporting cast is definitely the show's strong point (except the guy who plays Topher is really annoying) and I hope they get into the supporting cast even more in the second season, which I'm looking forward to.
By Matt25 at 7:34 AM ON 09/04/09
I agree that there is too much focus on Eliza, the other dolls barely exist. Don't get me wrong, I like Eliza as much as the next guy. However, the supporting cast needs their moments too.
By Anarchy at 12:40 PM ON 09/18/09
I twistedly adore the very notion of Alpha and Echo 'cavorting'. Alpha brings a very intense and complex presence (by the way Alan Tudyk was f-ing Brilliant as Alpha that's for all the nay-sayers out there). I especially enjoyed the Echo and Alpha dynamic - they're chemistry is off the charts.
Keep it Coming Joss!
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Anarchy:
I twistedly adore the very notion of Alpha and Echo 'cavorting'. Alpha brings a very intense and complex presence (...More »