In a stunning move, sources say Fox has renewed Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” for next fall. The official announcement will not be made until Monday at the network’s upfront presentation, but sources confirm a deal has been struck for another 13 episodes. Fox plans to continue the show on Fridays next fall.

The low-rated series was last seen given up for dead by the media in a field somewhere.

But its DVR numbers are strong, online streaming is strong. It’s a sci-fi show, which tend to bring in strong ancillary revenue such as DVD sales for sister-company studio 20th TV. And it’s said that Fox execs rather like the series, especially the latter half of the season. – from THR

Joss Whedon, creator of Fox’s sci-fi series Dollhouse, told reporters that there is still a chance that Fox will pick the show up for a second season, provided the remaining four episodes do well—especially with a new lead-in, Prison Break, which replaces Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles in the timeslot before, starting April 24. “The question is, with a different lead-in, will anything change?” Whedon said in a group interview Wednesday in Hollywood before appearing on a Paley Festival panel about the show. “Will Prison Break be a worse match for us because it’s such a different show? Or will it be better because more people watch it? Do more people watch it? I don’t know what the numbers on Prison Break are. So there are a lot of X factors.” – From Sci Fi Wire

- from Latimes

Check out the new Simpson’s title sequence. Fox is now bringing us the show in HD staring 2/15.

The NCIS spinoff cast is coming around. Leads Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J will be joined by Louise Lombard as the female lead, a former major in the military police turned investigator. Peter Cambor will play Nate an operational psychologist and Daniela Ruah, a newcomer to American television, will play Kensi, an investigator specializing in forensics and criminology.

Rumors are out that says there’s a Prison Break spinoff planned. The show would focus on women, and was originally rumored as early as 2007. Prison Break will end it’s run this year after four seasons.

Terminator Salvation director McG doesn’t blame Christian Bale for his blow up last summer – saying the set is a passionate place and things happen. Of course, McG should take on some of the responsibility – we know it’s only 4 minutes of audio – but a director shouldn’t let his film set descend into such chaos.

McG also addressed rumors of a possible Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo in the new Terminator film. The director revealed to the audience that they were working on a revolutionary technique for “doing something with that” and that he wasn’t sure if it would even work.

Everyone is onboard for Sex & the City II.

Take a look at some more Transformers 2 toys – The Fallen and Wheelie. You excited!

Joss Whedon’s new TV show, the Dollhouse, debuts Friday, and reviews coming out are decidedly mixed. Most people are saying that the show will need some time to gain an audience. Also, several are noting that the show’s premise may cause some issues since the main character, Eliza Dushku, will essentially become a new character each show. Critics are wondering if viewers are going to want to ’start new’ each week. Given Whedon’s track record (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity), we’ll certainly give it time – but will your normal viewer and the network.

Joss Whedon fans are notoriously dedicated and passionate; I can certainly appreciate and relate to such fervor as an active member of the online Lost community. So I would like to state that although I love the genre and watch many similar shows, I have never been a Buffy, Firefly or Serenity person (but I LOVED Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog!). To be honest…Lost, Fringe, Heroes and The X-Files occupy most of the sci-fi space in my wheelhouse. Regardless of my lack of Whedon experience, however, I have been anxiously anticipating the arrival of Dollhouse based on the original description of the series alone. Before I begin and for what it’s worth – I tend to avoid spoilers and news about any show I watch or would like to; for that reason, I was able to absorb and enjoy the first episode of Dollhouse without distraction or any real information about the cast, script, etc. My goal is to provide initial thoughts and perspective rather than a detailed analysis or full episode recap with potential spoilers. – From TV Overmind

OK, a little preface. I’ve watched the Dollhouse episode (given the history of remakes on this show, I don’t know whether I can properly call it the “pilot”) once, casually, without taking notes. I reserve the right to change my mind after I’ve watched it and marinated on it more. And I wasn’t crazy about Firefly when it first debuted, in retrospect one of the worse calls of my career….It was both better and worse than I expected, in different ways. One of my concerns about it was that—given Joss Whedon’s talent for making absorbing serials—the case-of-the-week nature of the show would make it harder to grow attached to. (I’m assuming that anyone who cares at this point knows the premise already, but in case I’m wrong: Eliza Dushku plays Echo, an “Active,” which is a person who has agreed to let a secretive organization erase his or her original memories and personality and implant new ones in them for “assignments” involving rich clients.) If it weren’t for Whedon’s pedigree, I’m not sure I’d be dying to see a second episode. But for me, the main draw now is not seeing Dushku become a different person every week, but getting to see Joss Whedon become a different writer every week.

- from Time