Joe Hellandback

Butch killed loads of people, admittedly at the Penguins behest. What about Victor?

1. An internet guide 'How to make rape accusations for riches and other benefits' goes viral and gives the SVU an almighty headache, not only causing false allegations but discrediting every genuine victim who the defence can prove ever read it. 2. A scientist comes up with an algorithm which predicts who will be raped, the SVU must disprove it before it leads to hysteria and a foolproof defence for rapists. 3. An anonymous internet allegation against the millionaire head of a talent agency results in a series of similar accusations. But there is no agency, it's a fake and the accused is an actor hired by hoaxers who videoed all his interactions with his accusers to disprove them. Stone must now decide whether to prosecute the hoaxers and seem vindictive or prosecute the accusers and put off real victims?

What theme eps would you have liked Glee to feature and what songs should they have contained? 1. Elvis; they did Madonna and other eps concentrating on a single artist so why not the King? For my choices; Guitar Man (Puck?), Love Me Tender (Kurt), Heartbreak Hotel (Finn) 2. Scary Halloween special; Masquerade by The Carpenters (Quinn), Self Control by Laura Branigan (Santana?), Bad Moon Rising by Clearance Clearwater Revival (everyone) 3. Country; for a show set in middle America amazed they never did more. My choices; Merry Go Round by Kacey Musgraves (Rachel?), Holding onto Nothing But the Wheel by Patti Loveless (Santana?), anything by John Denver really. 4. Space; I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper by Hot Gossip (Artie), Satellite by The Hooters (Puck), Drops of Jupiter by Train/To the Moon and Back by Savage Garden by everyone. 5. Songs of Loss; Harbour of Each Others Arms by Beth Nielsen Chapman (Santana/Britney), Late Night Grande Hotel by Nanci Griffith (Rachel), Objects in the Rear View Mirror by Meatloaf (Mr Schue)

Yeah, I think some truly brilliant acting from Robia, trying to be serious with Giles but unable to suppress her urges for the now irresistible Xander. For anyone who says 'Oh Ryan Reynolds should have been Xander' this episode refutes that, no one could have been more perfect than Nic. Which makes it all the more tragic when....? The girl who gets knocked up by every demon she meets and the boy irresistible to supernatural girls? Every Scoob screws up with magic at some time, admittedly Xander more than most. Really? Apart from The Zeppo surely this is his Tour De Force? Those supernatural girls, they just can't resist the Xan-man Always sorry they didn't keep the Cordettes constant over time, except for Harmony they were always changing. I never got any attraction between Buffy and Oz, never even read any fanfic with that pairing. Joyce is one heck of a MILF, I'm not sure you realised it until this ep. I'm intrigued, what was the image you weren't allowed? Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered The Good; Just when you thought it couldn't get any better! Pretty much everything, even the music is superb, especially when Xander does his slow walk through the school. It really does set the bar for other eps. The Bad; Are you insane? This may well be my favourite Buffy ep EVER! Best line; Dru; "Don't fret kitten, mummy's here. How do you feel about eternal life?" Xander (terrified); "We couldn't just start with coffee?" Angelus (bemused) "Boy I really did drive you insane!" Whedon clichés; Character death-0 Bondage-0 Knocked out-0 Shot-0 Women good/men bad-0 Kinky-dinky; yep, Willow enthusiastically telling Xander that 'Force is OK' showing the naughty girl behind the softer side of Sears (love her impish smile as she says this). Buffy's striptease too. What the fanficcer's thought; A spell/enchantment making one character irresistible to all the subject of more fics than you can shake a stick at. Questions and observations; Lovely to see Amy and Jenny back and Harmony playing a fairly major role. Buffy's slit leopardskin mini-skirt is just SCANDALOUS, is this the outfit Joyce refused to buy her in Bad Eggs? Xander meanwhile seems to be dressed as though he's auditioning for Life on Mars, you could go handgliding with that collar. I always knew Cordy and Buffy and Jenny were lovely but here I think for the first time you realise the incredible sexiness of Alysson Hannigan, all the more remarkable for her wearing a man's shirt at the time. Joyce has been introduced to Cordy and greets her by name when she turns up at the door. Exactly how long are Cordy and Xander running around, it's light when they leave the school but dark when they reach Buffy's house? If I was to single one performance out from them all it would actually be Robia LaMorte for playing Jenny, the way she tries to talk to Giles whilst being gradually overcome by her irresistible attraction to Xander. Amy's bitchy comment that Jenny is old enough to be Queen of the World is a bit much as she's only 28 at the time of shooting. Note Spike's charming present for Dru contrasted to Angelus' hideous gift, his humanity once more shines through. The jealousy between the three shows through, Angelus tormenting Spike in all sorts of subtle little ways. I once read a very short but hugely funny slashfic called 'Bewitched, bothered and befuddled' where Amy's spell goes wrong in a slightly different way, resulting in all the boys lusting after Xander rather than the girls, even Angelus. Anyone else read that one? 10/10, just terrific in every way

But where do you stop? Tabitha? Barbara? Selena? Butch? Harvey? Do you get a motorcycle and sunglasses and make like David Soul?

The good; Very, very good ep, lovely way to round out the series and a great send off for the characters. Many, many nice little features including Harding and his allergy to shellfish again and Victor still having Ernesto the Acrobat in his memories. The bad; Joss WHY NO COMMENTARY? You didn't do one for the last ep of Angel either. Or are you saving it for Special Edition DVDs to fund your new project? That said the dinner party is a nice touch. When Adele leads the Dolls into the streets outside where have all the butchers gone? The idea that Victor, Echo and Sierra have to hide underground for a year to escape Topher's pulse is just silly. Best line; Alpha; "We're not freak shows. Well OK I am. And Echo. But Adele's a class act all the way" and Adele; "I'm glad you didn't clean up" Alpha; "It spoke to the schizophrenic in me. Well, both of them actually" Packing heat; everyone armed to the teeth. For a guy who says he doesn't like guns Joss puts a heck of a lot of them in his shows. Echo kissage; 5 In the missing scenes we see that Echo/Rebecca got all kissy with Joel in the back of the van at the end of The Love Supreme Capt subtext; Note the tender way Adele feeds Topher whom she refers to as 'darling'. She offers to die with him but he wants her to live. Mag seems to have the hots for Kilo and vice versa. Adele and Echo finally embrace. The butchers are now wearing suits, do they represent the network executives that cancelled the show? Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Paul and Echo appear to have become occasional sexual partners but not romantic lovers. Victor/Anthony and Sierra/Priya are lovers and have a son. Total number personalities; note 'mini-me' refers to herself as Caroline? But in every other way she's Echo, able to access all the memories in her head. Ballard refers to 100 people in Echo's head. 101 including him. Surprisingly the series doesn't end with Caroline getting her body back, she's just one of the personalities in Echo's head. Echo; 101 Sierra; 13 Victor; 11 November; 3 Total LA dolls; Kilo again, for a second I thought it might be Ivy. We also have Romeo and Yankee 11-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo, Romeo, Yankee Subverting the Hollywood cliché; Psycho killer Alpha pops up in his usual sinister fashion....and get's a great big hug from everyone! Bondage; Paul and Echo in chains Sierra tied up; 2 Ballard; 3 Echo; 7 Victor; 2 Kills; Echo kills the Rossum honcho for the last time. Once they get into the fight with the Reavers...sorry butchers, you just lose track. Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 5 November;1 Victor; 2 Boyd; 4 Know the face? Nate Dushku, Eliza's brother plays one of the Clive Ambrose's, he was also in the Angel ep 'Orpheus' as the armed robber in the doughnut shop. 18-Whedon alumni- Missing scenes;. The deleted scene from this ep is reminiscent of the ending to The Tripods, Zone, Mag and mini-me stumbling across a deserted camp but ready to start again. You can't help but feel bad for Adele when she tries to pick up Victor in the bar in Stop Loss, he actually offers to take her home but she knows she's not the girl he's waiting for. Reminds me of; Wizard of Oz again, the 'great and terrible' Caroline. The method by which Rossum force Topher to work for them is similar to how Lorne is forced to work in Vegas in the Angel ep 'The House Always Wins'. Sierra/Priya appears to be auditioning for the remake of Little House on the Prarie. In contrast we have Mad Max Victor. Whedon clichés; strawberries again! Also in Alpha we have the series greatest villain becoming the series greatest hero (Spike, Angel, Illyria, the agent in Serenity;the movie) Maimed characters. 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. Corporate politics literally played with deadly seriousness. Monty Python quoting villains. Offices full of zombies. Strawberries. Sleeper agents. One girl who holds the secret to everything. Villains who become heroes. Breaking the programming; Note the butchers are now using guns, they're evolving too. Questions and observations; So what happened between the events of The Hollow Men and Epitaph 2? An awful lot it seems! Presumably everyone makes their way back to the Dollhouse once the world starts going to hell. What happens between Adele and Echo so that Echo is on the point of killing her in Epitaph One? Presumably the vaccine that makes everyone immune to imprinting is derived from Echo's spinal fluid as we saw in the previous ep? Does Alpha have the same ability and is that how he created safe haven? What does Topher go 'huh' for at the very last moment when he looks at the 'Remember' wall? Love Adele's new family, her, Zone and mini-me ex-Caroline, she can start again, ever the Shepherd leading them into the light (we've seen how good she is with kids from her relationship with Victor/Sierra's son). Alpha finds it amusing that Romeo refers to him as a 'luddite' (groups of disgruntled workers who opposed the industrial revolution). Nice that they could work Summer Glau into the final ep through Topher's vid. So what happened to Ivy, Dominic, Alpha, Perrin, Whiskey etc? I guess we have to leave it to the fanfic? Who kept sending Ballard all the clues to the Dollhouse, was it Alpha? I like Joss' idea of Echo and co as the post apocalyptic A-team, I'd watch that. Marks out of 10; 10/10

One last thing, Bruce and the bimbos! Incurable romantic as I am I always thought he and Selena would have their first time with one another (assuming she's not more than just Tabby and Barbara's 'pet'?). But if he's having threesomes with nubile teenage nymphettes, good for him.

1. Well goodbye to Penguin's toady(?) which is a shame as I really liked him and I think he had begun to grow on the fans. 2. Goddam, I winced when Falcone hit his daughter, you realise why she might have been prepared to kill him (and was she poisoning him all along? Is that why he seemed healthier now than when we saw him in Mexico?). Mario really was the best of this family. 3. Watch the shootout scene again, you can clearly hear the distinctive sound of Pyg's sniper rifle over the rattle of the M60. 4. So Barbara realises Sophia and Jim were an item? Still seems to hurt her. 5. Love the Sirens, more of a team than ever, the little looks between them are priceless. 6. Our boy Zsaz shows his true colours. Question is will he kill Martine in order to provide a certainty to the charges against the Penguin? 7. Goodbye Pyg and Don Falcone, not often you get 2 popular recurring characters offed in the same ep? 8. So why is Penguin in Arkham rather than Blackgate? Or is this a move on Jim's part to avoid him going to trial and have his corrupt judges let him off? 9. The Penguin and Jerome, what a pair. You wonder at their conversations; Oswald; "Yeah, I utterly adored my parents and they loved me unconditionally" Jerome; "Really? I hated mine and killed them both" 10. So, I guess I owe an apology to those who I derided for thinking Pyg was Sophia's agent, I thought their conversation when he was posing as the chef negated the possibility but I guess that was all part of the act? 11. Poor Butch, poor Tabby, you wonder if it would have been more merciful to leave him as Grundy? Ignorance is bliss? Barbara seems to sense where she's going but makes no move to stop her. Ed's return to being the Riddler seems inevitable which is sad as I rather like the bond that seems to have arisen between him and Lee. 12. Harvey leaves his gun and his badge in that great US cop cliché, I like the character and hope this isn't the last we see of him but you think it might be for the best if he left the force, he seemed happier when we saw him do that before.

Kinky! I liked that, shows Ed is still in there somewhere.

Yeah, the Sirens are a kick in the head, I just hope Ivy joins soon. Harper? Come to think of it what happened to Alvarez? Then he would essentially be The Punisher, Batman needs that moral line in the sand. When Carmine hit his daughter I was outraged. But then we wonder why she's prepared to kill him?

The good; Once again we have Victor/Topher and it's brilliant although how we get it, this seems a little bit contrived. Couldn't Topher just leave a note with the Topher-wedge saying "Victor/Sierra, I think one of us is a traitor, please follow us to Tuscon and try to find out who it is". The rest is a thrilling ride but frankly Miller's Crossing was easier to understand first time around (but worth it). The bad; The machine that can be blown up to make everything OK seems a little contrite (think They Live) but they didn't have much time to work with (3 eps of Dollhouse after cancellation compared with 10 for Angel). Although we know that Topher is a genius it seems awfully convenient that he can be lured to Rossum headquarters and solve a problem that has perplexed their experts in about 10 minutes. Truth be told there's WAAAYYYYYY too much Duex et Machina in this ep, I've watched it several times and in honesty still cannot figure out Boyd's motivations, the whole thing makes exactly zero sense. More redundant cocking of pistols. Best line; Mellie; (declining Ballard's offer of a rifle)"I don't think so, I'm afraid" Ballard; (placing it in her hand) "So am I, that's why we have guns" (Words to cheer the heart of Sarah Palin/The National Rifle Association) plus Ballard; (as Boyd turns on him) "What did I miss?" Frankly Paul you're only as lost as the rest of us. Kinky dinky; Victor/Anthony gives Sierra/Priya permission to shoot him if he turns evil but tells her to 'avoid the junk'. When Sierra tells Adele that Victor has had some 'enhancements' she says 'Really?' in a very suggestive manner. Capt subtext; When someone questions whether Bennett fixed the wedge Topher immediately springs to her defence. Adele comforts Topher over his loss of Bennett, pets Echo in a very maternal manner and Whiskey does the same to her in a far from maternal manner. Topher refers to Boyd as his 'best man friend'. Boyd jealous of Ballard, perhaps seeing him as taking over his role in the group? He also disapproves of Adele pimping Echo out in a very paternal manner. How'd they get away with that? I'm really going to be happy when there's no more needles (shudder), the scene where they drain her spinal fluid especially wince inducing. Also someone showered with brains from their beloved who's just been shot in the head for the second time in 2 eps. Total number personalities; note that it's Mellie in this ep, Paul's next door neighbour and not Madeline, the girl we saw testifying in The Public Eye. Echo; 41 Sierra; 13 Victor; 11 November; 3 Total LA dolls; 9-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo Addy is a bit British; She remarks "Look lively". Topher is a bit geeky; He thinks that gun-toting Sierra is super sexy in a 'Ripley' sort of way (Joss of course having written Alien 4). Bondage; Echo tied to the surgery table Sierra tied up; 2 Ballard; 2 Echo; 6 Victor; 2 Knocked out; doped Echox2 Echo; 9 November; 1 Sierra; 2 Victor; 3 Topher; 4 Ballard; 1 Kills; Victor kills at least 2 of Rossum's hit men and Echo sends active Boyd to his death. Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 4 November;1 Victor; 2 Boyd; 4 Happy hookers; Boyd refers to Echo bedding 'half of LA'. It's a very dominating concept, Caroline who was the righteous crusader against Rossum surrendering to them and becoming their willing slave whom they pimp out as they please, it's like one of those movies where a policewoman tries to take down a prostitution ring only to end up as one of the hookers (as in the aborted Angel ep 'Corrupt' or 'Undercover Heat'). Guantanamo; This time it's Ballard who says they can't wait (because Topher removed his love for Echo?)but Adele who insists on staying for the others. Reminds me of; Besuited Whiskey is reminiscent of Demi Moore's famous cover shoot from the 80s. The Wizard of Oz again, something much quoted in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, another series with Summer Glau. Whedon clichés; again we see that with it's cutting edge medical Rossum is actually quite benevolent in many ways (like the Alliance in Firefly). As was the point made in Buffy/Angel, humans rule because they evolve and demons don't, Boyd making the same argument here. It's not necessarily those who are stronger and smarter who survive but those who adapt and evolve best, fire, TV and opposable thumbs. Boyd refers to the Dollhouse crew as a family, much like the Scoobs, AI and the Serenity crew. We're told that Echo is 'The Key', like Dawn and River Tam. Another big girly fight that isn't girly at all. Breaking the programming; All the Dolls can now break their imprinting to a greater and lesser degree, Sierra and Victor feel their love for one another whatever they're imprinted and Mellie now kills herself rather than hurt Paul. Questions and observations; So, they always had the idea of Caroline being special, it was clear to them from the start. Her physiology holds the secret to being able to resist being forcibly imprinted. Who killed the Rossum hit men at the Dollhouse? One could see the dangers of the Dollhouse tech as an analogy for nuclear proliferation, that even if every nuke were destroyed it wouldn't matter because once the knowledge of how to create them exists it can never be de-invented. Adele refers to Nero fiddling whilst Rome burnt. Actually he didn't, his actions during the fire were quite heroic but that story was spread afterwards by his enemies when he tried to raise taxes. Victor quotes the Ranger creed 'Leave no man behind'. Marks out of 10; 8/10, enjoyable despite the bafflement

Yeah, it was quite a gutsy move to have a relatively lightweight ep here (according to Marti Noxon they were getting calls from the network every day checking they were going to change Angel back) but it works. Yes, Larry coming out still cracks me up (reminds me of Glee?) nowadays no big deal but at the time big news. Almost better when left to the imagination? Interesting, I never noticed that although I thought the Willow/CC dialogue was very suggestive? I wish we could have seen more of Theresa, they could have brought her back in Phases The Good; Wonderful opening scene, Oz's reaction to the news he's a werewolf, the burgeoning Oz and Willow/Xander and Cordy relationships, the mislead with Larry is hilarious and a nice subplot with Theresa as Angelus and co are not forgotten. The Bad; Very little, excellent ep Best line; Willow; "Three days a month I'm not much fun to be around either" Is just beaten by; Giles "Let's not jump to conclusions" Buffy "I didn't jump, I took a tiny step and there conclusions were" Questions and observations; Willow and Cordy seem to be bonding despite Will's reference to CC as a 'skanky ho', their disparaging of men smacks mightily of subtext. That said Willow says she 'Wants smoochies' and seems less alarmed by Oz's possessing chains than intrigued. He doesn't wear them however unlike Buffy who finds herself helpless once more, caught in Cain's net. Cain's suspicion of Buffy and Giles in a May-to-December romance seems incredible but what else would the pair be doing in lover's lane at midnight? Guffy? Buffy's comments on the male nature of the werewolf are positively misandrist (and later we'll see The scene where Angelus offers to walk Theresa home is just chilling. I think what makes it so effective is that he seems so plausible, the devil with the Angel's face. Oz is shot for the second time and knocked out for the first whilst Xander kills his second vamp. It had to be pointed out to me at the time but now it seems hard to miss the 2 guys pushing Giles' car as it arrives at the Bronze. So presumably Oz's cousin bit him whilst human? So a werewolf can infect someone even in human form? Willow better not let Oz give her any lovebites. And did Oz's cousin get bitten or does being a werewolf run in families, Teenwolf style? How come Oz wakes up the second night naked and wondering what happened but not the first? Probably the best ever example of Slayer strength, Buffy bending the barrel of Cain's rifle in her bare hands, totally impossible for any human to do. I always thought the Owen who Buffy spots cheating on his girlfriend in Lovers Lane was the same Owen from Never Kill A Boy on a First Date but it's not (nice to see that despite her own heartache Buffy still likes romantic gossip). Nice reference to The Witch too with Oz examining the cheerleader trophy. Larry and Xander is a wonderful scene, one of my favourite of the entire series. Surely even the most fervent of can't fail to be charmed by the Willow/Oz romance? The series just hitting a series of straight sixes right past the boundary every time, 10/10

Entire websites devoted to that concept during the run of the show and normally throwing Joyce into the mix for good measure. In fact I remember the first rule of The Joyce Summers Fanfic Archive was no incest because people just loved putting her with her daughters (says something for the popularity of the show that a fairly minor character like Joyce could have her own story archive). But no, not what I mean, Buffy and are soulmates, they just have that special bond as Buffy herself states in The Gift.

Remember Nothing The Good; Some great stuff, Xena wrestles with the consequences of her actions, really like her brother and suitor, their relationship with her and one another plus a great emotional performance from embittered slavegirl Gabby. Some great dramatic music too, very Platoon. The Bad; But if Xena had never met Borias doesn't this mean that Solan never existed? No WAY is Gabby Cyrene's size. Recurring Characters; going to give this category up as it's just impossible to keep track, for the record we have recurring warlords Krykus and Muzentius who both perished in the real world. Solon; 1 Theodorus; 1 Joxer; 1 Salmoneus; 2 Callisto; 2 Autolycus; 1 Charon; 1 Toxeus; 2 Ephiny; 2 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; 1 kill, Gabby and Xena captured, Lyceus seems to have eyes for Gabby but too early to put him down as a suitor, village in peril. Doubles; 1 “I have many skills’; 2 10 years ago; 1 Dead Gabby suitors; 2 Dr Xena-8 Xena in bondage-4 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-4 Gabby captured-9 Village in peril-8 Duel to settle things-2 The Pinch; 10 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 4 Hurt/comfort; 2 Back from the dead; Gabby-1 Xena inventions; CPR Kills; just 1 Xena; 16 Best quote; - Lyceus; "You're the only family I have" Greek myths; yep, a remarkably accurate depiction of the Fates who even Xena worships. Subtext; ? Notches on the Chakram; Xena; 1 Ephiny; 1 Other; A lot of fun here, many shows do an alternate reality ep but Xena's is pretty brave in that it shows some stuff would actually be better, Lyceus is still alive and by destroying this world Xena is actually killing him in order to spare Gabby her blood innocence. You'd also like to see a scene where Xena comes across a happy and carefree Callisto with her family? But what happened to Torus? Is he dead? Or is he Xena's half brother and unrelated to Lyceus? Rating; 7/10

That's very true and it may be Spike is making excuses so he doesn't seem quite so 'sire whipped' but remember, The Judge can burn Dalton but not Angelus.

1. The SVU deal with multiple cases, one a virgin schoolgirl snatched off the street, one a housewife raped in her own home, one an allegation of child abuse against a stepfather, one a drunken date rape and one a possible drug rape. As the cases progress we see how the police/media/courts/jurors treat the victims differently based on their character and circumstances. 2. A different twist on the above, a serial rapist unusually targets both men and women and a transgender person, we see how the male victim's experience is significantly different from the female's and the transgender person's different still. 3. The SVU investigate sexual misconduct by members of another law enforcement agency but then find themselves under investigation by a third agency over alleged misconduct during their investigations. Stone must juggle multiple cases where the SVU are simultaneously the investigators, suspects, witnesses and possible victims, each police unit being used as an instrument of political attack against the other by their masters. 4. A martial arts expert is brought into the ER badly beaten and raped but does not wish to make any allegations. Investigations bring the SVU to an underground fight club where if the challenger wins they get a cash reward but if they lose they must submit to being raped, leaving Stone an almighty headache in court when it comes to the issue of consent. 5. A scientist argues that paedophilia is a psychiatric illness brought on by porn addiction, the addict left so desensitized by normal porn they begin to stray into illegal types. When challenged by Stone in court he argues that anyone could develop an addiction if exposed to enough and challenges them to take part in an experiment to prove the hypothesis.

Maybe it was another thing she would invent/discover? Orphan of War The Good; We delve further into Xena's past and discover her long lost son which was certainly a turn up for the books. I actually quite like the villain who's very human and has a sense of humour. Nice ref to Thesirtes from A Royal Couple of Thieves too. The Bad; all the stuff with the super centaur is pretty dumb. Couldn't Xena lower Solan the key and then raise him up rather than try to haul the entire cage? Recurring Characters; Solan for the first time Solon; 1 Theodorus; 1 Joxer; 1 Salmoneus; 2 Callisto; 2 Autolycus; 1 Charon; 1 Toxeus; 2 Ephiny; 2 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; The pinch times 2 Doubles; 1 “I have many skills’; 2 10 years ago; 1 Dead Gabby suitors; 2 Dr Xena-8 Xena in bondage-3 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-4 Gabby captured-9 Village in peril-7 Duel to settle things-2 The Pinch; 10 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 4 Hurt/comfort; 2 Back from the dead; Gabby-1 Xena inventions; CPR Kills; just 1 Xena; 15 Best quote; - Henchman "What if it doesn't work?" Villain; "Well, you get my horse and you get my tent" Greek myths; various explanations for the Centaurs in Greek mythology and all a lot different to what is portrayed here. Subtext; ? Notches on the Chakram; Xena; 1 Ephiny; 1 Other; So Xena has a son? Didn't see that one coming. I think Gabby actually handles the news extremely well considering. Also the first mention of Borias who will play a much greater role later on. Really this ep doesn't need the villain subplot, it's all about Xena/Solan. Rating; 7/10

The good; Wait a second, Boyd's the bad guy! Wow, didn't see THAT coming! Not to mention Dr Saunders(?) blowing Bennett's head off! Talk about 2 jawdropping moments in the same episode. That's off course if Caroline's memories are to be trusted and she's not just putting Boyd's face onto the person in her memory (as Dana did with Spike in the Angel ep 'Damage') The bad; If Caroline wants to destroy the labs beneath her why does she put the bombs on the roof of the service shaft? Why doesn't she put them on the bottom? Dominic and Adele just send terrorist Caroline up to meet the Rossum head honchos and don't even frisk her, what if she'd pulled out a gun and blown them both away? When Adele, Ballard and Echo play pass-the-pistol they each cock it, emptying the magazine of rounds. Best line; Ballard; (hearing the explosions of Rossum's force entering the Dollhouse) "We're breached" Echo; "That's one word for it" Packing heat; Adele/Ballard/Echo trade the same pistol Echo;13 Boyd; 10 Dominic; 10 Sierra; 7 Victor; 7 Ballard; 12 November; 1 Adele; 2 Echo kissage; 4 Kinky dinky; Caroline uses her feminine wiles to get access to Adele's office. Topher remarks to Bennett 'You show me yours, I'll show you mine'. At least they have the chance to get kissy with one another before you know what happens. Capt subtext; Caroline's relationship with Bennett is akin to seduction but Bennett is happy to be 'used'. Bennet remarks that Caroline is the first person to 'Take an interest' in her whilst Caroline asks her to 'Buy me dinner first'. Does Paul rescue Mellie because Topher removes his obsession with Echo? Boyd and Echo finally hug. Topher confesses he had a crush on Bennett even when he thought she was a guy. Adele refers to Echo as 'darling'. Topher makes sure that Ivy escapes. Because he LOVES her..... Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 6 definite, 2 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 Sierra 1 Topher; 1 possible How'd they get away with that? Bennett's brain matter splattered all over the lab AND Topher! Total number personalities; Echo; 41 Sierra; 13 Victor; 11 November; 3 Total LA dolls; we meet Apollo and Cassandra, Dolls in the DC house (Cassandra foretells disaster?) 9-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo Addy is a bit British; She loathes Arizona (too dry for her?). When a bullet shatters the window in front of her she comments 'Damn, I just had that replaced' in true Churchillian style. By contrast Caroline hates tea, she's obviously evil, let's keep Echo instead. Bondage; Caroline cuffs the security guard. Echo is tied down by Ballard Sierra tied up; 2 Ballard; 2 Echo; 5 Victor; 2 Knocked out; Topher by Rossum goon Echo; 7 November; 1 Sierra; 2 Victor; 3 Topher; 4 Ballard; 1 Kills; Boyd kills the Rossum head honcho and 3 of his goons Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 3 November;1 Boyd; 4 Happy hookers; Echo comments that people still look at her as though she's 'Doing tricks' Know the face? Mike Massa was of course David Boreanaz's stunt double in both Angel and Buffy 17-Whedon Guantanamo; Dominic tortures the poor security guard. Adele shows her ruthlessness, wanting to return Dominic to the Attic to save his life. Reminds me of; Carrie at the prom is referenced as is The Wizard of Oz. Bennett is very Willow and her meeting with Caroline akin to Buffy's historic first conversation with Willow in the Sunnydale High courtyard. Tron and The Matrix also mentioned. The lab is very similar to the Angel ep 'Dead End'. Rossum's office is very Blade Runner. The scene where Boyd(?) strokes Carolines face is reminiscent of the Shadowmen in the Buffy ep 'Get it done', doing the same even after transforming Buffy into their slave girl and having her knocked up by their pet demon and Faith doing to the same to Buffy in their Graduation Day dream sequence. Whedon clichés; Sleeper agents. Breaking the programming; Bennett speculates that Echo has merged her personalities into a 'superego', made up of all her collective minds but not dominated by any of them. Questions and observations; Interesting that Bennett and Caroline can have a different memory of the same event (although it may just be that they're both deaf from the explosions and can't hear what one another are saying). Adele says that the Rossum bigwig will undoubtedly have downloaded himself into several different bodies. That may be true but he's still dying when they kill him, his consciousness ends there, the others are just his clones. We discover Clyde is dead but we now meet Clyde 2.0 (or one of them) Apparently in the scene at the end of the The Attic the cast and crew get the word that the series had been cancelled. This means that Joss has 3 eps to finish off the entire storyline AND address all the issues raised in Epitaph One. For that reason they obviously have to cram an awful lot into 120 minutes of airtime and it sends your brain pretty much into overload. Marks out of 10; 8/10, certainly zips along at a fair pace

It is marvellous for all the reasons you've underlined but I never got people's fandom for (and sometimes devotion to) Angelus? How much scarier if it had been what we see in the comics in which case it isn't Willow but Actually prefer his line in the previous ep where he says 'No it explains a lot' I do love that final scene, SMG and KS play it so beautifully, no matter what happens to Buffy it will all be okay as long as can come home to Joyce's loving arms. Yeah, one of CC's little acting traits, you can see her doing it as far back as Baywatch. Yeah, it's a wrencher, isn't it? I wasn't online when they showed this ep but the boards must have gone utterly crazy. Don't forget his taunting message to Buffy after killing Jenny's uncle? You always wonder does Spike actually crave Buffy because of little brother jealousy of Angelus and his relationship with Dru? Innocence The Good; As Joss says "Buffy in pain, show good!" And he really puts her, Jenny and Giles through the wringer here (Willow also has her pain but Oz is there to thankfully not kiss it better) But you know what? It doesn't matter because in the final scene she ends up back in Joyce's loving arms and it's all too beautiful for words. Stunningly brilliant in every way, quite possibly the best episode of Buffy ever. The Bad; Ummmmmm? Actually one thing I don't like is Angelus killing the hooker in the alley (Sophia Crawford, SMG's stunt double). She is lovely in a trashy sort of way, the Gorch's were wrong! Such a misogynistic cliché, couldn't he have killed some guy emptying the bins or something? Best line; Xander (to Cordy) "Wear something trashy...er" (unkind actually as CC's outfit is very nice although a little school-uniformish). Plus; Giles; "I'd say we've hit rock bottom" Xander; "I have a plan" Cordy; "Oh no, there's a lower place!" But best dialogue; Joyce; "So how was your birthday?" Buffy; "Got older" Joyce "You don't look any different to me" (nice contrast between the scene where Joyce senses something different about Buffy after she's lost her virginity) What the fanficcers thought; Angelus kills Buffy's Scoobs but others (Harmony, Jonathon, Amy, Larry etc) take their place-Deadscoobies. Questions and observations; So much good stuff, the dream sequence and the scene where Angelus kills Jenny's uncle especially good. But how does he know he's in town? Did Dru have a vision? So Sunnydale has it's own army base as well as an airport big enough for a 747, zoo, docks etc Not bad for a town of under 40,000 (The Mayor's influence?). You can start to see his jealousy of Dru and Angelus almost from the start, without Darla the Fanged Four are out of balance. It was always one of the things that troubled me about the supernatural threat, that really faced with modern technology they're not really up to much, the Hellgods from 'Cabin in the Woods' have a tactical nuke with their names on it (love the Judge's ignorance of what he's facing followed inevitably by death) Buffy says she beat up Willy the Snitch again. I think most people fell in love at this point with Oz, ironically because he DOESN'T want to kiss Willow. Jenny leaves the Scoobies here and realistically will never get back in. Alison Hannigan shows some superb acting skills upon her discovery of Xander/Cordy but all the actors really shine here. Oz joins the Scoobies from the beginning. This makes the Scoobs officially; 1. Buffy 2. Giles 3. Willow 4. Xander 5. Angel (for the course of the ep at least) 6. Jenny 7. Cordy 8. Oz the biggest they'll ever be until season 5 10/10 and more of I could make it, just superb and a whole new era for Buffy

I'll watch again but I like it, we gradually have a build up in tension from Buffy's everyday life to this hideous threat.

I always figured Spike does read poetry in his spare time but can never show it because of his macho image. To be fair she assumes Xander's parents are chaperoning? And I buy the jealousy, Xander loves Willow, she's the love of his life much as The Xander, Oz, Willow, CC dynamic is one I find endlessly entertaining.

Well he is a mass murderer/rapist as his story to Yes, Spike has buyers remorse

The weaker of the 2 but that's like comparing The Rolling Stones to the Beatles. As for Angel's miraculously appearing shorts maybe he got them from Bruce Banner? Maybe he turned the heart around? We actually have the biggest Scooby gang here until season 7. The Good; Everything! Buffy's opening dream is superb. The fight, the Judge, Dru and Spike and THAT ending! Also the clever way you think Jenny is leading Buffy astray but is actually just leading her to the party. Love Oz's reaction to discovering the truth about Sunnydale The Bad; Are you crazy, this is Buffy at it's best! Best line; Dru; (after the Judge burns Dalton) "Do it again! Do it again!" Questions and observations; Xander mentions giving Buffy a 'pre-birthday spanking', a display of kinkiness that will become apparent in all the Scoobies to a greater and lesser degree over the course of the series Jenny back in the gang but with her true self revealed, all the Scoobies keeping secrets over the years. Buffy loses her virginity, as the age of consent in California is 18 this is technically statutory rape. Oz refers to past groupies although he doesn't have any now. Spike in a wheelchair he seems reluctant to release the Judge, again showing his more human side. The Judge senses it, commenting that Spike and Dru share jealousy and affection (love Spike's confrontation with him "Yeah, what of it mate!?" as though the judge has spilled his pint or something). Dalton also seems to have retained some humanity (enough for the Judge to burn him), perhaps because he was sired by Dru or Spike? The fact that reading is considered sufficiently un-demon like behaviour to warrant a fiery death speaks volumes as to why humanity rules the Earth and demons don't any more. Dru hates the flowers, I thought roses were supposed to repel vamps anyway? Brian Thompson back again and the wonderful Vincent Schavelli. Why not just sink the Judge's arm into the Pacific? Why does Dalton still need his glasses, surely as a vamp his eyes would have healed up like Darla's heart condition ? Maybe they're just for effect? Small point that Xander says "Hello mom" on the phone and then still needs to say "It's Xander". Does he have siblings or is she just too drunk to understand what he said? 10/10 and more!

And the corpse that attacks I think you hit the nail on the head.

Really? 'What's my Line' is pretty thrilling, this is just stupid, Charmed would be ashamed of this ep. I liked Living Conditions although I'm not familiar with the Star Trek ep you're referring to. As for s5 we'll talk about that when we get there.