According to EW, Whedon alumni, Summer Glau is joining Dollhouse this season as Bennett, a Dollhouse employee who shares a past with Eliza Dushku’s character Echo. Personally, we all knew this was just a matter of time.
Dollhouse is the story of Echo, a member of a group of people known as “Actives” or “Dolls”. The Dolls are people whose personalities and existence in the outside world have been wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas
Despite its low-ratings, it was renewed for a second season. The series will continue in its 9–10 pm Friday timeslot, with the season premiere scheduled for this Fall.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Hey, Whedon, I heard you can occasionally use new actors. Might want to give that a try at some point.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:09 am
You mean, like, the entire cast except Eliza and Amy Acker? Oh no, he’s casting trusted, proven actors in recurring guest rolls! Everyone explode with fury!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:13 am
actually mr. rayner, most of the this cast has been newbies. it is comforting and fun to see, on occasion, capable actors who’ve previously worked with whedon making appearances elsewhere. this has been the least repetitive series, actor-wise, so far.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:17 am
I think this is great news! My tv needs more Summer Glau on it!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Excellent. I can’t wait for this season to start.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:20 am
The people at Fox are brilliant. Cancel T:SCC but pick this piece of garbage up for a second season even with horrbile ratings. The only reason anyone watched this in the first place is because it came on after T:SCC. This will be canceled by the first of the year.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:25 am
I’m sure this will keep being a big hit for Whedon, but I tried watching this show a couple of times and I thought it was pretty average in its craptasticness. It still reminds me of the show with Christian Slater that was canceled last year. I don’t think that Eliza Dushku can act her way out of a wet paperbag. She always has that one serious expression her face and the same inflection in her voice whether it is Dollhouse or Bring It On. The addition of Summer Glau is no better. Sure, she will be more eye candy. But she can’t act either. See any difference between the character in Firefly and her character in Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles (other than she was a cyborg in this one)? There were no differences. She can only do that cardboard acting.
I was really wanting to like this show. Not because I am a geek on all things Whedon. If the reached into a toilet in and started writing in excrement some people would think it was the GREATEST THING EVER! I for one am not that big of Whedon geek to say that the DOllhouse is the best thing ever. It’s mediocre at best with marginal talent.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Hey Kyle, if he likes these people, who cares if he uses them in multiple shows? I haven’t seen anyone complain that Marty Scorsese uses DiCaprio a lot. Or that Kevin Smith keeps using the same people. If you have a problem, start writing your own t.v. shows and then cast different people.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Don’t listen to Kyle, Joss. Keep the hotties front and center.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Shut up, Kyle. The world NEEDS more Summer Glau.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Like all but one actor on the regular cast?
Personally, I can find nothing objectionable about bringing Summer on a show, particularly a Whedon show. Other sites report she’s currently planned for “an initial” two episodes.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Summer would be a perfect choice to play an Active– so let’s hope that’s where her storyline ends up.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Great news. Love Summer, and enjoy Dollhouse. Glad she’s not being brought in as a Doll, so she can hopefully showcase her range a bit, after having played a nutcase and a robot.
Dollhouse started slowly last year, but really picked up in the second half, and certainly has a lot of interesting ideas. My wife and I enjoy it immensely.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:40 am
BTW, you might want to fix this sentence, “Despite it’s low-ratings, it was renewed for a second season.” to be “Despite its low-ratings, it was renewed for a second season.”
Its is possessive. It’s means it is, which is clearly not what you intended.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Well I dunno about anyone in the US but over here in the UK we got 13 episodes of Dollhouse. The last one wasn’t the conclusion of the Alpha 2-parter. It was…well…. it changes the entire series.
You know the big reveal at the end of Fringe? Well Dollhouse trumped it big time.
Great to see Summer working with Whedon again. Loved her in Firefly, Serenity and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (RIP).
August 27th, 2009 at 10:43 am
WOW! So much hate going on here! I for one really loved the Sarah Connor Chronicles, and my favorite part of it was Glau. I’ve enjoyed Dollhouse (especially the last three episodes), but felt like it needed something more to get it over the top. I think it just got it!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:44 am
XK…
“Despite its low ratings, it was renewed for a second season.”
August 27th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Hey Brett–I like Dollhouse and I’ve never seen a single episode of T:SCC.
Is there anyone so lazy that they just watch a single network all night long, regardless of whether or not they like the show?
Whedon has a lot of fans. Some of them like T:SCC; some of them don’t.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:45 am
i would’ve pictured Summer Glau as a Doll though.
Brett, that is not the reason why people watched it. i didn’t watch Terminator, and i don’t plan on ever watching it. The reason people did watch it is probably because, well, they thought it sounded good, or they’re a fan of Joss Whedon. and they cancelled terminator because it was down by about 5 million viewers.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:48 am
And finally… Fletcher, I saw enormous differences between Summer’s character River on Firefly and her character Cameron on TSCC, so I have to disagree with your assessment of her acting abilities. As I said in my previous post, the fact that she’s not going to be a doll will mean she gets to play a different type, which should showcase her range even more.
As for Eliza, I think she is an average actress who happens to be very hot. But she did a good job last year, with what she was given… ‘Ok, Eliza, half the time you’re going to be walking around as a total blank slate with no personality at all’ is hardly direction that lends itself to showcasing one’s acting abilities.
Additionally, the show developed into more and more of an ensemble as the season progressed, and there are a lot of good actors filling out the rest of the cast.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:59 am
God i need to catch up with last season fast! i wanted to watch but i didnt know when it was on. also: need to watch firefly.
August 27th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Now all we need are the two actors that Joss said he wanted to work with the rest of his life, Alyson Hannigan and Thomas Lenk. Yes, he said that about Thomas Lenk.
August 27th, 2009 at 11:23 am
This is pretty cool. I love Summer, Amy and Eliza’s acting and it’s awesome to see them all on one show together. It’s also cool that all of Joss’ shows are kinda combining for this one (Eliza from “Buffy”, Amy from “Angel” and Summer from “Firefly”). All we need now is a guest-appearance from Neil Patrick Harris to tie-in “Dr. Horrible” and we’re good to go! =)
August 27th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
As long as Summer Glau is kicking things, I’m good.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Dollhouse might not have had the best ratings, but it was the HULU, iTunes, and DVR watchings that bumped up it’s numbers. Plus FOX knows the Whedon fanbase and how they’re still pissed about firefly. To do a first season cut to another Whedon show? Blasphemy!
And besides Amy Acker and Eliza Dushku all of Whedon’s other pet actors are just dropping by for guest appearances. They’re trying to increase ratings remember. So why not bring in his acting alum to convert the rest of his fans who haven’t already given the show a try?
August 27th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
letterman23….
Obviously, they fixed the grammar, following my post.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I just got these on disc and i am going to check them out…because a friend will be directing one the new season. a friend in comics…..hmmmmmmm.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Anyone who complains about Joss Whedon’s habit of using the same actors in different projects would probably complain about using Tim Tebow to throw and run the ball. If an actor is good (and Summer Glau is good on SO many levels), then why wouldn’t Whedon use him or her as much as possible?
August 27th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Brett, I get being upset when a show you like gets cancelled. But making statements that you can’t back up with facts makes you look rather silly. Dollhouse and T:SCC both had weak ratings on Fridays but Dollhouse almost always had higher ratings than T:SCC.
In addition to the mostly great cast of the first season, Joss has managed to get a really impressive list of guest stars for season two. Summer Glau, Jamie Bamber, Michael Hogan, Keith Carradine and Alexis Denisof.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
She’s pretty much played a doll in all of her other roles, so this won’t really be a stretch for her
August 27th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
So Joss likes use his core actors, and so Summer is not a great actress. I’d rather have Summer working than not. She is a beautiful girl, let her stay in front of a camera. What harm could it do? Plus, the more time she is on the air the more chances she has to work on her acting. I say it a win-win. She will get better.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
wait, MichaelH did you say Alexis Denisof? i did not know he was guest-starring, thats great news for me!
August 27th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
The already have a Dr Horrible tie-in. In the unaired 13th episode included on the DVDs, Felicia Day (Vi from Buffy and Penny from Dr Horrible)appears as a post-apocalyptic resistance fighter who finds the Dollhouse and learns the history of the Dollhouse.
I like that Joss uses actors/actresses who he has worked for before. They know what he’s wanting and give it.
As for Dollhouse’s survival when Sarah Connor was canceled, an exec at Fox stated that they also DH scored higher with the targeted demographic and that they had to acknowledge that Joss has a strong, loyal fan-following who will stick with the show (meaning they realized their screwup canceling Firefly). This is what ADVERTISERS look at as well.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Hey Simon! When got a cast member from Dr. Horrible, Felicia Day was in the last (unaired) episode of season one. Buy the box set yo!
August 27th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Typecast.
August 27th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Amy Acker isn’t a regular – or even close to one – in the upcoming season.
The first 5 or so episodes of Dollhouse were in fact not very good. The second half of the 12 episodes were much better. So anybody who got turned off by the first episodes should give the series another chance. Also, the show is going to look very different this season.
August 27th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Yea there is nothing wrong with a director or creator using the same actors time and time again. If they have a good working relationship why not? Martin Scorsese used De Niro in a lot of great films and now he keeps working with DiCaprio. I can’t wait to see Shutter Island. How many Kevin Smith films has Affleck and Damon been involved in one way or the other. Wes Anderson is always using the same cast and you cannot forget about Christopher Guest using the same cast in his movies. Plus, these people can act. They can do different things for the director.
XK- I really did not see too much of a difference in the Glau’s acting between T:SCC and FF. BUt now that I analyze it a little more, both roles called for the style of acting that she brought to the character. I remember reading a review about her when T:SCC first aired. The reviewer said that she was not very sexy and her acting was stale. But that is what the character called for-someone who was literally new to this world and coming into her own as a “new”person. Much the same way that her character in FF was just kind of nutty. Or was she?
I also forgot that she was on several episodes of the Unit and that role was nothing like those other roles. So maybe I jumped the gun a bit. Thank you XK for forcing me to re-evaluate my opinion.
However, I cannot change my opinion on Eliza Dushku. She is really not the best actress out there. She fails miserably when she is trying to pull off the “I’m a bad @ss babe” and fails even worse when she is trying to be sensitive. Really the only thing that she has going for her is that she is hot and even that is debatable.
August 27th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
“I just got these on disc and i am going to check them out…because a friend will be directing one the new season. a friend in comics…..hmmmmmmm.”
John Cassaday? Yup, Joss is really pulling in people from *all* his other projects.
“Typecast.”
Which is why Joss specifically wanted to cast her as something other than a doll. Unless that’s misdirection, of course…
August 27th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Dollhouse started out as a run of the mill show.
Its first 5 episodes were quite lethargic, as the network tried to confine it to self contained episodes.
Once Whedon started to get his way and was given more freedom, the show blossomed.
The final episode of the season was incredible. and the hidden episode “Epitaph One” adds a lot of mythology to the show.
The coming season 2 is definitely one to watch.
August 27th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
@ Paul Nolan, you nailed it, the show was definitely a later starter, but really showed what it could be especially in the last 1/2, with the final third being quite good. I have high hopes for this series should it be able to continue.
August 27th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Brandon, Alexis will be in four episodes this season. At least that was the plan a few weeks ago according to a tweet from Alyson Hannigan.
Snikkas, she is not playing a doll.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I say bring them ALL back. Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Alyson Hannigan, Tony Head, James Marsters, Seth Green, Nathan Filion, David Boreanaz, Emma Caulfield… Now that would be an awesome cast.
Andy Hallett is sorely missed, though.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Hey Wilbur you forgot Adam Baldwin!
August 27th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Jimmy, it was already announced that John Cassaday is directing an episode.
I don’t get the hate being poured on Dollhouse upthread… sure, the initial episodes were a bit on the weak side but it really became a great show by the end the season – just like almost every first season of a Joss Whedon show (and, indeed, most truly great television shows tend to hit their high points only after they’ve built up a little momentum in terms of production).
August 28th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Love Summer Glau. But let’s face it, her track record of being on cool shows that get cancelled before their time is staunch:
Firefly
Terminator:Sarah Conner Chronicles
and now
Dollhouse!
August 28th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Dollhouse is kind of like a Grant Morrison comic. Sure the ideas are brilliant, but the craft of the episode can range from great to terrible. It showed signs of getting better toward the end though. It doesn’t have the touches of a Joss Whedon show (great humor and great characters) but has all its weaknesses (starts off slow and may not appeal to a broader audience).
Potential? Yes. Craft? Occasionally.
August 29th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Bring back Buffy!!!
August 29th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I am glad she has a new role, i wish they would have continued Terminator SCC into the movies. I enjoyed it, and yes i know i am one of the few.
I think she will be a good add. If you have not seen episode 13 (not aired in the us) it is a must and features Felicia Day.
Also, yes bring Buffy back as stated above. Not a movie with all new people. Pick up 8 years in the future after a season or two of the comic (which rocks).
August 30th, 2009 at 7:36 am
didnt realize this was new news? joss announced during the dollhouse panel at san diego comic-con…okay, maybe teased..that summer would indeed be in the show. he also mentioned that while people would immediately think of summer as an active, he’d rather use her cast her against type this time.
and it was also officially announced that cassaday would be directing an episode during the dollhouse panel at san diego comic-con.