It’s hard to believe it’s 10 years since Buffy The Vampire Slayer was first seen on TV here. The series, created by writer and director Joss Whedon, had millions of us glued to our screens for its mix of fantasy, horror, comedy, martial arts and, for those of the right age and inclination, the considerable charms of Sarah Michelle Gellar.
A decade on Whedon brings another series to the UK, Dollhouse.
It stars Eliza Dushku, best known for her work on Buffy and its spinoff Angel, playing the character Faith in both.
The idea for the series came after Joss and Eliza went out for lunch to discuss the latter’s future.
“It was right before the writers’ strike, so a couple of years ago now,” says Joss. “I was just supposed to be advising Eliza about the sort of thing she might do, but then I came up with what I thought she should do, and she agreed.”
Joss believes Dushku has something no other actor he’s worked with does, and a real tenacity. He has known Eliza for 10 years, but had no idea what sort of show to write for her.
Dollhouse centres on a shadowy, underground company who have taken in a small group of individuals, wiped their memories and all traces of them from the outside world, and then implant these blank ‘Dolls’ or ‘Actives’ with any memory and skill-set they choose.
In the first episode, we see Echo, or Caroline as she was known before entering the Dollhouse, assume the identity of a top hostage negotiator, while in the second, she is programmed to become the perfect girlfriend of a rich businessman.
“Some of the episodes deal more with who she, Echo, is — what her mission is and things like that. But some, particularly as the series progresses, get more behind the scenes and more into the workings of the company — why it’s there, what everyone’s going through,” explains Joss.
“It becomes much less personality of the week in the second half. It’s a fun premise for us to play with, but there is only so much you can do with that. We’re very interested in what’s behind all that, so we play with it a little more in the later episodes.
“There’s a lot to find out about the Dollhouse too. What they’re doing is not legal in any sense, and considered by most people to be morally reprehensible. Even the people who don’t necessarily think it’s reprehensible think it’s pretty sketchy.”
When Joss pitched the idea of the series to the network in America, he says he had many of the details, including five more series, planned out.
“I pitched a six-year plan,” he said. “It’s not written in stone, but it showed we knew where we were going. With a show like Dollhouse, it’s about the creation of an identity, as well as the disillusionment of everybody else’s.
“It’s always a 50/50 mix when you’re writing a series — if you figure everything out in advance, you’re not leaving room for the show to talk back to you. And if you don’t figure it out enough, you’re just chasing your own tail,” he continues.
“That was laid out before we cast anybody, and just that act, of casting someone, changes what you think you might need to do with it. The actor’s own dynamic, what they bring to the table, means everything is in constant flux,” adds Joss.
Until this week, the future of Dollhouse hung in the balance. In the US, 12 episodes had been shown, with the final instalment held back until the decision about whether to continue with another series had been made. Had it not been re-commissioned, that episode would have been shown to wrap things up perfectly.
However Fox, which shows and finances the US series, has said it will be asking for a second series. Its executives said they didn’t want “110 million emails from Joss Whedon fans” if they had cancelled it.
Joss has always been praised for creating strong female characters. Look no further than Buffy – a high-school student who can kill demons? – for proof of that.”
