Mr. Whedon has told Michael Ausiello that he has been coveting Summer Glau for Dollhouse for some time. “If anybody thinks [bringing Summer onto Dollhouse] hasn’t occurred to me already then they have not met me,” he says. “I mentioned it to her before [SCC] was canceled. I was like, ‘You know, we should get you in the ‘house.’ But first we have to come up with something that works.” He went on to say, “Summer would be perfect to play an active, but she’s done that [type of role] a lot.” And, “I’d rather see her play someone who talks too much. The most fun I have is when I get somebody who’s good and comfortable at doing something, and then I make them do something else.” (Oh, Joss, you evil, evil thing, you.) And Summer has told Joss, “I would like to play a normal girl before I die of extreme old age.” LOL!

So, yeah, now that T:SCC has been given the ‘ol boot to the head, will we see our mei mei in the ‘house?

“Riikka” mentioned in the comments of the Ausiello piece that he/she would like to see Summer play twins. One on the outside, searching for the one on the inside. That would give Summer the opportunity to play her patented quiet crazy girl role we love so much while making with the talky talk as a nosey sister looking for her twin.

I’d say the best way to cast Summer in Dollhouse is to cast her in a dual role. Say there are identical twins; one has everything and a generally good life, while the other gets in way over her head and joins the Dollhouse. To her twin, it’s like she’s completely disappeared, and there are eventually mistakes where one is thought to be the other. When the non-active twin realises what’s been done to her sister, she also wants to take down the Dollhouse, perhaps even to the point of trading places with her sister to try and infiltrate the secret base.

So, what’s your dream role for Summer on Dollhouse?

If you’ve listened to Joss’d for a bit, you know we’re big fans of NBC’s Chuck, a quirky comedy-drama starring Adam Baldwin (Firefly/Angel). The show is apparently on the bubble for renewal (along with our beloved Dollhouse) and fans are trying to be smart about getting the show picked up. Instead of sending thousands of peanuts or pencils they’re encouraging people to watch, buy, share and write to get the show continued.

I know what you’re saying “another save my show campaign?” But Chuck creator Josh Schwartz said this in a recent New York Times interview:

The difference between being a hit show and being an on-the-bubble show is so small now. The metrics have become so narrow that everything does help. If you do have a loyal fan base that really can make a difference. Now, more than ever, that kind of fan support can really have an impact. The cost of launching a television series is as high as it’s ever been. And obviously the odds have never gotten any better. If you look at NBC they’ve had a history of being patient with “The Office,” “30 Rock.” “Friday Night Lights” is a show where they’ve found a way to maintain its audience. Word of mouth is the most old-fashioned trend in entertainment and it still holds true. To sustain and hold onto our audience would be significant enough.

Part of the fan campaign is showing that the advertisements work. In a recent episode a Subway’s sandwhich was featured (quite prominently) so fans are rallying to go into Subway this Monday and buy sandwiches (before the Season Finale of Chuck). From ChuckTV.net:

To reward and incentivize Subway for their product placement support of Chuck, on the evening of the season finale, April 27th, go to your local Subway to purchase a $5 FOOTLONG. Drop a note in the comment box at the franchise letting them know you’re participating in the ChuckTV.net campaign to save NBC’s Chuck, of which Subway is a product placement sponsor. If you plan to do this, be sure to include that intent in your letters to Ben Silverman and Angela Bromstad at NBC.

For a full list of what YOU can do to help Chuck (and Adam Baldwin) please visit ChuckTV.net’s page.

“Greg the Bunny” is a brown bunny puppet… er, Fabricated-American, who first broke into showbiz on a NY cable access show called “Junktape”. His charm and wit caught the attention of the Independent Film Channel, who gave him his own show, “The Greg the Bunny Show”, where he and fellow puppets introduced various movies and parodied films.

Eventually, in 2002, those wily execs over at FOX gave Greg his own sitcom and paired him with Seth Green, who played Greg’s roommate, Jimmy. In the FOX show, “Greg the Bunny”, the premise is that puppets live side-by-side with people, though albeit as second-class citizens. Greg gets the chance to live out his lifelong dream of acting on public access children’s television show, “Sweetknuckle Junction”. Jimmy’s dad Gil, played by the incredible Eugene Levy, is the producer of the struggling kid’s show, and Greg’s naïveté helps give it new life.

“Sweetknuckle Junction” is hosted by Junction Jack (Bob Gunton) and Dottie (Dina Waters), and is home to many puppet characters. Amongst the puppet cast are Warren Demontague, aka Warren the Ape, Tardy the Turtle, Susan the Monster, Rochester Rabbit, and my favorite, Count Blah, the has-been vampire. Behind the camera there’s Jimmy and Gil, but also Alison, played by Sarah Silverman, as one of the studio execs.

The core of the sitcom is Greg and how he deals with his fellow fabricated-Americans, especially Warren, who is a classically-trained thespian forced to work on a kid’s show to make a living, and is often upstaged by the new kid, Greg. Jimmy’s friendship with Greg is also very important, because this helps us cement the idea that puppets are people, too. Count Blah really steals the show, not just because he is a caricature of Sesame Street’s Count, but because he delivers some great material.

Tragically, the FOX series “Greg the Bunny” was cut short in its first season and suffered from having the episodes played out of order. (Where have we heard that before?) Moreover, it suffered from the studio not knowing what to do with the show. It is evident from the writing that there was a sharp edge to the material, but the studio dumbed it down for the masses.

Eventually, Greg, Warren, and Count Blah made their way back to the IFC for a couple years, irreverently lampooning great cinema, uncensored and unfettered. You can find the FOX series on DVD, as well as two DVDs featuring a collection of shorts from the IFC years. You can also find some videos still online. I highly recommend watching them all, especially if you become a fan of Count Blah like I have. If what you really want is to see Seth Green having a lot of fun, the FOX series DVD will be a winner for you.

David Boreanaz talks about Booth as a character and a spoiler for the end of this season.

Sorry if you’re not in the US and can’t see Hulu clips.

(If you remember Neil Patrick Harris has appeared on Family Guy – playing Barney in 2007).

I know we are all worried about Dollhouse being renewed for a second season, but another show with a Whedon alum is in danger as well.  Summer Glau’s show Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles is in danger of cancellation, so some fans have gotten together and decided to flood the Fox website with viewers.

The watch tonight is kind of short notice, but if you can, go to the Fox website tonight (April 9) at 11 PM EST and watch an episode of T:SCC.

Then, go back tomorrow night at the some time and do it again.  Maybe we’ll make a difference and maybe not, but it’s worth a try.  Go here for more details.

Harper’s Island – CBS’ newest drama, which premiers tonight in the US, has a couple guest-alums Richard Burgi (Firefly – Lieutenant Womack) and Christopher Gorham (BtVS – James Stanley, also Henry on Ugly Betty).

According to Wikipedia, the television show is a horror/drama, described as Scream meets 10 Little Indians (by mystery writer Agatha Christie). The central plot is a murder mystery. Friends and family attending a wedding celebration on a secluded island off the coast of Seattle begin dying one by one. The island was also the scene of a famous series of murders seven years prior.

In addition to a web series (Harper’s Globe) based on the show, CBS’s multimedia promotion includes a live online chat on a Fancast Forum each Friday with the “murder victim” from the Thursday night U.S. broadcast, where questions and comments from viewers trying to solve the mystery are encouraged, as well as providing a behind-the-scenes view from the series.

Click here to read an interview with executive producer/showrunner Jeffrey Bell on Futon Critic.

The first annual Streamy (not steamy Joss) was a star-studded event with a level of professionalism not seen for web series in the past. Whedon fans who have been following the success of Dr. Horrible won’t be surprised that it seems that main stream is starting to understand the value and importance of the web industry. To hear more of my thoughts about that check out the post I did on Social Media World.

Whedon fans will be happy to know not only did Felicia Day, Joss Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Neil Patrick Harris and Jane Espenson make off with awards, they also hit a huge nerve with the rest of their peers. My favorite was Blake Calhoun, who won best directing for a dramatic series for his show Pink, who said in his acceptance speech, “thank goodness The Guild or Dr. Horrible wasn’t in this category.” And John Stern, who accepted best guest star for Paul Rudd called the Streamys, “the first Dr. Horrible Awards.”

Maurissa, Joss, NPH, Felicia and Jane Espenson the big winners at the Streamys (photos by TheBuiBrothers.com released under Creative Commons).

So what did our Whedonverse Alumns (and Joss) win?

Best Comedy Web Series
The Guild

Best Dramatic Web Series
Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy

Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
(Joss Whedon)

Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series<
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
(Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon

Best Writing for a Dramatic Web Series
Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy
(Jane Espenson, Seamus Kevin Fahey, Ronald D. Moore)

Best Male Actor in a Comedy Web Series
Neil Patrick Harris — (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog)

Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series
Felicia Day — (The Guild)

Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series
The Guild

and the Craft Awards (which were the night before)

Best Editing (*)
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog— (Lisa Lassek)

Best Cinematography
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog(Ryan Green)

Best Original Music
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog — (Jed Whedon)

On the red carpet I was able to talk with Sandeep (The Guild), Felicia (Dr. Horrible/The Guild), Vincent (The Guild) and many other web stars, writers and creators. From our press seats (in the balcony) I had a birds-eye view of Joss and Kai Whedon, Niel Patrick Harris, Felicia and the rest of the Guild actors, and Jane Espenson! The excitement of the theater was only slightly diminished by how freezing it was (though I’m sure under the hot lights of the stage it was extremely warm.

Some notable highlights from the acceptance speeches were as follows:

• Neil Patrick Harris NOT thanking Nathan Fillion (it seems NPH is still a bit sore about “I’m Better Than Neil” – not really)
• Felicia thanking all the casting directors and talent managers who rejected her because she was too scrawny, too nerdy-looking, etc. Because of them (and at her boyfriend’s urging) she decided to do the Guild
• Felicia breaking about 1,000 geek boy hearts when she mentioned her boyfriend.
• Neil Patrick Harris making the allegation that Nathan “pads his junk.”
• Joss thanking Felicia for being his mentor in the art of web series.
• Jane Espenson equating web series that go along with traditional television to hats and livers. Here’s to more livers.
• Jane’s dress. (Okay, technically it wasn’t part of the speech, but it was gorgeous).
• Sandeep and Felicia both thanking the fans over and over.
• Maurissa being a bit speechless.
• Jeff Lewis (Vork on the Guild) being more speechless. And noting that it’s nice to have a fandom where “someone” was noticed at a bath house in Seattle.
• Sandeep (Zaboo on the Guild) “keeping it real”.
• Joss saying he was an “outsider” into the web series world coming from the traditional media world.

I’ll have more coverage and interviews from the Streamys 2009 coming up. For now check out the 12second.tv acceptance speeches, the official photographs, a full list of winners at Tubefilter and Twitter banter.

Audience Choice Award! on 12seconds.tv
Audience Choice Award! 2 on 12seconds.tv
Best Dramatic Web Series on 12seconds.tv
Best Comedy Web Series on 12seconds.tv
Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series on 12seconds.tv
Best Ensemble Cast on 12seconds.tv

The Streamys were created to recognize and honor outstanding achievement for shows produced originally for broadband distribution, and recognizes both the shows themselves and the people who make them possible, through awards in 24 categories covering the arts and sciences of web television. The winners of the Streamy Awards will be celebrated at a live ceremony in Los Angeles on March 28, 2009.

Why should Joss fans be excited? Both Dr. Horrible, Jane Espenson and Felicia Day’s the Guild are up for awards!

Tickets on Sale

A very limited number of tickets to the Streamy Awards Ceremony have been made available to the public. You will receive an official invitation once you have made your purchase. Dress is fancy attire. The event begins at 7:30 pm. Red Carpet arrivals begin at 6:00 pm.

Stay Connected

Stay in the loop. Follow the Streamy Awards on Twitter, and join our Facebook Group. Want to help pick the winners? Make sure to cast your vote in the Audience Choice Awards.

PLEASE NOTE: All purchases are non-refundable, and non-transferable. Pre-payment is required on all purchases. Tickets will not be available at the door.

Voting for best web series, a people’s choice award, opens March 16th.

For a complete list of the nominees click here.

Boris explains:

We are beginning to see an incredibly candidate-centric marketplace, meaning quality talent is in abundance and people need to start being creative in order to set themselves apart from the rest. One way to do this is by creating a short and sweet video resume that could really provide the employer with an extra bit of insight into your abilities. By doing this you are setting yourself apart from the crowd and taking a step ahead of the competition to get your foot in the door of their company.

How better to do this than with a video resume, much like Barney’s!

Check out all of Boris’ real life tips click here.

photo courtesy of Fox Entertainment

Joss Whedon is back on TV. And it feels so darn good. If you watched tonight’s episode, I’d love to hear your reactions. Kim and I will be talking about it in our next episode (out this upcoming week), but spoiler free.

As most of you know, I was a DVD convert to the Jossverse. So this is my first Joss Whedon TV premiere and I was very happy.

Now, my immediate reactions (now an hour after the show ended). There are spoilers, so beware.

Really there are spoilers behind this cut… do not read if you do not wish to be spoiled

Iwas managing my expectations. Honestly, with all the negative reviews and Joss’ qualifying statements I was worried. I was prepared to wait till episode six to really love this show. Perhaps that’s why I loved the episode so (Kim and I have talked about how being over-excited can spoil things – like the first Buffy comic).

First impressions -
I really, really don’t get why people think Eliza’s acting is ‘wooden’. I think she’s quirky, but fantastic. Maybe they didn’t get that Echo is supposed to be nearly fairy-blank-like.

I’m prepared to really really love Boyd Langton. He really stole the show.

Also, Joss is right. Tahmoh should be shirtless more.

If you’re a Pretender fan, did the final scenes with Alpha remind you of Angelo?

Concept, people seem to keep commenting that they’re not sure where the show could go. I don’t know how people can think that. With Alpha, the FBI agent, Echo, Amy’s character, etc. There’s so much potential.

I also loved the story of giving someone who had committed suicide – closure. Is that weird? I really thought it was a beautiful ending to Ms. Penn’s story, even if she wasn’t there to really experience it.

Best scenes? Amy and Eliza together. “Does someone take care of you?” – Hauntingly tragic and amazing.

—edited to add more thoughts—

I was prepared to hate this show, especially given the negative reviews it had garnered. I was prepared to give Joss a pass and chalk it up to studios messing with a master piece. I also was prepared  to remember that I didn’t fall in love with Buffy, Angel or Firefly on their pilot episodes (I actually thought all the pilot episodes were pretty dull).

This episode felt more like a good pilot. Joss trimmed back his talky talk (the man can go on and on). There’s action and visual flash to everything. There’s tension between Echo’s handler and what they’re doing it (I’m in love with Boyd already), there’s hidden secrets behind Dr. Saunders and the Dollhouse. I’m really intregued by the Alpha storyline. And I loved Eliza answer the security man in Spanish (I have a tickle as a gal who grew up in Pico Rivera when I get to answer people in Spanish when they think I don’t understand them).

I personally don’t think the studios mandated “short dress! sex! T&A!” – I think that’s what the Dollhouse is. If you spend ($1M?) for a fantasy girl – that’s how you’re gonna want her.  Joss even said the studios asked him to tone down the sex (and he said they were a bit more prudish than fans might think).

Maybe because I was expecting to be disappointed I wound up being very happy. I try very hard to manage my expectations especally with something we’ve been talking about since 11/07!

I look forward to next week.

Oh and I almost cried when I saw Grr Argh. It felt good. So. So. good.

Why It’s Smart: TV has given us Friends who live and hang out together, as well as the gang at Cheers. CBS’ Mother did not simply merge those winning set-ups but did them one better by shrewdly establishing a “finishing line” right in its title. So as awesome as Barney is, and as adorably Canadian as Robin is, and as hot monkey-sextastic as Lily and Marshall are, we are left to wonder every week: How did Ted meet his future kids’ mother? And who is she?
How Smart Is It? Like, Doogie Howser-child-doctor smart.

Yes, we get it you’re clever TVGuide for commenting on the role that launched NPH into stardom.

Anyways, hopefully stories like this will remind the powers that be that fans actually do like smart tv. And that can only lead to good things.

In case you’re having a hard time in the current economic crisis, you may want to brush up your video resume. Like Neil Patrick Harris’ character, Barney Stinson, on “How I Met Your Mother” did.

That guy is awesome.

Okay, so the promo is a bit cheesy, but come on… it’s cool. I can’t wait for Friday!! 4 Days!

Click here for the article on EW.