Bezüglich dem, wie Dollhouse bei den Screenings, wo internationale Kunden die neuen Serien vorgestellt bekommen, ankam, gibt's folgendes:

The complex set for one of Fox's big pushes at the Screenings, Joss Whedon's sci-fi fantasy "Dollhouse," went up in less than two weeks. Footage for a pilot was in the can in as much time. And yet the series created considerable buzz among buyers over the weekend based on just an eight-minute showcase.

Meine Hoffnungen sind also nicht so unberechtigt. Während also an etlichen Fronten grad gekämpft wird, habe ich diese Liste ausgegraben. Für Österreich steht dort nur der ORF. Allerdings steht bei Deutschland ein "ATV". Recherche ergab: ATV gehört einer deutschen Firma. Ein Fehler in der Liste? Wäre plausible, wenn besagte Firma nicht selbst in der Liste stehen würde. Wirklich gelöst wurde das Rätsel erst als ich entdeckte, dass einer der beiden Namen neben dem angeblich deutschen ATV tatsächlich der Head of Acquisition & Scheduling unseres ATVs ist.

Und jetzt sage mir einer, ich würde für dieses Blog nicht unglaublichste Detailrecherche machen. :)

Grad im imdb-Forum gelesen:

An impossibly rich BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER fan hires Echo because of her resemblance to actress Eliza Dushku, then has her imprinted with the personality of the character "Faith". Chaos ensues.

Es ist passiert. Zum allerersten Mal fand wer seinen Weg zu dem Blog, weil er nach "dollhouse real sex" gesucht hatte. Die Zugriffsstatistik freut's, das ist der dritte Tag en suite, an dem die davor unerreichbare 20-unique-visitors-Marke gesprengt wird. Yay.

Bisher bestätigt:

Kanada - CanWest
Australien - Channel Ten

Dort steht auch:

If you live outside the US, now is the time to tell those broadcasters you want to see Dollhouse in 2009. Seriously. They start visiting the LA Screenings shortly, which is where they make program purchases.

Bleibt nur die Frage: Wen in Österreich kontaktieren wir bloß?

Der neue Trailer ist im wesentlichen etwas anders geschnitten als der erste und hat andere Musik und Typo. Bei Dollverse sieht mir das etwas zu breit aus, aber hier ist er hübsch und in guter Auflösung zu sehen.

Auffällig ist auch, dass die Zeile, die die Serie womöglich verkauft hat und verkaufen wird, "This is an awesome gig! This is cutting-edge science in a house full of hot chicks!", nun fehlt.

Edit: Review der neuen Version:

Here's a revised version of the trailer for Joss Whedon's new show Dollhouse, which explains the show's concept much more clearly and features a lot more ass-whuppin'. Plus, parachuting and assassining. The show's central conceit — that these "Actives" are blank slates who can be programmed to have any skillset or emotion — comes out really clearly. Plus it gives a hint of one of the show's main sources of conflict. Those of you who had a tepid response to the first version should check this one out.

Ein für mich besonders spannendes mission statement wurde hier im imdb-Forum endlich artikuliert:

It's confusing though! How will we ever feel for a character who's always someone else?

Hussa, that's the point, my dear, that's the point...

Eine Info, die mir bisher noch nicht untergekommen ist:

SPOILER (mark it to read it)

Our sources at Fox tell us that Dollhouse will take place at an undisclosed point in the future, and the organization behind wiping the dolls and imprinting them is a corrupt, top-secret government agency.

Government? Das wäre mir neu. Die ganze FBI-Story würde ja dann kaum Sinn machen, oder? Aber mal sehen.

Edit: IMMER NOCH SPOILER (mark it to read it - again)

Jemand in der imdb-forum macht die nicht undumme Verbindung, dass das dem Firefly-Universum nahe kommen könnte. Dem Joss ist es zuzutrauen, dass er sich an Fox "rächt" in dem er via Hintertür (in Form der, erm... 5. Staffel von Dollhouse) das Firefly-'verse back on TV bringt. Aber wie gesagt, die Prämisse, das wäre einen Regierungseinrichtung, erscheint mir noch immer nich ganz plausibel. Was sie aber - um ehrlich zu sein - gar nicht sein muss, um diese Querverbidnung zu erlauben.

/film hat den Trailer in ziemlich guter Qualität. Außerdem ist der 1-Minütige Echo-Paul-Sneak-Peak hier wieder aufgetaucht. dollverse meint dazu:

"FOX have released an exclusive preview of "Echo".

Könnte also jetzt offiziell sein, und somit leichter aufzufinden, in Zukunft. Außerdem meinen sie auch was zu Anzahl der Folgen:

Also, the episode order has been increased, so there's 13 planned episodes so far, with an expansion to 22 if required for this coming season.

Wann sich dann 22 Folgen von Januar bis Mai ausgehen sollen, ist mir zwar nicht ganz klar, aber hey... "wünschenswert" ist da natürlich ne Untertreibung. Sie erinnern auch an dieses Interview, das ich vorhin unter Spoiler-Warnung gestellt habe. Nur eine kurze Zeile daraus, möchte ich hier noch erwähnen, die nicht bis kaum spoilert:

Whedon says that, like Buffy and Firefly, Dollhouse aspires to be both deep (how does society shape, influence, ''program'' the individual: discuss!) and fun. A typical episode will see Dushku cycle through three to four personas, making for a wild mix of moods and genres. ''The other day I shot scenes for a 1940s musical dance number and a Mexican spaghetti Western — just for the pilot episode,'' says Whedon, kicking back on a plush couch under the stairwell of Dollhouse's set.

Dollverse spekuliert auch wie ich in die Richtung, dass die "Remote-free TV"-Idee zu längeren Folgen führen wird:

On top of this, each episode will be longer than a usual TV episode is, as FOX are airing Dollhouse without many adverts. Yes, you read that right. As a result each episode will clock in at a minimum of 50 minutes instead of the usual 42.

Etwas lückenhaft, aber ein Anfang:

[Music: ‘Dissolved Girl’ – Massive Attack]

Adelle: The world is a very simple place, at first.

[Insert: In a city of millions]

Adelle: Then as we grow up it grows around us.

[Insert: Many souls get lost]

Adelle: A dense thicket of complication and betrayal.

[Insert: But there is a place]

Adelle: I know you’ve heard colourful rumours about what an Active is.

[Insert: That wipes away
The regret
The pain
The memories]

Adelle: Robots. Zombie slaves.

[Insert: But everything has a price]

Adelle: They are of course quite the opposite.[Music stops] An Active is the truest soul among us.

Topher: Hello Echo.

Echo: Did I fall asleep?

Topher: For a little while.

[Music: ?]

[Insert: They will be anyone you want]

? (Boyd?): You made Echo an assassin?

Echo: Muchachos, si arman bronca, les prometo mucha madre. (Guys, if you make trouble, I promise you much more.)

[Insert: They will do anything you need]

Victor: I’m gonna climb the rock wall after lunch.

Client: I suppose I just want somebody to pretend that they’re in love with me.

Adelle: If you engage an Active, he or she –

Client: She!

Adelle: -she will see you and totally, romantically, chemically, fall in utter and unexpected love with you.

Friend: You know I figured it was just a pity date, but the way she looks at him-

Bride: It’s the happiest day of my life.

Friend: Yeah, but come on, where does a girl like that-

Bride: It’s the happiest day of my life!

[Insert: Joss Whedon invites you to a world]

Topher: This is an awesome gig. It’s cutting edge science in a house full of hot chicks.

[Insert: Not far from our own]

Boyd: Doctor Saunders is working the radical theory that those people are still people.

Topher: People who volunteered for this.

Boyd: So we’re told.

[Music: ‘The Pretender’ – Foo Fighters]

Paul: FBI!

Keene: Young people having their personalities replaced – it’s a myth, OK? It doesn’t exist!

Paul: The technology exists.

Adelle: He has the photo, he may have more.

[Insert: You can wipe away a memory]

?: ? (Something like, ‘Do you care at all?’)

[Insert: But can you wipe away a soul?]

Topher: Echo, Victor and Sierra – they’re grouping.

Boyd: Are you saying they remember each other?

Adelle: Well this is spectacularly unacceptable.

Echo: I’m not nobody.

[Insert: DOLLHOUSE]

Echo: Did I fall asleep?

Topher: For a little while.

[Insert: FOX]

Das 1-minütige Echo-Paul-Snippet, dass mittlerweile verschwunden ist, lautet im Transkript so:

SPOILER (mark it to read it)

Paul: What are you doing here Miss Vicars?

'Miss Vicars' (Echo): I’m looking for someone. My sister.

Paul: Why would your sister be here?

Echo: She’s not.

Paul: You gotta be straight with me.

Echo: Do I? Because you people have been pretty fricking bendy with me. Eight months she’s gone, and nobody moves a muscle. I get double talk and excuses. They call her a whore. She’s gone. My little sister drops off the face of the planet and nobody in the system can lower their donut long enough to follow a lead.

Paul: I have your picture.

Echo: What?

Paul: Somebody sent me a picture of you.

Echo: Why?

Paul: I don’t know.

Echo: Are you sure it was me? Can I see it?

Paul: Trust me.

There is a noise. Paul turns around quickly, raising his gun.

Paul: You here long?

Echo: Yeah.

Paul: Come with me.

Link

Die nächsten, die die Zeile "This is an awesome gig! This is cutting-edge science in a house full of hot chicks!" zum Aufhänger erheben:

Although we're pretty much excited about anything Joss Whedon does, we have to admit that we were a little worried that Dollhouse's plot about a programmable fantasy-for-hire woman who becomes self-aware might be a tad bit silly. What is this, the Stepford Slayer? Then the trailer leaked, and we're all done being worried. What's not to love?

Gestern, dank massiver Big Day-Berichterstattung und dem Trailer (der übrigens bei youtube weg zu sein scheint, aber bei dailymotion immer noch funzt, bei dailymotion auch, aber bei /film noch zu sehen ist), ein Rekord hier am blog, mit ganzen unglaublichen 50 unique visitors, großteils aus dem Ausland. Yay. War aber zu erwarten, dass es da nen kleinen Interessensjump gibt.

Ich weiß auch dank .txt, dass es hier offenbar auch einen deutschsprachigen Leser gibt. Mythen, Rätsel, Sensationen...

Was nicht zündet, ist die last.fm-Gruppe. Da geht noch was.

Recht okay gediegen ist mittlerweile die Wikipedia-Page zu Dollhouse, was die Frage aufwirft. Ist es schon an der Zeit an einer deutschsprachigen zu basteln? Dadurch, dass viele basic facts jetzt klar auf dem Tisch liegen, und Spekulationen nun deutlich abnehmen werden, wäre es eigentlich ein logischer Zeitpunkt. Aber welche Relevanz Dollhouse derzeit für die deutschsprachige Welt jenseits dieses kleinen Blogs hat, ist ja dann doch mehr als fraglich.

Zuerst eine Erinnerung an den Lunch, der Dollhouse erfand:

"I was mentioning writers, but Eliza kept saying 'Don't you want to do it? Don't you want to do it? Look how cute I am!' And she's really cute,"

Und später dann:

But he has given her plenty of career advice — a tradition that started "when I got frustrated with all these crappy horror movies she was making. Like Wrong Turn and Soul Survivor and whatnot. Those broke my heart." So Whedon staged an intervention. "I said, 'I love you. I think that you have something that no other actor I've worked with has. What can you be making these movies for? Why are you doing this to me? You're killing me! You're better than this.'"

Link

Ich finde die Kombo von Schwarz-auf-schwarz und in der Fläche drin die blauen, kryptischen Links gerade ziemlich ausgezeichnet. So haben die, die den Spoiler nicht lesen wollen, zumindest ein unterhaltsames Enigma, dass sie bis zum Januar hindurch verfolgen wird... :)

SPOILER (mark it to read it)

Abgesehen davon, dass die noch nicht wissen, dass 13 Folgen kommen werden, fällt hier ein interessantes Detail (samt zwei neuen Fotos!) auf:

Fox has committed to producing seven episodes of Dollhouse, which will feature largely stand-alone stories and an evolving subplot of an MIA doll. ''It was a fresh idea that didn't promise to become overwhelmed by mythology,'' says Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly.

Joss geht es also langsam an, wie bei Firefly. Finde ich sehr gut, wenn er sich 6 Folgen Zeit lässt, alles ruhig und unhektisch einzuführen, dann mit einem Zweiteiler ein Loch aufreißt und sich dann bis zum Ende der Staffel dieser anfängliche Subplot zu etwas cool-spannendem entwickelt hat. Wer den Spoiler gelesen hat, wird wissen, dass die MIA doll mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit Alpha sein wird. Das große Vorbild für Echo? Der Grund für ihre Erinnerung? Ihr Nemesis der 4. Staffel?

Ich würde sagen, auch davon war das meiste schon bekannt, aber Punkt 5, 6 und 10 sind neu. Punkt 9 würd ich so nicht sagen, das wird ja auch im Trailer bewusst offen gelassen.

1. People pay — a lot — to use the “dolls” (called Actives) employed by the Dollhouse.

2. The Dollhouse is very selective about its clientele and performs thorough background checks.

3. When on missions, Actives receive a “personality imprint” that provides them with regular memories as well as muscle memory.

4. These imprints mean that the Active isn’t pretending to be someone else — they are someone else. If imprinted to be a killer, they’ll kill; if imprinted to fall in love, they’ll fall deeply, truly in love.

5. On missions, Actives are monitored internally (and remotely) by Handlers. This ensures their safety while allowing for privacy between the Active and the client. Handlers only listen in on a mission when it involves criminal activity.

6. After the Active completes the mission, he or she feels an immediate need to return to the facility, where the Active will be wiped of his or her memories.

7. The Dollhouse serves as a kind of school/dormitory when Actives are not out on missions. They live, eat, sleep, shower, learn and train together there.

8. Most of the Dolls are young, and all beautiful.

9. Supposedly, the Dolls volunteered for the work in the Dollhouse — they give up five years of their lives, and at the end they receive a ridiculously large sum of money and no memory of anything they did for the Dollhouse.

10. Missions for the Actives are only supposed to last 10 hours, or else the imprint could be strained. However, lately certain missions have taken quite a bit longer, some lasting for days…

Dieses Post hier fragt nach grundlegenden psychologisch-/philosophischen Prämissen von Dollhouse, und nennt Behaviorismus, das Höhlengleichnis und die Gottfrage. Vorerst einmal.

Dass der Trailer (den's im Forum mit Downloadlink gibt) nicht für ordinary people, sondern für die Upfronts und Werbekunden gedacht war, macht ja erst mal gar nix. Da geht "The Pretender" sehr gut durch. Umso ärger aber find ich dann Massive Attack am Anfang. Immerhin reden wir hier von "Dissolved Girl":

Shame, such a shame
I think I kind of lost myself again
Day, yesterday
Really should be leaving but I stay

Say, say my name
I need a little love to ease the pain
I need a little love to ease the pain
It's easy to remember when it came

Yeah, like hell.

Feels like something
That I've done before
I could fake it
But I still want more

I'm telling ya, he's playing us hard. Whedon will uns das komplette 2009er-Jahr mittels Dollhouse zombiefizieren, damit wir ihm endlich seine eigene ... erm... Matrix bauen.

Natürlich, erm... spoilery:

Harhar:

You can't necessarily tell what the series is, but who are we kidding? We're so there.

Und das Foto mit den Puppen ist immer noch magisch.

Der Trailer:

Ich kann gar nicht alle Quellen aufzählen, die grad von den Upfronts berichten. Ein kurzer Breakdown:

# According to Joss Whedon, Fox has ordered 13 episodes of Dollhouse.
# Fox has tentatively skedded “Dollhouse” on Mondays at 8 p.m., in front of “24”.
# the first pics from Dollhouse, courtesy of FOX. That photo with the cast transformed to “dolls” is creepy!
# Joss Whedon zur Frage, warum Craft und Fain Showrunner sein werden:

"Actually, I never confirmed a 13 episode order. But I will tomorrow. (which is in one minute -- oh. It's now.) I've spoken with the Fox brass and it's all going to be pretty exciting. As you shall read...

As for running the show, yes of course I'm running it, it's my baby, but one needs co-runners, cohorts, cohabitants, a Sundance (or two) to my Butch, a Tango to my Cash, A the-guy-with-the-nose-in-Weekend-at-Bernie's to my the-guy-from-Pretty-in-Pink-in-Weekend-at-Bernies. And those of you who underestimate Liz and Sarah remind me of the demons of the week who laughed at tiny Buffy.

The only thing that excites me as much as our staff is our cast. Seeing them work just makes ideas blossom from our writer minds (SPOILER ALERT for The Fountain) like little clovery flowers out of conquistadors (END Of SPOILER ALERT and seriously, you should see that movie. It rocks.) And Eliza can't turn off the awesome. I mean it. The army is sending in tanks.

See you on the internet. Then on TV, in theaters, and of couse in the funny papers. It's a good year. Bye-ee! -j."
# There's a two minute sneak peek of Dollhouse due to be released shortly. It's entitled "Who Are You?". ("Shortly" means: "now"!)

Abgesehen davon, dass er das Verbrechen namens "The Fountain" gut findet (neben BSG), klingt das alles ziemlich toll. Der Trailer ist irre. Und dieses Interview ist auch klasse:

Then I went into a state of blank panic. Oh, wait, all of my writers have jobs. So I went upstairs and I laid out seven notebooks, and every night I'd go up and put my seven notebooks all in a row, and I'd look and see what do we need to get from here to here. I even had to take them to New York. I thought, oh, I'd just rip off the page. 'No, you can't rip off the page. You'd kill the magic.' So I brought them to Kevin Reilly and I laid them out on his coffee table, and he said, "This is great. I love all of them." I said, "Great. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm on strike."

Auch schön, was Kevin Reilly, der neue Fox-Entertainement-Chef und die größte Hoffnung darauf, dass Dollhouse anders als Firefly leben wird, meinte:

"He had me at 'hello,' " Reilly said, admitting that the first time Whedon visited the network, "I was kinda drunk with the surprise of it all. He laid out the whole concept, but I think it was one of those things where I heard every other word of it."

Dem Kerl verdanken wir aus seiner NBC-Zeit noch die The Office-Wideraufnahme trotz miserabler Quoten in der ersten Staffel. Heute ist wie erwartet großer feel good-Tag. Morgen gibt's dann vielleicht ne detaillierte Aufarbeitung der vielen Schocks.

Kristin bestätigt einige Gerüchte und liefert neuen Stoff nach einem Plausch mit Joss:

# Joss directs the second episode as well as the finished-on-Friday pilot, just to get things rolling.
# Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft are the show runners.
# Steve DeKnight and Tim Minear are both consulting producers on the series.
# Tim is writing and directing the midseason two-parter, namely episodes seven and eight.
# Joss would love to get Jane Espenson to join the gang too, if he could, but she's on Battlestar at the moment and the show's budget might not permit it. (Is it just me or do you want to send Fox a check right about now?)
# As reported earlier this week, Dollhouse will go at midseason, and, according to Joss, it's likely premiering in January.
# There is no Dollhouse presentation planned at the Fox event, but Eliza Dushku might appear on behalf of the show.
# Joss: "I'm still having so much fun. I keep waiting for it to not be fun anymore."

Dass Minear die achte Folge schreibt, könnte heißen, Fox hat mehr als 7 Folgen geordert. Hoffentlich wird das bald bestätigt. Die DeKnight-Info war ja ein alter Hut, dass Craft und Fain aber Showrunner sein werden, ist neu. Auch neu ist, dass Joss die zweite Folge dreht.

Es gibt nun einen Episodenführer und für "Echo" schon mal eine Info-Page. Die werden natürlich constantly am laufenden gehalten und ergänzt. Der Episodenführer ist auch ganz flott links im "About" zu erreichen.

Der Pilot, der am 23. April in Produktion ging, ist fertiggedreht, sagt dollverse.com:

The first episode of Dollhouse, called Echo, has wrapped filming. There's now a bunch of poking with sticks which takes place. There could be singing, there could be dancing, there may be test screenings - who knows?

Kaum spoilerischer Überblick über die Drehbücher des Piloten von Fringe und von "Echo":

How It Reads: A good pilot should do one of two things: It should either lay out the blueprint for the rest of the series or it should intrigue you so much that you can't wait for the second episode. Fringe falls into the first category. It leaves almost nothing to the imagination in terms of what's coming next. Dollhouse falls into the second category. Whedon's script builds into a mystery that's as much philosophical as science fiction. The introduction to the show's universe is immediately disorienting, but also enthralling, as Whedon mixes elements of the conspiracy thriller with what threatens to become a profound meditation on identity. Dollhouse comes across as darker in tone and slower in pace than anything Whedon has previously attempted and while there's humor sprinkled throughout, the sensation at the end is one of overarching menace and also sadness. The pilot script concentrates on only three or four main characters, though several others are introduced in passing, and it offers no stand-alone elements. After reading the pilot, I'm ready to go on the journey with Whedon even though I can't figure out what the week-to-week plot of the show is going to be.

Und dann kommt aber ne wichtige Warnung:

How It Might Play: Since Desperate Housewives and Lost made the major networks want to dive back into the serialized drama business, viewers have made it clear that they're cautious about starting a show that might get cancelled mid-story. Dollhouse feels like the sort of show that might have been better suited for FX or HBO or Showtime, where Whedon's devoted audience could make a show a hit. But Dushku had a talent deal at 20th Century Fox TV and with FOX and this is totally her vehicle, the sort of role that most young actresses would kill for. Since Echo is constantly being other people, Dushku is in position to go from action star to sex kitten to child-like innocent in the course of a dozen pages. It's Dushku's show, but the pilot suggests potentially meaty roles for Williams, Kranz, Acker, Penikett and Harry Lennix, as Echo's trainer. While recognizably Whedonesque, Dollhouse finds Joss going in different direction, one that may be less quippy and less plot-driven than some might expect. The fans will still love it, I suspect, but will Dollhouse be able to find an audience beyond the Whedonverse? I'm not sure. So this could be one of those "Enjoy it while you've got it" gems.