What's Going on with Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse"?

Whither Dollhouse?

That seems to be the big question today following news that television auteur Joss Whedon would be retooling the pilot for his midseason action drama Dollhouse, starring Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett, Amy Acker, Harry Lennix, Olivia Williams, Fran Kranz, Reed Diamond, and a host of others. (You can read my early review of the pilot script for Dollhouse here.)

Early reports seemed to indicate that Whedon had made the decision to scrap the pilot in favor of reshooting an introductory episode that was less noir and had more of the "visceral pop" that was promised in the pilot script and that the decision was not one handed down to him from FOX.

According to Whedon in a post on Whedonesque: "The fact is, I’m very proud of the ep we shot and the series is making me crazy with the excitement. But I tend to come at things sideways, and there were a few clarity issues for some viewers. There were also some slight issues with tone – I was in a dark, noir kind of place (where, as many of you know, I make my home), and 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."

It's now been clarified that the recently completed Dollhouse pilot itself won't be reshot, as many news outlets seemed to indicate, but will instead become the series' second episode, with the planned second outing being reconfigured to act as the premiere installment, a move Whedon refers to as a "preemptive strike." Still with me?

“Joss came to the realization that there was a better way to start the show,” a Twentieth Century Fox Television spokesman told Variety. “After he wrote episode two, he asked the network to use that as episode one.”

The move, which at least seems to have originated from Whedon himself and not the network, doesn't exactly make me rest easy; if you remember, airing episodes out of order was exactly what signaled the beginning of the end for Whedon's other FOX series Firefly.

Let's take a look at Whedon talking to The Hollywood Reporter about the decision from the TCA:



I'm not entirely sure how this new introductory episode will work as the pilot as the original perfectly set up the world of the Dollhouse, including the central conceit (memories and abilities can be downloaded into template-like humans) and the exploration of Echo and her companions, enemies, employers, and possible allies.

But as Whedon himself notes, the development of a television series is often met with peril and the product that appears on screen is the result of a collaborative process between the creator, the studio, and the network. He's quick to point out that FOX isn't the villain here ("it's a whole new crew") and that he isn't working with the same development/current team as when the network aired Firefly, which showed signs of the "frisson" between his creative vision and the network's.

Let's hope that this is the only occasion that Dollhouse gets shown out of order, rather than the first in a growing pattern of structural decisions. After all, January is still a long way off and I don't want to lose my faith in what promises to be a daring and thought-provoking series.

Where Pilots Go to Die: FOX's "The Oaks"

It's always sad when you watch a botched pilot of a script that you really, really loved and are just wholly disappointed by what you see.

In this case, I'm talking about the pilot episode for FOX's supernatural drama The Oaks, which wasn't picked up to series. Last I heard, studio 20th Century Fox Television was attempting to shop the project to other networks, but I would be surprised if anyone picks it up after what I've seen. (You can read my original review of the pilot script here.)

It's not that there isn't an interesting story there because there is. I was utterly captivated by David Schulner's gorgeously nuanced script for The Oaks, which tells the story of three very different couples living in the same house in three different decades: there's twenty-something couple Mike (Matt Lanter) and Sarah (Shannon Lucio) who have recently weathered the death of their young daughter and have fallen apart as a couple; middle-aged blue collar parents of two Frank (Michael Rispoli) and Molly (Romy Rosemont, who replaced Gina McKee) whose daughter Lucy (Mackenzie Milone) seems troubled and whose son Brian (Kyle Kaplan) is prone to spying on his developmentally challenged teenage neighbor Jessica (Shanna E. Braddy); and expectant professional couple Dan (Jeremy Renner) and Hollis (Bahar Soomekh) who are in the midst of completing renovations on their historic home even as they interview midwives for the arrival of their child.

Some interesting stories and the action often transitions seamlessly from each decade to the next, their plots often overlapping as they serve a dual purpose: the first to explore the invisible thread that seems to connect these couples to one another through time (the ghost story) and the second to explore that most fragile of states: wedlock. Each of the couples faces an enormous hurdle in their married life, from the loss of a child to the non-existence of a sex life to long-buried secrets that, in the case of Dan and Hollis, could threaten to derail the life they've build for one another.

See, Dan did Something Bad as a teenager growing up in the very same neighborhood that he has now moved back into with his wife, something that 1988's Little Brian witnessed and something that involved taking advantage of Jessica, who--in 2008--is all grown up but still living in her parents' house right across the street from Dan and Hollis' new house. Dan claims that he doesn't remember Jessica but it's clear that he does, even if Hollis isn't quite suspicious enough.

Add to this a secret room, an oak tree planted by Sarah in 1968 that refuses to be cut down in 2008, whispers and visions in the water, and characters showing up in various eras seemingly by chance and you have the makings of an interesting and provocative supernatural-tinged drama, albeit one that seems more designed for a limited run than an open-ended series.

So what doesn't work? The majority of the casting for one, sadly. While the script brings these characters to life in vivid detail, many of the actors seem strangely out of place or unbelievable in the roles. Yes, I get that Mike and Sarah are a young couple but I found it extremely difficult to accept Lanter and Lucio as adults old enough to own a house (even with his father's help) and have had raised and lost a child, even as producers have tried to age up Lucio a bit with some period-appropriate makeup, hair, and clothes. By the reverse token, I had a hard time feeling connected to Rispoli and Rosemont's, er, dumpier characters who seemed to have zero chemistry between them whatsoever; while their sexless marriage is a huge element to the plot, I didn't see the whiff of any previous attraction between them evident in their interactions.

As for Jeremy Renner, he just looks... distractingly odd in the 2008 segments and I wanted to see him express some sort of moral conflict going on inside him. Or anything really. Renner's Dan is meant to be wholly emasculated by his Blackberry-obsessed career-driven wife Hollis (Soomekh) but we don't even see a clue about this dynamic between them. They just seem like any other tech-savvy modern couple expecting a baby and paranoid about disabilities and end up little more than ciphers on screen.

The direction was also disappointing. I'm usually a fan of Michael Cuesta (Dexter) but here I didn't see any elements of his trademark flair; camerawork was pretty straightforward and pulled some cliche zooms and close-ups right out of the 1980s horror flick handbook. For such an evocative and imaginative script, the produced pilot of The Oaks felt wholly flat and unrewarding, a scenario that may have occurred since both writer David Schulner and executive producer Shawn Ryan (The Shield) were not on set during production, due to the writers strike.

I can understand why The Oaks didn't make it to series at FOX and I can also understand why studio execs would possibly want to scrap the filmed version, recast, and start over again at another network: the script and the characters are intriguing and the concept is original and thought-provoking. But like several of the characters in The Oaks, after watching this, I couldn't quite shake the feeling that I needed a bath to wash off my disappointment.

Sigh.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular (CBS); Baby Borrowers (NBC); America's Next Top Model (CW); Wife Swap (ABC); So You Think You Can Dance (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Baby Borrowers (NBC); Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (CW); Supernanny (ABC)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Celebrity Circus (ABC); Primetime: Crime (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

9-10 pm: Secret Diary of a Call Girl/Weeds on Showtime.

As I am still catching up on telly that I missed during my honeymoon, I actually missed this week's episodes of Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Weeds on Showtime, so I'll be watching them tonight. On Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Belle is booked by a return client for the entire evening and gets to test out her time management skills. Over on Weeds ("The Whole Blah Damn Thing"), Nancy makes her first official run across the border for Guillermo and Celia is offered a deal by Captain Till.

FOX Asks Tim Roth to "Lie to Me"

FOX has given a thirteen-episode order for midseason drama Lie to Me and secured the talents of a sought-after A-list British actor as the series' lead.

Tim Roth, currently on screen in theatres in The Incredible Hulk (and Michael Hanke's Funny Games) has been cast as the lead in Lie to Me, in which he'll play Dr. Cal Lightman, a scientific researcher who specializes in the field of lie detection and is able to discern mendacity by noticing facial, vocal, and bodily expressions and movements and assists various government agencies in Washington D.C. with ongoing investigations.

Unfortunately, Lightman can't turn off his particular brand of observation and unfortunately applies his own lie detection skills to the personal relationships in his own private life.

Project was created by Sam Baum (The Evidence) and the pilot episode will be directed by Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler's Wife; Flightplan); shooting begins in August.

I was really impressed with the script for Lie to Me when I read it earlier this year and I think that Roth will be absolutely perfect as Lightman. The series is completely procedural but the use of natural human lie detection--based on actual, real-life scientific fact--gives the crime-solving drama an interesting twist, one we haven't seen before in primetime US television.

Lie to Me could be a natural fit for FOX, which has had success with crime drama Bones and, if it can get this procedural-hesitant viewer to breeze through the pilot script with interest, that's saying a lot about the strength of this project.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Celebrity Family Feud (NBC); Beauty & the Geek (CW); Wipeout (ABC); Moment of Truth (FOX)

9 pm: 48 Hours Mystery (CBS); America's Got Talent (NBC; 9-11 pm); Reaper (CW); I Survived a Japanese Game Show (ABC); Hell's Kitchen (FOX)

10 pm: Without a Trace (CBS); Primetime: The Outsiders (ABC)

What I'll Be TiVo'ing

8-10 pm: Britcoms on BBC America.

I don't know about you but by Tuesday night, I'm usually in need of some comedy in my life. Why not stick around on Tuesday nights for BBC America's new comedy lineup, consisting of classic episodes of Coupling, new comedy Not Going Out, and Absolutely Fabulous? You'll thank me in the morning.

10 pm: Flipping Out on Bravo.

Season Two continues tonight with a brand-new episode ("Good Cop, Bad Jeff"), Jeff becomes suspicious of his assistants when he notices that not much is getting done around the house and wants to install surveillance cameras to keep an eye on his employees.

Schwartzman Claims "Bored to Death" at HBO

Max Fischer has done quite well for himself.

Jason Schwartzman has been cast as the lead in the HBO comedy pilot Bored to Death, in which he'll play a depressed man who, after a painful breakup with his girlfriend, begins to live his life as though he were one of the characters in the novels of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler and takes out an add pretending to be a private detective.

Schwartzman's attachment has lifted the casting contingency on the pilot, which will begin shooting in New York in September. His last television role was in the Mike White-created FOX comedy Cracking Up, which ran for six episodes in 2004.

Bored to Death is written and executive produced by novelist Jonathan Ames. Personally, I hope it turns out even half as good as it sounds.

* * *

In other casting news, Lloyd Owen (Viva Laughlin, Monarch of the Glen), Malik Yoba (Raines; though he'll always be ICE from Arrested Development to me), and Warren Kole (24) have been cast in FOX drama pilot Inseparable, from creator Shaun Cassidy, about a paralyzed forensic investigator who happens to have an alter ego who is a vicious criminal.

Owen has replaced fellow Brit actor Toby Stephens as Justin Lambreaux; Stephens departed the project due to scheduling conflicts. Yoba will play a detective who works with Owen's character and has no idea about his double life; Kole will play a young and ambitious detective.

Elsewhere, Clea DuVall (Carnivale) has been cast in Ronald D. Moore's two-hour backdoor pilot Virtuality for FOX, along with Erik Jensen (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) and Jose Pablo Cantillo (Standoff).

Where Pilots Go to Die: FOX's "Spaced"

Ah, schadenfreude. There is something innately satisfying about watching a terrible pilot project go down the tubes when it was doomed from the very start. And there were few more misguided and foolhardy attempts this past pilot season than that of the US adaptation of UK cult series Spaced.

Created by Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson), and Edgar Wright, the original Spaced was a brilliant and hyperkinetic pastiche: at once a tongue-in-cheek satire of sitcoms, an inversion of social stereotypes, and a collection of astounding sight gags, blink-and-you'll-miss-'em pop culture references, and endearingly quirky characters. It was most definitely a product of its time as well, fused into the fabric of 1990s Gen-X slackers and offering a commentary on both American and British cultural sensibilities of the time.

In a word, it was brilliant.

Cut to 2008, following a rough development year, in which the stars/creators of Spaced spoke out against the US version of the series after they weren't consulted about the remake and in some cases (Hynes) weren't even mentioned in any press releases about the series. I managed to get my hands on the completed pilot for the American update of Spaced and I was curious to see if it warranted the ire of Pegg and Co.

And that's where schadenfreude comes in. To call Spaced a pale imitation of the original is actually quite insulting to pale imitations everywhere. No, this US remake--written by Adam Barr (Will & Grace) and directed by Charles Stone (Lincoln Heights)--is quite possibly one of the worst things I've ever seen and that's saying quite a lot.

Quick recap on the action: two strangers, both post-breakup with significant others, meet at a coffee shop as they look for a new place to live when they stumble onto a dream apartment. The only catch is that it's only being offered to a married couple, so they pose as newlyweds in order to land the place. It's a deceptive simple premise that, in the original anyway, never falls into Three's Company-type sitcom gags and instead uses it as a springboard to explore the relatonship between Tim (Pegg) and Daisy (Hynes) and their friendships, hopes, dreams, and bizarro fantasies.

It was with a great deal of trepidation that I sat down to watch Spaced's busted pilot over the weekend... and was amazed by how wrong the production team had gotten every element of the series, even from the script stage. While the original Spaced had an effortlessly cool vibe, every line of dialogue in this awful pilot reeks of overwriting and reaching to try to approximate something trendy and cool... only fall completely flat. Adding in cutaway scenes in which San Francisco's Transamerica rotates for no real reason or an invisible force appears next to a trolley car do not a smart quirky comedy make. Instead, these remain head-scratching examples of just how wrong the producers (which include Wonderland Sound & Vision's McG) got it and perhaps how little they understood the underlying material in the first place.

Onto the actors then. Never have two actors been more miscast as Josh Lawson (Chandon Pictures) and Sara Rue (Less Than Perfect) than they have been here. As Ben, Lawson is completely unbelievable as a sad sack wannabe comic book artist/slacker... who clearly has spent more time at the gym than at a drafting board. And unfortunately, he doesn't become more believable when he dons trendily nerdy glasses that only make him look slightly more like Matthew Perry in The Ron Clark Story. As for Rue, her Apryl isn't at all sympathetic and merely irritates every time she's on screen; the same goes for Ben's sidekick Bill (Will Sasso) who lacks all of the nuance of the original's Nick Frost. His sole characteristic seems to be that he enjoys (A) playing video games, (B) re-enacting the bullet scene from (ahem) The Matrix, and (C) pretending to shoot people with a gun made out of his hand. Yes, this is real character development time, people.

Supporting characters get just as much short shrift and aren't nearly as imaginative or credible as their counterparts across the pond. Apryl's best friend, a sticky-fingered wannabe thief named Vivienne (Yara Martinez) lacks any defining characteristics whatsoever and remains, at the end of the pilot, still a complete and utter cipher. Tortured artist/downstairs neighbor Christian (Frederico Dordei) is completely predictable in his overwrought "quirkiness." Hell, even landlady Marsha is a wet blanket in this without any of the humor or flair of Julia Deakin's brilliant original.

I feel incredibly happy that this project will never make it to air and never sully the good name of Spaced. Fans of the original UK series have waited for years for a Region 1 DVD release of the series (which will finally be released on July 23rd) and would have been aghast at what American producers did to their beloved series.

Can some international formats transition nicely onto American screens? Sure, just look at NBC's The Office but for every one that does work there are likely ten or so that are mindblowingly awful adaptations of successful series. Spaced distinctly falls into the latter camp and I'm happy to see it buried in some fallout bunker six miles beneath the Earth where it can't infect anyone with its shoddy and unfunny perspective on urban living arrangements. It's as saccharine and artificial as the cream puffs in the painfully dumb "gunfight" that comprises the pilot's conclusion.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular (CBS); Farmer Wants a Wife (CW); Wife Swap (ABC); So You Think You Can Dance (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Dateline (NBC); Farmer Wants a Wife (CW); Supernanny (ABC)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Dateline (NBC); Men in Trees (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

9 pm: MI-5 on BBC America.

If you missed MI-5 (aka Spooks) when it aired on A&E a few years back, you can catch it tonight on BBC America. On tonight's installment ("The Special, Part Two"), Adam rescues Tash (Martine McCutcheon) from the terrorists and realizes he must unmask the mole within MI-5.

10 pm: Top Chef on Bravo.

On tonight's episode ("High Steaks"), the chefs have to clean and butcher a slab of meat during a Quickfire Challenge and then work on the line in a restaurant, creating a series of dishes that exceed chef Tom Colicchio's expectations, and Rick Tramonto of Osteria Di Tramonto, Gale's Coffee Bar, Tramonto's Steak & Seafood, and RT Lounge turns up as a guest judge.

Pilot Inspektor: FOX's "Fringe"

Every once in a while a pilot comes along that is so perfect, such a shining indication of what the final series will be, so perfectly cast and directed, that it's impossible to look away.

That pilot, ladies and gentlemen, is definitely FOX's phenomenal science-tinged drama Fringe.

In a nutshell, Fringe is The X-Files for the new millennium: eerie, gripping, and still haunting even after the final credits have rolled, albeit containing an overt (rather than subtle) humor that never existed in that series. In this case, the aliens aren't from outer space: they're the mega-corporations that dot the American landscape, pushing science and technology past their limits and exploiting that for their own gain. It poses several ethical questions: when does the pursuit of scientific discovery go too far? Who is monitoring the rapid advances in technology in today's day and age? And what happens when a scientist--or a group of scientists--decides that the world is their laboratory?

Longtime readers of this site know my longstanding love for the pilot script, from Transformers scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman... who previously worked with executive producer J.J. Abrams on his seminal ABC series Alias and on the feature films Mission Impossible III and Star Trek. My original review of Fringe's pilot script from last October can be found here.

A quick recap: a German plane self lands at Boston's Logan Airport with no signs of life on board and the windows covered in what appears to be blood. An inter-agency team is quickly assembled to investigate the incident; a team which includes Agents Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and her secret lover/colleague John Scott (Boston Legal's Mark Valley) and is overseen by Philip Broyles (Lost's Lance Reddick). Broyles puts Olivia onto a possible lead involving a storage facility; they discover a makeshift lab, which their suspect detonates, unleashing a wave of chemicals onto Agent Scott... and then he escapes into the night. Looking for a way to save John's life, Olivia tracks down the only man capable of saving him: Dr. Walter Bishop (Lord of the Rings' John Noble), a genius scientific researcher who had been committed to a mental hospital years before. But the only way she can get to him is through his estranged son, Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), a genius misfit with no love lost for his father.

Still with me? During his years working on a classified project for the US government, Walter Bishop investigated the shady area of fringe science (ha, not just a clever name), studying things like teleportation, telepathy, reanimation: the inexplicable things hovering on the, well, fringes of pure science.

The produced pilot of Fringe, which I ran home to watch last evening, doesn't differ all that much from the written script. Under the master direction of Alex Graves (Journeyman), it's even more taut, suspenseful, humorous, and downright scary as the pilot script but now has the added benefit of a top-notch cast and stunning visuals. Hell, even the on-screen graphics that announce the varied locations of the pilot episode are creative and innovative, existing not so much as words on the screen but words embedded in the actual landscape, through which the camera moves like thick smoke. It's a genius visual and one that gives the action a distinctive and unique flair. And the special effects--particularly those involving Agent Scott's transformation into a transparent, crystalline structure--are absolutely breathtaking.

As Olivia Dunham, Australian newcomer Anna Torv is transcendent. Once again proving that no one picks a star in the making like J.J. Abrams, Torv is positively radiant on screen, effortlessly combining the steeliness of Jennifer Garner with the soulfulness of Cate Blanchett. Simply put: she's riveting, whether she's jumping off the roof of a building or climbing into a sensory deprivation tank. You can almost see the wheels turning in her head as she begins to put the pieces of this puzzle together as she begins to see that isolated and inexplicable incidents may be linked, as she begins to see The Pattern.

In reading the original pilot script last year, I was a little concerned with how the character of Dr. Walter Bishop would really be portrayed: it's a difficult character to play, one gifted with genius and cursed with madness and the line between the two facets of his personality seem pretty darned blurred when Fringe first begins. In the gifted hands of John Noble, Walter does spring to life and his scenes are master classes in the making: at once heartbreaking (he's unable to find the appropriate words when he first lays eyes on his son after 17 years), disturbing (he admits he's wet himself in the car), and hilarious (his astonished amusement at SpongeBob SquarePants).

As for Joshua Jackson, he seems as though he hasn't ever left television. He is such a natural as the gifted and misunderstood Peter, so adept at running from his problems, that it almost seems written for him. Jackson gets to play wry, sardonic, and romantic, sometimes all in the same breath. The chemistry between him and Torv is outright palpable as much as both of their characters might fight against it. The scene in which she disrobes in order to slip into the tank is so understated (and Peter's awkwardness and attraction to Olivia so apt) that it's easy to root for them. ('Shippers, start your engines now.)

Fringe could have been a bleak, darker-than-dark series but instead the tension and foreboding atmosphere are abated by the inclusion of some off-kilter humor, often from Walter Bishop himself. And, hell, there's even a cow. But these moments aren't overused, still shining like little gems among the darkness of the rest of the plot.

Ultimately, Fringe is spellbinding television, flawlessly setting up both an intricate overarching mythology (another J.J. Abrams specialty) as well as the possibility for self-contained procedural storytelling, a rare combination and one that will undoubtedly work for the series in the long run. As for this jaded critic, I'm going to be the first one in line for what promises to be yet another dizzying and mind-opening J.J. Abrams rollercoaster ride.

Fringe launches with a two-hour premiere on August 26th on FOX.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS; 8-10 pm); Most Outrageous Moments/Most Outrageous Moments (NBC); Reaper (CW); Dancing with the Stars (ABC); American Idol (FOX)

9 pm: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Reaper (CW); Dancing with the Stars (ABC; 9-11 pm); Hell's Kitchen (FOX)

10 pm: Shark (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC)

What I'll Be Watching

8-10 pm: Britcoms on BBC America.

I don't know about you but by Tuesday night, I'm usually in need of some comedy in my life. Why not stick around on Tuesday nights for BBC America's new comedy lineup, consisting of classic episodes of Coupling, new comedy Not Going Out, and Absolutely Fabulous? You'll thank me in the morning.

FOX Finally Announces Fall Schedule, Ends Days of Speculation

After days of speculation and very little news about how their actual schedule would shake out, FOX has finally announced their new primetime lineup for the 2008-09 season, just a few hours ahead of unveiling the sked to advertisers.

While I was hoping there would be an eleventh hour reprieve for a fall slot for Joss Whedon's highly anticipated new drama Dollhouse, such was not to be; the series will launch on Monday nights in January, but we will be getting a full season of J.J. Abram's drama Fringe beginning in the fall. (That's got to count for something, no?)

Let's take a look at how the schedule breaks down night by night.

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR 08-09:

MONDAY
8 pm: Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (Midseason: Dollhouse)
9 pm: Prison Break (Midseason: 24)

TUESDAY
8 pm: House (Midseason: American Idol)
9 pm: Fringe

WEDNESDAY
8 pm: Bones (Midseason: House)
9 pm: 'Til Death (Midseason: American Idol Results)

9:30 pm: Do Not Disturb (formerly known as The Inn) (Midseason: TBA Comedy)

THURSDAY
8 pm: Moment of Truth (Midseason: Hell's Kitchen)
9 pm: Kitchen Nightmares (Midseason: Secret Millionaire)

FRIDAY
8 pm: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (Midseason: Bones)
9 pm: Don't Forget the Lyrics (Midseason: 'Til Death/Do Not Disturb)

SATURDAY
8-9 pm: COPS

10 pm: America's Most Wanted

SUNDAY
8 pm: The Simpsons

8:30 pm: King of the Hill (Midseason: Sit Down, Shut Up)
9 pm: Family Guy
10 pm: American Dad (Midseason: The Cleveland Show)

Contenders for Midseason Orders:
Lie to Me, Courtroom K, Boldly Going Nowhere, Outnumbered

New Series:
Dollhouse, Fringe, Do Not Disturb, Secret Millionaire, Sit Down Shut Up (midseason), The Cleveland Show (midseason)

Renewed Series:
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Prison Break, 24, House, American Idol, 'Til Death, Moment of Truth, Hell's Kitchen, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, Don't Forget the Lyrics, COPS, America's Most Wanted, MADtv, Talkshow with Spike Feresten Show, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad, So You Think You Can Dance

Canceled Series:
K-Ville, Back to You, Canterbury's Law, Nashville, Next Great American Band, New Amsterdam

Reactions:
I'm actually very pleased with the strength of FOX's schedule. While we all know that much of it will change over the coming months (not to mention the arrival of ratings juggernaut American Idol), I really love the combination of Fringe and House on Tuesdays (though the folks at Warner Bros. TV must not be too happy with their baby Fringe going up against fellow WBTV drama The Mentalist). Fringe is simply put: dazzling visionary television. But don't take my word for it: you can watch the trailer for Fringe right here.

Holding Dollhouse for the midseason may be a wise cautionary move but it does make me sad not to get my Joss fix now. Following the trailer for Fringe, the sneak of Dollhouse looked a little less glossy and polished but that might be just because the first episode wrapped late last week and they've had less time to get a trailer ready for airing. Still, I have every confidence in Joss and in this brilliant drama project.

Otherwise, it's a mixed bag. I don't think that Do Not Disturb will be around for very long, regardless of however many name changes the series has. I have the pilot episode in my possession so will have to watch it before I give my final judgment but I wasn't impressed with what I've seen so far. I want to like Sit Down, Shut Up because of the pedigree of the creator and talent but I'm having a hard time finding the funny. Though having Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Henry Winkler together again (even in animated form) is pretty darn awesome.

What I am very excited about is the Remote-Free TV initiative that Ligouri unveiled today, which will add six minutes of commercial ad time back into the program. That means, rather than 42 minutes of content, select FOX series (like Dollhouse) will run 48 minutes out of a one-hour slot. To call this a gamechanger is to completely underestimate what this will mean for creative, compulsory series and for ad revenues (supply and demand, my friends).

What do you think? What are you excited for? What do you think of Fringe? And were you as mostly underwhelmed by the upfronts this year as I was? Talk back here.

Dancing with the Upfronts: FOX Makes Several Pickups, ABC Debates Renewals

While FOX isn't due to unveil their fall schedule until tomorrow, the network got a head start this weekend by announcing several series orders, a series renewal, and a surprising cancellation.

FOX is slated to announce their fall slate on Tuesday but word got out about a few expected orders, including J.J. Abrams-executive produced drama Fringe--starring Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, and Mark Valley--which had received a series commitment from the net last fall. (You can read my original review of the pilot script here.)

Project, from Warner Bros. Television, creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Transformers) and director Alex Graves (Journeyman) is viewed by many as the network's best hope at recapturing the sci-fi audience it once commanded back in the day with The X-Files; the drama revolves around a female FBI agent paired with an estranged father and son team of rogue scientists who investigate cases involving unexplained phenomena.

Joss Whedon's "brilliantly evocative" action drama Dollhouse is on the schedule but sadly not until midseason. It could be paired with 24 (which returns in January 09) on Monday nights. In the meantime, it's thought that Mondays could be filled with Fringe and Prison Break. But I'm crushed that we'll have to wait until next year for the next Whedon oeuvre. Darn schedulers.

Also getting series stripes is comedy The Inn, from writer/executive producer Abraham Higginbotham (Arrested Development), about a posh Manhattan hotel and the Upstairs/Downstairs-like intrigues of the staffers and guests. Helmed by Jason Bateman, the pilot stars Niecy Nash, Jerry O'Connell, Molly Stanton, Jolene Purdy, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Brando Eaton.

FOX has also ordered animated comedy Class Dismissed (fka Sit Down, Shut Up), from creator Mitch Hurwitz (Arrested Development) and featuring the voices of Arrested alums Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Henry Winkler, plus Cheri Oteri, Will Forte, Nick Kroll, Tom Kenny, and Maria Bamford. Project, based on a live-action Aussie series, revolves around the self-absorbed teachers at a high school who are all more invested in solving their own issues than those of their students. (I wish I had liked the painfully unfunny pilot script more but it just left me completely dry.)

For midseason, FOX has granted a cast-contingent pilot order to Inseparable, a Jekyll & Hyde-like project from Shaun Cassidy (American Gothic) about a paralyzed forensic detective whose alter ego is a vicious criminal mastermind. Personally, I loved this script when I read it last fall and am sad that the option on British actor Toby Stephens has expired. I'm hoping that they find a series lead as compelling as Stephens who can do justice to the dual character format.

In a bit of a bait and switch, FOX renewed 'Til Death for a third season but has canceled fellow sitcom Back to You, starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. While many expected both series to return next season in a one-hour block, it was felt that Back to You was too expensive of a proposition to renew it for a sophomore season.

Sadly, The Oaks will not be going forward as a series... at least not at FOX. The network has passed on the drama project, about three couples living in the same house in three different decades linked by a ghostly presence; studio 20th Century Fox Television will pitch it elsewhere.

Over at ABC, Boston Legal has been given a reprieve and WILL return for a fifth season during the 2008-09 season, likely joined by David E. Kelley's new series, a US adaptation of hit British drama Life on Mars, and exiled comedy Scrubs, making the move from NBC.

Also possibly returning at the Alphabet: drama Eli Stone and, in a surprise move, Judy Greer-led comedy Miss/Guided. Definitely not returning: Women's Murder Club. I dare say that not many people will be shedding a tear over that one.

Given the stability of ABC's lineup--and the fact that most of its series, including dramas Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, and Dirty Sexy Money, will be returning next season--the network is only expected to pick up Life on Mars at this time and will shoot several pilots during June and July for possible midseason consideration.

CBS is eying Eleventh Hour, the US adaptation of yet another British series which stars Rufus Sewell and Marley Shelton (replacing the original's Patrick Stewart and Ashley Jensen) and The Mentalist. I quite liked Eleventh Hour (then again, I liked the original mini-series), though I found The Mentalist--written by Rome's Bruno Heller--to be utterly insufferable.

Other contenders for pickup include Mythological Ex, Can Openers, and murder-mystery/horror hybrid Harper's Island, none of which I really cared for in the script stage. I would be amazed if all three ended up on the lineup though Mythological Ex--from Veronica Mars scribe Diane Ruggiero--is definitely the strongest of the three, though definitely the most female-oriented.

On the comedy side, My Best Friend's Girl, Worst Week, and the untitled Ed Yeager comedy (starring Jay Mohr) have all been gathering steam the past few days. I think all three pale in comparison to the comedies that CBS currently airs so they will definitely have to work on improving scripts should any of them get ordered to series.

Look for The Unit to return for another season and for Shark to swim into the sunset.

Over at The CW, the netlet has ordered the Tyra Banks fashion-based reality competition series Stylista as a companion series for America's Next Top Model and given a series order to Beverly Hills 90210 spinoff--which original actress Jennie Garth has signed on for (ending several months of annoying speculation, given the fact that Kelly Taylor appeared in the pilot script).

I'm thinking that 90210 will end up on Mondays with Gossip Girl but that could change. I'm very curious to see what MRC (Media Rights Capital) will do with the Sunday night block it has bought from the netlet; it is expected to program two comedies and two dramas in primetime, rather than the second-window repeats the CW has aired this past season.

Also looking like a likely order is How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls.

FOX Tells "Sarah Connor" to Come with Them if She Wants to Live

To echo that long-famous quotable, Sarah Connor will be back next season.

FOX yesterday handed the freshman sci-fi drama a second season pickup, with thirteen episodes currently slated to air this fall.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was considered a dead cert for a renewal (along with Kelsey Grammer-Patricia Heaton comedy Back to You) at the network, especially as it was the only one of FOX's crop of new series to make any impact creatively or ratings-wise this season.

The drama could also get a back nine order relatively quickly, especially since the McG-helmed Terminator film (starring Christian Bale) will be released theatrically in May. Look for major synergy going on between the TV series and the aforementioned film as FOX continues to mine this franchise for all its worth.

But while The Sarah Connor Chronicles will return this fall rather than mid-season 2009, don't look for it to remain in the Mondays at 9 pm timeslot it occupied earlier this year; Sarah Connor would bound to face tough competition from fellow timeslot opponent Heroes and FOX will definitely be moving it out of the line of fire.

I could see the network launching a night of sci-fi themed programing (as FOX seems to be developing sci-fi like crazy these days), pairing it perhaps with J.J. Abrams' Fringe (also a Warner Bros. Television-produced series) for a two-hour block of adult escapism.

Where would you program The Sarah Connor Chronicles and what would you pair it with? Should FOX reclaim Sunday nights as a home for sci-fi as it so memorably did when The X-Files aired that night of the week? Discuss.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Most Outrageous Moments/Saturday Night Live (NBC; 8:30-10 pm); Beauty and the Geek (CW); According to Jim/According to Jim (ABC); American Idol (FOX)

9 pm: Big Brother 9 (CBS); Reaper (CW); Dancing with the Stars (ABC); Hell's Kitchen (FOX)

10 pm: Shark (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Boston Legal (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

9 pm: Last Restaurant Standing on BBC America.

On the twelfth episode of this addictive British import, two couples enter Raymond's latest challenge: to create a singles' night at their respective restaurants and help their customers find love and have a fun, romantic time in the process. But in order to do so they have to fill their restaurant with suitable suitors for the twenty young execs that Raymond has lined up for them, a task easier said than done.

10 pm: The Riches on FX.

On tonight's installment ("Dead Calm"), Wayne realizes that he might not be able to regain Dahlia's trust when she learns how much he lied to her about what really happened to Pete; Cael and Rosaleen grow closer at the Travelers' camp; Nina throws a party for Jim; and Wayne tries to keep Dale from involving the Travelers in his master plan.

UPDATED: Harry Lennix and Amy Acker to Play in "Dollhouse," ABC Eyes Alan Tudyk

Less than a day after posting my glowing review of Joss Whedon's pilot script for his upcoming FOX series Dollhouse, the network has announced further casting on the project.

The talented Harry Lennix (24) has been cast in the role of Boyd Langton, a former cop who serves as "handler" to Echo, Eliza Dushku's character. Within the confines of Dollhouse, Boyd seems to offer a (gruff) voice of reason, feeling morally at odds with the treatment of the Actives (or Dolls, as they're sometimes known) yet willing to lay down his own life to protect them.

While reading the script, I kept picturing Waking the Dead's Trevor Eve as Boyd but I am pleased as punch to see that Lennix has been tapped for this role; he'll bring a real sense of gravitas and moral uncertainty to a complex and compelling role.

Lennix's hiring means that there's only one other major role to be cast (other than the recurring role of November, another Active at the facility who doesn't appear in the pilot script): Dr. Claire Saunders, the scarred medical specialist who oversees the physical well-being of the Dolls (often referred to by her nickname of "The Phantom"). Personally, there are a number of talented actresses who could do this role justice but I keep picturing Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Lindsay Crouse, who memorably played Professor Maggie Walsh on the series, even though the role is written for a younger actress.

Wait... hold the presses!

UPDATE: Joss himself has now announced over on Whedonesque that Dollhouse's Dr. Claire Saunders will be played by none other than Fred/Illyria herself, Amy Acker (Angel), in an inspired bit of casting that reunites Acker with the Buffy and Angel creative genius.

I am so thrilled with this piece of news that I can hardly speak. Acker will be so pitch perfect as the haunted, scarred Claire that I have now erased any thoughts of imagining anyone else in this amazing role.

Also cast in Dollhouse: Medical Investigation's Miracle Laurie (a name almost as awesome as Charisma Carpenter!) who will play the aforementioned November, another of the Dollhouse's Actives who will recur in the series.

* * *

In other casting news, fellow Whedon collaborator Alan Tudyk (Firefly) has been cast ABC's untitled comedy pilot from Kohan/Mutchnick about two male best friends--one straight, the other gay--whose working relationship is tested when they both get significant others.

It's not to be confused with last year's untitled Kohan/Mutchnick CBS comedy pilot in which two male best friends--one straight, the other gay--whose working relationship is tested when they both get... new assistants.

Tudyk recently starred in NBC's untitled Luke Reiter drama pilot, formerly known as Dirty Tricks, Play or Be Played, and All Rise at various times. Pilot was not among NBC's recent crop of series orders and scheduling announcements.

Stay tuned.

Playing with Dolls: An Advance Look at Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse" Pilot Script

I am still trying to catch my breath.

I'm talking about my reaction last night after reading Joss Whedon's brilliantly evocative script for his new seven-episode drama series for FOX, Dollhouse.

If there's one thing that Dollhouse has been this development season in Hollywood, it's been THE script to try to get your hands on. After weeks of conniving, begging, and bartering, I finally managed to get my greedy mitts on the script and hungrily devoured the 54-page script in about fifteen minutes, seemingly without pausing to breathe.

While I had extremely high expectations for Dollhouse (I always trust in the Joss), I was worried that, after all of the hype and hoopla, it wouldn't quite live up to my preconceived notions about the project. I am happy to say that not only were those expectations matched but they were exceeded. This isn't latter-day Alias by any stretch of the imagination: while there are still costume changes and choreographed fight sequences, it delves into bigger issues of morality and mortality and asks hard questions about the ethical ramifications of science and technology.

Yes, there is much more to Dollhouse than meets the eye and Whedon succeeds here by filling his script with a multitude of morally grey characters engaged in one of the most sickening and intriguing displays of human trafficking ever devised. I don't want to spoil anything but I will say that there there's an unexplained back story (referred to as Alpha) that will likely come into play down the line and the power structure within the Dollhouse is a fluctuating, living thing unto itself. As for the Dollhouse itself, it certainly didn't "look" anything like I expected it to based on the information that was trickling out during casting: it's not a draconian prison nor an icy SD-6-type operations hub; instead it's more like a serene, Japanese-influenced, high-tech spa for the Actives.

But there's a real undercurrent of danger lurking here and the staffers--from jokey and amoral tech Topher and gruff handler Boyd to the physically scarred Dr. Claire Saunders and manipulative overseer Adelle DeWitt--engage in a high-stakes game of human chess, with the Actives little more than expendable pawns. Or, well, dolls.

As for Dollhouse's lead character Echo, this is quite a role that Whedon has written for Eliza Dushku, allowing her to play a variety of personalities and moods in a single episode. In fact, we get to see Echo in no less than five (off the top of my head anyway) identities in the pilot episode alone. As we all know, Echo is struggling with self-awareness, as she begins remembering things from her previous "engagements" that she shouldn't, things that should have been wiped clean from her memory by Topher. Things that her "captors" don't want her to remember.

So is it an action-adventure yarn? A story of science gone mad? A tale about a cop determined to get at the truth no matter what the cost? Or a metaphysical drama about the nature of memory and identity? Why can't it be all of the above?

In the gifted hands of Joss Whedon, Dollhouse is a beautiful enigma wrapped in a riddle, a gripping conspiracy story for the ages filled with urban legends, memory tampering, and long-buried secrets coming to the fore. It's a Shakespearean story of hubris and likely vengeance, filled with sound and fury and signifying, well, lots.

I'm hungry for more.

Joss Whedon's seven-episode drama Dollhouse launches this fall on FOX.

"Arrested Development" Vets to Voice Mitch Hurwitz's "Sit Down, Shut Up!"

Is it too good to be true: a mini Arrested Development reunion?

Well, sort of.

Former Arrested Development cast members Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Henry Winkler will lend their voices to FOX's animated comedy pilot Sit Down, Shut Up! from creator Mitch Hurwitz.

The project, based on a live-action Australian comedy series, revolves around the staffers of a high school who are more preoccupied with their own dramas and issues than those of their students. Also joining the cast: Cheri Oteri, Nick Kroll, Will Forte, Tom Kenny, Regina King, and Maria Bamford.

While it's not quite the Arrested Development news I've been hoping for (say it with me: feature film, feature film), I'll take what I can get, especially if we can find a way to get Bateman and Arnett in a scene together, even if they're just animated...

Casting Couch: Higgins Cozies Up to "Kath & Kim"

Is it just me or does it seem like Kath & Kim has been casting for nearly a year now?

While it might not be quite that long, it has taken NBC and Universal Media Studios several months to line up the cast for their new comedy series (from Reveille, natch), scheduled to launch this fall, in the Tuesdays at 9:30 pm timeslot (oddly sandwiched between 90-minute installments of The Biggest Loser: Families and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit).

Joining Molly Shannon and Selma Blair in the comedy remake of the Australian cult classic is frequent Christopher Guest collaborator John Michael Higgins (Best in Show). He'll play Kath's boyfriend, a sexually ambiguous man who racewalks and gets facial peels. While it's a casting coup, I still can't help but shudder every time I think of this series, especially given its odd timeslot and underwhelming pilot script.

Still, if there's one director who can manage to coax the funny from this concept it's Paul Feig and Higgins did play the fantastically serious Wayne Jarvis on Arrested Development.

In other casting news, Jonathan Sadowski (Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles) has signed on to star in FOX's "darkly comedic" drama pilot Courtroom K, about a public defender, judge, and district attorney who all jockey for power in a Milwaukee courtroom.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Sadowski will be playing a public defender, but I remember this role--Marijane Diehl--being written as a woman in the script. I believe he'll more likely be playing Kent Pucker, the shifty district attorney. Project, from 20th Century Fox Televison, is written and executive produced by Paul Attanasio.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Survivor: Micronesia--Fans vs. Favorites (CBS); My Name is Earl/30 Rock (NBC); Smallville (CW); Desperate Housewives (ABC; 8-10 pm); American Idol (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); The Office/Scrubs (NBC); Supernatural (CW)

10 pm: Without a Trace (CBS); ER (NBC); Eli Stone (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8:30 pm: 30 Rock.

By the Hammer of Thor! It's a brand new episode of my favorite comedy on television. 30 Rock returns tonight with a brand-new episode ("MILF Island"), Jack's success following the launch of NBC's newest reality series MILF Island is derailed when he reads a newspaper article that reveals disparaging remarks made by one of his employees. I can't wait!

9 pm: The Office.

The Office returns tonight with its first brand-new installment since last fall. On tonight's episode ("Dinner Party"), Pam and Jim are forced to go to Jan and Michael's house for dinner when they finally run out of excuses why they can't attend and Dwight's jealousy bubbles up when he learns that new couple Angela and Andy have been invited as well.

Six of One: "Battlestar" Vixen Tricia Helfer Signs with FOX

Tricia Helfer is moving from Sci Fi to FOX.

The Battlestar Galactica beauty, who plays Cylon model Six (in a series of stunning red garments, electric blue dresses, and black prison garb), has signed a talent holding deal with the network.

Under the terms of the deal, Helfer will star in a series project for FOX, most likely a drama.

While most projects at FOX have either already been shot or are prepping, there are a few current pilots that would be a good fit for Helfer. I could see her broadening her appeal with a turn in mystery procedural Telling Lies (aka Untitled Sam Baum) or the currently casting thriller Inseparable, starring Toby Stephens as a paralyzed forensic detective who has an alter ego who is a dangerous criminal.

Then again, Kevin Reilly has announced that he'll be ordering a whole slew of pilots this summer, which will shoot far in advance of next May's upfronts, so there may be another project out there that will be lucky enough to land Helfer.

Helfer, who served as the host for the first season of Canada's Next Top Model, was cast last year in the FOX drama pilot Them for director Jonathan Mostow; there she played a member of an alien scouting group living on Earth. The pilot was rolled over to this development season and ultimately terminated. She currently appears in the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica on Sci Fi and will be seen on the big screen in the upcoming indie Walk All Over Me.

In other FOX news, Lost writer/executive producer Jeff Pinkner has signed on as showrunner on the highly anticipated fall drama Fringe, from executive producers J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman.

Pinkner is, of course, no stranger to the Bad Robot family of series. In addition to writing and producing duties on Lost, he also worked with Abrams on seminal ABC series Alias.

Casting Couch: Legal "Damages," Williams to Play in "Dollhouse"?

A couple of interesting tidbits emanating from the casting world this morning, courtesy of some very secretive sources.

First up, I am hearing that an offer is out to British actress Olivia Williams (Miss Austen Regrets, Rushmore) to play the role of Adele DeWitt in FOX's upcoming Joss Whedon drama Dollhouse.

Adele is described as "40-something, beautiful, sophisticated, cold as an Alp. Runs the Dollhouse with an efficiency that is both ruthless and protective. Would die before she showed anyone how lonely she is."

I think Williams, who was absolutely dynamic as the witty, wounded Jane Austen in the recent Miss Austen Regrets, would be perfect for the role of Adele. Fingers crossed that the deal closes as I'd love to see her in Whedon's hands on Dollhouse and I think she'd be a fantastic foil to Eliza Dushku's Echo.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has now confirmed my scoop. Olivia Williams has been cast as Adele in Dollhouse. Huzzah!

Over on Damages, which returns to FX later this year with a second season of (legal) battles, blackmail, and betrayal, casting is underway on three new roles: a female lawyer who will serve as opposing counsel; a new love interest for Ellen; and Patty Hewes' new client, a man described as "extremely manipulative (but seamless in his manipulation)... ego-maniacal type."

SPOILER ALERT! Good news: it does indeed look like Ted Danson WILL be back next season as shark-like billionaire Arthur Frobisher, after all. While Damages is definitely about the push and pull between female adversaries Patty (Glenn Close) and Ellen (Rose Byrne), I like the aura of greed and general malfeasance that Danson brings to the series with Frobisher and I am happy that his story isn't quite over yet.

Stay tuned.