Carrie Ann

Yay! I'm so happy to read people watching Dollhouse for the first time. Favorite relationships: Sierra x Victor, Topher & Adelle (the two most morally challenged characters on the show, who IMO underwent the most development--I always loved that dynamic) Favorite characters: Alpha, Adelle, Mellie/November, Sierra, Victor. But really, I loved every recurring/regular character on this show, good and bad, except Caroline. I like Echo, but not Caroline. (ED was my least favorite part of the show, to be honest, but her limitations were mitigated as things went along.) Favorite episodes: I don't think the show got good until 106--I would give 101-105 grades in the C/D range (though there are good moments scattered throughout)--but from 106 on I'd give them all B+ or above. Which means, for me, Dollhouse is Whedon's most consistent show, pound for pound. Aside from those early episodes, it just doesn't hit the lows that Angel or BtVS hit, and it stays at a very consistent high level of quality throughout its short run. (Firefly is fundamentally Not For Me, so it's not really fair for me to compare the quality there.) For that reason, it's hard to pick out obvious favorite episodes. I binge-watched this twice (on my own, and then with my husband), so it's hard to remember how individual episodes divide out. (I can eliminate both of the Epitaph episodes because...I just kind of wish they didn't exist. Or I wish they aired together, at the end of the whole series. As it is, the time jump, the filling-in of blanks in relationship development/destruction...it's hard to like. Also, I HATE all the made-up tech-y jargon and I'm not a huge fan of the guest actors, or of spending time with people we don't know.) So, I'd say: 108 because it's such a great mislead, and so satisfying and moving to learn about the Actives. 111 because of everything--Stephen Kepler and the whole break-in sequence, Victor becoming Dominic, SO MUCH HAPPENS MY GOD. All of 204 through 212. Like, there's really nothing else to say, it's just all so well-done. Best moments: the one referenced in the thread title and each time Enver Gjokaj impersonates another member of the cast, because Good Lord, he is perfect.

I am so happy for this giant dork getting to live his giant dorky dream. :')

I know that's makeup in his shoulder area, but is that darker circle there a bruise?

Yeah, renewal definitely wasn't a given at the end of filming this season--it kinda came down to Dollhouse vs. The Sarah Connor Chronicles (or that was the impression at the time, anyway) and Dollhouse got the nod. (BTW, the thread title here lists this and the prior ep as Season 4. If only!)

That is super adorable. And very sweet (pun intended, obviously) of the fans, considering the badgering the Funko staff has endured for months on end!

Yeah, I kind of agree? I'm glad it's not going to be a regular deal, but on this show (and all superhero shows), people on the team are going to be targeted, kidnapped, put in danger, and I'm fine with women filling that role in an equal balance to the men, as long as it makes sense and they're are allowed to help save themselves at least to some extent.

Yeah, this show has proven it truly does not care about logistics when it comes to things like this. But I'd still think she'd coordinate with someone else to make this happen, if only because otherwise that's a series of boring scenes. I'm guessing someone will be on her side here, probably for nefarious reasons.

I'd love just a classic Dig in his leather jacket instead of the Arrow suit. But what do you think the odds are that if they release a second, they'll put him in his weird Daft Punk helmet?

Totally agree, though I'm not sure Thea bought it or if she was just renting it (still using MM's money of course). I really think it would make the most story sense for them to find a brand new place, untainted by Merlyn or Ray (if they did end up in the PT building), but it doesn't sound that way. And I think if they were redressing an existing set, MG wouldn't call attention to it by calling it familiar.

Ha, yeah, in my original post, I was mostly feeling pre-annoyed about Betsy Ross's role this season, and I honestly thought maybe I'd forgotten where things had left off at the end of last season and that it would be possible she'd end up in the present via some time-traveling woo-woo. I definitely don't want that! Past only is fine, and I hope the flashbacks are limited in terms of minutes per ep. It just seems strange to hire someone like NR as a regular and make a big splash about it, and then have her only appear a few minutes out of every episode (or not even every episode). We'll see, I guess.

I think I guessed before that they would have O & F move into the loft, and have Thea move into smaller place in the same building, which we would never see. That's still my guess, and would be my preference over a corporate apartment situation because they deserve to get out of that building sometimes, especially if the lair is there too. But yeah, living with your little sis and your new girlfriend? Not great. As for the endless pleading for "Pretty Bird": And also:

Yay! I'm buying the whole Team Arrow.

Yeah, I used to attend film festivals for my job, and I was comfortable meeting or talking to any celebrities I came across there. Especially if I actually wanted to compliment their film--that was a great environment to talk to people because (at the time, maybe not so much now that festivals are bigger) if they're at a festival with a film, it's because they're pretty excited about it and they're excited to talk to anyone about it. :) But even then, I knew that if I came across one of my weirdo Fan Top Tier, I'd have to really force myself to talk to them so I wouldn't regret it later. Luckily/unluckily, it never happened!

I mean, you quoted my post, you can see that I never said that if there was a romance, it had to be in the present, or that that condition was necessary? I was wondering aloud how BR would appear on the show, and spent the second half of my query talking about how that would work in the flashbacks. At the time, we didn't know for sure that she would only be in flashback, but now it seems she will. That's my preference, so I'm relieved. My point about the flashbacks is that they were never linear--they dipped back into whatever piece of IC's past related to what they were trying to solve in the present day. So we saw Benjamin Franklin one episode, freemasons the next, whatever. With Betsy Ross and the Culper Spy Ring, it seems like we'll either be dealing with one very specific overarching mystery, or just flashing back to the spy stuff at random a la Arrow. Does that make sense? That's my only quibble with the flashback angle.

Ha, that does make sense, but isn't what I mean. I mean that...the idea of doing a photo op with Hayley Atwell sounds fun to me. The idea of doing one with Stephen Amell makes my palms sweat. :) And while I adore both of them, I'm only fannish about SA (I would feel this way about EBR and DR too, as well as GG for reasons I can't really articulate because I don't care about The Flash). If I were to go to a con for an Arrow panel and do the signing and photo op thing--let alone one of those wine mixers, my God--I would spend that day feeling weird and anxious, and I feel like on the balance, it would not be fun for me. If I were to do the exact same thing, but just go to panels and stuff for things I enjoy but am not invested in, I would not feel anxious, and I would actually have fun! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh that might be unclear: I mean that my own brain is weird. :) As I was writing that response, I was thinking, "Well, I would definitely do a signing/photo with Hayley Atwell!" Or, the iZombie people. Or a bunch of other people from things that I LOVE but am not super fannish about. So it's odd, even to me, that I wouldn't want to do that with the things I fan the MOST.

I am, like, the opposite of this. The harder I fan something, the worse my second-hand (or sometimes first-hand) embarrassment gets about stuff around it. I've never watched any of SA's other stuff (except TVD and New Girl, because I'd already seen those by the time Arrow started). I'm not watching that EBR short, probably won't watch this WWE thing even in clip-form, there's about a 1% chance I'll watch TMNT2. I usually can't even bring myself to watch their panels. And like, I would be happy to go to a con sometime, but wouldn't really want to do the photo/signing deal with the people involved with my biggest fandoms. That...is kinda weird, now that I think about it.

The Victor reveal is about the only thing I like about the first four episodes.

I'm confused as to how Sexy Betsy Ross can fit into this show. Or how she and Ichabod "may have something" (based on Nikki Reed's comments in the interview posted in the Media thread). Is SBR going to suddenly appear, a la Ichabod, in the present day? Was there something unresolved w/r/t to the time-traveling at the end of S2 that I'm forgetting? Otherwise, I'm assuming she's going to appear in flashback only--which is fine, except this show isn't like Arrow or Lost, where the flashbacks have been a huge part of every single episode, or told an ongoing story in their own right. I'm not particularly interested in the show moving to that kind of structure. And even if she is in flashback-only: are these flashbacks taking place post-English fiance but pre-Katrina?

Oh, I agree. I'll keep watching something as long as I enjoy it, and even sometimes after I've lost the enjoyment, at which point it becomes "hope-watching." With TVD, I did not enjoy watching the show for most of S4-5, but kept hoping things would turn around and get back to the magic I felt in that golden S1-3 period. And actually, the hope-watching paid off for me, because I too liked Season 6. It did recapture some of the magic, for me. (The first half of the season, and then it kinda petered out in the end.) But probably more importantly, I'd revised my expectations way, way down after S4/5. If I were introducing someone to the series now, I might just advise that they just skip S5 entirely, aside from the finale. The only things I really enjoyed were Silas and Katherine, and the only thing that is critical in terms of character development is Stefan closing the door on his relationship with Elena for good. Otherwise, it's just a slog with muddled characterization and storytelling. I don't remember enough of S4 to say it's totally skippable--I know I found the beginning of that season pretty effective (that memorial episode is really strong, for example), but then the sire bond happens and it's all blech in my mind from there.

Ah, gotcha. I shy away from calling things guilty pleasures, but this podcast I like has this category of shows they call "B Movie TV." Super enjoyable, competently produced, lots of drama and action...but maybe light on the social commentary, deeper meaning type stuff (they include shows they love like Banshee, Spartacus, and Arrow in that category). I think maybe we're talking about the same thing, but the difference for me is that I would basically put that TVD S1.5-3 run at the very top of my list of B-Movie TV, where you would put it more in the middle of yours.

Thanks for that explanation, lemotomato! I can see the upload time being annoying and given that SA doesn't seem to really edit the videos he makes, I suppose a livestream makes sense. I just hope SA ends up limiting the real-time interacting element, because sifting through the useless comments to get to actual questions could be painful.

I think it really depends on how you define "great" and what you're looking for. I tend to follow the Roger Ebert concept of criticism, which is to approach the work according to its own goals and evaluate how well it performs on those terms. So from my perspective, in terms of supernatural teen drama, I agree that the latter part of S1 through S3 are truly excellent TV. Entertaining, engaging, well-acted, well-plotted, well-produced. I will defend that period of TVD to anyone (I'd actually say more like the last 2/3 of S1, personally, and could even be persuaded to go as far as 3/4.) Not all TV is trying to be Breaking Bad or The Americans, or even BtVS. TVD has different goals from BtVS, and it's possible to say that they are both great on their own terms, while also saying that BtVS is important and meaningful in a way that TVD is not and did not aspire to be.

Now, admittedly, I am an Elder by internet standards, so maybe I'm just too old for this shit. But I truly don't get the point of the livestreaming video apps. Like...most people aren't actually going to view the thing live unless it's either planned well in advance or they just happen to see you post the link at the exact right time. Most people will still watch it after the fact. So...what is the substantive difference between this and his other FB Q&As that were posted likely minutes after he recorded them? The only difference I can imagine is more annoying questions because he/his assistant won't have had the time beforehand to sort through them? More dead time while he scrolls past all the "hi" "hello" "Arrow!" "I love you!" posts? I just...don't see the big opportunities and exciting possibilities Stephen does, I guess.

I watch ten of those shows (yikes!), and for me, it's a tough call between the top 3, and Elizabeth from The Americans, and Sarah from OB, but all things considered, honestly, I'd give it to Clarke. But I'd be happy with any of the top 3 for sure.