Whedon explained that a couple of changes made this the case. Firstly, this literally isn't the same Fox that killed Whedon's SF Western mashup through ineptitude:

These are different people... They didn't do to me what was done to Firefly.

He elaborated on that slightly more later:

It’s a completely different energy then the last time. FOX understands what it is we’re trying to do. I understand clearly what they want. And while there’s definitely a back and forth, there’s a collaboration. Not just people glaring at each-other. I feel really good about how they plan to position it, and their feeling about it as a concept and as a show.

Perhaps more importantly, however, Whedon isn't the same man he was back then, either:

The understanding that I reached was with myself... That I had to be realistic about what the network expected of me and about what the chances for the show would be. Like, I fell in love with Firefly in a very blind and adolescent way. And I tried to meet the network halfway. But at the same time, you know, it was agony. Everything was agony for me. ... And now I come at it with a little distance. Not artistic distance. But just, you know, the grown-up attitude of, you go through certain steps. You do your best. You work with them. And you pick the people you're working with. You look for sanity and you look for intelligence. So far, I have found a great deal of both in the executives at Fox.

Cynics looking to be proven right, please bookmark this post and return to it when Dollhouse gets bumped in the schedule multiple times for reruns of Hell's Kitchen and the premiere of Prison Break: Cherry Hill. Not that I'm still bitter about Firefly or anything, no....

Dollhouse's Whedon OK With Fox [SciFi Wire]

Fansite Dollhouse Forums - Just one of the many fansites already set up in support of the show - has arranged for writers Jed Whedon (Yes, he's related to Joss; he's his half-brother. No, he's not the brother that co-wrote Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog; that was Nate. What can we say? Apparently Joss likes to keep it in the family these days) and Maurissa Tancharoen to take questions between now and mid-August from the curious and spoiler-seeking. And once they're finished with their shifts, there are replacements being lined up to replace them:

We have been in contact with FOX about holding special Question & Answer sessions and they have stated that they would LOVE to hold interviews with the fans at Dollhouse Forums. We do not know all of the specific details yet, but YAY!

Right now they have stated, "...we are holding off on most cast interviews until we are back up and running and have several episodes filmed. I am going to put you on the top of our waiting list for cast interviews, and will be happy to facilitate this several months from now… probably towards the end of August."

So start thinking of questions to ask in August and we will probably set up a special thread for whichever actor/crew-member we can get a hold of for you guys!

This isn't the first outreach effort by the show to grab some fan love; even before the pilot episode was shot, series writers Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain were already spilling what they knew to an eager Dollhouse TV Forum site.

Dollhouse Forums Exclusive Q&A Interviews [Dollhouse Forums]

Incredible Hulk:

When the Hulk first appears (after the credits sequence that retells his origin) he's in the shadows, attacking thugs and soldiers in a Brazilian slum like a lurking monster. He says his first words: "Leave me alone." And then his tired, weathered face appears out of the shadows, and he escapes, jumping all the way to Guatemala.

Soon afterwards, Banner is back in the U.S. searching for a cure for his condition. Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) gets only a low dose of the super-solider serum from General Ross, and becomes obsessed with seeking higher doses and more power, as his mental state begins to break down. Meanwhile, Banner discovers that trusting "Mr. Blue," aka Sam Sterns, wasn't the best decision. (Sterns is supposedly helping to cure Banner, but is destined to become The Leader, the Hulk's arch-enemy. He also helps Blonsky get a bigger dose of serum, turning him into the Abomination.)

The 20 minute fight between the Hulk and Blonsky's Abomination is unbelievably awesome, but at its core The Incredible Hulk is a love story between Bruce and Betty. [Hulk Movie Blog]

Wall-E:

Here's a new scene from Wall-E that aired during Finding Nemo on ABC the other day. It includes Sigourney Weaver's computer voice, and the revelation that the robots can say stuff other than their own names.

Heroes:

Those Heroes set pics we showed the other day, of Ali Larter dressed as a sex worker, were not actually Ali Larter after all. Unless they were her stunt double or something. Here are higher res pics. But are these still from the filming of Heroes? Unclear. [WENN via Superhiro]]

The Middleman:

The Middleman doesn't know whom he works for or where his instructions come from in the ABC Family show, says creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach. And the core of the show is the relationship between the Middleman and Wendy, with the central conflict being that the Middleman is the archetypal father-knows-best square-jawed hero, who actually does know best. He was a Navy Seal, who decided not to use profanity and to drink milk, and then he found this job with no gray areas that allows him to be a straight-edge superhero in an Eisenhower suit. [Media BLVD]

Lost:

Some more Lost spoilers: Nobody knows what Sawyer whispered to Kate on the helicopter, and it's a mystery for later. The fact that the official "Oceanic Six" story includes Boone, Libby and Charlie having survived the crash at first (before dying later on) means maybe we'll see the Six meeting with their families. And maybe we'll see more flashbacks featuring those three characters. We'll see Sawyer, Jin, Locke and company on the island all through next season. We may see a little bit of Claire, who is "off with Christian," but it's just that she won't be a regular character again until season six. [E! Online via The ODI]

Dollhouse:

Here are a few new promo pics from Dollhouse, Joss Whedon's show about mind-wiped programmable agents for hire. [Sci Fi Cool]

And another new review of the pilot script says star Eliza Dushku starts out playing a character who's very similar to Faith, the iconic vampire slayer she played in creator Joss Whedon's old show Buffy. And then in the next scene, Dushku has a personality shift, and is suddenly playing someone totally different. But every time the "Actives" are programmed with a new personality, they keep a little bit of their own core personalities, and you can sort of see them develop as characters each time.

And that clip we showed before? When Dusku's Echo talks to FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) about looking for her missing sister? It turns out that Dushku has just been "programmed" by the Dollhouse to think she's looking for a missing sister. But her real programming, under the searching-for-sister programming, is to assassinate Paul. [Youcan'tdownloadit via Whedonesque]

Battlestar Galactica:

The "Space" trailer for Friday's new BSG episode includes some startling new footage. [Battlestar Blog]

Also, you won't be surprised to find out there's some "friction" between the newly returned President Roslin and "President" Lee Adama. And also between Lee and his dad. We'll see Starbuck and Apollo paired up a bit more in the second half of the season (in 2009.) There's a big story coming up that will answer all your questions about Dualla. Oh, and last week, Lee was totally manipulating Romo Lampkin to get the presidency, at least subconsciously (or subtextually). [Zap2It]

Doctor Who:

Digital Spy is once again circulating eight real spoilers, and two "red herrings," for next Saturday's Doctor Who episode, "Midnight." As always, it's obnoxious, but here they are anyway:

• A sinister shadow poses a threat to the Crusader 50 vessel, according to a crew member.
• Betty Boop is seen doing the do in front of The Doctor.
• A Professor is carrying a hidden bomb strapped under his jumper along with a unique ultimatum.
• The Doctor toasts the Lost Moon of Poosh.
• It's Election Day on the planet Midnight, prompting The Doctor to discuss Arcadia.
• Rose Tyler trades places with a pop singer.
• Fans of a certain French phrase will be happy.
• The Doctor tries to force a pi into the mouth of an alien.
• One of the characters tells the Time Lord: "Oh Doctor, you're so handsome." He agrees.
• A famous poem by Christina Rossetti is analysed by The Doctor and one other character, in reference to ongoing events.

Incredible Hulk:

Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier answered fans' questions in a new videocast, and mentioned that the movie definitely sets up Sam Sterns (aka The Leader) as the villain in a potential sequel. [Comics2Film]

Which brings me to a post by someone who claims to have seen the new Hulk movie. He says there's a scene where Sterns (who tries to help cure Banner from being the Hulk) helps Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) become the Abomination using super-soldier serum. And there's an accident where some of the serum gets into an open wound in Sterns' head. We see his head swell up with extra brainpower, and he gives an eerie smile, before the camera cuts away.

Also, supposedly Banner kills two scientists when he first becomes the Hulk (and hospitalizes his girlfriend Betty, as we'd mentioned.) And Banner flees to Brazil, where he learns meditation from "MMA legend Rickson Gracie," who slaps him around to test his control. (Gracie isn't in the cast listing on IMDB, FWIW.) And as previously reported, Banner works in a bottling plant, but a drop of his Gamma-tinged blood gets in one of the drinks he's bottling — which ends being drunk by Stan Lee, in a cameo. (Lee gets Gamma poisoning, so the military deduce Banner's location.) We see a Hulk's eye view of jumping away from the fight in Brazil, and the next thing you know, he's in Guatemala.

You don't see much of the Hulk except in shadows until around halfway through the movie, and it's mostly about Banner. Banner is homeless and on the run, like a junkie. And there's a recurring thread of Banner having trouble buying pants that are stretchy enough not to break completely when he Hulks out. At one point, Betty buys him stretchy purple pants, and he gives them the thumbs down. (No idea if this guy actually saw the film, or if he's just stringing together stuff we already knew, with some new details. The thing about pants is a nice touch though.) [Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forum]

Hancock:

Here's a new clip from Hancock that aired on yesterday's Ellen show, which gives away a bit more about his origins (which we've already covered before.) [CanMag]

Death Race:

We already gave a detailed look at the new cars in Death Race, Jason Statham's prisoners-forced-to-drive-in-deadly-race movie that's barely an homage to Death Race 2000. Here are a few more details. The movie only takes place about five years in the future, after an economic meltdown. The race happens within the prison grounds, once a year, and is broadcast via the internet. The most popular racer, who wears a Frankenstein mask, gets killed by accident, so warden Joan Allen "arranges" for Statham to become the new Frankenstein. The track has little steel symbols, and if you drive over them, your car gets shields or weapons — just like in a video game. But you don't want to run over a death's head symbol, or your weapons may stop working and spikes may appear in the road. The biggest, scariest vehicle is a truck called the Dreadnought.
Allen's character, Warden Hennessy, wears furs, makeup and jewelry, but walks through the yard unmolested. Statham's character, Jensen, gets into a fight with Aryan Brotherhood members in the mess hall. Jensen's mentor is "Coach" (Ian MacShane) and his main rival is Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson). Jensen's navigator is Case, a female prisoner from a nearby women's prison. (All the navigators are women.) And Jensen keeps a picture of the daughter who was taken away from him. [JoBlo]

And here's how Statham describes the movie's setup in a new interview:

Something happens that he gets sent to prison. It's all to do with the murder of his wife and his young daughter gets taken into foster care. And so he is in prison trying to clear his name. The best way he can - no one is interested in listening to that story. So the only way he can find a way to exit that hellhole is to win five races, and he takes on the persona of Frankenstein, which is a creation that the evil Hennessy has brought to everyone's attention through the masses of the Internet. He has to take the place of Frankenstein because the real Frankenstein is dead.

He also notes that his car has tinted glass, so nobody can see inside. That means he doesn't have to wear the Frankenstein mask while he's driving. [UGO]

Iron Man 2:

Producer Peter Billingsley dropped a few very minor hints for Iron Man 2, including the idea that it's about Tony Stark's weapon-making dad. (Which I had not heard before.) And we'll see "more of the dark side of Tony." [Superhero Hype, via Comic Book Resources]

Transformers 2:

More set pics from Transformers 2 have shown up, with more helicopters-over-steel-mill action. The Bethlehem steel mill is still doubling as a Chinese plant and there are tons of people with masks fleeing the chaos. Supposedly this is from the movie's opening sequence. And here's a bit of local news station video of the shooting. [Film School Rejects and IESB]

Dollhouse:

Some new FAQs have surfaced about Joss Whedon's new programmable-puppets show Dollhouse. Most people believe the Dollhouse, where you can hire a beautiful young person to be anyone/anything you want, is a myth, but Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) is investigating it. It's either near-future or present day, and we see no technological advances beyond the Dollhouse's mind-wiping and personality-imprinting.

The programmable "Actives" all supposedly volunteered for this gig, but it's possible some of them didn't really volunteer. They're supposed to retire after five years, fabulously wealthy and unaware of what they've been doing all this time. But they don't know what they actually signed up for, and there's no guarantee they'll be let go after five years. The Dollhouse has been around long enough to have an Active (named Alpha) go insane.

Here's something Topher, the geek who programs the Actives, tells Boyd, their handler, after Boyd raises concerns about the Actives' ability to give informed consent: "Nonsense. We walk the wire, Friend-man. We live in the Dollhouse. Which makes us dolls, and the people playing with us, little children. Children break their toys, Boyd." [Pink Raygun]

Meanwhile, the show's awesome fansite Dollverse has a couple of new gorgeous looking set pics, along with some other pics and a review of the first episode. Apparently the show's first 10 minutes are very, very confusing. [Dollverse]

Lost:

The "Lost Answers Show" on Britain's Sky One gave a few hints about season five after the season four finale aired. Some of them were tongue-in-cheek, like J.K. Rowling writing the next season or a whole season of island zombies. (I think.) But others were serious, like the idea that Christian Shepard will be more important next year, and so will Ben and Charles Widmore. And actor Michael Emerson still thinks Ben will wind up being a hero. And the smoke monster is "misunderstood." [Spoilers Lost]

Battlestar Galactica:

Here's a new clip from Friday night's Battlestar Galactica episode, which pretty much confirms the spoilers we already posted a while back. [Cinemablend]

Meanwhile, there's a new rumor that the original human-Cylon hybrid we saw in the Razor TV movie is actually what's left of Daniel Graystone, the creator of the Cylons who stars in the new prequel show Caprica. (I'm not sure how we would ever get confirmation of this — presumably Caprica won't show him becoming the hybrid, or at least not until the very final episode?) [SyFyPortal]

Spectacular Spider-Man:

Yesterday we showed you a still from Saturday's Spectacular Spider-Man episode, showing the Spider-Man in his alien symbiote black costume, with the beginnings of a "wardrobe malfunction." Now here's the first actual picture of Venom, the villain Spidey's black suit turns into after it merges with Eddie Brock. [TV Guide]

G.I. Joe:

Just Jared has some pics of the filming of G.I. Joe, in which the latex costumes do look sort of ridiculous. There are way more pics at the link. [Just Jared, via Slashfilm]

Lost:

Spoilerslost/Dark UFO posted another batch of their insanely detailed Lost spoilers, this time for next week's season finale. In a nutshell, our flash-forwards pick up where the season three finale left off, with Kate and Jack discussing whether they need to go back to the island. It turns out the "he" who's now dead had approached both Kate and Sayid, telling them they have to go back to the island.

Back on the island in the present, the others including Alpert attack Keamy, along with Kate and Sayid. The people on the freighter realize there's a bomb that will explode if Keamy dies, but Michael sprays some gunk on it to keep it from exploding for a while. And then Ben kills Keamy. Locke convinces Jack that if he gets off the island, he has to lie about the island, to protect the people who remain there.

Ben finds a giant wheel covered in ice which he can turn to move the island in time as well as space. But when he de-ices and turns the wheel, Ben is teleported as well (presumably to the desert, where we saw him wearing a parka.) We see the island and its surrounding islands all shift around. Meanwhile, Lapidus picks up Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Sayid in his helicopter — but the chopper is damaged and can't hold all of them, so Sawyer elects to stay behind. Sawyer and Kate smooch.

When Keamy's bomb goes off, Michael is killed, and Jin is thrown in the water. Jack, Kate and Sayid make it to the freighter and grab Sun and Aaron — but they decide not to go back for Jin, who may still be alive, because Jack says there's no room in the chopper.

And then we're back at the scene from last year's finale, where Jack is looking down at a coffin. Ben approaches and tells Jack they have to take the person in the coffin back to the island, when they go back... and the person in the coffin turns out to be Locke!

That's just the barebones summary. Spoilerslost has way more detail, and all ad revenue on the site is currently going to a women's breast cancer charity. [SpoilersLost]

Dollhouse:

A typical Dollhouse episode will see amnesiac puppet Echo (Eliza Dushku) cycle through three or four different personalities. In the pilot, she acts out a "Mexican spaghetti Western" and a 1940s musical comedy. The first seven episodes will feature "largely stand-alone stories and an evolving subplot of an MIA doll." Oh, and creator Joss Whedon has faith (no pun intended) that things with Fox will be different than they were for his doomed space-Western Firefly, now that there's a new regime. [Entertainment Weekly]

Chuck:

In the Chuck season opener, Casey (Adam Baldwin) gets gassed by a villain named Colt when he's trying to ship a cypher securely. Casey is in agony and on the brink of death — and Chuck and fellow agent Sarah are Colt's next targets. Also, with Chuck's sister now engaged, Sarah will become Chuck's new roommate. And Sarah gets a new day job at a "Pinkberry-type joint." [Spoiler Geeks]

Battlestar Galactica:

Remember that Battlestar Galactica spoiler we had ages ago, that Starbuck finds her own crashed Raptor and dead body, and lights them on fire? Apparently the "chatter" on the BSG fan forums is that this happens in the "Cylon City." (On the Cylon homeworld? Or elsewhere?) [Cool Scifi]

Smallville:

Smallville's Lex Luthor will be "missing" as season eight begins, with the new character "Tess" going over his assets. But there's still some hope Lex may reappear for guest spots at some point. And if actress Laura Vandervoort doesn't want to come back, then her Supergirl character may remain trapped in the Phantom Zone indefinitely. But the Martian Manhunter, Brainiac and Green Arrow may be back. [Kryptonsite]

Fringe:

On the heels of the first trailer for J. J. Abrams FBI/mad-scientist show Fringe, here's our first clip, in which Anna Torv investigates a plane full of dead people and then consents to a dangerous "mind meld" procedure to communicate with her comatose partner/boyfriend. [Trek Movie]

Heroes:

OMG Heroes spoilers in this new AP video. Apparently the good guys domesticate Sylar and he's like a cute panda. (Which actually would make me want to watch the show, but I think they're kidding.) Also, Peter has "a little more searching to do" after his mistakes in season two. Hiro, meanwhile, inherits his dad's company, and is unhappy about it, and then he meets his arch-nemesis the speedster Daphne. Also, we deal with Nathan's shooting "very quickly" in season three. And there are the most boring set pics ever — actress Ali Larter eating lunch, basically. [Ohnotheydidn't]

In another set of interviews, we learn that it would take a lot for Hiro to go over to the dark side. But this season will be "darker" than the first two, and it brings together some characters you wouldn't expect to join up. And yeah, Nathan's not dead. [Heroes Spoilers]

Seemingly underestimating the power of the TiVo, Fox are attempting to free their viewers from their remote controls for both new shows next season with the announcement that the entire season of each series will run "with limited commercial interruption." What this means in practice is that the shows will gain an extra six minutes each week due to reduced ads, and the ads that do run will do so in three-advert bursts. Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Liguori is fairly open about the reasons behind the change:

[We're giving viewers] less reason... to grab the remote and change the channel... We need to give viewers new reasons to come to network TV. [Also, it] gives extra attention to the show, and helps series when they go to DVD, foreign and syndication.

New Fox dramas to limit commercials [Variety]

Transformers 2:

Transformers 2 put out a casting call for Asians, aged 5 to 65, for an upcoming shoot in the Bethlehem, PA area. Bonus points for Asians with military experience. [Heery Casting, via Comic Book Resources]

Dragonball:

Here's another image of Justin Chatwin as Goku (and Emmy Rossum as Bulma) from the Dragonball movie. [First Showing]

Dollhouse:

Hey, here's a new clip from Joss Whedon's new show Dollhouse, all about the mindwiped zombies who can be anyone you want them to be — if you've got the money. Tahmoh Penikett from Battlestar Galactica looks pretty studly in that suit. But other than that, this scene merely confuses the heck out of me — what's the subplot about Echo (Eliza Dushku)'s sister? Is this Echo's "real" personality or just one of her programmed personas? Who sent Echo's photo to Tahmoh? Some of these things will probably make sense when we watch the episode (I hope) but others will probably be deep chocolately mysteries. Only, what, seven or eight months until it starts? [Seat42F, via Galactica Sitrep]

And here are a few new spoilers from the pilot, some of which aren't that surprising. The "personality imprint" the Actives (like Echo) receive includes muscle memory, so they can perform complex tasks. The Actives have Handlers, who monitor their missions internally and remotely. The Handlers won't eavesdrop on a mission unless it involves illegal activity. And after each mission, the Active will feel a burning need to return to the Dollhouse to be wiped. Supposedly the Actives volunteered to live in the Dollhouse — and at the end of five years, they receive a ridiculously large sum of money, with no memory of what they did during that time. The Actives' missions are only supposed to last 10 hours, or the "Imprint" gets strained. But lately, some missions have been lasting much longer. [Pink Raygun]

Doctor Who:

Rumors about the Doctor Who season four finale continue to spread, with people citing very reliable sources. People are still claiming that Harriet Jones (former prime minister of England) becomes a super-Dalek, Davros is back, and there's "war on Skaro." Oh, and we'll also see more of Dalek Caan, the last survivor from the "pig slaves" episode. He's been battered and chained up and half-dismantled and attached to cables and the mutant inside is exposed.

And now there's a persistent rumor that we'll see a smidgen of Paul McGann — who played the Doctor in the 1996 TV movie — teaming up with David Tennant in one of the 2009 one-off specials. Seems unlikely, but the rumors are persistent. [Doctor Who Forum]

Lost:

The "spectacular kiss" in the Lost season finale (two weeks from last night) takes place between Sawyer and Kate. And here's a picture of it, from the promo that aired last night:

Spectacular Spider-Man:

Oh, and speaking of "spectacular," here are some new images from Saturday's Spectacular Spider-Man, including more images of the Black Cat in action. Apparently she tries to steal the Venom symbiote and "gets the drop" on Peter Parker. Says writer Matt Wayne, in a release:

Black Cat is definitely flirting with him - she doesn't know that he's only 15 - so she considers him a man, she assumes he's available, she's going for it, and he's reacting like a 15-year-old... Considering what Peter Parker has been through the whole season, I think it's great we can throw another girl on the fire and have him react this way. It's really capturing what it feels like to be a 15-year-old boy.

Adelle Dewitt (Olivia Williams) fights prejudice against her company by explaining that the "Actives" are, "the truest souls among us." And yet Echo remembers nothing of her time spent as an Active. Paul Smith (Tahmoh Penikett) is busy trying to uncover the Dollhouse, which seems to be an urban legend to those not in the know. Not a lot of time is spent on the other Actives, and the focus is mostly on Echo (Dushku). Hands down, the best scene is the wedding where the bride's ex has Dushku programmed to be wildly in love with him. [Dollverse]

In the cast photo up top, from left to right, the actors are Tahmoh Penikett, Enver Gjokaj, Eliza Dushku, Dichen Lachman, Frank Kranz, Amy Acker and Harry J. Lennix. Variety announced that the show will air on Mondays starting in 2009. [IGN]

Joss also held the first "table read" for Dollhouse, and gushed:

All in all, pound for pound, soup to nuts, man vs. beast, it's a pretty amazing ensemble. I'm not sure how I landed this troupe, but rest assured I'm gonna write bestest good word for talkacting to them yes! They're in good hands.

Joss told E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos that the Fox show's pilot is called "Echo," which also happens to be the name of Dushku's character. Says Joss:

Echo is a young woman who is literally everybody's fantasy. She is one of a group of men and women who can be imprinted with personality packages, including memories, skills, language—even muscle memory—for different assignments. The assignments can be romantic, adventurous, outlandish, uplifting, sexual and/or very illegal. When not imprinted with a personality package, Echo and the others are basically mind-wiped, living like children in a futuristic dorm/lab dubbed the Dollhouse, with no memory of their assignments—or of much else. The show revolves around the childlike Echo's burgeoning self-awareness, and her desire to know who she was before, a desire that begins to seep into her various imprinted personalities and puts her in danger both in the field and in the closely monitored confines of the Dollhouse.

Joss also describes Dollhouse as, "The Bourne Identity meets Stepford Wives meets boarding school meets Los Angeles neo-noir meets the Whedonverse." But Echo is much more self-aware than the character Dushku played on Whedon's Buffy, despite being mind-wiped a lot of the time. "In the first episode, we are shown that Echo is essentially like the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz — 'If I only had a brain...' — but she's otherwise fully equipped with a soul, a rockin' bod, and a good, fearless heart."

Joss also spilled more details about the supporting cast:

• Olivia Williams is Adelle Dewitt, a "Frigidaire administratrix" who runs the Dollhouse. She has rare moments of human empathy that make you wonder if she's not secretly a good guy.
• Tamikoh Penikett plays FBI agent Paul Ballard, who's obsessed with opening up the Dollhouse, but "he may have more in common with — and already be closer to—the Dolls than he even knows." And Paul may have a hot romance with Echo.
• The Doll mechanic, Topher (sort of like the nerd who controlled Michelle Ryan in Bionic Woman, but more evil) may end up having a relationship with another doll, Sierra (Dichen Lachman).
• And the show's "Xander" may be Victor (Enver Gjokaj).
• Then there's Dr. Claire Saunders, who has visible facial scars from a razor-blade attack, plus a cooperative, calm personality.

Meanwhile, Televisionary has a full review of the Dollhouse pilot script, which is full of "morally grey characters" engaged in the most sickening human trafficking imaginable. The Dollhouse has a power structure that's constantly in flux, and the place itself is "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." Topher, Claire and Adelle are engaged in a high-stakes game of "human chess," with the dolls as pieces.

We get to see Dushku's Echo take on no fewer than five identities in the pilot episode alone. And we see her starting to remember things from her assignments, things which were supposed to have been wiped from her memory. There's also a huge backstory, referred to as "Alpha," that gets set in motion in the pilot. [E! Online and Televisionary, via Whedonesque]

Eliza Dushku image by WENN.

X-Files 2

Mulder and Scully's baby William "will not go unconsidered" in X-Files 2, says director Chris Carter. [IF Magazine]

World War Z

Ain't It Cool News has a review of J. Michael Straczynski's movie script adapting Max Brooks' book zombie-battle book World War Z. It's a Children of Men-esque look at the ruined post-zombie world, as Gerry takes an assignment to travel around and document what went wrong in the zombie outbreaks. We see how difficult travel has become, including strip-searches and blood tests, and Gerry travels to China to talk to Dr. Tsai about an encounter with zombies at New Dachang. We learn that a mixture of bureaucracy and flawed military strategy made the situation worse. As Gerry interviews more survivors, we realize that people are starting to question whether just having survived is any kind of victory. There's also a brutal subplot about black-market organs. [Ain't It Cool]

Dollhouse

Here's a ton of leaked spoilers/rumors about Joss Whedon's new show Dollhouse, starring Eliza Dushku: The Dollhouse, home of the amnesiac "dolls" who can be anyone or anything, is in Los Angeles. There are two types of "dolls," Actives and Inactives. Dushku's character, Echo, is an Inactive.

In one scene, Adelle, the "ice queen" who runs the Dollhouse, meets with a Senator who's considering "buying" an Active doll to use as an "escort." She convinces the Senator the Active will be better than any human escort, because the emotions will be real to the "doll" and she'll be programmed to want it as much as he does.

The geek who programs the dolls, Topher, calls Echo's "handler" Boyd, because he's noticed that a group of the mind-wiped dolls has sat together at lunch at the same table for the third time within a week. Dushku's character, Echo, seems to be initiating this clique, which means she may be evolving beyond her mind wipes. There is definitely something unusual about Echo, compared to the other "dolls." If Adelle the boss finds out, she'll have Echo killed.

Topher the geek and Boyd the handler have differing opinions about their work. Topher believes it's purely programming and sort of morally wrong (even though he enjoys doing it.) But Boyd thinks it's healthy for the "dolls" to get to experience every possible human emotion through their programmed personalities. [Blank_Dolls community]

Doctor Who

Some new bits of info have leaked out about Doctor Who season four. The Agatha Christie episode attempts to explore the real-life mystery of Christie's two-week disappearance.

Meanwhile, Steven Moffat's two-parter set in the giant deserted library features "data ghosts," plus a menacing entity called the Suit Creature, which may be sort of like Moffat's "Empty Child" from back in season one. Also, the library's air swarms with flesh-melting piranha called the Vashta Nerada, and the library is full of dead bodies. ER's Alex Kingston plays an Indiana Jones-esque archeologist.

And there are more rumors that Dalek creator Davros will be back. Also, completely iffy rumors that the prehistoric Sea Devils, the Axons and jolly rogue Sabalom Glitz will put in appearances. [TeleWatcher]

Meanwhile, in "Planet of the Ood," we learn what drove the Ood to become a servant race. And in "The Sontaran Strategem," the cloned warrior Sontarans show up on Earth looking for their longtime enemies the Rutans. And then, supposedly, the Sontarans use mind-control on some soldiers from the alien-fighting organization UNIT, and they take the Doctor's friend Martha Jones away to be cloned. But then more UNIT soldiers show up to rescue her. [DoctorWhoForum]

Here's a source claiming that Davros doesn't show up at all. Instead, we get John Simm's version of the Master back again, in a "botched regeneration. [Stuff On TV]

And remember the Adipose? Those weird aliens in the season opener, who use diet pills to turn fat people into alien babies? Well, here are early special effects shots of them. (Not entirely sure what's happening to the woman whose cleavage we see in one shot.) Stephen Regelous, who developed the Massive FX technology used to create crowd scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies, used it to create these swarms of Adipose. [SFX]

Lost

Lost is filming some scenes at the "Santa Rosa Mental Institute" where Future Hurley is a patient, and Matthew Fox and Jorge Garcia were both there, along with Jack's truck. Since we recently had a casting call for a doctor appearing in episode 10, these scenes could be from that episode... but it was rumored to be a Kate-centric outing. So it's possible this episode will feature all of the Oceanic 6. [Spoilers Lost]

Penikett will play Paul Smith, the FBI agent who investigates and acts as quasi-love interest for series star Eliza Dushku. This should give him ample opportunity to do that jaw-clenched "I am a good man in a bad situation" thing that he does so well. The two of them will be joined by relative newcomers Enver Gjokaj and Dichen Lachman, both of whom will play Dushku's fellow programmable "dolls," and Fran Kranz, survivor of both The Village and Welcome to the Captain, taking Whedon's traditional geek savant position.

Dollhouse has a seven episode order, and is expected to begin in the new fall season.

Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse' gets more cast [Hollywood Reporter]

In case you forgot the official synopsis, Dollhouse is about a group of "Dolls," or "Actives," who can be programmed to be anyone and do anything, for paying clients. When they're not out on a programmed mission, they're "blank," amnesiac and childlike in the Dollhouse. The whole shebang is illegal, and the people involved may not be that altruistic.

The pages seem to be for casting Dr. Claire Sanders, "a gorgeous older woman" (with a knife-scarred face) who works at the Dollhouse, and Sierra, one of Echo's fellow Dolls and the closest thing Echo has to a friend. (Here's our list of the show's characters, just to refresh your memory.)

We see a scene between Claire and Topher, the geek who programs the Dolls (and who's smitten with Claire.) It seems as though Topher is worried because Claire is sending the Dolls out on "pro bono" missions, and he's trying to sneak a glance at Echo's file, even though he has a perfect right to see it. One of those "pro bono" missions had Echo sit at the bedside of a sick girl for three days, putting a strain on the valuable Doll. Claire retorts that the "pro bono" missions are making the Dolls better, and there has to be more to their existence than validating the "whims of the rich," including sex and crime. Topher's not interested in improving the Dolls, and accidentally gives away how much he enjoys programming them to enjoy their dirty work.

Sierra has three scenes, showcasing how versatile she and Echo will have to be: In one, she's in the Dollhouse with fellow Dolls Echo and Victor. The dialogue is very childlike, and feels very River Tam-esque. In the second, she's been programmed to be a safecracker, and she taunts a fellow safecracker with her superior knowledge. She's in charge, the smart-assed opposite of her earlier babyish self. And then in the third scene, she's a "socialite," dropping witty lines about shoes and teasing an older woman for being too high-minded.

Bottom line: As you might have guessed, Dollhouse will probably be the most twisted thing Joss has ever done, and also pretty arty. I'm not optimistic about its chances on Fox. But fingers crossed! [SpoilerTV]

More spoilers:

• Whoever's dying soon on Lost, it probably won't be Sun, since actress Yunjin Kim bought a condo in Hawaii and producer Carlton Cuse promised her that if her character died off before the show ended, he would buy her condo from her. So barring a really steep real-estate crash, we can expect Sun to go the distance. Meanwhile, here are some not-very-revealing set pics of the Tunisian location (actually Hawaii) in an upcoming episode. [DocArzt]
• Also, Jack and Juliet will kiss some more. [SpoilersLost]
• Here's how the Lizard, aka mutated scientist Curt Connors, will look on this Saturday's Spectacular Spider-Man. [Comics2Film]

Here's the production notice which Fox sent out along with the casting call for Dollhouse, Joss' new show:

The drama stars Dushku as Echo, a member of a group of men and women who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments. In between tasks they are mind-wiped, living like children in Dollhouse, a futuristic dorm/lab. A group of people, known as "Actives" (or "Dolls"), have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas and hired out for particular jobs, crimes, fantasies and occasional good deeds. When not imprinted, the Actives live, childlike and unremembering, in a hidden facility nicknamed "The Dollhouse". Although the Actives are ostensibly volunteers, the operation is highly illegal, and under constant threat from a determined federal agent on one end and an insane rogue Active on the other. The story hinges around a greater and more subtle threat: Echo, a female Active, begins, in her mind-wiped state, to become self-aware.

More spoilers:

• In the March 20 Smallville, Lex's dad has Clark kidnapped and puts him in a kryptonite-lined cage. But the crafty Lionel throws suspicion onto Lex when Chloe and Lana confront him. So Chloe and Lana take Kara to Jor-El so he can restore Kara's memory. Because Kara is the only one who can help Clark. [Kryptonsite]
• Heroes may not feature Claire too much in its first couple of episodes, due to Hayden Panettiere's commitment on a movie. But the producers are still hoping to include Kristen Bell, as long as they can work out contract issues. [E! Online]
• Jake and Hawkins clash over whom to trust, in this new clip from tonight's Jericho.


• In a couple of weeks on Lost, we'll find out that the final two members of the Oceanic Six are Jin and Sun. And our big important death will be one of those two... during a flash-forward. Which means we'll still see them in the "present" and any flash-forwards that take place before that death. And episode eight, the final episode before a five-week break, brings back Michael (and maybe Walt), and Michael has some scenes in NYC where he meets up with Mr. Friendly, the guy Sawyer killed at the end of season three. [SpoilersLost]
• Towards the end of this Lost season (after that five-week break) we'll learn why FutureSayid is an assassin for Ben, and why FutureJack is hooked on booze and pills. We'll see more of Kate-Sawyer, but there won't be any resolution of their situation (duh!). And the season ends with the Oceanic Six getting off the island. [DocArzt]
• Episode nine of the current Lost season will partly take place at a fancy apartment building in Tunisia. Plus here's a wacky theory about whether the EMP at the end of season two affected people's ability to leave the island. [E! Online again]
• And here are two more preview clips from Thursday's Lost, to add to the two we showed yesterday.

A new Fox network show starting as soon as next fall, Dollhouse stars Eliza Dushku as Echo, a "doll" who can take on any personality — including memories and abilities — she needs to complete a mission. When she's not on a job, Echo sits in her "dollhouse" in an amnesiac state. And here are her supporting cast. None of these parts have been cast yet (as far as we know), but here are the characters Joss has come up with:

• Adelle Dewitt, the forty-something ice queen who runs the Dollhouse where Echo and the other "dolls" stay while they're blanked out between missions. It sounds like she'll be creepy and unsavory.
• Paul Ballard, a thirty-something G-man who will become a sort of love interest for Echo (although will she remember him between gigs?).
• Boyd Langton, who's Echo's "handler" and a sort of father figure to her. Sort of the Giles to her Buffy.
• Topher Brink, the geek who programs Echo and the other "dolls," and may enjoy his mind-fucking work a little too much.
• Sierra, one of Echo's fellow "dolls" and the closest thing to a friend she has
• Victor, another "doll," who's amazingly handsome and who has to "play" everyone from Errol Flynn to Robert DeNiro on missions.
• November, another "doll," who's chubbier and more goofy. (She's compared to Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray.)
• Dr. Claire Sanders, a gorgeous older woman whom Topher is in love with.

What about Dollhouse will draw in your Buffy and Firefly fans?

Well, Eliza (Dushku). Duh. It's very different than the stuff I've done before, but at the same time it's still a very hardcore examination of the human condition. It really sort of boils it down to who are we, how are we programmed, what do we need, what is okay about us, and what is really not okay. It's the most morally gray thing I've ever done. I think it might actually anger a lot of my fans, but there are questions I still have to ask. Ultimately I think it will intrigue them because that.

We keep hearing that the strike will be over soon. How has it affected Dollhouse? Have you actually written any of it yet?

I had just pitched the seven episodes for the show, I hadn't written anything. I did not even so much as look at them during the strike, and will not until the strike is over. The day the strike is over, I will start working, so whatever we plan to do will certainly be pushed back by exactly as many months as the strike was... or still is.

Tell us a bit more about the dance project with Summer, we know you've been writing the music for that.

I've been working for a long time composing the score for a ballet short that I've wanted to film because of Summer. It's a little piece and we have a choreographer we're about to start working with it. I don't know if she's suddenly going to be shooting again or what, but we hope to shoot this hopefully in the late spring or early summer. It's something I've dreamed about pretty much ever since I met her.

What would you do with it after you finished it?

I don't know ... I guess go to festivals! I've never been to any festivals, so I guess I'd go to those with my short film. (He breaks into an impromptu little "I'm an indie short filmmaker guy" dance).

We heard you comparing Brian K. Vaughan to a Cylon up there. Are you a big Battlestar Galactica fan?

There is no bigger! I beat that "other guy" who thought he was the biggest fan. I've spent a lot of time with Ron on the picket lines, and he's very gracious about my drool for the show.

Those rumors that the writers' strike had killed any hope for Dushku's Dollhouse permanently aren't true, Joss claims. He also provided a new twist on the premise: instead of a toy for rich people as we'd heard previously, the main character is a secret agent. Dushku plays Echo, who can be programmed with the skills and memories she needs to carry out any covert assignment. The part about her spending her "downtime" between jobs as an amnesiac among other mind-wiped agents is still true.

Likewise, Ripper, the BBC show featuring Buffy's mentor Rupert Giles, is still going to happen, Joss insists. Fans stopped waiting for this look at Giles' dark side years ago. Ripper "isn't imminent, but it's absolutely on the slate. The Beeb have been grand." Eliza Dusku and Summer Glau photos by INF/Goff. [SFX]