Dollhouse

Meet Maurissa Tancharoen. Don’t know her yet? You should. Part of the writing team that brought Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog to life, Tancharoen also played the role of Captain Hammer’s number one groupie, and lent her angelic voice to many of the web series’ songs (including the awesomely haunting finisher, "Everything You Ever.") She’s now sharing her talent in the writer’s room of Dollhouse, having co-scripted some of the now-renewed series’ memorable eps, including the outstanding "lost episode," Epitaph One.

While getting season two spoilers out of her was like pulling teeth with tweezers, Tancharoen did share some insights on Epitaph’s screening at this year’s Comic Con, what it’s like to work on a dark show and whether or not we’re going to hear from Dr. Horrible again.

I was just finishing listening to the audio commentary that you and Jed [Whedon] did for Epitaph One.

Oh god! We watched that for the first time yesterday. Some parts were cringe-worthy. Joss [Whedon] had said, "Hey, why don’t you guys do the commentary for that episode?" We said, "What? Are you sure? Us? Okay." So we went in feeling silly and approached it in that way... and it is. It sounds silly, and ridiculous.

No, it was great! Not just for the insights on the episode, but also the fun back-and-forth between you and Jed. But there’s also this part I found interesting, where Jed made a comment about the potential for future seasons – because you didn’t know when you were recording the commentary that you were going to be picked up. He said something about "if and when" there were going to be more seasons, but there was something... determined about how he said "when." Do you think you guys knew deep down on some level you were coming back?

It was more like him being optimistic. I have to say, honestly, we thought for sure we were canceled. The nail was in the coffin, and we felt that we made a great episode to close it all out. That was the idea – this could either be something that exposes the dollhouse completely, and if we got a second season, we could always work our way through touching the points in Epitaph and lead up to the future. But it we thought we were done. All signs were pointing to canceled. It was a surprise when we got picked up. We didn’t believe the chatter. I was on Twitter, Jed was all over the internet, but it wasn’t until we got an e-mail from Joss – and I remember the subject line was, "We Are So F*cked." And we opened the e-mail, and he was all, "Congrats! We got picked up! What were they thinking!" You know how he is.

Right. I had the opportunity to ask Joss a question during the Comic Con press conference, and although I knew he was king of the sarcastic answer, I wasn’t really prepared for it in person because he was so deadpan in his delivery. I had a moment of, "Does he think I’m a dumbass?"

Imagine how we feel in the writer’s room, where you pitch something to him and he comes back at you with that deadpan response!

So I thought Epitaph was outstanding. I really felt like it belonged on a big screen.

Oh, thank you. You know, it was very interesting. One thing you don’t get when you write for TV is experiencing audience reactions. We wrote the episode, and while we didn’t always know it wasn’t going to air, we knew it was going to be on DVD and go into foreign markets. So to have it screen in front of thousands of people during Comic Con, and hearing the gasps and groans at the act breaks... that was very cool for us.

In the commentary you and Jed mentioned that you didn’t want Felicia Day’s character to be tough in the physical sense, but she struck me as being really emotionally strong.

We didn’t want a girl that was inherently a tough chick or a tomboy. She’s a girl who had to adjust to the consequences of the apocalypse. She’s adapted. She’s become someone who had to sacrifice and fight, but that’s not her nature. She did such a great job.

And then there was what you refer to in the commentary as "the heartbreaking Topher scene." That was one of the most incredible moments in the show – one of my favorites. Although you envisioned that scene while you were writing it, did you feel like it played out exactly as you had expected?

That’s the beauty with Fran. He always gives you exactly what you envisioned, and turns it up five notches. There were moments that were so gratifying, all the nuances you hope the actors are able to pick up, and find the layers and levels, which he does. There’s this moment where he says, "Did I think that?" And then he pauses and says, "Did I?" Every take of that moment... there weren’t really any dry eyes on set. You can tell that it’s hitting him – that he’s responsible and his mind is in denial, but he also understands what he’s done. That scene it is purely expositional. That’s its intention, to get all the "how this happened" out there, and explain that the tech kicked mankind’s ass. And to couch that in such an emotional scene between two characters that you’d never think would evolve into that kind of relationship? It was a very enjoyable scene to write.

And Enver [Gjokaj] – he’s outstanding! There’s so much that can be done with him! Absolutely! The way you’re all excited about him? That’s exactly how we feel. We’re going to milk him to death in season two. Why wouldn’t we? Enver is a chameleon, and so talented.

Can you give me any tidbits on what’s in store for him in season two?

We may do something where we explore where he came from, and how he came to be in the Dollhouse. The fun thing about him is we can do anything with him. The possibilities are endless.

Have there ever been moments – be it from the studio, network or actors – where they’ve felt you’re taking things too far or too dark, and it’s uncomfortable for them?

Yes. Everything has always been a little bit touchy about the sort of prostitution aspect – the service the doll provides – but everyone has known that from day one. When it comes to dark places and challenging morals, I think that we’re doing it in a way that we can appease the studio and network, as well as show those places. Dollhouse is a dark place, despite how pretty we make it. At its core, it’s dark. I think in season two we’re going to push that even more. And I think all the episodes that people responded well to are the ones that are very... I feel like everyone responds well to mythology eps – the standalones are fine and we have to do them, but I feel like people connected a lot to episodes like "Man on the Street."

Sierra’s storyline in that episode was intense.

Poor Sierra! We really put her through the ringer.

Tell me what the writer’s room was like when you were breaking that story.

Dichen Lachman is one of those earth angels – she has a gentle soul. Every time we were coming up with a storyline that put her in danger, someone inevitably goes, "Oh no, maybe we should change it! We don’t want to do that to her!" We were very aware that it was going to be a touchy subject. The dollhouse was already dealing with the prostitution thing, then within the dollhouse, rape is going on? We knew that that’s fragile territory.

Of all the episodes you’ve written, which one do you feel most connected to, and why?

Epitaph One, because that was the ep where Joss was like, "Fly and be free!" We’re exposing the future, we’re exposing how the dollhouse got us to that future, and we were able to just sort of go and deal with the darkest topics in a very fun and interesting way. Jed was such an expert with the future lingo – and that was entertaining, coming up with the terminology that might exist in 2019. And then seeing where these characters end up? That was great. One thing I’ll say about Haunted is the idea behind it was to set up the technology that went haywire in Epitaph – the idea that you’re placing a dead person into an active. Boyd questioned the moral ground of that in Haunted, and we exposed it completely in Epitaph.

When you’re writing a character and you find you’re digging really deep as you’re working on them, do you ever find them hard to shake?

I will say that I think as a writer you have to invest in every aspect of the character that you’re writing, and if you don’t audience will feel that disconnect. As far as getting rid of them once you’re done? It depends.

Let’s hear a bit more about your background. Did you aspire to be an actress and then find writing was your passion?

I sort of grew up as a showbiz kid, I guess I would say. I did all that stuff when I younger, and then when I was in college I started writing plays. Later I worked as a P.A. at Bochco Productions. I didn’t really want to let go of the acting, but being Asian American, I was always getting into the last three potentials for playing the buddy. I was always the token Asian in the mix and I knew I wasn’t going to get it – there was always the black girl, Hispanic girl and me. Maybe it’s different now, but honestly, writing happened first. I’ve been journaling since I was seven years old, so I’m happy that I’m writing. Writing is my career choice.

Do you have any plans to write something for yourself that you would star in, or have a part in?

Definitely. Jed and I have a few feature ideas that we’re writing that I would act in. We’re always doing silly ideas, and always shooting stuff as far as web content goes. Jed, Joss, Zack [Whedon] and I are always working on Dr. Horrible, but we also have these new little web ideas. There will be plenty of that, because it’s so much fun, and it’s what we love to do. But at the end of the day, we always throw something together and shoot it.

Mention of potential Dr. Horrible-ness will make people happy, I’m sure.

We say that a lot, and we’ve been saying it for the past year, but it’s true – there’s never a day where we’re not thinking about it, but it’s a matter of schedules. Our schedules are jam packed at this point. But we’re always thinking about it and playing on the piano, making new songs.

So let’s say someone hasn’t partaken in Dollhouse season one, and is considering stepping into the Dollhouse world in season two for the first time. What’s important for them to know?

I think it’s important for them to understand that it’s sci-fi, it’s a form of fantasy, and as much as it’s science, it’s also a statement on who we are as human beings – who we choose to be, who we want other people to be. The dollhouse fulfills people’s needs – our basic needs and also our not-so-basic needs. So the stories we tell are going to range from the very grim and ugly to the most beautiful thing, which is the fundamental human connection to each other.