Dollhouse

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but a dip in ratings has fans of Joss Whedon’s ‘Dollhouse’ fretting for the far-out show’s fate. Can the culty action-drama affect a turnaround? If the buzz is to be believed, a one-two punch kicking off this week and continuing Oct. 23 (after a break for baseball) could energize viewer interest. Enver Gjolkaj, whose Victor wraps his head around the mind of a psycho this week, gave us a preview of the wild times ahead.

I have to suspect that this week’s episode is one of your favorites to date.

You know, I haven’t seen it, and to be honest I’m always really nervous to see how these things turn out. You’ve got to just jump and swim when it comes to developing these characters, and I never know whether I like it until I see it on television. But it was definitely one of the biggest challenges things so far – this and Roger [Adelle’s British confidante] made for some frenzied weekend before we shot.

Set up the engagement for us: What does Michael Hogan’s character (a Rossum Corporation stockholder) hope to gain by having his nephew Terry imprinted on a Doll?

The idea is that Terry is psychotic, but he’s well-connected. He comes from good stock, and his family continually bails him out. The actual Terry winds up in a coma after an accident, and they suspect that he’s got some women stowed away somewhere. If that came to light, it’d be an embarrassment to the family, so they imprint Victor, and Paul can interrogate “Terry.”

I know you’re a big Michael Hogan fan, and here he is playing your uncle. That must have been a blast.

It was shocking. I had been sick the week before, so I thought, “This would be a good time to catch up on ‘Battlestar [Galactica’], so I watched from the end of Season 1 to the end of Season 3. And all of a sudden there he is – Michael Hogan is right in front of me. It was like the best DVD extra EVER. [Laughs]

Are there any “moments” between Victor and Sierra in this episode?

I don’t know if there are any in this episode, but coming up [on Oct. 23] we’re going to explore that a LOT, and it is SO GOOD. I cannot wait for people to see it. It is phenomenal.

I said to Dichen Lachman (Sierra) that it must be cool for you two to represent this sort of “romantic touchstone” for the viewers of an otherwise frantic show.

The reason it’s played out that way is because they are so pure and so innocent, in this morally comprised world of the Dollhouse, their relationship seems so untainted. I’m glad viewers embraced that storyline.

Dichen also told me that with all the community shower scenes – and despite the best efforts of the pasties – y’all have pretty much seen each other’s bits.

That’s Dichen! Let me tell you something…. [Laughs] The guys are really uncomfortable because we have to wear a flesh-colored G-string, and it’s not like you’re feeling very hot. So we’re all looking at the ceiling while the girls are all making comments. I’m like, “You keep your eyes to yourself!”

Is the thinking that the ‘Stargate Universe’ premiere is to blame for the dent in last week’s ratings, and that ‘Dollhouse’ is bound to rebound?

I don’t know, and to be honest a privilege of being an actor on the show is that I don’t need to concern myself with that. Ultimately I AM concerned, but tracking numbers on a week-to-week basis…. My worrying about it is not going to help one way or the other. I’d rather just stay excited about the job. The attitude on the set is really positive – just as it was last year amid all the “doom and gloom.”

What episode are you guys up to?

Oh man, I just read Episode 208, and my mind was so blown. Ugh. My job is so hard because I’m DYING to tell people what’s coming up, and there are some imprints Victor has that I’d love to tell you about… but I can’t!