The premise of a "Dollhouse" didn't really grab me from the onset but I thought, from the way Joss was talking, that it would be a little bit noir-ish and a lot of existentialism. Sounded cool and smart. But then the Fox execs got involved (We want BOOM! We want BOOBS! We want BOOMBOOBS!!) and it has become an actioneer. And for me, that's harder to take seriously. I mean I like BOOM and BOOBS, don't get me wrong, but I like to participate as a viewer in a television series and not just turn my brain off.

Secondly, Eliza. I think I might have the same problem about her as an actress. I can't speak of her work on Tru Calling - never saw it - but I never saw her in any movie where I didn't think, "Hey, it's Faith!" In other words, I am wary about her range. As Faith, she was not the best actress on either Buffy or Angel and she only had one scene in either show that made me really appreciate her acting talent. In BtVS, it was when she was Buffy in Faith's body trying to convince Giles of who she was. That was stand out, right down to the mannerisms (However, SMG playing Faith kicked that performances ass). On Angel, it was Faith fighting Angel in the rain, begging him to kill her. She brought the angst.

I mean, it might not make that much of a difference especailly if she surrounds herself with other strong actors and it becomes a real ensemble and not just a Dushku vehicle. But yeah, "wait and see" is my mid-season mantra.

Yeah, I don't think the Friday timeslot will work out for either shot, but this isn't so much a contractually obligated dump-off; it's a last ditch experimental effort to bring an audience to this show. I mean, come on, would Dollhouse ever have had a shot against Gossip Girl or even Chuck? Do you think a high concept show such as Dollhouse would hang on to an American Idol audience or hold its own against NBC's comedy block? Trying to build a sci-fi block on a Friday is a ballsy, ballsy call, and it probably won't work. However, I don't see anyone actively trying to bury this one just yet.

Guys, wait until early February, when the ad campaign for TSCC's return and Dollhouse's premiere would most likely be in full swing. If we can't find any, THEN we can start calling bullshit.

Huge fan of Joss, and it is sad to feel so certain that this will fail.

I would like to see Joss put his creative hat on, don't create a vehicle for someone as hot as Eliza (though I can understand wanting to spend lots of time with her), but create a great story with great characters and give it a go on HBO or FX or Sci Fi.

But I think he will take this one personally, and go into his shell for a while.

And Fox has demonstrated so little patience with the original stuff in the past, especially Whedon's character-development based work, that I remain unconvinced this will be any different. I do hope to be wrong!

And I really want to see more of Lena Heady's Sarah Connor--she owns that role, now, as far as I am concerned.

However, I saw it in reruns but it's not on the DVD; before the first episode (the second pilot) there was a bit of a prologue, much like the one before the movie. I think that would have been better before the first pilot, instead of just jumping into the action. I lent my DVD of Firefly to a few friends and warned them all that the first episode "just starts". They all said they were glad to know that going in as it did seem a bit abrupt like they'd missed something.

I will admit, however, that Whedon is a better writer than Akiva Goldsman. At least Whedon follows through with the story as it was written, instead of tacking on some horrible out-of-right-field ending that has nothing to do with the main storyline. Whedon sucks, but Goldsman sucks Just A Little Bit More.

Enjoy your "not Buffy, not Firefly" show, Whedonites. Be sure to tell the furries sitting with you that I said "hello" and "don't look at me."

Ya know, I don't really dislike Corpsie though. First, I call him Corpsie and he likes Dr. Who & Torchwood. Second, he's been around forever and when the screw loose "Browncoats" were spamming the site around movie release time they made everyone snap. But I think they broke him. Well, either them or Herc. Herc pisses people off a lot. I like that. He embraces it, like Harry.

Where was...oh yeah. Corpsie. Do you remember that South park ep where it was Vamps vs Goths? I think Corpsie is goth. And he can't stand douchebag vamp lovers. Whedon's vampire series encroched on his gothiness just as much as Twillight has done to the next gen's perception.

Kinda sad, really. We should have a telethon.

Mal: That's good. You just lie there and be ironical.

Zoe: Big damn Heroes, sir.

Mal: Ain't we just.

http://tinyurl.com/5az6sk

Mal: Well, that happens, let me know.