Joe Hellandback

Clayne Crawford was acting under a different name back then. I heard that it was always intended for X/C to hook up, hence why the network nixed an African American CC as they were uncomfortable with an inter-racial romance.

Interesting, I never considered that. I was always surprised we never saw it as Angel?

But that's what the Slayer's life leads to, isolation and weariness, she knows that one day one of the nasties she fights will have that one lucky day. I always thought that was part of the reason Dawn was so precious to her, she may inevitably die young but she can live on through Dawn.

I liked her, so different from what we had seen her play before but a very Jossverse character. The good; Laugh out loud at the scene where Topher tries out his disruptor only to knock out a random passing doll, sending them tumbling down the stairs. The conspiracy storyline really kicks in and lovely to see Mellie back once again. Masterful bait and switch that Perrin is the doll and his wife is the handler, she seems so threatening to Ballard even when she's a tiny little woman and he's this towering ripped martial arts expert. The bad; Not much, heck of a good ep. One question, if Perrin is so security conscious how do they dope his drink? Best line; Adele; "An emergency measure for when things get hot" Ballard; "I'd say things are warmish" plus Ballard; (pointing to Topher's gizmo) "What is that?" Topher; (nervously) "It's the thing that if it doesn't work won't get me in trouble" and Perrin; "You're a doll" Echo/Bree; "You're cute too" also Echo/Bree; "If you want to do the right thing don't bring your hooker mistress to meet your wife" not to mention; Cindy Perrin; "If this plan doesn't work we're going to be demoted to being dead" Packing heat; Echo;8 Boyd; 8 Dominic; 9 Sierra; 4 Victor; 3 Ballard; 10 November; 1 Echo kissage; 4 Kinky dinky; Echo in hooker-wear and almost naked Senator Perrin for the Alexis fans. Capt subtext; Echo/Bree is into the idea of threesomes with the Senator and his wife but charges extra for them. Washington Doll 'Hades' is out servicing a 'closeted' councilman (Hades the god of the underworld). Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo/Bree and Perrin Echo; 5 definite, 2 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 Sierra 1 Topher; 1 possible How'd they get away with that? Bennet tortures Echo very nastily indeed. This weeks fantasy; Echo is likeably enthusiastic and kinky nympho call-girl Bree who says she 'likes it a bit rough' and is attracted to Perrin because he's 'twisted'. What do we think of the client? Adele's plan for Perrin is rather underhand, seducing and blackmailing him. But compared to robbing him of his free will and brainwashing him into their slave it's pretty minor. Total number personalities; Echo is call girl Bree Echo; 29 Sierra; 12 Victor; 10 November; 3 Total dolls; we meet the petite and lovely Kilo 9-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo Topher is a bit geeky; He refer to disruptor's and Star Trek (weapons that the Romulans use, right?) Bondage; Echo/Bree offers to tie Senator Perrin up. She is tied up by Bennet at the end Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1 Echo; 1 Knocked out; Echo twice by Topher's gadget Echo; 4 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Topher; 2 Kills; Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 3 November;1 Dolls injured; Poor Echo get's pistol-whipped then brutally tortured by Bennet. Happy hookers; Echo is imprinted as call girl Bree, a happy hooker who wanted to be a dancer but found she prefers escort work which is also more lucrative. Know the face? It's hot in here, it must be summer! Summer Glau, another hattrick. Also Maurissa Tanchon who in addition to being a Dollhouse writer featured on Dr Horrible 14-Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Amy Acker-2 (Dollhouse/Angel), walking action figure-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse), Eliza Dushku-3 (Buffy/Angel/Dollhouse), Jim Piddock-2 (Angel/Dollhouse), Gregg Henry-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Alan Tudyk-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Felicia Day-2(Dollhouse/Buffy), Alexis Denisoff-3 (Buffy, Angel and Dollhouse), Kristoffer Pohala-2 (Dollhouse/Angel), Stacey Scowley-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse) Clyde Katulas-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse), Maurissa Tanchon-2(Dollhouse/Dr Horrible), Summer Glau-3(Angel/Firefly/Dollhouse). Whedon clichés; Characters with just one arm (like Lindsey in Angel). Rich and powerful families who cover up the evil deeds of their wayward sons. Top security installations which aren't secure at all. Loving self-sacrificing mothers who risk all for their children. Breaking the programming; Echo can now refuse the offer of a treatment and is aware of her past personalities even when imprinted. She speaks of being able to see the patterns of her past imprints as though they are 'seams' Questions and observations; Perrin is an interesting comparison to George W Bush who also came from an influential political family, also went to Yale and was also a drunken wastrel well into his thirties. He got religion whilst Perrin got 'dolled'. Did you notice Bennett's computer keyboard adapted for a user with only one hand? Or the statue of Romulus and Remus (the she-wolf suckling the human infants) in her bookcase. She also get's rid of everyone else before torturing Echo BUT she refers to her as Caroline. So we have history here? No Victor or Sierra at all this ep. So the DC Dollhouse names it's actives after Greek mythological characters? Love to see Hercules, Appollo etc and especially Xena and Callisto. Central point here is that Perrin might have been wasting his life but it was his life to waste, once again as we saw with Sierra in Belonging, Rossum are quite prepared to take away people's freedom and exploit them if it suits their purposes, slavery plain and simple. Marks out of 10; 8/10, very good stuff

I think the special effects really let this one down, the story is ok. According to the comics Buffy and Willow's fantasies have now changed to; I wonder what Xander's would be now? Although frankly as he was dating; The Dark Age; The Good; Buffy's training although as Will later comments isn't she just naturally buff? Willow coming through with a great idea, Cordy tripping Ethan The Bad; The melting effect is a little lame. The demon seems quite insignificant compared to the threats we later see. Best line; Buffy; "Have I ever let you down?" Giles; "Do you want me to answer that or just glare?" but also Xander; "An extra day in school plus Cordelia? Mix in a little rectal surgery and it's my best day ever" Questions and observations; Who's Gavin Rossdale? . Very much Giles' episode and adding a lot more depth to his character. Great stuff between him and Ethan, you wonder if ASH and Robin Sachs have worked together before, they really do come across as old friends. Why does Eoghan wait all these years? Drunk Giles for the first time. The Bay City Rollers were late 70s and a little cheesy for a teen rebel like Giles. Jenny knocked unconscious and goes evil, Buffy knocked unconscious and tied up.Here Xander disparages computers but Nic Brendon will go on to play a computer expert in his recurring role on 'Criminal Minds' 6/10, good ep but not brilliant

She flirts with both Spike and Angelus? Arguably she may be stealing Buffy's boyfriend with Angelus but she had no idea Spike and Buffy were involved. As for the writing you must remember they were stretched over 3 shows, Buffy, Angel and Firefly. I always thought that 'having the inappropriate boyfriend and self destructive relationship' was part of growing up worked quite well. Nikki has her son, the Chinese Slayer has her mother, Buffy has Scoobies/her family, Faith has....?

With ASH, Seth and Marc gone, at very least Xander provided a much needed male presence on the show. I rather liked the way things see-sawed for him. In season 4 he was the directionless screw up whilst everyone else was going great guns, in later seasons he becomes more the accomplished adult whilst Buffy and Willow fall apart. I liked the Verucca storyline but I don't think it would have worked in the long term, it lasted long enough. But you could say that of any character?

Yes, that's a good one, adds greater gravitas to the ep title.

Callisto The Good; and here's Callisto in all her glory and Hudson really is a kick in the head in every sense and just the most beautiful woman alive. Also we have Joxer who will go on to be such a huge part of the series so some people think this is the greatest ep ever and some the worst. Lovely shot when Cally first catches the Chakram. The Bad; The only thing I can think off is that if Cally really wanted people to believe that she was Xena back to her bad old ways shouldn't she have dyed her hair black? Also was it really necessary to kill the kid even if it was offscreen? Recurring Characters; Callisto again and Joxer for the first time plus Cally's recurring henchman Theodorus. Theodorus; 1 Joxer; 1 Salmoneus; 2 Callisto; 2 Autolycus; 1 Charon; 1 Toxeus; 2 Ephiny; 1 Hades; 2 Ares; 2 Marcus; 2 Falafel; 2 Cyrene-1 Lila-2 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-2 Draco-1 Sisyphis-1 Maeleger; 1 Xena clichés; Village in peril, Gabby captured, The Pinch. Doubles; 1 “I have many skills’; 2 10 years ago; 1 Dead Gabby suitors; 2 Dr Xena-7 Xena in bondage-2 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-4 Gabby captured-9 Village in peril-6 Duel to settle things-2 The Pinch; 6 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 4 Hurt/comfort; 1 Kills; amazingly none. Xena; 14 Best quote; - Callisto; "The idea of your pity is worse than death, you created a monster with integrity Xena, take me to the mob" Greek myths; Subtext; another one of those cosy fireside chats, Xena now puts Gabby on a par with her mother and Hercules in her affections. She says she would go crazy if anything happened to any of them (as we just saw with Atrius a couple of eps ago). Notches on the Chakram; Xena; 1 Other; really this is the ep where Xena takes off and becomes a truly great series, it is often thought that a hero is only as good as the villains they face, Batman with his rogues gallery, Luke Skywalker with Darth Vader etc. Callisto brings things in the Xenaverse to a whole new level and the series never looks back. Note even at this early stage Joxer is prepared to die to save Gabrielle? You always wonder what Callisto would have been like if Xena had stayed evil? Would she have been the heroine of the story? What would time travelling Iolaus have done if tyrant Xena had been executing outspoken dissident Gabrielle and that realities' heroic rebel leader Callisto had stormed in to save her? Also check out Xena's reaction to the sight of the crucified villagers which will have greater significance later. Rating; 9/10

Absolutely, we will see more of Caroline/Echo's story later but I think Sierra's is more affecting, Caroline chose to surrender, embracing her destiny as a Doll, literally deciding to give up her free will and to become a piece of property owned by Rossum, their's to exploit and pimp out and serve their every whim. Sierra by contrast never had any choice in the matter, she was forced to be a slave, she never decided to have her freedom taken away from her, she might as well be a victim of people trafficking or a hostage sold in an ISIS slave market. There is nothing with Sierra to salve the conscious of the Dollhouse staff. They should have but remember if they did that they'd have to cross Rossum's high command and they'd start asking awkward questions about the fate of the evil Dr. Safer to keep her until her contract is up. Remember our accent is based on our memories, the wiped Dolls all speak with a sort of blank, neutral accent as a baseline. BELONGING The good; Very good mislead at the start, you keep trying to figure out the nature of Sierra's assignment. Nice to see Adele with long hair again. Some great acting from Dichen in her madness. The bad; If Kinnard has used the LA Dollhouse before in his seduction of Priya isn't he worried anyone will remember her? Best line; Kinnard;(of Priya) "I'm a collector, you're the real deal" (collector of what exactly?) plus Topher; "I'm not the bad man" (as we shall learn) Kinky dinky; Of course you can't go to Venice Beach to film and not have a couple of shapely bimbos in bikinis wander across the screen. Plenty of both straight and gay sex at the art exhibition 'chill out room' along with a few lines of coke. Note that among the pictures in Kinnard's drawer are some of Sierra in a schoolgirls uniform. Capt subtext; Note how tactile Adele is with Topher, hinting at the mother/son like relationship we saw in Epitaph One. Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; definitely Kinnard for Sierra Echo; 4 definite, 2 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 Sierra 1 definite Topher; 1 possible How'd they get away with that? Boyd and Topher butcher Kinnard and dissolve his body with acid. Yeessh! The whole Sierra/Kinnard fight and Topher's disposal of the corpse is incredibly bloody and brutal, to judge by the commentary it was even more visceral in the first cut, must have been the full Evil Dead 2. More needles, you know some of us suffer trypanophobia Joss. This weeks fantasy; Sierra is essentially her original personality of Priya but in love and devoted to Kinnard. What do we think of the client? Adele hits the nail on the head, loathsome scum. Essentially the Dollhouse is a high tech brothel (although not every assignment features sex), whatever you think of prostitution it's the choice of the actives to go there. They're all consenting adults, doing it for money and other benefits, Caroline to avoid going to jail, Mellie to help her get over her grief, Victor to presumably help him recover from his traumatic wartime experiences . However we now learn that Sierra ISN'T a volunteer, she's there because the man who couldn't have her despite all his wealth and influence pumped her full of drugs and then had her brainwashed into his submissive concubine. She's a slave pure and simple and what he does to her is rape. And Rossum is quite willing to let this continue. Thankfully Topher isn't. Total number personalities; Victor and Echo are a couple of highbrow art fans hired to make Kinnard look good Echo; 28 Sierra; 12 Victor; 10 November; 3 Total dolls; 8-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey Addy is a bit British; She tells it straight, describing Kinnard as a 'raping scumbag' but still serves him tea with a smile. Topher is a bit geeky; He does resemble Shaggy, zoiks! Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1 Knocked out; Echo; 2 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Topher; 2 Kills; Sierra/Priya kills Kinnard with a steak knife to the heart Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 3 November;1 Dolls injured; Poor Sierra nastily knocked around. Know the face? Clyde Katulas, one of those actors you see everywhere on TV. Here he plays the doctor at Pirya's mental hospital and played a very similar role on the Buffy ep 'Nightmares' 12-Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Amy Acker-2 (Dollhouse/Angel), walking action figure-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse), Eliza Dushku-3 (Buffy/Angel/Dollhouse), Jim Piddock-2 (Angel/Dollhouse), Gregg Henry-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Alan Tudyk-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Felicia Day-2(Dollhouse/Buffy), Alexis Denisoff-3 (Buffy, Angel and Dollhouse), Kristoffer Pohala-2 (Dollhouse/Angel), Stacey Scowley-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse) Clyde Katulas-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse) Whedon clichés; Rich and powerful famillies who cover up the evil deeds of their wayward sons. Top security installations which aren't secure at all. Loving self-sacrificing mothers who risk all for their children. Breaking the programming; Echo can now lie and keeps a journal. Victor is already becoming more assertive although he decides he doesn't want to be the leader. Questions and observations; Directed by Jonathon '2 takes' Frakes of Star Trek fame. Very much the ep where Topher's conscience comes to the fore and Adele realises that Rossum truly are evil, she just hasn't picked sides yet. We're told that Dr Saunders is a permanent imprint on Whiskey. Does that mean she'll not be restored to her original personality at the end of her contract? Echo refers to Topher as 'Shaggy', can anyone tell me what Adele mouths to Topher afterwards? Topher can 'cure' schizophrenia? I suspect it's reasons like that why Adele became involved with the Dollhouse in the first place. Very little Echo in this ep and no Ballard (can't afford him according to the commentary). Sierra confirms her love for Victor both in her blank state and her Priya personality and they cuddle at the end, awwwww! Poor Sierra, sexually abused by this guy AND Hearne. No wonder she wants to continue as a doll in order to forget. Topher outside the Dollhouse, actually we see him twice, at the mental hospital and at Kinnard's house. Marks out of 10; 8/10, Topher takes a moral stand and it's nice to see. The rotten underbelly of the Dollhouse/Rossum comes to the fore.

The slayer deathwish? Or should that be life/sex/deathwish? As for Woods, remember he's the son of a Slayer who ends up dating 2?

One thing I noticed when rewatching, when Penguin makes his speech to Martine Victor does his 'cry me a river' gesture but Tabitha looks genuinely moved. But then we see her adopt a couple of little sisters through the series.

Which scene specifically? So true, we night sympathize with Ford more if he didn't take such delight in his deviousness. I always thought that Oz had some elements of Pike about him although there never seemed to be any attraction between him and Buffy, not even in any fanfic I've read. I would like to have seen Pike cameo or even be mentioned in the series, he does return in the comics. Interesting, Spike seems to be a very human vamp in many ways. My theory was that because Spike was sired by Dru he is different due to her link to the PTBs Lie to Me; The Good; The central story is very strong and it makes great fun of all the vampfans out there (Twilight lovers I'm talking to you ). The scene with Dru and the kid in the playground is scary as hell . First appearance of Chantrelle/Lily/Anne and she's great. Angel in the vamp club is hilarious. Ingenious the way Buffy defeats Spike and co, once again you see that this girl has brains and guile and not just looks and brawn. Adore the Angel/Will scene, her hiding her undies and telling him she's not allowed boys in her room. Willow finally realising what the Divinyls song 'I touch myself' is really about (you know if that had been sung by a guy they'd have never played it on the radio). Willow still in her 'startled virgin' phase which they play for laughs The Divinyls also provide music for the Buffy movie. Lovely scene between Giles and Buffy at the end. The Bad; Not much, strong ep Best line; Giles; "I believe that's called 'Growing up" Buffy; "Then I'd like to stop now, OK?" but also Willow (about Angel) "Ours is a forbidden love" Xander (after Chantrelle describes vamps as 'the lonely ones') "Actually we call them the nasty, pointy, bitey ones" and Giles' wonderful speech at the end. Questions and observations; Cordy identifies with Marie-Antoinette. Ford likes Jack Palance as Dracula which is also the version Angel recommends (you wonder did he ever meet the real thing? He was certainly in Romania) Don't bother looking for Ford in the Buffy movie, I assure you he's not even mentioned. Jason Bher (Ford) will work with SMG again in The Grudge. We get the story of Angelus and Drusilla for the first time, explaining why Angel was reluctant to talk it over with the Scoobies. Ford is SUCH a scumbag. OK, you're dying but that doesn't mean you kill dozens of other people to enable you to 'live'. His scheme also seems unnecessarily elaborate, why not just catch a vamp, chain it up in the open and tell it either to sire you and you'll release it or it'll be dead by sun-up? Buffy entered a beauty contest at Hemery (check out 'I know what you did last summer' for SMG in a swimsuit pageant). Giles and Jenny have their second date at a monster truck rally which I think would have been a great episode in itself. Spike keeps his word and sires Ford, as with his love of Dru he seems a very atypical vampire. Great stuff 8/10

Also it's been theorized that if it was a vamp created by the spell the normal rules might not apply.

True, the should have expressed a little more pain, preferably in song.

Just watch the scene, tell me what you think.

Interesting, I never thought about it that way

Actually I love the 3 of them together, I'd like to explore it more although yes, Selina seems to be involved in some pretty dark stuff. Actually the RPG 7 is an armour piercing weapon, a building just won't blow up because you fire one in so this is quite accurate. 1. No Harvey, no Ivy, no, Bruce, no Alfred, hope we see more of them soon. 2. Quite love the Ed/Lee dynamic, she sees Ed as a separate entity to The Riddler, I was almost sorry to see him return at the end. Expected to see the Sirens hook up with Lee as her muscle but no. 3. They put mass murderer Pyg in with the general population? Well TIG 4. Poor Harper, stabbed last week and knocked out this week. 5. Love the subtle shift in Sofia when Penguin finally uncovers her treachery, she doesn't have to pretend any more. Love the scene where we see Penguin goad Sofia, she's so calm and in controlled but when he reminds her his parents loved him unconditionally whilst she's trying to earn daddy's approval she just cracks a little. 6. Love Victor's "she's on the phone" line, I used to hate him but now he's one of my favourite characters. 7. I guess we have no DNA to identify Pyg with in the Gothamverse? 8. Interesting reaction from the Sirens to Martine, Tabby is creeped out by him whilst Barbara likes him when we expected the reverse. A little disturbed at how much Selina is getting involved in all this kidnap and murder? Even if she's not pulling the trigger herself. 9. Okay let's have a big hand for the writers with their Keyser Soze, we were all shocked, even the Sirens couldn't believe it. You always wonder how far Gotham would push it, cannibalism, strong hints of incest between Theo/Tabitha and Tetch/Alice, (the former seemingly consensual, the latter definitely not), Dr Bashir killing the museum keepers grandson, matricide/patricide from Barbara and Jerome, did we really believe Penguin would do it?

BELLE CHOSE The good; Ballard and the other handler consoling one another whist waiting for their charges to select clothes makes me laugh out loud every time. Victor's girly dancing/Terry act is great (Enver the best actor in the cast). I like the fact that Victor's chip is missing due to bureaucratic oversight, very realistic. Echo/Terry stabbing the professor is a real shocker. The bad; You can see the human statues move slightly but you would expect that, they're not real statues they're paralysed women and the drugs are wearing off. Why not just let a chipped Victor go and track him? How does a guy as lamely dressed as Terry get into a trendy club? Terry's victims seem to accept the Dollhouse tactical team awfully easily, they don't even have 'Police' written on their overalls. Best line; Boyd; "Topher has ethical problems. TOPHER!" plus Dollhouse fashion guru; "Not exactly a rocket scientist. Normally that's irony but around here you never know" and Echo/Kiki; "I mean how hard can it be, it's medi-eaval, it's not even advanced eaval" Kinky dinky; The villain appears to be a fan of ASFR, that is a fetish for transforming people into statues/living waxworks/robots. (I know what you're thinking, "Girl, now you're just making this stuff up" but I'm really not, just type ASFR into your search engine and you'll see what I mean. Seems to have been started by the Wonder Woman ep 'The Fine Art of Crime' since re-edited into YouTube ASFR clip 'The Finer Art of Crime') The shower scenes are back, the fans must have complained that they missed them. Echo comments 'I'm wet' when appearing naked in front of Ballard but she probably means from the shower. Kiki is hot to trot and is delectable in her mini-skirt and knee socks, lovely sexy dance she does for the prof. Nice analogy of female power in Kiki's discussion with the Professor of Chaucer and interesting use of the term 'whippe', Echo/Kiki also seems a fan of wearing spurs "Nasty!" (where would this assignment have gone had it continued?). Capt subtext; Topher once again worries that he's creating a 'man reaction' in another male. The head of the Dollhouse clothing department is extremely fey and obviously in his dream job (I originally thought that this might be Harry Groener, Mayor Wilkins from Buffy but it's not). Victor/Kiki and Paul make a rather cute gay couple "Gotta a problem?". This weeks fantasy; Echo AND Victor are Kiki, a scatterbrained but kinky and adorable fun-loving student. Victor/Echo are also the villain, creepy dweeb Terry Karrens. What do we think of the client? The prof wants to have an affair with one of his students but rather than do it for real he hires Echo, getting to live the dream without tarnishing his professional ethics. I guess that's actually OK. The Uncle also seems not a bad guy, keen to rescue his nephew but also wanting to save his victims. Total number personalities; 2 for Victor and Echo Echo; 27 Sierra; 12 Victor; 9 November; 3 Subverting the Hollywood cliché; . Victor/Kiki goes from gaybashed to bigotbasher. The captured girls are actually escaping on their own rather than needing to be rescued "We're not his toys". Dolls injured; Poor Echo get's seriously roughed up by the escapers and the guy in the bar tries to punch Victor. Happy hookers; Misogynist creep Terry refers to 'Whores' (is he related to Mal Reynolds?) Know the face? Maybe I should start listing BSG alumni, Michael Hogan the 4th Guantanamo; Freed from FBI rules Ballard takes great joy in roughing up Terry. Fanfic; All the ASFR you can shake a human mannequin at in the Legacy of Timeless Beauty Archive Missing scenes;. I heard that the original scene between Ballard and Adele at the end was supposed to go a little differently; Ballard; "You think there's any chance he's ever going to wake up?" Adele; (hard as nails) "I wouldn't let him leave here if I did" Reminds me off; The concept is a little reminiscent of the Angel eps 'Just desserts' and 'Billy' and the Buffy ep 'Ted'. Breaking the programming; Echo rebels against Terry Questions and observations; Topher can diagnose psychopaths just by looking at their brainscans. Well this seems a useful skill, let's do that with everyone. Rather creepy ending implying that the villain lives on inside Echo's mind but I guess Eleanor Penn, Esther from True Believer, Margeret from Haunted, the mom from 'Instinct', the Dominatrix, the midwife etc inside her can keep him outnumbered and pinned down. Why not just have Terry hire out Echo, Sierra and co to act out his fantasies, no one would get hurt and it might help him regain his sanity? No Sierra whatsoever. 7/10,

I don't find her annoying, it's nice to see her play something other than a wisecracking badass, shows SMGs range. In an episode which deals with the difference between memory and identity (a common theme in Joss' works) and the rise of female equality. And she has to wait until her cookies are done. Agreed on the more Oz/Cordy time, I've never even read a shipper fic between them. I never considered the dialogue between them to have any significance. Yeah, just as he saw her the first time. Halloween The Good; Pretty much everything, great ep, love the alternate Scoobies, the Xena ref, the first appearance of Ethan and Ripper, the fight in the pumpkin stall at the beginning, Dru and Spike back, Oz, Larry, Cordy in her pussycat costume, Willow getting 'Sexy and Wild' (love her strutting at the end, do you think she got any offers?) the list goes on. Buffy unknowingly impersonating Darla and fainting (but at least she doesn't get tied up) and clinging onto Cordy's arm The Bad; Open to suggestions? Best line; Hard to pick but I'd say; Willow "She couldn't have gone as Xena? Just pipping Giles' "The ghost of what exactly?" upon seeing Will's streetwalker outfit and "You went mental when?" from Cordy Questions and observations: Willow appears to be a Xena fan. Hmmmmm? Callings Captain Subtext! Of course Xena started a couple of years before Buff and without it I don't think we'd have had Buffy. In one ep they refer to the play 'Buffus the Bachae Slayer'. You could say that Spike's fascination with Buffy is evident in his watching the video of her fighting. Love Willow walking through the wall and people's reaction to it. The long tracking shot of Xander transforming into Rambo. Either he reloads offscreen or Xander's rifle has a limitless magazine. Another hint of attraction between Cordy and soldier Xander. Angel wears a blue shirt which is OK but not really him. The Summers house get's trashed for the first time. How does the vamp Angel fights in the kitchen get in without being invited? First appearance of SDH's famous soda machine. We discover that Cordy doesn't know Angel is a vamp. Giles tortures Ethan for info, the Scoobies really seem to have a knack for it. Reputedly Joss fired the writer of this ep afterwards, don't know why he did a good job? (and goes on to write for Xena) 10/10 afters a couple of false starts season 2 firing on all cylinders

No, I can understand more his actions in OMWF, he was nervous about the wedding and it was a big decision for both him and for the sake of Anya whom he loves. It's just unfortunate that they live in Sunnydale where such temptations are available, Willow's misuse of magic, Dawn trying to bring Joyce back, Giles believing it is Jenny in IOHEFY, Willow and Anya releasing the troll, Tara almost getting everyone killed by her demon disguising spell, Buffy running away from her calling between 2/3 (how many people died in the meantime? Or when she lets Spike go, twice!).

Just read that Clayne Crawford from Lethal Weapon actually plays Rodney in this ep, learn something new every day.

She flirts with Spike remember and is a very kinky girl in so many ways. They do their best, this isn't The Shield

I actually can't remember most of 4&5 which probably says more about them. Honestly I think Will was drifting away from Terri and towards Emma already so I could believe that. Equally it was probably more a relief for Finn?

Makes sense, it was a more special effects heavy show, a pity it was my favourite of the various Terminator franchises. INSTINCT The good; Very clever concept, that the maternal instinct between a mother and her child is so great that it can overcome virtually anything (anyone else read Stephen King's short story The Breathing Method?) Echo breaking into the house is so sinister she might as well be wearing a Michael Myers mask. Contrast that to the awwww factor of Echo with the baby. Lovely to see Mellie back. The bad; Nothing really bad, just not that remarkable. Best line; Ballard; (to Topher)"You're a genius" Topher ; "I'm not as comfortable with you saying that as I thought I'd be" plus Echo; (baby in one hand, carving knife in the other) "MOMMY'S HOME!" Packing heat; no but Echo with a great big carving knife. Echo;8 Boyd; 8 Dominic; 9 Sierra; 4 Victor; 3 Ballard; 10 November; 1 Echo kissage; 4 her 'husband' Nate Kinky dinky; Nursing mother Echo looks noticeably more buxom, the wardrobe department obviously breaking out the wonderbras and padding for this role. Capt subtext; Topher repeats to Echo that he is a good man, trying to convince himself. Echo says that feeling nothing would be worse than before, possibly alluding to Mellie and her grief. Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; almost certain Echo has sex with her client, naked in bed together and Topher speaks of 'romance protocols'. Echo; 4 definite, 2 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 Sierra 1 possible Topher; 1 possible How'd they get away with that? Upsetting to watch Echo so distressed about being separated from her child, also not good if you don't like needles. This weeks fantasy; Grieving widower wants his dead wife back to care for their newborn baby. Cleverer still Sierra is inserted as a supportive best friend for her. What do we think of the client? Undoubtedly the most sympathetic yet, a guy devastated by the loss of his wife and unable to accept his own child because of the memories that stirs. In the end almost losing his baby finally makes him appreciate what he has in his son. Total number personalities; Echo as the mother and Sierra as her best friend Kelly Echo; 25 Sierra; 12 Victor; 7 November; 3 Total dolls; 8-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey Addy is a bit British; In response to a crisis Adele sits down and has tea. Keep calm and carry on! Topher is a bit geeky; He has developed an 'app' for ventriloquism. What next, barbershop quartets? Subverting the Hollywood cliché; The panicked woman fleeing the bad guys actually has the good fortune to walk around the corner and stumble across a police car. Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1 Knocked out; Topher KO' again Echo; 2 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Topher; 2 Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 3 November;1 Dolls injured; Poor Mellie, not even a Doll anymore and she still gets cracked on the head. Happy hookers; Perrin refers to Rossum being involved in prostitution. Know the face? Kristoffer Pohala seems to make a habit of appearing with Whedon alumni, guest starring in the Angel ep Billy, in Tru Calling with ED, in Mad Men with Vincent Unspellablesurname and in Life Unexpected with Emma Caulfield. Stacey Scowley who plays the senator's wife is also a Buffy Alumni, the girl whom Spike picks up and sires in the bar in Conversations with Dead People. 9 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Amy Acker-2 (Dollhouse/Angel), walking action figure-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse), Eliza Dushku-3 (Buffy/Angel/Dollhouse), Jim Piddock-2 (Angel/Dollhouse), Gregg Henry-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Alan Tudyk-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Felicia Day-2(Dollhouse/Buffy), Alexis Denisoff-3 (Buffy, Angel and Dollhouse), Kristoffer Pohala-2 (Dollhouse/Angel), Stacey Scowley-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse) Guantanamo; Kinda scary the way panicking mother Echo has no place to go, the police can't help her against Rossum. Reminds me off; Echo can now just walk out of the Dollhouse at will. Much like The Initiative and Wolfram and Hart organisations with impenetrable security never live up to their hype. Whedon clichés; Top security installations which aren't secure at all. Loving self-sacrificing mothers who risk all for their children (Joyce, Darla) Breaking the programming; Echo's desire for her baby is strong enough to overcome anything Topher can do to her. Questions and observations; This time Topher has not only changed Echo's mind but was able to actually alter her body. Ballard and Topher spar but seem to be developing a workable relationship much as he and Boyd did. For the second time in 2 eps Echo plays a wife rifling her way through her husband's desk. Was Perrin's source at the NSA actually Dominic? We finally find out what happened to Mellie and her daughter. No Victor at all this ep. Marks out of 10; 6/10-ok, very much a standalone, surprising that Joss bothers with eps like this knowing that he has a short time to play with.