Dear Sirs/Ma’ams,

I am Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind Titan A.E., Parenthood (not the movie) (or the new series) (or the one where ‘hood’ was capitalized ’cause it was a pun), and myriad other legendary tales. I have heard through the ‘grapevine’ that the Terminator franchise is for sale, and I am prepared to make a pre-emptive bid RIGHT NOW to wrap this dealio up. This is not a joke, this is not a scam, this is not available on TV. I will write a check TODAY for $10,000, and viola! Terminator off your hands.

(Read the rest here.)

“With Michael Ausiello breaking the somewhat expected news that FOX is benching DOLLHOUSE for November Sweeps and in the process, virtually guaranteeing your availability to direct that episode of GLEE, I couldn’t help but wonder….

“Is it not time to take a page from Felicia Day and her GUILD by cutting the network out of the equation?

“After all, If DOLLHOUSE’s consistently low ratings are any indication, you’ve got at the very least, two million loyal fans devouring everything you touch. Which means, should you ever decide to go THE GUILD route and distribute your own series online for a a mere 99¢ per download, one might expect you to net somewhere in the range of 1.5 to 2 million dollars per episode of [say, for argument sake] FIREFLY: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES. Which, if we’re to believe TV By The Numbers, is a healthy profit considering the average episode of DOLLHOUSE is said to have cost somewhere in the range of 650,000 to 1.3 million per.”

(Read the rest, and Joss’ response, at The TV Addict)

Dear Joss,

Where are you?

I have been looking for you in the Dollhouse lately. I saw you in “Vows” and was confident I’d know where to find you all season. But these past two episodes (“Instinct”, “Belle Chose”), you’ve vanished.

I don’t just mean writing and directing credits. I’m talking about your animating spirit, the confident hand of your creative direction. We fans can feel it on the rudder, and we can tell when it’s been removed. I’m not naive enough to believe that you can handcraft every morsel of a 13-episode series made in enemy territory — and how else can we fans view Fox after season 1′s narrow escape, remembering Firefly as we Browncoats do — but I know you and your team can be awesome, and it’s a mystery to me why you’re not.

And it’s not just about hackneyed plot devices. The last two episodes have been driven mainly by mistakes made by the Dollhouse, which evokes the specter of the malfunctioning holodeck on Star Trek: The Next Generation; yet when your breath is on Dollhouse’s clay, even the cheapest horror-movie tropes (“Epitaph One” had ‘em all) come to vigorous and entertaining life. The same was true of Firefly: “Our Mrs. Reynolds” is riddled with plot holes, but fans don’t (and shouldn’t) care, because it was an excellent episode that drove the characters and series forward. Nihil novum sub sole. It’s not what you and your trusted writers do, it’s how you do it.

For us fans, it’s hard to see you lead with such weak material when Fox is threatening to cancel Dollhouse if the ratings don’t go up (a situation you must by now be able to anticipate). We’ve had two self-contained imprint-of-the-week episodes that keep all the important plates spinning. Why are Ballard and Boyd so docile now? Why aren’t DeWitt and Topher acting on Echo’s composite state, of which they must be aware? Where are Whiskey, November and Sierra, the other amazing women that drive this series?

All these characters seem to be estivating, patiently waiting for the fall — which should have heralded your permanent return — so that they can continue to develop. But it seems as if that’s a few episodes out.

Maybe this is just a bad patch. It’s bad timing for one, but they happen. I hope that the next episodes blow us away, making this letter irrelevant and drowning out the annoying cries of “vanity project”, a phrase I hope never to hear again (and yet it echoes in my ears when I see the Eliza-only intro).

However, I wrote this letter not to hope out loud, but to ask: is everything okay?

I’ll wait for a sign.

Thanks for all you do,

–Dan Shick

Hulu’s website is truly a step into the future of television shows. It works as both a backup (if I miss a show on TV) and a catch up (ensuring I’ll later tune in weekly to watch).

But what I truly don’t understand is why the networks are reluctant to supply full seasons with regular network-timed commercials. When I run across [a] show on hulu that intrigues me[,] I immediately want to watch the whole story unfold. Not pick up mid season with little or no background on the series.

A very few number of shows on hulu actually have full seasonal episodes. But most of the shows that I’ve come to love are posted on hulu in bits and pieces. Ultimately leaving me with very few options.. Wait for the DVD (who buys those anyways?), wait for repeats, or just go download the episodes via any number of ways on the internet.

Read the entire post here.

Since I stopped following your career shortly after you stopped going on stage wearing a tool belt with cable wrapped around your neck (around your appearance at “Laffs ‘n’ Food” in Enid, Oklahoma Aug 23-26 1999?) I said I wasn’t aware of the article. They went on to tell me that you said basically (and I am not quoting but paraphrasing their recall) that I could kiss your ass, that I’ve never been to one of your shows (true) and that I didn’t know your audience (untrue).

SO, I went and got your book, “Gitting-R-Donned”, and excitedly skimmed past the joke about that one time you farted and something farty happened, on past the thing about the fat girl who farted and finally found it, Chapter 5 – Media Madness. Well, needless to say I farted. I farted up a fartstorm right there in the Flyin’ J Travel Center.

(entire letter is here)

Dear M. LaValley,

I am a longtime resident of the Mission, and I am writing in regard to case #2008.0720C, in which American Apparel intends to open a store at 988 Valencia Street. I strongly oppose allowing them to do so.

These are difficult economic times, and I can imagine that the benefits of having a popular and lucrative business such as American Apparel in the neighborhood are attractive. I also strongly favor healthy competition in business.

But these two factors are not enough to convince me that our neighborhood would be better off with an American Apparel in it. In fact, I think it would suffer.

The Mission in general and Valencia Street in particular both have a well-deserved reputation for its diverse and interesting businesses, an overwhelming proportion of which are locally owned and operated. I feel passionately that our neighborhood benefits from strong local businesses, providing an alternative to the chain stores downtown and keeping our money — not just tax money — within the City.

To admit American Apparel would be a terrible precedent for Valencia Street, one that I feel endangers a precious commercial resource. Once the public perception of Valencia Street is changed to include chain stores, I fear there would be much less resistance to future chains moving in — and ultimately that would be catastrophic for our neighborhood.

When entrepreneurs in the Bay Area feel they have a path forward and a chance to succeed in opening a local business in San Francisco, the City benefits. Too often, prospective business owners see San Francisco, and certainly Valencia Street, as a too-steep step to take and would open their business elsewhere. Competing with chain stores is one more disincentive, and a large one. Showing them that Valencia Street is safe from chains is, in my view, a huge incentive to forge ahead.

Please do not allow American Apparel to open a store on Valencia Street. Thank you.

Signed,

Dan Shick

(for more info)

Who is right? In the Watchmen dispute between Warner Brothers and Fox that question is being discussed, analyzed, argued, tried and ruled on in a court of law. That’s one way to answer the question – It is a fallback position in our society for parties in conflict to resolve disputes. And there are teams of lawyers and a highly regarded Federal Judge trying to do just that, which obviates any contribution I could make towards answering the “who is right” question within a legal context. But after 15 plus years of involvement in the project, and a decade more than that working in the movie business, I have another perspective, a personal perspective that I believe important to have on the public record.

(read the rest here)