The casting script for some scenes of Joss Whedon’s new FOX show Dollhouse have leaked out. They all seem to be from the new pilot that was shot recently. It’s quite an interesting read, and gives you an early look of what to expect early next year.

Spoilers after the cut.

I gotta say, on paper Dollhouse ‘s premise looks to be one of the stranger concept that Whedon has come up with. And that’s saying a lot considering we’re talking about the guy that came up with the ideas of a cheerleader who kills vampires, vampire noir(before it was cool), and a western set in space.

Set in what appears to be present day Los Angeles, Dollhouse around a young woman named Echo, played by Whedonverse stalwart Eliza Dushku, who is part of a group of men and women that are “Actives”, or “Dolls”. The Dolls have had their personalities wiped clean in order to be implanted with any number of new personalities or abilities. This is done so that they can be hired out by the wealthy or in need and provide exactly what is needed from them. After the job is done, they return to their mysterious facility, nicknamed The Dollhouse and have their memories wiped away, leaving them blank slates once more.

Like a said, it’s a weird concept to get your head around, but the snips of script actually help to get a better sense of what Whedon is trying to do here. Unfortunately what’s out there is not the full script, instead it’s just pages that were sent to casting companies for people to audition with. So while there’s quite a number of pages, most of them repeat the same three scenes. It’s almost like Rashamon upon first read actually.

The earliest scene has Echo going out with a rich, but nerdy guy name Matt. They’re shown racing on bikes to Matt’s birthday bash, and it is apparent that Echo lets Matt win the race. For all appearances they look to be a couple completely in love, and Echo confirms that, by saying that even though this was supposed to be a “no strings attached” sort of thing, she’s feeling a lot different now. Here we also see hints that Matt is fully aware what is going to happen in a few minutes.

MATT

(Smiling)

I remember.

(serious)

I remember it all. And always will.

ECHO

What, like I’d forget? You think this is a normal weekend for me?

MATT

Maybe?

After a few more minutes of talking, Matt gives Echo a small gold pendant and goes to get something to drink for the both of them. Echo continues to dance, when suddenly she freezes, and all her features melt away. Like a robot she calmly turns around and walks out of the room, with Matt watching her walk out. He has a quick interaction with his friend.

FRIEND

Dude, where’s your friend?

MATT

It was time for her to go. Had to get to her carriage before it turned into a pumpkin.

FRIEND

What?

Matt hands him a beer.

MATT

Stroke of midnight.

FRIEND

Midnight?

MATT

End of the ball.

He clicks the bottle and moves on. His friend is completely lost.

FRIEND

Dude, it’s like five.

When we next see Echo, it’s clear that she’s not the same as the one we saw with Matt. She’s now a hostage negotiator working to return a kidnap child back to her rich father. There’s an interesting part in the script, as it’s apparent that not only has she had the necessary skills implanted into her to be a good negotiator, but the Dollhouse also implanted a memory of Echo being abducted when she was a child. Perhaps to make things feel more personal to her?

GABRIEL

Why? What made you do all these amazing things? Did something terrible

happen in your childhood? Did horrible men come and snatch you away?

ECHO

(quietly but directly)

Yes.

That stops him. But he’s still eyeing her with capricious puzzlement.

GABRIEL

You were kidnapped.

ECHO

When I was nine.

Or maybe not. Maybe this is really real Echo talking. Maybe she’s speaking about how she was captured and taken to the Dollhouse. While it might frustrate viewers in the long run, this could be a really cool thing. When Echo speaks, do you believe her?

Echo is not the only character highlighted. We also get some face time with Special agent Paul Ballard(Tahmoh Penikett) who has been trying to find out about the Dollhouse for almost 18 months. The scene intercuts between Ballard training in a boxing ring and being grilled by his superiors. It’s been done before, but it works here.

Overall, the script proves a tantalizing glimpse on what we can expect from at least the first episode. It also continues to bring up the question of whether this is just going to be too weird for most mainstream audience. My main concern about this show since it was announced was how would Whedon get us to care about a main character that has a different personality on every episode. So far he manages to avoid this problem by making all the characters she inhabits in the first episode interesting. But can that sustain the audience’s interest?

I’m hopeful.

via Spoiler TV