but i have good news.
Announcement: Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity) will be back on the small screen with a new show called Dollhouse.
the good news is that Joss will be a) back on tv; b) doing his own show; c) sidekicked by good buddy Tim Minear who was deeply involved in Buffy, Angel and Firefly; d) joined by Buffy and Angel alumnus, Eliza Dushku.
the premise is, like all Joss, part sci-fi, part social critique, and all quirk. there is an undergound (figuratively) facility known as the Dollhouse that houses an elite group of individuals who can be imprinted with a variety of personalities, abilities, skills, etc. to complete missions for the highest bidder. these missions can vary from sexual fantasies to clandestine operations. at the end of every mission, the 'doll' has his or her memory wiped and goes back to living a child's life within the Dollhouse. Duskhu plays the heroine of the show, Echo, who begins to retain snippets of her memory. it is a very Phillip K. Dick sort of premise, where the sci-fi takes a backseat to the story, but still permeates every level of it to serve not only as a plot driver but also a character builder.
what Whedon has done so very well in the past is getting his actors to play completely different characters within the reality of a particular show. there was an episode of Buffy in which Buffy and Faith switched minds, or when Willow encountered a dimensionally translocated vampire version of herself. Dollhouse provides that opportunity on a weekly basis. Dushku is a proven talent. her character on Buffy was originally intended for a five episode arc, but she was so good that they kept her for the rest of the season (and then some).
the bad news is that this show is slated to run on FOX. this is the same Fox network that showed Whedon's last gem (Firefly) out of order, changed the schedule willy-nilly and unmarketed it to the point where they felt justified in cancelling it. this is the same Fox network that gave Tim Minear's last project (Drive) two episodes before pulling the plug. this is the same Fox network that killed Arrested Development. i HATE Fox.
on top of that, there is some writers guild strike about to go down, so even though Fox has signed on for seven episodes, it will be quite some time before we see anything. and since i've finished rewatching every episode of Buffy and Angel and seen every episode of Firefly 3 times (at least) and Serenity about 5 times, i'm jonesing for some new Joss. speaking of new Joss, tonight's new episode of The Office, 'Branch Wars,' is directed by Joss Whedon.
