Dollhouse
Spoilers

Will Dollhouse fans finally get the hook-up they've been waiting for?

It sounds that way, according to star Tahmoh Penikett.

"I think it's safe to say you're going to see [a kiss] soon," he told E! News of his character, Paul Ballard, and Eliza Dushku's Echo.

Regarding his overall relationship with the Dollhouse, the actor added:

"Paul has to drink the Dollhouse Kool-Aid for a bit—I don't know if he's going to continue doing it though. I think you'll see, over the next couple of episodes, that he's having more and more issues working for the company, but he's kind of stuck in that position right now."

Aside from the usual reasons of suspense and intrigue, why should you watch Dollhouse this week? We've got a few words for you:

Echo... as a sexy college school girl.

During the episode "Belle Chose," our favorite doll is programmed in this role, as the promo and photos below depict:

Click on the following pics for an early look at scenes from the episode - and remember to visit TV Fanatic soon after it airs for a full review!

We're just a week away from the second season premiere of Dollhouse.

While Echo will get married to guest star Jamie Bamber's character on the September 25 episode, Tahmoh Penikett (Paul) told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello that a major development concludes this opening installment.

“At the end [of the premiere], there is a very important conversation between Echo and Paul where she lets me know that she’s functioning with all these personalities in her mind at once and that she knows what is going on," Penikett said. "It changes the playing field if the main doll has awareness of her situation. I like that it isn’t all damsel in distress, and Paul is starting to realize that.”

As for Summer Glau, who is confirmed to appear on a future Dollhouse episode as the character of Bennett, sources say the actress won't be in the field.

Instead, like Topher, Bennett is a chief programmer. Very interesting.

While creator Joss Whedon and star Eliza Dushku receive the bulk of attention for their roles on Dollhouse, the Fox drama makes good use of its supporting case.

Harry Lennix, for example, plays Boyd Langdon on the show. As it heads into season two (premiering on September 25), the actor spoke to Sci Fi Wire about what fans can expect.

"The Dollhouse is reeling from the encroachment by Alpha, obviously," Lennix said. "This is an important thing, because obviously this man is now out, and he's on the loose, and he has access to technology which might be detrimental to the smooth functioning of the Dollhouse.

So we still have to try to find her, and at the same time, we also have to continue to supply services to our clients. So we're somewhere in between knowing that something bad is out there that is an imminent threat, but also we have a job to perform by having our actors engage with the different clients."

To close the show's opening season, Boyd was promoted to head of security. He hasn't had much to do in that role yet.

"As yet, I do not, and yet that's okay, because I think that quality trumps quantity any time," Lennix said. "Right now, being able to work with Olivia Williams directly is great. I also get to work with Amy Acker. I've got Olivia and Amy, and while I do not have as much to do with Eliza as I used to, I have the hope that maybe I can be in the best of both worlds."

Here comes the bride... mostly dead inside...

On the second season premiere of Dollhouse, Echo will take the marital plunge with guest star Jamie Bamber. He appears on the September 25 episode as a wealthy businessman that Eliza Dushku's character marries for an assignment.

As the actress told TV Guide Magazine, she couldn't have chosen a better fake first husband.

“I was really impressed with Jamie,” she said. “He’s a gorgeous husband with [whom I got] great wedding pictures for my first time down the aisle.”

Dushku then joked about this Dollhouse storyline reflecting her personal life; specifically, recent requests from her mother.

“In the past couple years, I’ve been getting the [marriage] question from her more than ever, so it’s nice that I could send her some pictures to tide her over.”

Dollhouse creator Joss Whedon has made no secret that he'd love for Firefly alum Summer Glau to appear on his new show.

Now, it looks like Whedon has gotten his wish.

Fox has confirmed that the actress, who guest-starred last year on The Big Bang Theory, will come aboard Dollhouse on the second season's fifth episode. She'll play a role in at least two episodes total.

Glau will portray a character named Bennett that shares a connection with both Echo and another individual associated with the Dollhouse.

Babes in bondage?

Zombie mind control?

Season two of Dollhouse will take this drama to entirely new levels, as the show's stars explain below.

Heating up: Tahmoh Penikett and Eliza Dushku both confirm that Echo and Ballard will grow tighter this fall. As Dushku told E! News:

"Echo doesn't know entirely what's going on yet... [but] as she becomes more and more self-aware, she's recognizing this constant, tall, dark, looming man in the Dollhouse."

Penikett added: "They have a connection. It's not a physical attraction, but I hope it's something that we explore a lot more this season. You're not quite sure what it is. There's a past, there's a history, there's an understanding between them that's very different. I think the audience is really going to like it and be really curious about where we're going in the first few episodes."

More Dollhouse romance: Said Enver Gjokaj: "Sierra and Victor are definitely still involved. They're going to explore that relationship more. They explore the Sierra-and-Victor love as dolls, but then also they're going to go into the backstory of both of them."

Murder, sex and more: Fran Kranz (Topher) tells fans to sit back and hold on tightly. The reason? Season two if full of "sexually dark stuff... murder... sex and murder."

Count us in! Dollhouse premieres on September 25 with an episode titled "Vows."

Having received an unexpected pick up for season two, it's no surprise that Dollhouse creator Joss Whedon can barely contain his excitement.

He's spent the last few weeks dishing on the series, previewing upcoming storylines.

At this week's Television Critics Association tour, for example, he was asked specifically about what's in store for Echo this fall. He replied:

"Echo starts really realizing that as a person, she not only exists, but that she has a mission—that she has something she wants. This year we are going to see the results of everything she went through last year, particularly the event with Alpha where she was downloaded with all of her personalities.

We are going to see what effect that's had on her, and we are going to find her to be a great deal less passive and a great deal more directed in what she wants, and that is, of course, going to make her life a lot harder. And the more she finds out about what is going on around her and the more we find out, the creepier it is going to get, because creepy is what it makes it fun."

Dollhouse returns on September 25. Jamie Bamber will guest star on the season premiere.

This fall's Caprica isn't the only place Battlestar Galactica will be able to go to relive the past.

With Tahmoh Penikett already portraying FBI agent Paul Ballard on Dollhouse, and Jamie Bamber set for a guest-starring appearance, it's now been announced that Michael Hogan will also show up on season two of the Fox drama.

Best known as Colonel Tigh on Battlestar, Hogan play a customer of the Dollhouse that has used its services in the past.  No word yet on his airdate.

Hogan will also appear later this season on Warehouse 13. He'll play Myka's father on that SyFy series.

Entering season two, Dollhouse faces an unusual problem:

A segment of its viewers have seen "Epitaph One" on DVD, an unaired episode that depicted the future for Echo and the rest of the characters, presenting a possibly radical, fresh direction for the series.

How will creator Joss Whedon deal with this issue on season two's opening episode, which airs September 25?

He spoke to reporters on the Dollhouse set last week and said the series will revisit that future occasionally, however: "The actual bulk of the show takes place three months after the events of "Omega."

Whedon must also set up the second season to satisfy both loyal viewers and newcomers.

"We have so many regulars and relationships and so much mythology already around the central premise of 'this woman can be anyone' that this [the second season premiere] has a lot of catching up for any viewer whether or not "Epitaph" was a part of it," he said.

Overall, Whedon told the media, the goal is to "build Echo up from nothing... and really give her a sense of momentum and purpose that will ground the show in a way it couldn't be last year."