Here are the all-new Dollhouse Season 2 Cast photos. featuring (L-R) Dichen Lachman, Fran Kranz, Enver Gjokaj, Olivia Williams, Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett and Harry Lennix. Click the link below to view all of the photos:

A mixture of in-character and out of character photos there. Not quite as good as the Fringe promotional photos, in my opinion, but thankfully less ‘Echo’ focused than last season’s lot.

[copyright: FOX]

SciFiWire have an interview with Harry Lennix, who portrays Langton Boyd on Dollhouse. In a show filled with questionable ethics and amoral outlooks, Lennix believes that Boyd is an important player:

“I love this character in the context of this show. He’s really not so much the conscience of it. He’s not really so much the kind of spiritual base, but he’s the guy that asks the question ‘Why? Why are we doing this, and what are the consequences of what we’re doing?’ So whenever that happens, I think that that in itself becomes the kind of dramatic core of the show. Why? The person that asks the questions is the one that I think has the responsibility of providing those answers.”

“Without giving away too much, I would say that my immediate why—why does the Dollhouse exist, why do people hire out other people to do certain tasks they can’t do themselves, or whatever?—is because they have a deeper need. Something exists outside of what we’re taught is right and wrong. Something exists that’s bigger than that. Some things transcend right and wrong. We have basic urges and basic needs that sometimes go beyond the simple black or white of an issue.”

So the Dollhouse is basically an excuse for people to step outside of the law in order to do bad things without getting caught. Or perhaps I’m being too cynical, there’s going to be many different reasons as to why an indivual would hire an “active”. In some instances these dolls represent an extension of humanity that enables us to do the things that normal humans can’t. I don’t think Dollhouse will get too fantastical too soon, but it’s perhaps worth considering that these dolls are like ‘superheroes’ – people with the ability to do superhuman things, a symbol of hope.

The problem with superheroes is – not all of them have altruistic world views, not all of them are ‘good’ (whatever that is). Granted, the dolls start off with no memories, no real conscious awareness of good and bad, but this could be even more dangerous, because it places all of their power in the hands of the programmer - ‘the man behind the curtain’. His world view is their world view . You can’t tell me that Topher wont bend the rules slightly, you can’t tell me that he wont add his own nuances into the melting pot of the “actives” uploaded ‘instructions’.

Lennix goes on to talk about his favourite aspects of the missions, the moral compass of his character and relationship building with Echo:

“My favorite pieces really are when I get to connect with Eliza’s character and Fran Kranz’s character, Topher. We get to talk about what’s going on, like on a more human level, a level that doesn’t have to do with the assignment. Like, what exactly are we doing in this Dollhouse, and why are we doing it? What are the ramifications of what we’re doing? Those are my favorite moments: when you ask a very simple question.”

“I don’t think it has to be a lot,” he said. “I also enjoy fighting and doing the stunts that I get to do, but I think one well-placed question can take five seconds, but it resonates. It will carry on to the next week.”

“These are the questions that only time will reveal. I cannot reveal that, because I don’t actually have all the answers myself. How does it work when you switch personalities from week to week, but they tell you every time you see this one person, you trust that person? What does that person’s brain do to make all of that make sense? I don’t know. It’s a very good question.”

Source: SciFiWire

Sorry, couldn’t resist, that photo is just so apt. Also, yay for the ensemble! Finally we see and hear from them – they do actually exist, the dolls behind the curtain are real, people! Spoilers ahead:

The cast were asked if it was difficult adjusting to the changes and shooting a new first episode, and Fran Kranz(“Topher”) replied, “It wasn’t too difficult with me. The first pilot started where the dollhouse was up and running, so I treated it like I would any episode – Just another occurrence in the life of the character. I never really saw it as doing another pilot. It was just another step forward in the whole process and making the whole story that much richer.” His costar, Battlestar Galactica‘s Tahmoh Penikett (“Paul Ballard”) said, “For me, [the first pilot] was a warm up to working with everyone. It felt like it just sort of warmed you up for the new thing. It was a slightly different direction, but not that too different for me.”

There are some issues Echo displays on the first episode while doing an assignment, and Dushku said that as the season continues, “I’ve had many flaws and many glitches. I think that’s sort of where the show takes off. She’s absolutely glitching and starting to become self aware. The memory wipes are not entirely working, so things can set them off and throw them off.”

Whedon said that in most episodes of Dollhouse there “is in some sense a standalone and has closure. At the same time, it advances the mythology. That’s what separates it from a procedural.” He added that, “Towards the back half of the 13 [episodes], we do get a bit more into the mythology” noting that, “The relationships, even if they don’t remember each other, are very charged.”

It’s clear from the pilot that there’s an often argumentative relationship between Echo’s handler, Boyd Langdon (Harry Lennix) And Topher. Said Kranz of the two, “They work in the Dollhouse. And the spend a lot of time together. What I love about the show, among many things, what’s fascinating to me, is the time we get to mediate on the whole concept. It’s very fascinating and provocative. We have time to bat ideas off each other. I have weaker morals, whereas Harry’s character has a real sense of values. We have opposing schools of thought on the dollhouse and what we’re doing, and whether it’s good or bad.” Whedon said he recalled the two actors coming up to him after their first scene and asking, “Are we friends?” Whedon said his reply was, “I think Topher would say yes and Boyd would say no and neither has the whole picture.” – IGN

Some really good stuff there. I’m really looking forward to seeing the opposing schools of thought between Langton Boyd and Topher Brink play out. In a sense, it must take someone with ‘weaker morals’ to do what Topher does, but at the same time does that make it right, and where is the balance in his world view..where are his limits? As for Boyd, do his ‘values’ hold him back, are his ideals too idealistic for the world he lives in, or can his humanity count for something?

You can find a brief write-up of the Dollhouse TCA Panel over at Dollverse.

Meanwhile, the always interesting Tahmoh Penikett talks to Zap2it about what we can expect from his character in Dollhouse (he also talks briefly about BSG):

I wonder what that “connection” could be..

Take a glimpse behind the scenes of “Dollhouse” and see Joss Whedon’s “Sexy confident walk”:

*The video player may take a few seconds to load

E! Online’s Kristin has taken a look inside the Dollhouse and what she found was a cast all too willing to reveal details about their characters. Needless to say, SPOILERS AHEAD:

Proprietress of the Establishment: Olivia Williams said: “I’m playing a character called Adelle DeWitt, who runs the Dollhouse. If you need a date, you come to me and tell me what you need, and then I can imprint a beautiful young person with the personality of your dreams. She is ruthless, but she also has a level of understanding that a madam really needs in modern society.”

Uh, so, is Adelle evil? “I’m English, of course I’m evil!”

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy? Fran Kranz said: “I play Topher Brink, who is the computer programmer in the Dollhouse. Topher designs the personalities that people want for the dolls. I’m the guy who uses all these different amalgams of different personalities to create the person that you want to do whatever you want.

“I don’t know if he’s really a bad guy, but he might have a God complex that’s lasted a little long. I’m told I have no moral compass. In fact, there might be a little piece of wardrobe on its way of a compass dangling from my pocket…sort of as a reminder.”

Soiler Alert! Wicked-hot Enver Gjokaj explained, “I play Victor, who is a doll. Victor and Dichen Lachman’s character Sierra become friends with Echo, Eliza Dushku’s character.” And Enver has a pretty good secret to keep about Victor: Who he was before he entered the Dollhouse. Said Enver: “I do know who I was before, and it’s awesome—unbelievably awesome. I was excited to hear about that, too. I was just standing on the set and Joss said, ‘Hey, did I ever tell you what your background is?’ and I was like, ‘Uh, no, you have not told me what my background is, and I would love to know that,’ and he was like, ‘Oh, it’s this and this,’ and I just about crapped my pants.”

Dichen Lachman agrees that when you are on a Joss show there is no shortage of excitement: “We get to play so many different people. We’ve done three episodes, and so far I’ve been like a Navy SEAL, a bank robber and a doll. It’s awesome.”

I getting a bit of weary of DH spoilers, I mean the show is ages away. Should the cast be telling us exactly what kind of characters they will play!? Especially for a show which is all about the identity merry-go-round. Although at least we’re actually hearing from Dollhouse people other than Joss, Eliza and Tahmoh. Although I could listen to Tahmoh talk for quite a while. Anyway, Topher still interests me, his “God complex” still interests me. Should a man with a “God complex” be in charge of other peoples memories? Perhaps it takes this type of person to get the job done? I can’t wait to see Adelle in action, she can’t be as fearsome as she seems..she’s got a heart I tells ya! As for Victor, I’m interested to see just how ‘pant crapping’ his back-story is..the proof will be in the pudding. So to speak.

Read more over at E!

Thanks to TruEcho for posting this over on our forums!

Fox have released an assortment of photos starring the “hottest faces of the season”, including Dollhouse’s very own: Eliza Dushku, Olivia Williams, Tahmoh Penikett, Fran Kranz, Harry Lennix, Enver Gjokaj and Dichen Lachman. Click on the photos below to enlarge:

I think they’re very well done, I like how each of them are themed with a ‘Dollhouse backdrop’ or a specific tone, perhaps giving us some insight into to the personas we’ll be getting to know come January. It’s especially good to see Enver Gjokaj and Dichen Lachman, whom most of us know very little about!

Thanks to Dale for the heads-up!

Source: Fox Fresh