San Diego Comic Con Dollhouse Panel

As of this posting, the Dollhouse panel at San Diego Comic Con International 2009 ended mere moments ago. The highly eventful panel featured some really amazing revelations concerning casting rumors, what we can expect in Season 2, and so much more!
Click "Read More" for a full wrap-up of the panel.


The presentation began with a screening of the unaired thirteenth episode "Epitaph One", which received immediate rave reviews on Twitter. The verdict was almost unanimously in favor of the episode, with most viewers venting their frustration at Fox not airing the episode. Many already consider it the best episode of the series. (Side Note: expect Echo Alert to review "Epitaph One" in the near future.)

After the screening ended, series creator Joss Whedon emerged with star and executive producer Eliza Dushku to answer the audience's questions. As always, Joss's quick mind and sharp wit had the audience rolling with laughter. Regarding Dollhouse's renewal, he said, "It's your fault, thanks for ruining my summer vacation!" When asked about the reason behind his decision to cast Alan Tudyk in the role of Alpha, he simply answered, "I've met him!" Then, focusing more closely on the series itself, he called the show's freshman season staff "a room full of brains - you know, in jars, floating."

On a slightly more personal note, Joss told the audience that his reading includes Wired magazine, which he called an inspiration for some aspects of Dollhouse, as well as Julie and Julia, which he joked gave him no ideas for Dollhouse.

As for Season 2 revelations, there were a bundle; some were confirmed as factual, others are still rumors or in limbo. The first and arguably most exciting announcement was that Felicia Day, as well as other characters from "Epitaph One" will appear in the Season 2 premiere "Vows." Joss commented that when writer Sarah Fain suggested Day for a role in the now-infamous unaired episode, he remarked "Why didn't I think of that?" Other Season 2 announcements included a new Director of Photography, an episode directed by artist John Cassaday, a story arc featuring Buffy and Angel alumnus Alexis Denisof, the still-breathing possibility of a guest appearance by Firefly, Serenity, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star Summer Glau, and finally the death of a main character, of which Joss commented, "There is one trustworthy person in the Dollhouse and I'm going to kill them."

Continuing his seemingly never-ending stream of wit, Joss explained that he and the creative forces behind the show "talked about a lot of ideas for going forward after we accidentally forgot to get canceled," and when asked how he thought viewers would react to the show's new direction, he cleverly replied, "As long as we don't send anyone back to Feudal Japan we'll be just fine,"and later added, "That doesn't mean a client couldn't have a Feudal Japan fantasy, 'cause THAT would be cool!" in an obvious dig at NBC's Heroes.

Toward the end of the panel, Whedon and Dushku were joined by series co-stars Dichen Lachman (Sierra) and Fran Kranz (Topher).

This was clearly a high-energy presentation that brought us many exciting announcements. Anyone who was there was very lucky, because this really was something special. For those of us who weren't able to attend the panel, Whedonesque's Twitter feed was a real life saver. We want to thank them for their top-notch coverage and we encourage you to go back and read their original tweets.

Posted by Frank at 8:54 PM

Labels: Announcement, Dollhouse News, SDCC