I’ve been busying myself with a little something I like to call DOLLHOUSE. Finishing a new episode. Finishing a new… here’s the headline… FIRST episode. What’s that, you say? A second first? How can such a thing be? Does it defy the laws of all physics?

Well, the idea to do a new first episode wasn’t the network’s. It was mine. I understood their consternation, and saw the gap between my style and their expectations, and I suggested I shoot a new ep and make the one I’d shot the second. It isn’t going to be buried, like the pilot of Firefly. It’s simply coming after another, slightly cleaner ep. And because unlike Firefly, it isn’t a two hour epic which introduces everyone to each other, the onus isn’t on the new ep to explain a million things.

Yes, this seems all to familiar. Is Joss getting screwed by Fox again? He goes on to explain that unlike “Buffy” and “Angel”, “Dollhouse” the network makes tweaks to the show after it is shot, not prior (as the production was greenlit and production started before ANYTHING was shot).

I have faith in Joss Whendon; Doctor Horrible renewed it. I believe “Dollhouse” will be a smart, funny, action-filled, mythos-rich drama that will surprise most. Am I off? Is there anything to be worried about here?

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Dr. Horrible we’re just finishing. We’re going to finishing posting it, and then we’re going to have a whole conversation about how to put it out there. I’m going to put it on the Internet first. Whether or not I can monetize it that way … I’d like to be able to. I’d like to be able to make the money back, pay the crew, because Dr. Horrible, apart from being hilarious and fun, is also a product of the strike. I want to show that there’s a way to make things yourself, but then I also want to show that there’s a way to make that viable for people. So even if I don’t accomplish the second part, I want to do the first part. So we’ll put it on the Internet, hopefully with a sponsor of some kind. We’ll work that out. And then iTunes, DVD … we’re doing amazing DVD extras. It’s going to be the finest 40-minute musical since the last one I made.

I will support Doctor Horrible any way I can, because I want Whedon to do more of this in the future. Much of my information and entertainment come from independently produced internet shows, and with a guy like Joss involved, it can only get better.

DOLLHOUSE (Mondays, 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT): Joss Whedon, creator of groundbreaking cult favorites “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly,” returns to television and reunites with fellow “Buffy” alumna Eliza Dushku for a thrilling new drama, DOLLHOUSE. ECHO (Dushku) is an “Active,” a member of a highly illegal and underground group who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Confined to a secret facility known as the “Dollhouse,” Echo and the other Actives including SIERRA (Dichen Lachman, “Neighbours”) and VICTOR (Enver Gjokaj, “The Unit”) carry out engagements assigned by ADELLE (Olivia Williams, “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Rushmore”), one of the Dollhouse leaders.

The trailer company, Storm Studios, has it posted on their website pulled it from their website, but it is now on YouTube and IO9. The trailer and sneak peeks are available on Brightcove. Go watch it and come back and leave your thoughts.

Update: IO9 has an updated, better trailer.

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I couldn’t agree with you more. And I haven’t even told you yet what Joss told me about Eliza’s leading man. Yep, a male character will be involved with her Echo alter ego, but, Whedon noted, “not in a buddy way. Their relationship will take some time to come together and will be constantly evolving.” If you’re thinking Buffy and Angel, Part Deux, think again. “Echo is not capable of having a true love,” he insists, since she becomes someone new, body and soul, every week. On the other hand, he contradicts, because of that, in a way, “She’ll have a true love every week. It’s part of her plight that when she feels something strongly, it gets taken away from her. And the person she’s closest to in the show, her relationship with him will not in any way be simple. Nobody in this piece comes away clean.” Man, I’m confused already — and I love it!

Ausiello also hints that Spike‘s James Marsters is rumored to fill the role of Echo’s leading man. The more I hear about this show the more I get excited. It appears that Joss and Eliza have good creative control, which in my opinion is great news.

It’s a one-hour drama produced by Twentieth Century Fox to air on Fox. The first of the seven episodes to which the network has committed could premiere as early as spring. It’s called Dollhouse because that’s the nickname of the high-tech lab where a group of human chalkboards are kept between assignments.

I really recommend you go over and check out the entire article. It is a phone interview with both of them, and has allot of information. I am really excited to see what Joss and Eliza have come up with. My only hesitation is that it is with FOX, and we all know the luck that Joss has with FOX.

I can’t wait to hear more from either Joss or Eliza on this new project.

UPDATE:  A fan-site for Dollhouse is already up and running.