Dollhouse Comic-Con 2009 Panel

When Joss Whedon came out for the beginning of the Dollhouse panel at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, he received the only standing ovation I’ve seen up at this massive event in the San Diego Convention Center.  It’s really awesome, unless you’re trying to take pictures, but it was cool to be part of that.

During the first hour, we were treated to the 13th episode of Dollhouse, called “Epitath 1.”  Eliza Dushku was also the producer for this episode.

I have to say: good job there Eliza.  It was an awesome episode with a dark, futuristic theme.  That ‘hour’ went by fast.  It was very compelling, but I have to wonder if non-Dollhouse fans understood it?  I had a non-fan next to me.  She didn’t understand the underlying premise of the show but found the episode entertaining.  So there you go.  Still entertaining to non-fans of the show.  That’s a good sign.

The rest are bits and pieces that came from the panel.  There are slight SPOILERS involved, but nothing that, in my opinion, would ruin anything for anyone.

Eliza will be doing some more production work in association with Joss in the near future.

SPOILERISH alert:

We were told that Victor might be getting better, quickly, in season 2.

END SPOILERISH alert.

Joss was asked how he knew that Alan Tudyk was the right one to play Alpha and Joss replied, “I met him.”

As far as favorite episodes go, Eliza liked playing roles that took place out on the street and the last episode with Alpha and being his trashy girlfriend.

Despite the accolades the audience wanted to pour on Joss, he really credited the entire writing staff for the work we see and the success of the show.

He said the writers’ room is a round table where a circle of writers formulate a story.

Joss tossed out that we’ll be seeing Alexis Denisof in season 2.  The crowd wholeheartedly approved.

In season 2, we’ll be getting one episode directed by John Cassaday (Watchmen).

Dushku appreciates the honesty of the fans, knowing they aren’t following their work blindly but showed the support for the show and understood it.

An attendee asked Eliza that if she could be on Firefly, who would she play.  Joss said a Missionary.

Joss likes to kill off characters because it hurts very much and he’s contractually obligated to do it.  That and when people leave, it’s somewhat of a good excuse.

Someone wanted to know if there is a 2nd mole in the Dollhouse?  Dominic didn’t seem smart enough to pull it all off.  We were told we should all be careful.

Someone asked if they will be addressing the premise of putting the original personalities back in the original bodies and let them live out their lives?  Joss said this issue will come up in season 2.

Will the Dollhouse future be predetermined?  “We talked about a lot of things before we accidentally forgot to get canceled.”  An interesting premise is to question whether some of the memories are absolutely true.

Eliza was asked if one of her singing pieces is going to CD and she was like “Huh?”  Joss said she has pipes and is trying to convince her to do an album.

When asked if or when we’re going to get another musical out of Joss, he said that sometimes they talk about that and it’s on their minds.

In the middle of the panel, Dichen Lachman (Sierra) and Fran Kranz (Topher Brink) just showed up on stage, making for a very pleasant surprise for all involved.

When Joss was asked about his creative processes, he said he just thinks and things come out.  He also uses a dartboard to decide some things.  The dartboard has options like ‘get wiped’, ‘have sex’, ‘kick butt’, etc. on it for options.

We will be seeing Felicia Day in season 2, but not as a season regular.

At some point, Joss tossed out into the conversation, “… who doesn’t love a good zombie apocalypse?”  That was actually in reference to someone asking about Reavers and some other similarities that will make sense to some of you out there.  That and it was a cool thing to repeat.

The writers for Dollhouse, season 2 were in the house and Joss asked them to stand up.

That was that.  The session was the usual bundle of fun that happens whenever Joss Whedon is in the house and everyone had a good time.