The SFX team are in the office today, finishing issue 184, but there's plenty going on out in the so-called real world. Here are just a few of SF's more interesting stories this drizzly morning:

Dollhouse Renewed?

Surprising everybody, especially following poor ratings on its finale episode, the buzz is that Joss Whedon's Dollhouse will be picked up by Fox for a second 13-episode series. The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed reports that on Monday the network will announce a deal has been struck. Dollhouse might be the lowest-rated seasonal drama ever to get a renewal on a major network but sci-fi does well on download, box sets and recordable set-top boxes, so Fox must see an opportunity. The Live Feed also goes on to suggest that it's looking good for Chuck.

Flash Forward

Talking about the coming US "fall" season, there's lots of great buzz about Flash Forward, a new show from the pen of David "The Dark Knight" Goyer, based on the novel by Robert J Sawyer. In it, everybody on Earth gets a two-minute glimpse into their own (post-apocalyptic?) future. See for yourself; here's the trailer:

Evil Lairs

Over on BLDGBLOG, writer and occasional SFX reviewer Jim Rossignol goes on an insightful tour of bad-guy architecture in videogames.

... Most videogame designers choose to make a definite connection to familiar – or real-world – architecture. Perhaps they think that the evil lair must emanate evil... Conveniently, evil already has a visual language. Put another way: I have seen the face of evil, and it is a caricature of gothic construction. There's barely a necromancer in existence whose dark citadel doesn't in some way reflect real-world Romanian landmarks, such as Hunyad or Bran Castle. The visual theme of these games is so heavily dependent on previously pillaged artistic ideas from Dungeons & Dragons and Tolkien that evil ambiance is delivered by shorthand.

Meet Your Favourite Gollancz Authors

Lastly, for now, we're pleased to report that loads of Gollancz authors are planning signing tours in the next few weeks, so stick these dates in your diary:

Joe Abercrombie, author of the First Law trilogy, will be doing several events to promote the launch of his new novel Best Served Cold:

Thursday 4 June, 7pm
Talk and signing
Waterstones, 91 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2BW

Friday 5 June
Reading, Q&A and signing
Forbidden Planet, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR

Saturday 6 June
Signing
Waterstones, 4-5 Milsom Street, Bath, BA1 1DA

Meanwhile Patrick Rothfuss (author of The Name of the Wind) is making his first ever UK visit.

Thursday 21 May, 6pm
Reading and signing
Forbidden Planet, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR

Thursday 28 May, 7pm
Reading and signing
Waterstones, 91 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2BW

Alex Bell and Suzanne McLeod will be signing their novels and meeting fans here:

Saturday 30 May, 1-2pm
Forbidden Planet, 24 Hanover Buildings, Southampton, SO14 1JU

Jaine Fenn will be there too, but before that you can pick up an early, signed copy of her new book Consorts Of Heaven here:

Saturday 23 May, 2pm
Little Green Dragon Bookshop, 3 Normandy Street, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 1DD

See you on Monday! And don’t forget to follow our Twitter feed for regular breaking stories and feedback from the SFX team.