tahmohpenikett

Joss himself has promised that Friday's episode of Dollhouse is a game-changer. It's a pity that the episode is competing with the series finale of Battlestar Galactica. What follows is a major spoiler for Friday that I'm leaving until after the jump.

Those of you who do not fear spoilers, click away...

(S01E05) Among other things we've learned from tonight's episode of Dollhouse is that those who live in a cult can sing in perfect harmony. Mostly likely due to brainwashing.

We've also learned that certain members of the U.S. Senate are well aware of the Dollhouse's existence, making it even less likely that Agent Ballard will succeed in his mission of bringing the place down.

"I hope our fans stay with us through the first five episodes because ... the show just gets so good for the last half of the season."

You may not know his name (and if you do know it, you may not be able to pronounce it), but Tahmoh Penikett rules Friday night sci-fi television. Turn on the tube and you can watch Penikett back-to-back in Joss Whedon's new Fox drama, 'Dollhouse,' and Sci Fi's acclaimed 'Battlestar Galactica.'

The Canadian star chatted with AOL TV about rabid Whedon fans, all those rumors about the demise of 'Dollhouse' and how he feels about the series finale of 'BSG.'

(S01E04) Why hire an Active to be a midwife for a baby delivery? Surely a real midwife must be a lot cheaper. Unless you need a midwife that is also a champion skier that reads Sanskrit.

In the beginning, I wondered if Echo was going to be victimized by a man (or group of men) every week until she turned all master criminal on us. For some reason, I was under the impression that the Actives were only for romantic or altruistic purposes (despite the illegal nature of the business). Obviously, I was mistaken.

I can actually understand the logic of going to the Dollhouse for a master safecracker or any sort of high tech criminal activity. People who can perform those activities are legitimately rare and expensive. With the Dollhouse, you get a one-stop-shop for all your illegal needs.

With Taffy, "blue skies" is the new "five by five". It was kind of neat to see two different actresses play the same character. I found it funny how Sierra, when imprinted with Taffy's personality, knew exactly where she put the safecracking tools on her body.

Do they cook? Not sure. Are they Jedi Knights? Errrrr, maybe? So what's the deal with Celebrity Jedi Chefs? We wish we knew. In their own words, they're [mostly] TV actors who "do the same sorts of things that 'normal' Jedi do, but [they] also cook." There are 216 of them, and most have appeared on buzzy sci-fi shows, including Heroes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Battlestar Galactica.

We're not talking background players, either. Yeah, we're still stuck trying to figure out what Celebrity Jedi Chefs...is exactly (and if the pictures, as suggested by the fashion, were all magically taken in 1993), but we needn't hear any more if it means we get to see pictures of Joan Holloway (among others, after the jump) weilding a saber.

(S01E03) At first, I wondered if the songs written for this episode were from external sources. Then I realized that tonight's episode was written by Jed Whedon, brother of Joss, and Jed's fiancée Maurissa Tancharoen. Jed is a music composer and among his other projects is the Internet sensation Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, thus answering my question.

Ironically, the episode even revolved around the music industry and its performers, with Rayna Russell obviously being the love child of Beyoncé Knowles and Britney Spears. Was Tancharoen among the musical extras in this episode? I didn't see her if she was, but it wouldn't surprise me.

(S01E02) In what was seriously a step up in show quality, Dollhouse gave us its version of the short story "The Most Dangerous Game". In effect, humans hunting humans with lethal weapons. I'm surprised the concept isn't a Fox reality show yet.

Episodes that fill back story always enrich a series (and remain one of Whedon's strengths). A good example of this sort of story is "Out of Gas" from Whedon's previous television show Firefly. I've also seen the concept in Torchwood and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. In this case, we learn about Boyd Langton's introduction to the Dollhouse and the nature of his relationship with Echo.

Now we have a potential Moriarty to Echo's Sherlock Holmes in the form of Alfa (which is spelled that way and not "Alpha" in the NATO phonetic alphabet). It's uncertain as to whether Richard himself was Alfa, but if he was, it would have been likely that Adelle DeWitt would have recognized him in his initial interview (unless plastic surgery was involved). Thus, that seems unlikely. Had he been, it would have added a level of complexity to his name since hunting is such an alpha-male sport (much as how Echo lives up to her name by containing traces of memories).

(S01E01) Joss Whedon returns to television not with a bang, but not with a whimper either. The first episode of his new show Dollhouse was kind of "meh" for me, but Whedon's strength has been the ability to build characters over a few episodes, so I suspect the best of this series is yet to come. As the episode stands, it was a good introduction to the characters and general situation.

Despite the sci-fi trappings, the first episode of the show was more reminiscent of 24 than any of Whedon's previous shows. It's a shame that Fox can't market it as such.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Joss Whedon's new television brainchild, particularly since it became slated for Friday nights (it premieres on Feb. 13 at 9 PM ET). It's difficult to judge a Joss Whedon show by a single episode since the creator relies so much on serialized storytelling, so let's start with the facts.

Joss Whedon is a versatile writer and has no difficulty in producing shows that nobody expects. For example, Firefly was nothing like Buffy. Similarly, Dollhouse is very different than Whedon's previous television ventures. This could be why Fox relegated it to Fridays. Perhaps they fear change.

After a log day of being in Hall H and Ballroom 20, things started to come to an end for the busiest day of the 'Con with the Battlestar Galactica panel. Basically, if didn't already have your arse planted in a seat in Ballroom 20 for that panel, you weren't getting to see BSG. I'm either completely dedicated to the coverage for TV Squad or a complete fanboy for the show. I submit that I'm likely both.

I'm not going to post the full, detailed report yet, as Sci Fi has told me we'll have embeddable video to show you soon (here it is on SciFI.com). Seriously, there's no way I can put to justice the funny job that Kevin Smith did as moderator -- you have to see and hear it for yourself. I will, however, submit to you the highlights for now.

With the final season of Battlestar Galactica starting up next week (sniff), the actors on that fabulous show need some new work. At least one of them has a pretty sweet gig set up: Tahmoh Penikett (aka 'Helo') has been cast on Joss Whedon's new pilot.

The pilot is called Dollhouse, and it already stars Eliza Dushku. The series is about four "dolls" who receive different personalities for each assignment (FBI, CIA? I dunno). Dushku's character begins to override the microchips that supposedly wipe out her memory and figures out who she is. Penikett will play an FBI agent who is obsessed with the Dollhouse myth and set on finding out the truth.

OK folks, I'm a bit jetlaggy and all out of sorts, but this is the best I could pull together for you until I'm back on my game later today. As you know, I'm out in Vancouver at a "digital press tour" thrown by Sci Fi for several of its hits shows, including, of course, Battlestar Galactica. As part of the tour, we were all given DVDs of the interview panels we did for each of the shows (Eureka, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica).

I'd like to thank the folks of Sci Fi and of course the guys from Battlestar who took the time to come sit with us for an hour.

Part one of the panel is after the jump. I'll have the second part ready later today. Enjoy!