Kurt Iswarienko/FOXGetting Dollhouse off the page and onto the screen hasn't exactly been child's play.
20th Century Fox confirmed to E! News Wednesday that production has been temporarily suspended on the sci-fi drama because creator Joss Whedon has asked for more time to polish some upcoming scripts.
"I can confirm the show has shut down filming until Sept. 25 while the writers work on upcoming scripts," a rep for the studio said. "Joss asked for some extra time, and because the show was several months away from airing, we were able to grant his request without disrupting our ability to deliver the shows well in advance of broadcast.
"We still very much believe in Joss and the show."
Dollhouse—costarring Buffy butt-kicker Eliza Dushku and Angel alum Amy Acker as members of a team of "Dolls" who work for a mysterious organization that is constantly retooling their personas and skill sets to be tailor-made for whatever clandestine mission awaits—isn't slated to premiere on Fox until midseason, which gives Whedon & Co. more time to make adjustments.
While production is supposed to start up again in a couple of weeks, this isn't the first time that Dollhouse has been closed for redecorating.
In July, Whedon asked for—and received—permission to reshoot the series pilot after determining that its various plot threads were too confusing for introductory viewing and would work better as the second episode.
Zap2It.com, which first made note of the shutdown, reports that Whedon directed two of the three episodes that are already in the can, leaving him with little time to go over the remaining scripts with the attention he feels the project requires.
"We had a lot of time to prepare the next scripts," Whedon told E! Online's Watch With Kristin in July, soon before the pilot switcheroo. "Needless to say, we squandered that time, and now we're way behind and terrified. It's amazing how that happens!"
"I'm feeling good," he said in reference to what was then the series' premiere episode. "I definitely look at it and go, There are a couple of things I'd like to make a little tweak here and tweak there—which is nice, being midseason, the pressure isn't on to get it out. The pressure's on to get it right."
(Check out more of Watch With Kristin's Dollhouse coverage.)