Dollhouse
Interviews

The long-term prospects for Dollhouse aren't good.

The series is struggling big time with its ratings and, while Fox has promised to air all 13 episode of season two, it won't commit beyond that. Viewers should prepare to say goodbye.

But in the meantime, Dichen Lachman (Sierra) says there is a lot to be excited about.

Speaking to TV Addict, the actress has previewed the October 23 episode, in which the Rossum Corporation will give fans a closer look at one of the Dollhouse’s most mysterious members.

“[But] not too close,” says the actress. “Just enough to understand what happened in Sierra’s life to bring her to where she is today.... This season is less about the engagement-of-the-week and more about how deep this thing [the Dollhouse] goes and how very wrong it is. Be excited, it’s really really cool.”

On the first season finale of Dollhouse, November was released from her Dollhouse contract by Agent Ballard.

As a result, viewers were left in the dark about the future of November, as was portrayer, Miracle Laurie.

But both are back, and the actress dished on her return to Dollhouse - taking place tonight, as the character Madeline within this tri-character individual (it makes sense to viewers, trust us) - with TV Guide Magazine.

On how Madeline returns: We get to meet her really for the first time, and see who she is after the experience of being in the Dollhouse... the theme is, whether we meant to play this out or not, that everyone has the same soul. It’s their minds that are being wiped and replaced, and different personalities that are put in, but I think, there is an essence for everybody that is the same throughout. I think that's the same with me. It’s still [the same] November/Mellie, that we fell in love with.

On the world in which Madeline resides: We kind of pick up and really see what her life is now. There aren't any flash backs to before. We got that from last year, that her daughter passed away and that's why she volunteered to be part of the Dollhouse. So we get to see how she exists, now that that is over for her and the contract is over and she has to live a normal life again.

The thing about all these scripts so far, is that I'm constantly surprised and blown away at how brave and smart and funny and witty and exciting they are. Our writers didn't waste a minute. Everyone's relationships are tested immediately. I'm just blown away by the season. We're not even in halfway yet. So I think the fans are going to be really, really happy.

As always, we'll recap tonight's episode in detail soon after it ends - but check out stills from "Instinct" right now and get an early preview of what's to come!

Dollhouse viewers learned a valuable lesson in May: when you overload a doll with multiple personalities, serious problems arise.

Such a development took place on the drama's first season finale, as Eliza Dushku Echo received a bevy of personalities at once, the combination causing a shortage in her brain.

How will the character deal with that problem this season, which premiere tonight?

"Basically, through force of will," series creator Joss Whedon told TV Guide. "She did have all those personalities dumped into her at once and as we pick up, we're going to find out that that's starting to affect her."

How will they affect her? A few Dollhouse spoilers reveal clues.

But Dushku herself says:

"She's much more directed and driven, and even in her doll state is growing, and learning and starting to try to access these personalities to see what they can help her with, because she has a mission that she understands now, which is to get back to her personality and get everybody back to theirs."

The show airs at 9 p.m. on Fox.

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."

If you think you're excited that Dollhouse got picked up for a second season, imagine how creator Joss Whedon feels.

Or don't imagine. Read what he said to Entertainment Weekly:

"I'm really proud of the second half of season 1, and we're just expanding on that in a huge way: Finding out the different things that Eliza [Dushku] can be, at the same time as extending our mythology. Really, just every meeting is like, 'What's the most fun we can have with this actor?' about the whole cast. All I can say - 'cause I'm gonna be Mr. Un-Spoiler - is that we're having a crazy amount of fun, and usually, that tends to translate onto the screen."

Fortunately, Whedon did spill a bit more about season two of the show.

Fans are clearly buzzing about the final word spoken by Echo on it: Caroline. Whedon says this was the start of her upcoming quest.

"Echo wants to find not just Caroline, but what's going on behind everything. She doesn't have all of the skills. But she does have this weird super power of becoming a different person all the time, so she might start using that more specifically to find out who Caroline was and what happened to her and why this place exists."