Joe Hellandback

The good; Quite effective episode which explains a lot in terms of exposition but the best part of all is the bait and switch at the end, hell of a Keyser Soze, worthy of 'Enemies' and 'Not Fade Away'. The bad; Considering how omniscient Rossum are supposed to be it seems incredible that Adele is able to assemble her troops without them knowing. But maybe they do? Clyde might as well be called 'Basil Exposition'. Best line; Echo; "My real name's Echo" (so what about Caroline?) Packing heat; everyone fielding H&K MP5Ks and M4's. Ballards takes Boyd's revolver for his confrontation with Adele and she has acquired a Walther PPK in case Alpha plans another visit. Echo;12 Boyd; 10 Dominic; 10 Sierra; 7 Victor; 7 Ballard; 11 November; 1 Echo kissage; 4 Kinky dinky; Adele says that the Dollhouse need's a 'strapping new Victor'. Capt subtext; When Topher claims to have tried homo and hetertopic cures for Ballard Adele puns on the words and asks who hasn't? Note Echo describes Terry Karen's family as 'hateful', her opinion of them obviously influenced by his memories. Adele states what we all thought, that Boyd is like a father to Echo. Clyde 1.0's fears are essentially what we see realised in Epitaph 1. If Adele is considering Ballard for the new Victor perhaps she wants him to play Roger from now on? Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Sierra and Victor get it on but it's not real 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? Unbelievably gruesome, especially the sushi scene Total number personalities; Echo; 41 Sierra; 13 Victor; 11 November; 3 Total LA dolls; . 9-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo Topher is a bit geeky; Has no idea about Ivy's sports analogy. He's wrong though, Darth Vader kills Captains, not Lieutenants. Bondage; Sierra tied up; 2 Ballard; 2 Echo; 4 Victor; 2 Knocked out; Echo; 7 November; 1 Sierra; 2 Victor; 3 Topher; 3 Ballard; 1 Kills; Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 3 November;1 Know the face? Greg Collins also played one of the thugs in the Angel ep 'Rm w/a vu' 16-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) Glenn Morshower-2(Buffy/Dollhouse), Greg Collins-2(Angel/Dollhouse) Reminds me of; The whole thing is very reminiscent of the Buffy ep 'Restless', right down to the monster pursuing the characters from dreamscape to dreamscape not to mention the Angel ep 'Hellbound'. Astonishingly Enver's double is played by his twin brother, just like Nic Brendon in 'The Replacement'. The twisty tree reminds me of Tom Burton's Gothic masterpiece Sleepy Hollow. I don't get the Highlander reference, I don't remember Connor pursuing anyone obsessively across the centuries? Need I mention The Matrix? Whedon clichés; 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. Breaking the programming; Echo can now overcome even the Attic and leads the others to safety. Questions and observations; Note the shortened title sequence, obviously too much to fit in otherwise. Topher now calls Ballard, Paul. Boyd has 'stuff going on at home'? Presumably the little girl mourning her sickly horse is Margeret from Haunted who was a keen equestrian. Echo never was a kid so presumably we're looking at little Caroline (interesting if you compare her to the girl who played little Tru in Tru Calling and young Eliza in This Boy's Life and True Lies). We also see the thug who terrorised Eleanor Penn again. Dominic very much dressing down in the attic, not a suit in sight. Adele knows about Kinnard. Marks out of 10; 7/10, we're getting to the heart of the conspiracy at last.

Is there a Doctor in the House? The Good; Xena does MASH and makes a great job of it. The Bad; she doesn't exactly do much to prevent infection but I guess we can't have everything. Was it really necessary to kill Ephiny's husband in quite so gruesome a manner? Recurring Characters; here's Ephiny again 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 whole ep is a tribute to Dr Xena, we also have Gabby back from the dead for the first time and The Pinch twice plus plenty of hurt/comfort and the first of the Xena inventions, CPR. 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; 8 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 4 Hurt/comfort; 2 Back from the dead; Gabby-1 Xena inventions; CPR Kills; 0 Xena; 14 Best quote; - Xena; "You've killed so many" General; "So have you" Greek myths; So here we have Hippocrates, the founder of medicine and Galen one of the pioneers of anatomy (who must have reformed markedly if it's the same guy?). It's quite true that Athens was one of the most tolerant of all ancients societies but I'm not sure it was THAT tolerant of human/centaur relations. Subtext; a whole lot of Gabby/Xena mouth to mouth action going on. Notches on the Chakram; okay, I think what we're all wondering here is how exactly did Ephiny get pregnant by a centaur? All I can think is 'Ouch!'. Xena; 1 Ephiny; 1 Other; a very nice 'bottle' episode, all at the one location and with one theme and very little subplot. Nice to see Ephiny again and I like the Amazon rite/sisterhood moments between her and Gabby. Xena plays desperate when trying to save Gabby very well. Rating; 7/10

Just watched MH's documentary 'I am evidence' and although some aspects of SVU hack me off no end I thought it was really good and highly commendable what she was doing. It wasn't perfect, it was positively misandrist in some places but it was extremely moving and worthwhile.

Yeah, it's pretty weak. You may be the only fan in the world who likes it. She's still recovering from being possessed, cut momma Summers some slack. Good call on Vamp Jenny, what a twist that would have been, to force Giles to stake her! Okay, must look out for that pan shot when I rewatch. Although I prefer wet t-shirt Buffy in Go Fish. Nic does refer to a 'cornfield' in a later ep although that may be a Twilight Zone ep. Look at what Joyce DOES let Buffy wear! The mind boggles what this outfit must have been like, a pothole dress or see through black lace...? Ironically Buffy starts dressing more conservatively Bad Eggs; The Good; Neat opening scene with the mirror. Some creepy 'Invasion of the Bodysnatchers' stuff including the great scene where Giles' looks at the kids at the bottom of the stairs, you think they're already possessed. Great scene with Giles and Joyce in the library (love the way that even possessed Giles still covers up Buffy being the Slayer) and a genuine shock when Giles' sticks the creature on her. Not really much else. The Bad; The Gorch's are pathetic as an enemy whilst the monsters are very badly done. Best line; Xander; "You've got to keep your egg safe and teach it Christian values" Willow; "My egg is Jewish!" Xander "Then teach it that dradle song" and Giles "The Gorch's made their name by massacring a whole village full of Mexicans" Buffy "Par for the course" Giles "No this is before they became vampires" also like; Xander "Well I guess we know what happened Professor Whitmore" Cordy "He saw this and ran away?" Xander "Try best case scenario!" Kinky dinky; Buffy being swallowed by the beastie is akin to tentacle (Henati) and vore fetishism (just google it) Questions and observations; What's painful about this ep is that Buffy and Joyce obviously love each other and Buffy wants to be a good daughter but slaying always gets in the way. The Gorch's know Angelus? They really don't seem to be his kind people. Jonathon back once more. In a previous post I stated that Giles and Tara were the only Buffy characters never to go bad but I was wrong, Giles is possessed here so Tara seems to be the only one who never went evil. Cordy refers to having sex in a car, so she's no longer a virgin? (if so the first of the younger Scoobies to be so). Love the way Buffy and Willow get so maternal about their eggs. BUT Angel mentions for the first time that he can't have children although we later find that isn't true, at least in Connor's case. Buffy fighting the parasite is very like the scene in Aliens where Newt and Ripley are trapped in the lab with the facehuggers, right down to the plucking strings music. Buffy and Xander and ultimately everyone else knocked out. Presumably the parasites need a conscious/sleeping host which is why they lock them in the closet. No one dies although actually that's not as unusual as I first thought, Halloween, When she was Bad, The Witch and quite a few other eps have no human deaths whatsoever. Buffy expresses horror at the thought of being a single mother but Joyce refuses to buy Buffy an outfit because it makes her look like a streetwalker. Considering some of the things Buffy DOES wear in the first three seasons it must have been the full Julia Roberts? 4/10, awful story saved by the character elements and a few good lines, very nearly the worst episode of Buffy ever

The good; Ivy's back, hooray! A small moment but I love how Echo tells Victor he needs to say goodbye to Sierra and he does so like a kids TV character. Also a nice touch that he feels the need to sleep in a pod once released. The bad; Nothing bad, just a bit lacklustre. You wonder that the supersoldiers can't come up with a better way to recruit Victor than beating him up and kidnapping him, couldn't they just invite him for a beer or something? Check out the scene where Echo knocks Victor out. He waits a second then let's go of his rifle to allow her to pick it up. Best line; Adele; "I want Roger. I want to roger Roger" and Echo; (threateningly) "Remember, I have a serial killer in my head" Adele; (not backing down an inch) "One that's petirifed of women if I recall" Packing heat; Echo chooses a S&W 9mm, Boyd has his revolver and Victor a SIG. Echo also picks up a SIG and everyone uses M4 carbines Echo;10 Boyd; 10 Dominic; 9 Sierra; 5 Victor; 5 Ballard; 11 November; 1 Echo kissage; 4 Total number personalitites; lord knows how many personalities Ivy and Topher downloaded into Echo for her mission, I'll put at least 5? 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; see best line Subverting the Hollywood cliché; When Victor is asked to join the big bad military conspiracy his response is "Where do I sign up?" Bondage; Victor plasticuffed, Echo and Sierra hooded but not cuffed. Victor, Sierra and Echo all bound in the attic at the end Sierra tied up; 2 Ballard; 2 Echo; 4 Victor; 2 Knocked out; Victor KO'd by commandos and Echo and Rossum as are Echo and Sierra Echo; 7 November; 1 Sierra; 2 Victor; 3 Topher; 3 Ballard; 1 Kills; amazingly given all the gunplay the Dolls don't kill anyone Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 3 November;1 Know the face? 15-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) Glenn Morshower-2(Buffy/Dollhouse) Whedon clichés; It's those strawberries again, just like Firefly. Secret military organisations with underground headquarters Maimed characters. 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. Corporate politics literally played with deadly seriousness. Monty Python quoting villains. Offices full of zombies. Strawberries. Breaking the programming; Victor and Sierra's love is now evident whether they're imprinted or not. Kinky dinky; The only personality Ivy doesn't download into Echo is the 'Naughty pirate wench'. Which I think is something of a shame personally. GI Jane Echo is also pretty hot. Naked Adele. The last scene a delight for cling film/mummification fetishists . Again, I'm not kidding either. Capt subtext; Very obvious jealousy from Adele over Victor. When she takes the shower with the actives does this represent her throwing her lot in with them? The ending rather suggests the opposite. Questions and observations; So the Dollhouse can cure PTSD (shellshock)? Once again, if Rossum can cure schizophrenia and battle trauma you can see their potential for good in the world and how Adele became attracted to the post in the first place. Victor's real name is Anthony Ceccoli and to judge by his accent he's from New York. He was a commando with the 75th Ranger regiment and served in Afghanistan. His pal transferred to the 160th Specialist Aviation Regiment, the Nightstalkers. Once again we have Lady Gaga just as we had in the first ep, someone must be a fan. Note Victor's suite is 'at the Hyperion' which you understand better if you're an Angel fan. Echo tells Adele that the time for playing both sides is over and she must choose. No needles, hooray! Adele hitting the sauce pretty hard nowadays, we hardly see her without a glass in her hand. Do we ever meet Judith, Adele's secretary? What happened to the commandos? Can Echo just call upon them whenever she needs? Are she and Victor now linked via their 'neural radio'? Presumably Rossum use Topher's gizmo from 'The Public Eye' to knock the Dolls out. Marks out of 10; 7/10, I had it in my mind to give this 3 out of 10 as I initially considered it a weak ep but actually upon rewatching it's a lot better than I remember .

It's funny to see him play an essentially evil version of his 8 Simple Rules character. Did he ever tell his daughters not to date vampires? (and stick to physicists?) Yeah, for once he acted as more a less normal boyfriend. And who doesn't love Ginny? Actually this is a key ep for Buffy/Joyce, note Joyce tries to cover for her daughter to the police. I think the scenes between them are great, you can really see both sides. Yes, CC is very sharp, she could almost be a private detective....? Like her better in seashells though. You know I took your 'substantial' remark completely the wrong way, I was thinking you were suggesting the reason Ted had no problem getting new wives. I truly have a filthy mind, too much fanfic. (Hi, have you met...?) Ted (A prize for whoever can get that in-joke) The Good; Really the more Joyce in an episode the better it is. She was originally due to be a very minor character as in the movie but the cast and crew all fell in love with Joyce/Kristine Sutherland and the writers kept giving her more and more to do. She's excellent here, the pained scenes between Buffy and Joyce are wonderful in their awkwardness (note Joyce just tells the police that Ted fell, still trying to protect her daughter, it's Buffy who admits she fought with him). Full marks also to John Ritter playing essentially an evil version of his character from '8 Simple Rules'. Buffy taking out some frustrations on a very unfortunate vamp (Giles still accompanies her sometimes) plus Giles and Jenny beginning to get back together. Cordy's miniskirt and knee boots are smashing. Lovely scene between Buffy and Joyce at the end although not the best they'll ever have. The Bad; Labours a bit in the middle and the robot makeup is a bit dodgy (although if it's 50s technology maybe it should be crude?) Best line; Giles; "I believe the subtext here is rapidly becoming a text" (one of my great favourites which I use often) plus "DO let's bring that up as often as possible" when Cordy remarks on the Eyghon affair. Also great; Cordy; "Buffy's a superhero, shouldn't there be different rules for her?" Willow; "Sure in a fascist society" Cordy; "Yeah, why can't we have one of those?" Questions and observations; Willow and Xander discuss The Captain and Tennile. Quite weird as their last big hit was in 1980 and that would have been before they were born. More the sort of talk a bunch of 30 year old scriptwriters would have. Xander suggests Buffy play 'the naughty stewardess' which is probably the one outfit SMG hasn't worn for a men's magazine Giles becomes the 3rd Scooby to be shot, Buffy and Joyce knocked out. How exactly does Willow analyse Ted's cookies using a microscope? Ted's creator, like Willow, Daryll Epps seems to be a recipient of the Hellmouth energy genius. No Oz. Buffy's antipathy to Ted actually seems pretty unreasonable although did any child of a divorce ever not want their parents to get back together? (I always think of the hair dye ad where the two little girls tell their dad that he'd be a great catch for someone, in real life you just know that if their mother was still alive they'd want him to get back with her and if she was dead they'd want to keep him for themselves). Big question, Surely being only 16 Buffy should have a solicitor or at very least an adult with her when the police talk to her? Shouldn't Joyce contact Hank and tell him what's going on? Slayer healing is referenced for the first time, Buffy telling the detective that she doesn't bruise easily. Just as Buffy is repeatedly saved by her fashion sense Cordy discovers Ted's secret lair due to her sense of interior decoration Ted threatens to put Buffy in a mental institution which she was in before (and if All told 6/10, a standalone ep that's OK in itself, it's strengths largely lying in the dialogue. The series increasingly relying on the relationships between the characters rather than the demon of the week, no bad thing.

The good; Great to see Alpha back (NICE suit! Dominic would approve), also glad they spared Joel, he was by far my favourite of all of Echo's clients. Gorgeous scene at the end where he says goodbye to Echo and she assumes the Rebecca personality for him, one last time, telling him that his dead wife wouldn't want him to be alone. Really is a roller-coaster that kicks in and never stops. Once again a great performance from Enver as the shrink but Alan Tudyk is the unquestionable star. The bad; If Alpha is a Doll why not use Topher's gizmo we saw in The Public Eye to knock him out? Best line; Topher; (upon learning that Terry Karens is still in Echo's mind) "So she's a serial killer?" Boyd; "Only a little" plus Echo; (as Topher introduces himself) "We've met Topher, don't you remember?" and Topher; (realising the quantum shift in Echo's abilities) "I'm obsolete. This must be what old people feel like. And Blockbuster" also like Joel; "It's just this morning I was engaged to a great girl and this afternoon I'm hiding out with my dead wife" not to mention; Boyd; "You have to put it together?" Topher; "It's called the manufacturing room, not the 'It's finished' room!" Packing heat; Boyd and Ballard with their pistols. Bit surprised Adele doesn't have a gun stashed somewhere. Apparently the staff have tranquiliser guns but not in the house itself. Kinky dinky; Sierra's personality is naughty and aware of it. She's been done wrong 10 days to Sunday and it's still Tuesday. Capt subtext; Psycho-analyst Victor wonders if Adele is actually jealous of Echo the virgin/whore, much to Topher's amusement? Alpha is quite the dandy, he cites famous Georgian-era socialite Beau Brummel. One of Echo's past engagements was a lesbian who married her in San Francisco in what Boyd describes as a 'lovely ceremony' (YAY!) but was killed by Alpha (BOO! Why do so many lesbian characters die on TV?). At least one other of her past romantic clients was a woman called Angie Demeron. Alpha asks if Ballard is gay. Echo tells Adele that they'll 'Hug it out later'. Alpha declares one of his personalities was an Eagle Scout and the other a sailor which must combine to some form of dirty joke? Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Frank Pierce, Echo's repeat romantic engagement Echo; 6 definite, 2 possible How'd they get away with that? Somehow Alpha's knife is all the nastier for having that fish-gutting mini-hook at the front. Poor Matt Cargill (motorbike/bondage guy from the very first episode) get's blown to smithereens with Boyd and Ballard picking their way through his viscera. This weeks fantasy; Frank Pierce who wants his sister-in-law to fall in love with him What do we think of the client? Once again, if you lust after your sister in law it's probably quite a moral option to hire a proxy so you can live out your fantasies without wrecking your brother's marriage. Total number personalities; Sierra is a glammed up Ava Gardener style film noir femme-fatale, Victor is a psychiatrist, Echo is Rebecca for Joel and Susan for Frank Pierce Echo; 36 Sierra; 13 Victor; 11 November; 3 Total LA dolls; There are now a couple of hundred Dolls in the house and Echo is the most popular active they have. 9-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo Addy is a bit British; Alpha says he loves Addy's British knack for understatement, Monty Python and uses the hunting call 'Tally-ho' Subverting the Hollywood cliché; Adele confesses to Alpha that she's scared out of her mind and tries to bargain with him, offering Echo and Joel. She says her chivalry has been overcome by her sense of self preservation. Happy hookers; Dr Victor states that Echo is a virgin/whore and is celebrated for the fact. Ballard describes himself as Echo's pimp. Alpha wants to tally Adele's ho's. Reminds me of; Victor does a great Woody Allen and rather reminds me of Dr Joel Fleischman from Northern Exposure. Topher makes reference to Return of the Living Dead and Harry Potter whilst Alpha refers to Stephen Sondheims epic 'Send in the Clowns' and 'Nothing more than feelings' , maybe he spent the summer on Broadway, hence the suit? He also refers to Yogi Bear and sounds a little like Snagglepuss "Who doesn't love a pun?". He describes Echo as his 'immortal beloved' which is a reference to Mozart. Breaking the programming; Even Topher doesn't know what Echo is any more. She can resist Alpha's signal which sends the other Dolls crazy. Questions and observations; You always figured people would get addicted to the Dollhouse and like all addictions lead them to ruin. A truly stunning ep, easily the best of season 2 and possibly the best so far. I'd never actually watched Firefly until after I'd watched Dollhouse Season 1 so I had actually no idea of who Alan Tudyk was or his performance as Wash. Amazing how effective you can be with the simple device of taking an actor everyone associates with funny and heroic characters and casting them as absolute villains, as Nic Brendon recently proved with his amazing performance in the rapist story arc on Private Practice. Some great dialogue, this ep co-written by Joss himself . Nice music too. Marks out of 10; 9/10, excellent ep, Alpha always ups the game, the first ep of season 2 I went back and watched again straight after

Rewatching I'd actually go further, I think Kitty was the only successful character introduced after season 2! (specifically Blaine and Coach Bieste)

And 'Scott Hope' later turns up on Queer as Folk; Maybe Ampata needs a conscious victim or was scared that the process would awaken her?

That's rather gruesome for that show! If you watch Black Christmas there's a scene where Michelle Tractenberg's character is;

But Spike wasn't a Scooby, more of an 'associate'. Yeah, what if? What if SMG had taken Katie Holmes role on Dawson's Creek? At least she'd have been more Tom Cruise's size (as indeed she'd be with Christian Kane). Forgive me but Bianca isn't nearly as beautiful as CC. Or statuesque. But frankly I don't think Riley would have worked whoever played him.

I have that book, I must check it. I never heard that one, seems a different world doesn't it?

Hasn't she seen Buffy in daylight at this stage?

It's the Watcher's council of Great Britain but obviously has people from the rest of the Britain/ Commonwealth

Yes this is the ep for couples EXCEPT Jenny and Giles, that would have made it perfect. Even with his soul, Angel can still push Spike's buttons, Liam must have had the seeds of Angelus in there someone. Read a great Busilla slashfic once, something like 'Love and Trust and Monsters', actually made perfect sense. Does Giles ever put Xander down? I mean they spar with one another? . Ironically of course, she doesn't. Frankly to quote Joss, bring your own subtext. Personally I was always a Fuffer. The Good; Xander and Cordy get together, inevitable really. But Willow and Oz also take their first real steps towards a relationship. The shootout at the careers fair with Jonathon held hostage for the first time. Dru torturing Angel and Angel goading Spike into almost killing him. Great fight, great final twist, the sight of an arisen Dru carrying Spike is awesome. The Bad; If you can find some, let me know because I can't Best line; Xander; "I am the bug man, coo-coo coo chu" Questions and observations; Although not a Scooby yet Oz is shot, the second in a long line to be so plus Angel chained up. Buffy and Kendra torture Willy the Snitch, the Scoobs really having no problem with it. Cordy's wet dress is pretty daring not to mention Willy offering Buffy and Kendra a nude photoshoot but not half as extreme as the kinkfest which is Dru and Angel (she calls him a 'bad dog' and even more disturbingly 'daddy') . Note that Dru seems to genuinely miss her family implying once again that Dru and Spike are exceptional vamps with remnants of humanity (possibly due to Dru's link to the PTB?). Despite his reputation Spike meanwhile seems to have no taste for torture commenting that he'd rather just see Angel die than the pre-show. Isn't it a bit risky for Dru to have Holy Water lying around? The Dru/Spike/Angel(us) jealousy triangle rears it's ugly if fascinating head. In terms of jealousy we also have Kendra and Buffy competing for Giles' attention like two little girls with their father, it's interesting to contrast that later with For a long time I thought the police woman assassin was Pat Tallman from Babylon 5 (who's also a stuntwoman) but it's not. If Kendra was taken from her family to be trained at an early age, why wasn't Buffy? Although you can imagine Joyce and Hank's reaction if Merrick turned up at their door and said "Hey, I need to take your little daughter away to train her to fight the powers of evil" (they'd probably call the police and/or shoot him). Kendra's Watcher is called Sam Zebuto, confirming for the first time that not all Watchers are automatically British despite the Council's full name. Don't the council think Giles' and co need to know of Kendra's existence? Willow nails her first vamp whilst Cordy helps Xander kill the bug man. So did Kendra and Buffy dream up this plan between them all along or did Kendra follow Buffy to the church and then call all the Scoobies? Or was the argument at Willy's place all a show and the rest of the Scoobies tailed her and Willy knowing he'd lead them to Spike? So why is the contract called off? That is lame and it's the only reason the ep gets 8/10 rather than top marks. Reminds me off Star Trek;Voyager where they'd find a way to return to Earth one week only to conveniently forget about it the next 8/10 for THAT ending alone

The good; The subtle struggle for power within the Dollhouse is truly nailbiting stuff, especially the final scene between Topher and Adele. Some lovely little touches showing how much the Dollhouse has changed since Adele is no longer in charge, cigars in Adele's office, Boyd's security guys with their feet up. The bad; Do we really think a girl as gorgeous as Echo needs to shoplift or scrounge from bins? Couldn't she just charm her way through life in the manner of HIMYM's 'Sexless Innkeeper/Banging for rent'? (I mean she's already a hooker several times over, why doesn't she just 'Pretty Woman' her way? Maybe she does, hence her improved circumstances just a short time later) Personally I don't find the jail storyline all that involving, it just doesn't seem much of a challenge to our girl when we've seen her do so much more. Also it seems unnecessarily complex, why not just have Ballard take the Mexican girl into custody as his FBI witness? In many ways the Dollhouse reminds me of early Angel, supposed to be about the 'client of the week' but the viewers wanted more and more arc and interaction with the central characters instead. Best line; Echo; (putting the moves on him) "...just the two of us?" Ballard; (turning her down)"Is it really just the 2 of us?" plus Rossum honcho; "Did you ever think of imprinting a Doll to kill me?" Adele; "I like to think I'd have the honesty to do it myself" Kinky dinky; The latest client seems to be a sadist who quotes the Marquis de Sade. Echo comments that sometimes a girl 'likes to be chased'. She implies that she's done a 'sister act' before but never with 'cooking food'? Ballard and Echo's training seems akin to foreplay, 'getting all sweaty' as Xander would say. Capt subtext; Adele tells Topher she cares for him, reinforcing their mother/wayward son vibe. She also calls Echo 'love', English slang or something more? Echo comments that she's been 'gay' 7 times and that occasionally there is some 'noise from the chorus girls'. Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; 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? Can we please have an ep with no needles? Also the prisoner's bruising is nasty, again because it's more real than any sci-fi injury This weeks fantasy; The Dollhouse is now renting out Dolls as submissives to a sadist. What do we think of the client? Hard to know, how far does he go? The stern headmaster and the naughty schoolgirl or Pinhead from Hellraiser? You could argue that it's better for him to do this with actives as they'll be unhurt and have no memory of it afterwards. Total number personalities; Echo refers to now having 36 personalities in her mind Echo; 36 Sierra; 12 Victor; 10 November; 3 Total LA dolls; 9-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo Addy is a bit British; She call's Echo 'love' (see Capt Subtext) Topher is a bit geeky; He actually refers to Cylons on a show with numerous BSG stars! Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1 Echo; 2 Knocked out; Echo; 6 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Topher; 2 Kills; Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 3 November;1 Know the face? Glenn Morshower, another great character actor who also played Cassie Newton's dad in the Buffy ep 'Help' 15-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) Glenn Morshower-2(Buffy/Dollhouse) Guantanamo; Brutality from the police towards illegal immigrants, keeping 'the scum off the streets'. Reminds me of; Adele suffers the 'death of a thousand cuts' also experienced by Lilah at the hands of Lindsey and Gavin in Angel. Echo and Ballard's training routine appears to have been inspired by Clouseau and Kato from the Pink Panther films. ED as a nurse as she was in Tru Calling and her medical pilot that didn't get picked up. Whedon clichés; 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. Breaking the programming; Echo seems to imply that rather than being a composite of all her 36 personalities that the Echo character is actually a separate entity and can access the other's skill and knowledge at will, like a filing system. Does this mean she also keeps Caroline filed away, afraid to let her loose? Questions and observations; With the addition of a new house in Dubai there are now 23 Dollhouses around the world. In many ways the idea of the Dollhouses is the ultimate harem slave fantasy, the actives enjoy sexual adventures in the lap of luxury and are later released rich and unharmed. Boyd is very honest with Adele, informing her that they'd always placed the actives at risk, they're now just more blatant about it. We now have Adele at her most sinister ever, seeming to come aboard with Rossums blatantly insidious plan. Topher seems increasingly conflicted and Boyd, Echo and Ballard are now in cahoots. I'd like to see Topher be a bit nicer to Ivy, he seems unnecessarily snide to her. Very clever concept, the Dolls imprinted into helping in the Dollhouse's research. Marks out of 10; 7/10 would like more Dollhouse and less jailbreak

Well, I read that in Buffy magazine, what was your source?

Death Mask The Good; nice concept with the King also being the bandit, playing both sides of the coin. Plus a sibling reunion. The Bad; how exactly did Cortese become king? Recurring Characters; nope, Torus is neither seen nor even mentioned again. 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, The Pinch, Xena in bondage. Amazingly we have a reversal of the 'Loyal lieutenant' cliché, here it's the lieutenant who is the good guy and the leader the villain. Doubles; 1 “I have many skills’; 2 10 years ago; 1 Dead Gabby suitors; 2 Dr Xena-7 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; 7 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 4 Hurt/comfort; 1 Kills; amazingly none, Xena a lot less bloody in the earlier seasons. Xena; 14 Best quote; - Gabby (of Xena); "You're full of surprises". You have no idea! Greek myths; Subtext; a little jealousy between Gabby and Torus. Notches on the Chakram; Xena; 1 Other; so long Torus, we hardly knew you. My theory was always that Torus was Xena's half brother from Cyrene's previous marriage (or possibly a child 'born of sin' by her?). Then again maybe he was her father's child by another woman and Cyrene was his stepmother? Or Atrius was an adulterer? The return of Gabby's breast dagger which is put to good use. Rating; 7/10

Lucky him!

1. Maybe 'eat her' in a different way. 2. Oh frailty thy name is straight girl!

The good; Once again some great acting from Enver, his Topher impression is flawless. Nice face off between Adele and her Washington counterpart too. The bad; It all seems a little overly complex, surely there must be simpler ways for Rossum to protect itself. Equally it rather beggars belief that with all the attention focused on him Rossum could get away with controlling the senator in quite so blatant a manner. Best line; Topher; "The only person in the world I would trust" (HIMSELF!) also like Adele; (grabbing the Washington Dollhouse heads groin)"If you don't return my active I will send someone to cut these off!" plus Adele; (upon finding Topher arguing with Topher/Victor); "Finding him obstinate are we?" Packing heat; Echo;8 Boyd; 8 Dominic; 9 Sierra; 4 Victor; 3 Ballard; 10 November; 1 Echo kissage; 4 Kinky dinky; Topher thinks Bennett's 'Librarian energy' is through the roof, she has got a serious case of the Diana Princes. Capt subtext; Bennett remarks to Topher 'Looks like you got the girl'. Love the little smile of pride Adele gives Topher as he tricks his way into Perrin's brain print. Topher asks himself "Who's your backdoor man?" before deciding on a better phrasing. Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; 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? Echo getting tortured is nasty indeed, she can't pass out and can't even cry out to god. Can we please have an ep without needles, I really don't like them. Bennett's headbutt is also nasty, somehow it's easier to watch people harm one another than themselves. On a similar vein hard to watch Perrin and Echo cutting one another's chips out. Perrin snapping the goons neck and strangling his wife is also disturbing, Alexis showing some of the creepiness he demonstrated in the Angel ep 'Billy'. Total number personalities; Echo; 28 Sierra; 12 Victor; 10 November; 3 Total LA dolls; Mellie is a Doll once more at the Washington Dollhouse, I wonder what her new name will be? 9-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1 Echo; 2 Knocked out; twice for Echo Echo; 6 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Topher; 2 Kills; Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 3 November;1 Dolls injured; Echo roughed up again. Happy hookers; As Bennett stares quizzically at Echo/Bree's brain print Topher explains "She was kinda a hooker" Know the face? Ray Wise, another great character actor from Twin Peaks, Robocop and especially good as The Devil in Reaper. He'll later turn up as one of the many Whedon alumni on 'How I met your Mother' 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). Reminds me of; With her useless arm Bennett has more than a little Dr Strangelove about her. Whedon clichés; 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 Breaking the programming; Echo can now distance herself from the personality of Caroline and perhaps doesn't want her back. If Bennett's memories are to be trusted we can see why? Echo is now able to overcome her imprinting to the degree that she can use her arm even though Bennett programmed her not to. Questions and observations; So it appears Caroline is not the saint we might first have thought. Topher refers to Echo as his friend, a small but somehow huge moment. Boyd refers to 'manufacturing a president' (Kennedy?) whilst Adele actually refers to Rossum as 'facists' seeing them for what they really are at last. So it seems that Rossum can 'improve' people, take away their negative qualities and give them beneficial ones? Part of me says that's a wonderful power, part of me says it could so easily be abused. On the one hand we could cure people of phobias, addictions, prevent paedophiles being attracted to children, take away criminals violent and anti-social traits, brave new world. On the other hand who decides what is truly negative and what is beneficial, what if someone decides to 'cure' gay people? To make everyone fit into their narrow vision of morality? The prospect sounds scarily like some form of mental eugenics. So now we have Echo out in the world on her own, dechipped and free of the Dollhouse. How will she cope? Can't wait to find out. Marks out of 10; 8/10, good ep

Well, we have had Oz before? Good point. I loved both Willow's partners, it was a tribute to the show that they were so different yet popular and credible. According to Joss vampires don't use guns or other modern weapons as it goes against their demonic nature. We see some break the rules but neither successfully. How so? The character or the show? What's my line? pt1 The Good; Love Buffy's miniskirt and booties, very hot. The neighbours scream blending into the plane's engine noise. Will and Oz, awwww! Buffy ice-skating, you wonder who's better now, SMG or Or maybe Julie Benz who is also apparently was once rated 12th best in the US. Buffy's gesture with the torch when Giles suggests she consider law enforcement as a career. Death by iceskate! Buffy's paranoia as she walks through careers day. The Xander/Snyder faceoff. Cordy's little expression at the thought of free cosmetics. Buffy's look of shock at the final line. The Bad; Kendra's accent for one although if she was taken from her parents as a child and raised in the UK you'd expect it to be a mishmash. Best line; Cordy; "What am I, mass transportation?" Xander; "That's what guys say but it's just locker room talk" Questions and observations; A small town like Sunnydale must have a pretty huge airport to handle a 747? Why has no one tried to hire the Order of Taraka before now? Willy the Snitch for the first time. Angel tortures him, of course. Xander refers to the Scooby gang for the first time. First sign of Will's frog fear. Is this the first appearance of Mr Gordo? Xander breaks into Buffy's house very easily, for such a dangerous town everyone seems very slack. What happened to the Slayer rule about not killing humans, Kendra tries to kill Buff with the axe. 10/10 great stuff

I liked that because I was sick of Dawn always needing to be rescued, nice to see that a more capable Scooby can also screw up.

Because Xander was never actively dislikeable which Connor was. For the vast majority of season 6&7 Xander was the male lead as he was the only regular man on the show.

My theory was it depends how much blood was taken from them,