Dollhouse ep by ep; rewatch and reviews

[saturn5]

ECHO
The good;
A solid introduction to the workings of the Dollhouse and the various characters we will encounter over the course of the series. Love Echo at the wedding reception and Victor being a doll is sure a shock. Interesting debate between Topher and Boyd, they seem closer here than in Ghost.
The bad;
You can see why the network demanded a reshoot, very little action and kinda hard to like the characters, especially when Echo shoots Agent Ballard. Also stretches credibility that there's no sex involved, reminiscent of the holosuites in ST;TNG
Best line;
Victor's "People are mostly crap!" just beating Topher's "Morality is programming" (or do they mean the same thing?)
Packing heat;
Echo shoots Ballard with his own gun.
Kinky dinky;
Astonishingly in this first ep there's no sex whatsover except for a little kissy kissy at the wedding reception. Addy remarks to the client about hiring girls to dress as cheerleaders for him. Topher justifies him being in the Dollhouse because it is "Cutting edge science in a house full of hot chicks". Personally all the naked showering scenes do little or nothing for me, when the actives don't have their personalities implanted they act like stoned children and I just find it extremely creepy (nudity in itself is seldom erotic, the context is everything).
Capt subtext;
Addy's client is a little too eager to turn down the offer of a male doll. Victor says that he wants to be Doris Day (cut to Sierra looking just like her or actually a little more Jackie O perhaps?)
How'd they get away with that?
The sociopath assassin Echo is programmed with is hard to take, she's loathsome but your heart bleeds for a girl who's been running from the police since she was 5. Still hard to watch Ballard threaten her though but this being a Joss show she turns the tables. Boyd seems pretty callous just abandoning a wounded Ballard but in fairness the police are on their way.
This weeks fantasy;
Echo is a vengful streetwalker, besotted fiance, damaged goods assassin and rehab girl. Sierra is Jackie O, Victor is a Russian gangster
Total number personalitites;
Echo; 4
Sierra; 1
Victor; 1
Total dolls;3
We meet Victor, Echo and Sierra
Addy is a bit British;
Likes her tea
Topher is a bit geeky;
His lab is an ubergeeks playground complete with gumball machine and whack-a-mole arcade machine
Subverting the Hollywood cliche;
Bondage;
Knocked out;
Kills;
Dolls injured;
Sierra with an unexplained cut on her face
Happy hookers;
Essentially the Dollhouse is the ultimate fantasy brothel, amazing that Joss was able to get that onto the screen but I guess The Sopranos, The Shield etc led the way. Here we actually have Echo beating up a pimp and packing his latest working girl off home, rather hypocritical given the nature of the Dollhouse, is what Addy and co do that different to what he does?
Know the face?
2 Joss Whedon regulars, Amy Acker and Eliza Dushku.
Guantanamo;
The conspiracy starts here, the power and reach of the Dollhouse is truly terrifying
Fanfic;
Plenty where Echo and the girls get to dress up as cheerleaders and 'Bring it on'.
Missing scenes;
Interesting missing scenes with Echo saving the girl in a spiral of self-destruction but the Dollhouse seems a bit TOO altruisitic
Reminds me off;
The dolls sleeping pods are very Alien whilst the Dollhouse itself is reminiscent of the Wolfram and Hart set in Angel.
Questions and observations;
Gotta say I prefer Echo to Ghost although I can see why the network didn't. Do we ever meet Ballards ex? Addy seems to imply they're all dammed.
7 out of 10, good enough, intriguing but not brilliant

 

[scnj]

Whoa. Seriously, I was interested in reading this thread, since I jumped ship late on and didn't watch Epitaph 2 after the awful conclusion to the present day storyline. I was looking forward to reading what someone else thought of what I consider to be Whedon's worst work to date.

However, I am not reading until you sort out that formatting. It's practically illegible.

 

[Too Much Fun]

I was looking forward to reading what someone else thought of what I consider to be Whedon's worst work to date.

However, I am not reading until you sort out that formatting. It's practically illegible.

Pfft, after the first 5 episodes, season 1 was on par with "Firefly". Season 2 went to shit towards the end, but that's mostly because they tried to cram like 3 seasons worth of plot into about 6 episodes. This show was so misunderstood and underrated. The last few episodes completely exhausted my patience till I didn't care anymore, but the second half of season 1 was some of the best sci-fi on TV I've seen since the glory days of Star Trek.

One thing I can agree with scnj on is the formatting. Seriously, man, clean that up. Try to stick some spaces in there and separate paragraphs under different headings. A little boldface and italics wouldn't hurt either.

 

[scnj]

I wouldn't go as far as saying on par with Firefly. The cast just didn't seem to gel quite as well, and I didn't find myself caring about the characters as much. It definitely had it's moments (Briar Rose, The Attic), but then it did have some truly awful episodes too (Stage Fright, Instinct, Meet Jane Doe, The Hollow Men).

I think if they'd had their full five seasons, it would have grown into an excellent show, but pretty much every other Whedon series, Firefly especially, has worked for me right from the start.

 

[StarshipDefiant]

I've been thinking about doing something along these lines myself, mostly to try and workout a timeline (The Wiki wants a numbered timeline if possible, so I am trying to narrow it down, but I've been a lazy ass for the last couple months and have only made notes from like...two episodes), and get a couple facts zeroed down to certain episodes, but also...because this, IMO, is a damn fine show, and I shall miss it in the fall when there isn't a new season.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Basically what Too Much Fun said: The first five episodes of Season 1 sucked, then the show suddenly got better. The end of Season 2 was a bit rushed, because they knew that the show was going to be cancelled. But a rushed finale is still preferable to an unresolved cliffhanger, I guess.

Overall, "Dollhouse" was enjoyable from mid-Season 1 onwards, but it wasn't quiet as good as "Firefly".

 

[RandyS]

Pfft, after the first 5 episodes, season 1 was on par with "Firefly".

I loved Firefly. Should I consider that an endorsement? I've been curious about this show but never watched it.

Should I check out the DVD's?

 

[Too Much Fun]

Yeah, if you like Whedon's style, I would recommend it. Just be warned that it is very inconsistent and takes a little while to hit its stride (I feel the same way about "Firefly", which is why I compare the two). You wouldn't be missing much if you just watched the pilot (both versions) and then jumped straight to episode six. Like the other Whedon shows, it has a good cast and some very original stories. The humour isn't quite as solidly consistent as it is on "Firefly" or "Buffy", but I didn't mind. I admit I made that comment sort of in irritation at how "Firefly" is constantly being touted as so much better than "Dollhouse" when I like them about equally, so it's not quite an endorsement.

 

[StarshipDefiant]

I'm not even sure how the shows could even begin to be compared, short of them both being science fiction, I can't see any similarities. There is a bit of an inconsistency, while I have only in depth made notes on a few episodes in season two (I really should go from episode one onwards, and my odd issues, now that I had such a break, make me feel like I might have missed something), I can recall that references and the like make it seem like the show began circa 2008, mid even, but by the time the season finale roles around its April/May 2009, and the pacing is to quick for season one for have been more then a few months (but I am probably reading to much into all of this).

For what it's worth, I enjoyed all of season one, yeah there is a difference in the first few (compared to the final block taking off on the story), but eh. My regret on this, is that the changes to season one, and the cancellation of the show, means a few character backgrounds were not fleshed out or expanded (Whiskey!).

 

[I am not Spock]

I wouldn't go as far as saying on par with Firefly. The cast just didn't seem to gel quite as well, and I didn't find myself caring about the characters as much. It definitely had it's moments (Briar Rose, The Attic), but then it did have some truly awful episodes too (Stage Fright, Instinct, Meet Jane Doe, The Hollow Men).

I think if they'd had their full five seasons, it would have grown into an excellent show, but pretty much every other Whedon series, Firefly especially, has worked for me right from the start.

Agreed. It got better, but Dollhouse for me was the only Whedon series that didn't gel right from the start. I could see the potential for Buffy, Angel, and Firefly pretty much from day one. It took a bit longer with Dollhouse.

 

[saturn5]

I'll sort the formatting, apologies. Dollhouse never gained the fanbase that the other series did (Firefly fans amazingly loyal given the short space of the series). Dollhouse is well worth checking out, especially if you're a Eliza fan

GHOST

The good;
More involving plot, more drama and excitiment and more realistic depiction of the reality of the Dollhouse.

The bad;
The bike ride is stupid, such a Hollywood cliche that they turn out to be racing. Boyd is the worst sniper ever, demonstrating why you should always use a semi-auto rifle. Her client is also way to handsome as Joss and ED comment but if she'd turned up with an ordinary looking guy would we not know something was up? Plenty of pandering to the studio frankly. How does Sierra fire 3 rounds from her pump action shotgun without working the action?

Best line;
Addy "Nothing is what it appears to be" (how true that will turn out to be!)
also like Tophers
"Everybody who's running to something is also running away"

Packing heat;
Sierra with a shotgun and pistol (although she has a carbine in the chopper?), Boyd with a pistol and sniper rifle.

Kinky dinky;
ED dancing is always a treat. especially in her 'decent by half an inch' dress. She also does a twirl around the stripper pole move when she gets into the van (check out her film The New Guy for more in that vein). We also get to glimpse her having bondage sex with her client. On the other hand her sexy librarian look is also quite something. Giles says he has a thing about libraries/librarians, wonder if Tony Head knows?

How'd they get away with that?
All the stuff with the kidnapped girl and what happened to Echo's personality as a kid is horrific. Sierra's first treatment is hard to watch.

This weeks fantasy;
Sierra is a SWAT team commander, Echo is a bike-riding party girl and hostage negotiator.

Total number personalitites;
2 for Echo making a total of; 6
1 for Sierra making; 2
1 for Victor

Total dolls;3
Echo, Sierra and Victor

Addy is a bit British;
It's the tea again

Topher is a bit geeky;

Subverting the Hollywood cliche

Bondage;
Echo ties up her client during sex

Knocked out

Kills;
Sierra kills 2 of the kidnappers

Dolls injured;
Echo slapped around by the kidnapper

Capt subtext
Dr Saunders offers Echo a massage. One wonders how she danced so wonderfully after dropping a motorbike on her leg?

Happy hookers
This time Echo explicitly does have sex with her paying client

Know the face?
Recurring Joss Whedon stars 3 ;Amy Acker, Eliza Dushku and Ballards sparring partner was the 'walking action figure' Spike had to fight in season 6 of Buffy to get his soul back. Also look out for Tim Kellehen who was also in Dark Skies, another conspiracy-fest series where he played a similar character (his Dark Skies co-star Conor Farrell also turns up in Buffy as the soldier who takes over The Initiative)

Guantanamo

Fanfic
Plenty of bondage sex in fanfic

Missing scenes

Reminds me off;
Adele is very Lilah like whilst Dominic is very Marcus. The relationship between Active and Handler very reminiscent of Watcher and Slayer. Ballards FBI contact is called Loomis which may be a Halloween reference.The boat sequence was so Miami Vice I had to check that Boyd was wearing socks. The kidnapped girl stuff is reminiscent of the Angel ep 'Damage'.

Questions and observations;
Caroline remarks 'Like she always said', is this Mrs Dundee whom she refers to in her video? Obviously it's not ED doing all the bike work but can she ride at all? You wonder what the Faith on a motorcycle spinoff would have been like especially with ghost-Spike as sidekick? The first time I ever actually heard Lady Gaga was watching this ep. Caroline says 'Hello mom' in her video, is her family still out there? The kidnap victim's dad refers to 'That reality crap', Joss putting the boot in? ED refers to her first movie with period cars which was presumably 'This Boys Life'. Joss is a fan of BSG AND Millers Crossing, he sure has taste! Obviously the budget is pretty tight to judge by their comments. What does Echo mean when she babbles 'Is it bigger than your thumb?'
7 out of 10, combine this and Echo and it would be much better

 

[StarshipDefiant]

Interesting observations you have here, overall I thought it was a decent episode, even if it reeks of studio interference. Ghost is also one of the few that come back later on to haunt Echo (sort of...), fans having watched or are re-watching the series may notice this.

 

[saturn5]

Interesting observations you have here, overall I thought it was a decent episode, even if it reeks of studio interference. Ghost is also one of the few that come back later on to haunt Echo (sort of...), fans having watched or are re-watching the series may notice this.

A very good point, always nice to have recurring minor characters, gives it a sense of realism

THE TARGET
The good;
Lots of it, exciting story and some great background. This may be the pivotal ep of Dollhouse as it's the first to suggest Echo is really moving beyond her programming and Alpha is set up as this big bad bogeyman.
The bad;
?
Best line;
Boyd (handing Echo a gun)" Know how to use that?"
Echo (handling it confidently) "4 brothers, none democrats"
Very cheeky for trendy lefty Joss
Packing heat;
Echo with a S&W 9mm. Boyd has exchanged his automatic for a .357 revolver perhaps in keeping with his backstory as an ex-cop.
Kinky dinky;
Echo and client play the naughty Girl Scout together.
Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost;
Echo; 2
How'd they get away with that?
Echo being hunted is horrible but nothing compared to Alpha slaughtering everyone in the pool! Amazing how much blood they got away with.
This weeks fantasy;
Echo is a fun loving outdoor girl and a sweet girl who loves fat guys in flashback
Total number personalitites;
2 for Echo making a total of; 8
Sierra; 2
Victor; 1
Total dolls;3
Echo, Sierra and Victor
Addy is a bit British;
Topher is a bit geeky;
He asks for a gun but no one trusts him with one
Subverting the Hollywood cliche
Hello Mellie, proving that women of a fuller figure can be attractive on US tv. Her real first name is Miracle? Were her parents hippies? Speaking of which in the flashback Echo is hired to be the girlfriend for an obese man as you would expect dolls to be but we never see him.
Bondage;
Knocked out
Kills; Boyd's driver and the Ranger killed.
Sierra; 2 kills
Echo kills the psycho; 1
Dolls injured;
Echo and Boyd badly injured
Capt subtext
Topher expresses 'Big, big man love' for Boyd and describes his eyes as 'dreamy'. Boyd is protective of the actives from the start and Topher tells him it's all about trust.
Happy hookers
Know the face?
4th Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd was Badger in Firefly (and the 2nd BSG star for Jane Espenson to bring with her)
Guantanamo;
Boyd tortures the fake Forest Ranger to save Echo (Jack Bauer/Dick Cheney would be proud)
Fanfic
Missing scenes
Reminds me off;
[FONT=Times New Roman]Joss bascially reuses this storyline from the 3rd season Buffy ep Homecoming, it's derived from the famous short story 'The Most Dangerous Game' which in turn inspired real life serial killer Robert Hansen who hunted and murdered over twenty people after kidnapping them, releasing them into the Alaskan wilderness and giving them a head start. Also reminiscent of ED's horror movie Wrong Turn. Addy uses the term Tabula Rusa which was the name of a 6th season ep of Buffy.
[/FONT]Questions and observations;
Got to admit when Dominic walks away from Echo at the end I thought she just gave him a 'screw you' gesture. It wasn't until I rewatched that I realised she gives him the psycho's 'shoulder to the wheel' action. Is the drug in the canteen the catalyst for Echo's specialness or was there something before? I think if they'd have kept stories at this level Dollhouse would have been much more successful than it was.
8/10 MUCH BETTER

 

[Jimmy Bob]

Got to admit when Dominic walks away from Echo at the end I thought she just gave him a 'screw you' gesture. It wasn't until I rewatched that I realised she gives him the psycho's 'shoulder to the wheel' action. Is the drug in the canteen the catalyst for Echo's specialness or was there something before? I think if they'd have kept stories at this level Dollhouse would have been much more successful than it was.

It's no canteen. It's just that something is aware in Echo's core being.

It comes down to that Firefly quote about throwing a man down into a volcano to know who he really is. Alpha here sort of created a similar situation, so that Echo would become self-aware. As she said "I'm all those people and yet I am none of those people."

And that scene in the end, when she does that hand to the shoulder thing? In Belle Chose Echo says "goodness gracious!" when watching the body of her recent imprint die. It seemed like that bad guy was still in Echo, but no... It's something completely else. It wasn't Echo being "possessed", but it's what she does. These traits she adapts are usually involved in very intense situations that leave a mark, that goes down to her deepest core, and so become part of her.

In other words, it really is the Dollhouse version of the old television's "lesson of the day" thing. Echo learned an important lesson in self-reliance today. Tomorrow (in the next episode) she will learn that "friends help each other." I personally loved her small heureka moments.

And it also foreshadows that she's somewhat aware that Dominic is a threat to her. This is where the tragedy of "A Spy In The House Of Love" started.

Man, in retrospect, I love season 1 so much more than season 2.

 

[saturn5]

Actually never seen season 2, waiting for the DVDs

STAGE FRIGHT

The good;
Not much. Ballard is one tough nut to take on the Russian mobsters. If you never watched the ep 'Echo' then Victor's true identity is a heck of shock

The bad;
Such a weak story, you wonder if Joss had to take a week off sick? Must also have been hugely expensive?

Best line;
Rayna (of Echo); "Did they grow you in a lab?"
and
Echo; "Bitch, you can fire me but don't ever think you can take me!"

Packing heat;
Echo takes the villain's Walther PPK

Kinky dinky;
Rock chick ED and scantily clad Rayna is stunning. Rayna's manager apparently uses twins (male or female?) from the Dollhouse to relieve tension (better than valium?). Topher likes the idea of Rayna and
Echo getting romantic

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost;
Echo; 2

How'd they get away with that?
The diva is so blatantly Beyonce it's a wonder she didn't sue?

This weeks fantasy;
Bodyguard and backing singer for Echo, No1 fan for Sierra.

Total number personalitites; 1 each for Echo and Sierra
Echo; 9
Sierra; 3
Victor; 1

Total dolls;3
Echo, Sierra and Victor

Addy is a bit British;
Faced with another British actor her accent goes into overdrive

Topher is a bit geeky;
Keen to know the inside scoop on the gorgeous music superstar

Subverting the Hollywood cliche
The successful Hollywood diva is actually suicidal

Bondage;
Sierra tied up; 1

Knocked out

Kills;
Sierra; 2 kills
Echo; 1

Dolls injured;

Sierra roughed up

Capt subtext

Happy hookers

Know the face? Jim Piddock who plays Rayna's manager was memorable as the Valet in The Trial episode of Angel (also a screenwriter now).
5th Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock

Guantanamo;
Rayna's manager slaps her but possibly she deserves it? Echo then knocks her senseless with a chair and uses her as bait to trap the assassin.

Fanfic;
Plenty where Rayna and Echo do get romantic.

Missing scenes

Reminds me off;
The assassin's crutches scene reminiscent of Day of the Jackal. No1 fan is how Mark Chapman described himself to Stephen King at a booksigning before later shooting John Lennon, a story which inspired Misery

Questions and observations;
Does ED do her own singing? If she does it's a pity she missed Once More with Feeling on Buffy. In lots of little ways Echo seems to be breaking her programming and her kinship with Sierra becomes apparent. Why does the Dollhouse seem to use Victor to set Ballard up yet has Mellie trying to get the inside scoop on him?

Marks out of 10; 5/10, actually enjoyed this more when rewatching than I thought I would

 

[Jimmy Bob]

Does ED do her own singing?

Yup, that's Eliza. You don't mind if I also post my own thoughts in this thread?

This episode really rolls around the scene in the beginning.

Sierra trips, Echo grabs her.

Sierra: "I'm sorry, I was dizzy."
Echo: "I didn't want you to get hurt. You're my friend."
Sierra: "Friends help each other out."

And that for Echo was a major heureka moment, that she will remember in the time of crisis.

As I said before, that in my interpretation, these early episodes are really about Echo learning important lessons about the world and life. By this episode, there really is some inner Echo that sort of controls the situation.* This inner Echo is not completely self-aware, so she doesn't really know why she does things... she just does. Because friends help each other out.

Topher: "They're a little bit like bison."

Don't know if it was in this episode, or the next, but anyway Topher makes such an observation and I thought I'd quote him.

The stuff about the popstar was just an allegory. Aside from these early episodes being "Echo learns important lessons and awakens as an self-aware individual", they're also allegories about the nature of Dollhouse and Echo's role in it. It's really obvious in True Believer, which compares Dollhouse with a cult and Echo with a blind girl who sees again.

So the allegory about the nature of Dollhouse and Echo in this episode was that the singer, pop star, feels like she is a prisoner of her own fame. She's just a fantasy, not a real human being, imprinted with society's desires and she wants to become free.

Thus she mirrors Echo's situation in Dollhouse. And that's why the song is called Freedom.

Also the end scene where Echo and Sierra walk pass each other, we see how aware Echo is of her surroundings. And that denying nod which says "too many people looking at us now." Beautiful.

* actually we get a glimpse of it already in Ghost, the first episode, where Echo is the driving force behind the "ghost" of a raped girl finding peace. Because Dollhouse was about to say bye-bye to Miss Penn. But Echo didn't let them and finished the job. There is a driving force in Echo to fix things, and as Miss Penn she was broken because of the "trauma". The word broken is also the "arc word" of this season. You will hear it at least twice in important "Echo makes a choice!" moments.

 

[Jimmy Bob]

Actually never seen season 2, waiting for the DVDs

I just thought that I would bring it out again. This is important people. No spoilers! The guy hasn't seen season 2 yet, so be careful when writing your thoughts about certain characters.

 

[Too Much Fun]

I could see the potential for Buffy, Angel, and Firefly pretty much from day one. It took a bit longer with Dollhouse.

Sorry, a bit of topic, but...seriously? Are you sure that's not mostly nostalgia talking? Because I love "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (at least until Glory showed up and the series started going down, in my opinion), but to this day I still think season 1 is mostly horrible.

Aside from the episode titled "Angel", I find most of that season's episodes too corny to re-watch, much like the first season of TNG. Season 2 was a HUGE leap in quality (especially towards the end), but with "Dollhouse", I thought it only took 5 episodes before it really started to hit its stride.

 

[saturn5]

Actually never seen season 2, waiting for the DVDs

I just thought that I would bring it out again. This is important people. No spoilers! The guy hasn't seen season 2 yet, so be careful when writing your thoughts about certain characters.

Thanks you're too kind and all views and thoughts greatly welcomed!

As for Buffy, well, going to talk about that too, season 1 was good but still finding it's feet and short on budget. The advantage it and Angel have as opposed to Dollhouse is we watch it for the relationship between the tight Scoobygang and Angel Investigations whereas Dollhouse doesn't have that, it also lacks the humour and great dialogue that those shows lent themselves to

 

[StarshipDefiant]

I never really thought of that, the whole "Echo learns a lesson" type of thing, I really should re-watch this series with these new perspectives in mind.

--Edit--
I should add, that with this in mind, they did pretty good connecting these episodes to the arc, despite the studio's interference and the series retooling of the first few episodes.