Fox chief discusses 'Virtuality,' 'Dollhouse'

LOS ANGELES — At the Television Critics Association press tour, I spoke to Peter Liguori, Fox network's chairman, about "Virtuality," the pilot that "Battlestar Galactica" executive producer Ron Moore and co-executive producer Michael Taylor are making for Fox. We also talked about "Dollhouse," created by Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and coming at midseason.

In addition, we talked about the value of the biannual press tour versus San Diego Comic-Con, which the networks are emphasizing as they promote their fall lineups. Comic-Con, which begins today, started out as a convention for comic book fans but is now a venue in which TV and film studios market movies and shows to fans. Here's an edited version of our talk:

Q: Which is more important, Comic-Con or this (critics convention)?

A: They both have a heck of a lot of importance; it also just depends on your show.

Q: Do you think the shows benefit more from engaging interest at Comic-Con?

A: It's like any TV show, any movie — what do you do when you screen the movie (for research), you screen it with real aficionados. If you make it with them, you have a chance to spread out. With a show like "Dollhouse," we want to make sure the loyalists are really reacting to the show and that does give us a fair amount of momentum. For a show to be successful, you've got to branch out beyond the sci-fi geeks.

Q: What's going on with "Virtuality"? It seems there's so much positive buzz, but that doesn't always translate into a pickup (to series).

A: Yeah, look, this is why you do pilots. Especially the more ambitious the show, the more important the pilot is — Do we have the characters right, can we (execute) this? Ron Moore, honestly, he's the real deal. ... It's a very ambitious pilot; it's a very ambitious premise. I think we cast it really well.

Q: There's a gay relationship on "Virtuality." Can you talk about that, about things you find interesting about the show?

A: What I think is interesting about it is it's the first 21st- or 22nd-century office drama. It's a bunch of people working in a claustrophobic environment, working for a business with a specific mission. ... Plus there's a social commentary; (Moore) does that in "Battlestar" and he has that here. The gay relationship is one part of that.

Q: When it comes to "Dollhouse," do you have time to build that audience?

A: It's the age-old question. Every show is different. ... The thing with Joss, you launch his show and instantly it becomes somebody's favorite show. In this current television environment, if you can be somebody's favorite show, you'd better be patient with that show. ...

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