Press tour: Visiting 'Dollhouse'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- One last post but this will be quick. Got to catch my flight. Pardon the typos in advance. 

I wrote about Joss Whedon's new midseason series "Dollhouse" a little bit last week but today I got to visit the two story set, as pictured in this photo.

It's like a giant spa for the Actives to rest in after their missions. There's even  co-ed shower a la "Starship Troopers." Lots of dark wood on the set with Asian motifs throughout, including bamboo in giant planters and a stone-bottomed koi pond in the middle of the main Dollhouse set (minus the koi during our visit). Whedon said he read "Shogun" when he was young and got hooked on the culture, which also had a presence in "Firefly."

The massive two-story Dollhouse set has an exercise area, a dark office for a recurring character played by Amy Acker ("Angel"), a glass office set for the computer genius who does the programming on Actives. His office is on the second story and overlooks the whole set and koi pond. There's also an area for dining and another spot that looks like it's for meditation. Also, an area for Actives to get massages.

We also saw the sleep chamber where the Actives rest. They're cushy, padded coffins in the floor of a circular room (Whedon is big on circular sets in "Dollhouse") with the same dark wood paneing and soothing little decorations (more Asian influences). I think there were five or six sleeping slots. Plexiglass coverings slide over each sleeping pod.

Also, Whedon posted on his blog Monday night that he's filming a new first episode. I was initially worried (a la "Firefly) but his post makes it sound like he has things under control. We'll see. I haven't seen the first episode yet.

OK, gotta fly.