Dollhouse
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Dollhouse |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | 2008-2010 |
| length | 48 minutes |
| Episodes | 26 in 2 seasons |
| genre | Science fiction , drama |
| Theme music | Jonatha Brooke - What You Don't Know |
| idea | Joss Whedon |
| production |
Joss Whedon Sarah Fain Elizabeth Craft Tim Minear Eliza Dushku Steven DeKnight |
| music |
Mychael Danna Rob Simonsen |
| First broadcast | February 13, 2009 (USA) on Fox |
| occupation | |
| |
Dollhouse is an American television series developed and produced by Joss Whedon . The main role was taken on by Eliza Dushku , who was also the producer of the series. Dollhouse ran from February 13, 2009 to January 29, 2010 on the American television station FOX . A total of 26 episodes and a pilot were produced, but the pilot never aired.
On November 11, 2009, during the broadcast of the second season, the cancellation of the series was announced. The last episode ran on January 29, 2010 on FOX.
action
In Dollhouse is about a young woman, codenamed Echo that in a secret subterranean building - the Dollhouse - lives in which people temporarily with new personalities, memories and special abilities are equipped. These so-called "Actives" are rented out by the Dollhouse to influential and wealthy people who need them for certain jobs, crimes, fantasies or other uses. Outside of their assignments, they live in the dollhouse in a state of childlike naivete, in which they are no longer referred to as "Actives", but generally as "Dolls". Echo and the other Dolls spend five years in the Dollhouse - supposedly voluntarily - only to receive a large sum of money in the end and at the same time not remember that time. The series follows Echo, who increasingly remembers her previous missions and becomes aware of her own self, which gets her in trouble both during her missions and within the dollhouse.
In addition to Echo and the other Actives, the series revolves around both the mysterious organization behind the Dollhouse and the (ex-) FBI agent Paul Ballard, who tries to get behind the secret of the Dollhouse.
characters
main characters
- Echo ( Eliza Dushku ) - the main character. An active person who is beginning to become aware of who she is.
- Adelle DeWitt ( Olivia Williams ) - the ice-cold-looking director of the Dollhouse in Los Angeles.
- Paul Ballard ( Tahmoh Penikett ) - an FBI agent who loses his job while searching for the dollhouse.
- Topher Brink ( Fran Kranz ) - the programmer of the Dollhouse in Los Angeles. He is responsible for equipping the active with new personalities.
- Sierra ( Dichen Lachman ) - an active woman who is instinctively drawn to Echo.
- Victor ( Enver Gjokaj ) - also an active one. He embodies u. a. Lubov , a member of a Russian human trafficking ring , and is supposed to distract Paul Ballard from the dollhouse.
- Boyd Langton ( Harry J. Lennix ) - a former police officer, who is Echo's "handler", so their protector / bodyguard.
Recurring characters
- Dr. Claire Saunders ( Amy Acker ) - responsible for the medical well-being of the active.
- Laurence Dominic ( Reed Diamond ) - Head of Security at the Dollhouse in Los Angeles.
- November ( Miracle Laurie ) - a "sleeping" active who is used as Mellie to observe Agent Ballard.
- Ivy ( Liza Lapira ) - Topher's intelligent assistant who feels called to do more than supply Topher with drinking packs.
- Alpha ( Alan Tudyk ) - former active who, through the merging of different personalities, has become a crazy killer.
- Bennett Halverson ( Summer Glau ) - programmer for the Dollhouse in Washington and role model for Topher Brink.
- Daniel Perrin ( Alexis Denisof ) - an American senator who poses a new threat to the dollhouse in season two.
- Matthew Harding ( Keith Carradine ) - a manager of Adelle.
Production process
development
Leading actress Eliza Dushku signed a contract with the American television station FOX in August 2007, which should bind her to the station for a new project. At the same time she was encouraged to look out for material that might interest her. Shortly after, she invited her good friend Joss Whedon, with which it already for Buffy - The Vampire Slayer and hunters of darkness - Angel , worked to lunch to her to discuss career options. During lunch, the idea for the series came up and the two decided to work together again. “It just happened […],” Whedon said, pointing out that they immediately found a name for the series during lunch, “if you already have a name, then you just can't turn your back on your [idea] sweep. ". Whedon and Dushku then proposed their idea to the broadcaster and on October 31, 2007, it was finally confirmed that the series had been ordered by FOX for seven episodes without a script having been completed. The series was originally scheduled to start in spring 2008, but the Hollywood writers' strike eventually delayed production of the series.
Casting
After the writers' strike in 2008 had been settled, in March 2008 they began looking for more actors for the series. On March 26, 2008, Tahmoh Penikett ( Battlestar Galactica ), Enver Gjokaj , Dichen Lachman and Fran Kranz were announced as new members of the ensemble. On April 3, 2008, British actress Olivia Williams was added to the series, while Harry J. Lennix, the last leading actor in the series, was added on April 17, 2008. On the same day, series creator Joss Whedon announced that both Amy Acker , an actress from his previous series Angel , and newcomer Miracle Laurie had been cast for recurring roles.
Production and broadcast notes
Production of the first episode began on April 23, 2008 and ended on May 9, 2008. On May 15, 2008, it was officially announced during the upfronts that the series would start in January 2009. The day before it had become known that FOX had ordered six additional episodes to the previously planned episodes, so that the first season should include 13 episodes. Was also announced on May 15 that dollhouse along with the equally new series Fringe from JJ Abrams on the new FOX marketing campaign Remote Free TV would belong, which provided to prevent viewers from reduced advertising by switching.
On July 22, 2008, Whedon announced on a fan website that a new first episode of the series would be made to help introduce viewers to the new world. The original first episode “Echo” was to be broadcast as the second episode of the series. He went on to explain that the new pilot episode was not the broadcaster's idea, but his own. On October 26, 2008, Whedon stated in another entry on the website that the originally filmed first episode would not be broadcast as a second episode, but would no longer be broadcast at all. The reason he cited was that after numerous changes, the episode would no longer really fit into the series. However, since the producing studio 20th Century Fox needed 13 episodes for international distribution of the series, Whedon suggested that the studio shoot an episode with half the budget of a normal episode, which could also have served as the series finale if necessary. Epitaph 1, as the episode was called, was offered for broadcast on the television network FOX, but the broadcaster declined to buy the episode, which is why it could only be seen on the DVD of the first season in America. Season 1 DVDs also include the unaired original pilot episode.
On May 18, 2009 the production of a second season was announced, but with a reduced budget and the shortening of the episodes from 50 minutes to the 42 minutes usual for American primetime series. The broadcast of the second season began on September 25, 2009. After four episodes, Dollhouse was temporarily removed from the program in November and should return in December with a double episode. On November 11, 2009, the responsible network FOX officially canceled the series. Until January 29, 2010, all episodes already produced were still being broadcast.
Episode list
season 1
| No. ( total ) |
No. ( St. ) |
German title | Original title | First broadcast in the USA | German language first broadcast (-) | Director | script |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | - | echo | - | - | Joss Whedon | Joss Whedon |
| 1 | 1 | - | Ghost | Feb 13, 2009 | - | Joss Whedon | Joss Whedon |
| 2 | 2 | - | The Target | Feb 20, 2009 | - | Steven S. DeKnight | Steven S. DeKnight |
| 3 | 3 | - | Stage Fright | Feb. 27, 2009 | - | David Solomon | Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon |
| 4th | 4th | - | Gray hour | 6th Mar 2009 | - | Rod Hardy | Sarah Fain & Elizabeth Craft |
| 5 | 5 | - | True Believer | 13 Mar 2009 | - | Allan Kroeker | Tim Minear |
| 6th | 6th | - | Man on the street | 20 Mar 2009 | - | David Straiton | Joss Whedon |
| 7th | 7th | - | Echoes | 27 Mar 2009 | - | James Contner | Elizabeth Craft & Sarah Fain |
| 8th | 8th | - | Needs | Apr 3, 2009 | - | Felix Alcalá | Tracy Bellomo |
| 9 | 9 | - | Spy in the House of Love | Apr 10, 2009 | - | David Solomon | Andrew Chambliss |
| 10 | 10 | - | Haunted | Apr 24, 2009 | - | Elodie Keene | Jane Espenson , Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon |
| 11 | 11 | - | Briar Rose | May 1, 2009 | - | Dwight H. Little | Jane Espenson |
| 12 | 12 | - | omega | May 8, 2009 | - | Tim Minear | Tim Minear |
| 13 | 13 | - | Epitaph One | June 17, 2009 ( Singapore ) | - | David Solomon | Synopsis: Joss Whedon Acting: Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon |
season 2
| No. ( total ) |
No. ( St. ) |
German title | Original title | First broadcast in the USA | German language first broadcast (-) | Director | script |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14th | 1 | - | Vows | 25 Sep 2009 | - | Joss Whedon | Joss Whedon |
| 15th | 2 | - | Instinct | Oct 2, 2009 | - | Marita Grabiak | Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters |
| 16 | 3 | - | Belle Chose | Oct 9, 2009 | - | David Solomon | Tim Minear |
| 17th | 4th | - | Belonging | Oct 23, 2009 | - | Jonathan Frakes | Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon |
| 18th | 5 | - | The Public Eye | Dec. 4, 2009 | - | David Solomon | Andrew Chambliss |
| 19th | 6th | - | The Left Hand | Dec. 4, 2009 | - | Wendey punchers | Tracy Bellomo |
| 20th | 7th | - | Meet Jane Doe | Dec 11, 2009 | - | Dwight H. Little | Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon & Andrew Chambliss |
| 21st | 8th | - | A love supreme | Dec 11, 2009 | - | David Straiton | Jenny DeArmitt |
| 22nd | 9 | - | Stop loss | Dec 18, 2009 | - | Felix Alcalá | Andrew Chambliss |
| 23 | 10 | - | The Attic | Dec 18, 2009 | - | John Cassaday | Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon |
| 24 | 11 | - | Getting closer | Jan. 8, 2010 | - | Tim Minear | Tim Minear |
| 25th | 12 | - | The Hollow Men | Jan 15, 2010 | - | Terrence O'Hara | Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters & Tracy Bellomo |
| 26th | 13 | - | Epitaph Two: Return | Jan. 29, 2010 | - | David Solomon | Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon & Andrew Chambliss |
perception
Mixed feedback from critics
While the first episode of Dollhouse was in production, the series received positive feedback in the media. Early reviews praised the screenplay for the first episode: It was "exciting [...] and a profound consideration of identity", it contained "provocative topics", it was an "excellent story [...] that left you with a lot to think about" and it is even a "Shakespeare-like story with presumptuousness and presumably also revenge". From the producing television broadcaster FOX itself, however, series creator Joss Whedon received rather cautious feedback, as the pilot episode was found to be confusing and difficult to access. As a result, Joss Whedon decided to shoot a new pilot, which was less well received by the media.
The first episodes were sometimes very harshly criticized. a. the acting skills of the main actress Eliza Dushku were questioned to fill such a demanding role. Eventually, Joss Whedon explained that when he and his writing team were developing the first few episodes, they were struggling to find the series they wanted to produce while keeping the broadcaster happy. But he promised that the series would leave these problems behind from the sixth episode. This could even be followed in the trade press and the reviews got better, although the quality of the series was still described by most critics as being too uneven. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, despite this point of view, called the series one of the most thought-provoking series on American television.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Michael Schneider: Fox cancels 'Dollhouse' , Variety. November 11, 2009.
- ↑ Variety: FOX, Dushku stake project | August 25, 2007 ( Memento of the original from October 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ E-Online: Joss Whedon spills exclusive deets on his new series | October 31, 2007
- ↑ Dollverse.com: Joss Back On Set | April 23, 2008 ( Memento of the original from June 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Whedonesque.com: News from Joss | May 14, 2008
- ↑ The Hollywood Reporter: Fox yells 'cut' on commercials | May 15, 2008 ( Memento from May 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Welcome Back To The Dollhouse: A New Pilot
- ↑ Joss Gives Updates On Dollhouse
- ↑ endofshow.com: "UPDATED: FOX renews 'Dollhouse' for second season." , Accessed November 13, 2009
- ↑ Surprise: Fox RENEWS 'Dollhouse' . May 15, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
- ^ 'Dollhouse' to go on hiatus in November . Retrieved November 5, 2009.
- ^ Brian Ford Sullivan: EXCLUSIVE: FOX TO CAP "DOLLHOUSE" SEASON AT 13 EPISODES . The Futon Critic. November 11, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
- ↑ Zap2it: Straight From The Script | 12. May 2008 ( Memento from May 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Red Right Hand: Dollhouse - Wordly Goodness | 23. April 2008
- ↑ Jill Gollick.com: Joss And Four Acts | April 22, 2008
- ↑ Televisionary: An Advance Look At Dollhouse | April 16, 2008
- ↑ Chicago Tribune: Wiped - Dollhouse gets canceled | November 11, 2009
Web links
- Dollhouse in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Episode guide at Serienfans.tv