My review of Dollhouse's first episode is here.

Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.

I like it.

More later.

Here is the trailer for Torchwood: Children of Earth, the third season of the Doctor Who spinoff. Torchwood: Children of Earth is a miniseries that will air on five consecutive nights on BBC One in the UK in late spring or early summer, and will air on the exact same days in the US on BBC America, so there will only be a lag time of a few hours for US fans this season instead of the usual weeks or months.

The two hour pilot of Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel, will be released first on DVD on April 21st, with the series proper to debut on the Sci Fi Channel in 2010. Caprica is set fifty-one years before BSG, focusing on the rivalry between the Adama and the Graystone families as well as the creation of the Cylons. The showrunner is former 24 writer/producer Remi Aubuchon.

It looks like the next DC Comics superhero to hit the big screen will be Green Lantern. Warner Bros. has a script by Eli Stone creators Greg Berlanti & Marc Guggenheim and former Smallville and Heroes writer Michael Green, and the studio is in final negotiations with Casino Royale director Martin Campbell to direct. No casting yet, but the film will feature the Hal Jordan incarnation of the character.

Just eight days until the premiere of Joss Whedon's new show, Dollhouse. Some reviews have suggested the first episode is a little uneven, but that's to be expected. All of Whedon's previous shows took a little time to find their voice, too. I just hope the FOX network shows some patience, unlike with Firefly.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog will be released on DVD on December 19th only through Amazon.com. I've pre-ordered a copy.

I'm going to see the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still next week. I'm not keen on remakes, particularly of classics, but the visual effects look outstanding. The new cinema that opened nearby has an IMAX screen that the film will be showing on, which I think will make the visual spectacle even better. The first trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine is also attached to the film.

The Day the Earth Stood Still director Scott Derrickson and co-writer Stuart Hazeldine have an ambitious plan to adapt John Milton's poem Paradise Lost into a film. Derrickson is consulting with Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) about how to visualize such a production. It seems folly to even consider making a mainstream film based on the work.

Bill Willingham's award-winning comic book Fables may be coming soon to a television screen near you. The ABC network has ordered a pilot to be written by Six Degrees creators Stuart Zicherman and Raven Metzner, and directed by David Semel (a veteran of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Heroes). If it's well received, the network will commission a full series. I think it'll be difficult to adapt, but ABC proved with Pushing Daisies that it can handle a quirky fantasy property (at least as long as it gets good ratings).

The cast of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland has grown to include Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts, and Christopher Lee and Stephen Fry in unknown roles. They join the already announced Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen.

It looks like Watchmen's running time will be around two hours and thirty-five minutes, with an extended three hour and ten minute director's cut planned for later release on DVD. I don't know why they can't just release the director's cut theatrically, since The Lord of the Rings proved films of that length can be very successful.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader remains in pre-production. Several reports indicate that it won't be greenlit for production unless the budget can be cut, perhaps by as much as half, due to the disappointing box office results of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Remember John Carpenter's cool 1980s sci fi B-movie, They Live? Universal Pictures wants to remake it. Is there anything that isn't being remade?

We're two months away from the debut of Dollhouse, the new Joss Whedon-created series. Whedon insists the poor time slot on Fridays and massive network creative interference aren't problems, but I think he's simply being too nice about it. Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica staff writer Jane Espenson has joined the writing staff, though. If the show can survive long enough, I think her presence can only help.

Online reports say that Pushing Daisies has been canceled, although ABC hasn't confirmed it. If true, the show may be a late victim of the writers' strike. It was one of the few shows that didn't come back with new episodes after the strike was resolved. All of the shows that took that approach are doing poorly this season. Apparently networks didn't learn from the fate of Jericho that even critically acclaimed shows with good ratings can be killed off by a long hiatus. It won't surprise me if Chuck and Heroes have the same fate.

In other news, FOX has scheduled Joss Whedon's Dollhouse in the 9pm slot on Fridays beginning in February 2009. Some of you may recall that this is the same time slot FOX put Whedon's Firefly in, and the poor time slot combined with poor marketing spelled an early death for that show. If that's not enough bad luck, it's set to debut on Friday the 13th. And even worse, its lead in will be a genre show with declining ratings, namely The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The original plan was to air Dollhouse on Mondays at 9pm with the successful 24 as the lead in. As soon as I heard Joss was doing a new show for FOX, I had a very bad feeling about how the network would handle it. It's sounding like Firefly all over again.

Speaking of 24, the seventh season was supposed to begin in January 2008 but was postponed for one year due to the writers' strike. The seventh season is now expected to begin airing sometime in January or February 2009. Because of the eighteen or nineteen month gap between seasons, a two hour telefilm called 24: Redemption was made to bridge the sixth and seventh seasons. The telefilm will air on November 23rd.

The Middleman hasn't been officially canceled, but it looks like it's on an extended hiatus with a second season contingent on how well a planned DVD box set of the first season sells. That's something most shows never come back from, Family Guy being the only exception I can think of.

Production has been temporarily halted on Joss Whedon's new television show, Dollhouse, because he felt the scripts for some episodes weren't good enough. He's going to oversee re-writes before production begins again. This won't cause a delay for the show, because it isn't going to debut until January. Earlier, he shot a new first episode, deciding to use the previously filmed pilot as the second episode.

Iron Man director Jon Favreau revealed details of Iron Man 2 at a news conference today. The second film will introduce the Mandarin as the villain, and will also see the character of Rhodey become War Machine. Favreau is considering shooting it in IMAX and/or 3-D. Actor turned screenwriter Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder) is writing the first draft of the screenplay. Iron Man 2 is scheduled for release on April 30, 2010.

After a successful animated spoof of Star Wars last year, Family Guy is at it again with a planned spoof of The Empire Strikes Back, again with the approval of George Lucas.

According to a recent report, Spider-Man 4 is a go with director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire both returning, and a screenplay by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac). Vanderbilt should help the franchise get back on track after Raimi and his brother Ivan (Darkman, Army of Darkness) wrote the script for Spider-Man 3 with mixed results. The studio may also shoot Spider-Man 4 and a planned Spider-Man 5 back-to-back. Look for Spider-Man 4 in May 2011.

20th Century Fox is expanding their list of X-Men spinoff films. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is set for release on May 1, 2009, and a film about a young Magneto is still being developed. Now the slate includes development of a Deadpool film (he'll be played by Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and a film about a team of younger X-Men (New Mutants, perhaps?). The studio might also make a Daredevil sequel.

Campy early 1980s television show The Greatest American Hero is being developed for a big screen remake to be directed by Stephen Herek (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure). I remember watching that way back when.

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about how some feminists have criticized Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, here's Joss Whedon's response from an online Q&A session:

But, yeah, Penny is not the feminist icon of our age. And yes, she does exist in the narrative as part of Doc's fate -- but everyone in the story is there to move the story. Is she less real than Hammer? (Is ANYTHING?) We gave her a cause so she wouldn't JUST be the Pretty Girl but the fact is, neither Doc nor Hammer gives her the attention she deserves -- Doc's crush comes before he has the slightest idea what she cares about. Which is not uncommon. It reminds me of "Sweeney Todd," the Judge and Sweeney singing "Pretty Women" -- a beautiful duet with no insight whatsoever. Just images.

Wow. Joss Whedon seems to have angered some feminists with Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog because of how they perceive the treatment of Penny within the story. As a feminist, I think that Dr. Horrible is a satire of the superhero/supervillain conflict as male power fantasy, and the characters are largely stock figures who exist to further that concept. Viewed within that context, the characterization of Penny makes sense. Of course, I've been reading superhero comics for three decades, so what might seem obvious to me might seem less obvious, or be invisible, to other viewers.

Act III of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog? Love it! What a typical Joss Whedon way to wrap up a story.

He hasn't lost his touch at all, and I'm looking forward to Dollhouse even more, especially since Dr. Horrible co-writers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen will be staff writers on Dollhouse.

I also love the cameos of Buffy the Vampire Slayer staff writers David Fury, Drew Goddard, and Doug Petrie, and Buffy showrunner Marti Noxon. Jed Whedon and Tancharoen also join in the fun.

I like seeing the little Mutant Enemy creature "grr! argh!" his way across the screen again at the end.

Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Acts I and II are up now, and Act III will be up at Midnight eastern time on Saturday. Available for free viewing through Sunday.

I love it! Bravo, Joss!

I think Doctor Who will see the Eleventh Doctor debut in the fourth special of 2009. Outgoing showrunner Russell T Davies recently said that star David Tennant has made a decision and the BBC knows what it is, but with another report claiming that the BBC is offering Tennant £1.3 million per season to stay on as the Tenth Doctor, it reads to me like he's decided to leave the show and they're trying to bribe him to come back for 2010. That's just my personal speculation, but I think it fits the known facts.

British science fiction drama Primeval will make its US debut on BBC America in August. Two seasons have been shown on Britain's ITV with a third scheduled for next year, but the first two seasons will be combined for US broadcast. One of the second season's episodes was written by Paul Cornell of Doctor Who fame.

MGM has greenlit The Cabin in the Woods, a horror film written by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon and former Buffy staff writer Drew Goddard (who also wrote Cloverfield), with Goddard set to make his debut as a director. The chairperson of MGM's motion picture group is Mary Parent, a former Universal Studios executive who was instrumental in getting Serenity made.

MGM is also doing a remake of Red Dawn, the "o noes, commies are invading!" action film from the 1980s. Weird choice for a remake, seeing as how the whole Cold War premise is a thing of the past. Unless they present it as an alternative history, I don't see how it'll work.

It looks like Iron Man director Jon Favreau is returning to the director's chair for the 2010 sequel, Iron Man 2. Considering what a good job he did with the first film, it's a positive sign that he's coming back for the next one.

An Elfquest film is under development at Warner Bros. with Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) set to write and direct. Not exactly the first person I'd think of to adapt Elfquest.

Quote of the day: "We got Jesus and Gandalf!" - AMC network general manager Charlie Collier on the casting of Jim Caviezel (Jesus in The Passion of the Christ) and Ian McKellen (Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings) in the remake of The Prisoner.

Teaser: Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Here's the teaser for Joss Whedon's upcoming three-part internet musical series, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Whedon is the director and co-writer, and the cast includes Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, and Felicia Day (Potential Slayer Vi on the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Reviews: Lost and various comics

Review: Lost, Episodes 4.12/4.13/4.14, "There's No Place Like Home, Parts 1-3"

I have to admit that I was beginning to lose some interest this season, but the three-part season finale written by showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof has me hooked all over again. To describe some of the events as mindblowing would be an understatement. Now I can't wait for the fifth season to begin in January 2009.

Review: Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1

No spoilers, but wow, what a way for writer Joss Whedon and artist John Cassaday to end their four year run on Astonishing X-Men. Though I only kept up with it the past year through online issue summaries, the ending is still a kick in the gut. What a typically Joss way to end his run on something. Bravo!

Review: Final Crisis #1

This was the release that I most anticipated and made me want to read comics again, so I was a little underwhelmed by it's actual content. As the supposedly final chapter in a loose trilogy of Crisis events (including 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths and 2005's Infinite Crisis, or alternatively Infinite Crisis and 2004's Identity Crisis), there's nothing that really grabs you right from the start. It seems muddled so far and I don't have a good feel for where it's going. Writer Grant Morrison can be brilliant, but he's at his weakest when writing mainstream superhero comics. We'll see which way this miniseries eventually goes.

Review: Angel: Revelations #1

Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa serves up an interesting take on the life of Warren Worthington III before he grows a pair of wings, but it's nearly undone by the hideously ugly art of Adam Pollina. Oh, my bleeding eyes.

Re-watching all of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly since January has allowed me to pick up on the one theme that they all have in common: family. Not necessarily the one you're born with, but always the one you choose and chooses you. At their cores, the shows created by Joss Whedon are all about families of choice, from the Scoobies to Angel Investigations to the crew and passengers of the Serenity, outcasts all but outcasts who come together as families. I think this is where a great deal of the emotional power in Whedon's work derives from.

It's official. Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) will direct The Hobbit and its currently untitled sequel. The sequel will be an original story detailing the six decade gap in-between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I'm excited by the news. Short of Peter Jackson directing these films, this is the best possible choice. Jackson will be one of the producers and may also contribute to the screenplays. The Weta design team will be working on the films as well.

In other del Toro news, his latest film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, will be out in July. He said that he's open to making a third and final Hellboy film, but it will be at least 2013 before it could be made now that he has the two Tolkien films to direct.

The first season of Joss Whedon's new television show, Dollhouse, went into production this week. Whedon reunites with actresses Eliza Dushku and Amy Acker, veterans of his previous shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The cast also includes Olivia Williams, Tahmoh Penikett (Helo on Battlestar Galactica) and Harry J. Lennix (who was amazing as Aaron the Moor in Julie Taymor's film, Titus). It's rare that I get excited about a new television show before it actually airs, but I'm excited about this one.

One week to go until Iron Man arrives in cinemas. If it's as good as the previews make it look, it'll be really good.