Dollhouse - General Discussion

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎09‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 2:51 PM, nosleepforme said:

The most intriguing part of the episode was the introduction of the Alpha mystery, but when it comes to the main plot, I was rather "meh" on it. Though I liked the nice scene between Boyd and Echo at the end of the episode.

All the more ironic as Alan Tudyk hadn't been cast yet. 

 

The good; Lots of it, exciting story and some great background. This may be the pivotal ep of Dollhouse as it's the first to suggest Echo is really moving beyond her programming and Alpha is set up as this big bad bogeyman.

The bad; ?

Best line; Boyd (handing Echo a gun)" Know how to use that?" Echo (handling it confidently) "4 brothers, none democrats" Very cheeky for trendy lefty Joss

Packing heat; Echo with a S&W 9mm. Boyd has exchanged his automatic for a .357 revolver perhaps in keeping with his backstory as an ex-cop.

Kinky dinky; Echo and her client/trick play 'The naughty Girl Scout' together.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 2

How'd they get away with that? Echo being hunted is horrible but nothing compared to Alpha slaughtering everyone in the pool! Amazing how much blood they got away with.

This weeks fantasy; Echo is a fun loving outdoor girl and a sweet girl who loves fat guys (a 'chubby chaser'?) in flashback

Total number personalities; 2 for Echo making a total of; 8 Sierra; 2 Victor; 1

Total dolls;3 Echo, Sierra and Victor

Topher is a bit geeky; He asks for a gun but no one trusts him with one

Subverting the Hollywood cliché Hello Mellie, proving that women of a fuller figure can be attractive on US TV (like Tara). Her real first name is Miracle? Were her parents hippies? Speaking of which in the flashback Echo is hired to be the girlfriend for an obese man as you would expect dolls to be but we never see him.

Kills; Boyd's driver and the Ranger killed. Sierra; 2 kills Echo kills the psycho; 1

Dolls injured; Echo and Boyd badly injured

Capt subtext Topher expresses 'Big, big man love' for Boyd and describes his eyes as 'dreamy'. Boyd is protective of the actives from the start and Topher tells him it's all about trust.

Know the face? 4th Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd was Badger in Firefly (and the 2nd BSG star for Jane Espenson to bring with her)

Guantanamo; Boyd tortures the fake Forest Ranger to save Echo (Jack Bauer/Dick Cheney would be proud)

Reminds me off; Joss basically reuses this storyline from the 3rd season Buffy ep Homecoming, it's derived from the famous short story 'The Most Dangerous Game' which in turn inspired real life serial killer Robert Hansen who hunted and murdered over twenty people after kidnapping them, releasing them into the Alaskan wilderness and giving them a head start. Also reminiscent of ED's horror movie Wrong Turn. Addy uses the term Tabula Rusa which was the name of a 6th season ep of Buffy.

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

8/10 MUCH BETTER

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎09‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 2:53 PM, nosleepforme said:

This episode was almost universally hated when it first aired. I however liked it, even though the plot with the popstar was kind of silly. The scene in which Lubov is revealed to be an active was originally in the original pilot, but when they scrapped that episode, they decided to save that reveal for later and put the scene into this episode.

Yeah, I watched the series on DVD first time around and it baffled me

 

On ‎09‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 3:32 PM, Carrie Ann said:

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

No, there are other good things here  but it is early days, the show finding its' feet;

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

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

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

Packing heat; Echo takes the villain's Walther PPK

Kinky dinky; Rock chick ED and scantily clad Rayna is stunning. Rayna's manager apparently uses twins (like Jonathon's in the Buffy story 'Superstar' and a recurring fantasy/fetish in Joss' work) from the Dollhouse to relieve tension (better than Valium?). Topher likes the idea of Rayna and Echo getting romantic

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 2

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

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

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

Total dolls;3 Echo, Sierra and Victor

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

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

Subverting the Hollywood cliché The successful Hollywood diva is actually suicidal

Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1

Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1

Dolls injured; Sierra roughed up

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

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

Fanfic; Plenty where Rayna and Echo do get romantic.

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

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

Marks out of 10; 5/10, actually enjoyed this more when re-watching than I thought

[Joe Hellandback]

The good; Lovely scene where wiped Echo gazes around in wonder at all the beautiful works of art. Interesting to see Sierra and Echo play the same character 'Taffy' in the same ep.

The bad; The scenes from the ep 'Echo' are repeated. However this means that Sierra has the scar from that ep on her forehead without any explanation and it later disappears. We never get a proper explanation of how Echo and her friend get out of the vault, even with smoke grenades and the other goon distracting the guards with his shooting.

Best line; Goon 1 (of a suddenly infantile Echo) "What's wrong with her?" Goon 2 "I don't know, hysterical woman syndrome?" (un-PC but FUNNY!)

Packing heat; Boyd shoots the Professor in the kneecap. Echo with a pistol again

Kinky dinky; Hooker Echo, mini-skirted and black PVC thigh booted in true Pretty Woman style. She considers her own breasts 'spectacular'. The Sierra version of Taffy says that after nearly getting killed on her first job she learned how to lapdance.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 2

How'd they get away with that? Accomplice slapping Echo is nasty

This weeks fantasy; Midwife Echo and safecracker Echo/Sierra (the two skills not dissimilar, just one normally involves a lot more noise)

Total number personalities; Echo; 11 Sierra; 4 Victor; 1

Total dolls;3 Echo, Sierra and Victor

Addy is a bit British; She's at the tea again.

Topher is a bit geeky; He seems to eat nothing but junk food to judge by his shopping list. Also worries about a rival programmer from Tokyo

Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1

Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1

Capt subtext; The baby girl Echo delivers has 'linebackers shoulders' which her father takes to be a sign that she'll be a lesbian.

Happy hookers The hotel security guard is used to dealing with distraught hookers and offers Echo hush money

Know the face? 5 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock

Guantanamo; Topher, at the heart of the conspiracy freaks out about the much larger conspiracy now attacking the Dollhouse

Reminds me off; Echo's alias is Taffy, one of the teen Angels from Captain Caveman. Dollhouse does heist movie just like Buffy in Choices and Angel in Ground State.

Questions and observations; Good ep, the scene between Addy and Topher at the end where she takes him into her confidence and they both look scared as hell at the idea of Alpha raises it to a better level. Adele seems to drink Tequila, Vodka and Johnny Walker whiskey to judge by her drinks cabinet.

Marks out of 10; 8/10

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎24‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 2:21 AM, Fat Elvis 007 said:

Though the cult itself in this episode was quite generic, I think this was one of Dushku's most convincing and unique imprints. Even though the blind girl is clearly delusional the episode never makes fun of her or looks down on her because of her beliefs, and there's a subtle strength to the performance that's very different from Dushku's typical tough girl act.

Absolutely, Dollhouse must have been a been such a gift for the actors playing different roles every week, unfortunately it was also confusing for the casual audience. 

The good; Pretty good story and some nice political campaigning from Adele. The start of Victor and Sierra's relationship is sweet and Topher's reaction to it hilarious. Also like the gag where Ballard asks Mellie to describe the guy who gave her the letter only for her to describe the mailman. Also love Echo/Esther hitting the cult leader with the candlestick.

The bad; Rather odd that Boyd uses his real name when dealing with the ATF?

Best line; Topher (on the phone, upon seeing Victor's 'man reaction' to naked Sierra) "I gotta go, somethings come up" also like Echo/Esther "God brought me here with a message. That message is MOVE YOUR ASS!"

Packing heat; Boyd/Dominic with an SMG. Oddly in an ep full of guns Echo never uses one Echo;3 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 4 Sierra; 1

Kinky dinky; Victor and Sierra, some impulses obviously stronger than brain wiping

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 2

How'd they get away with that? Can't watch Echoes eye surgery, very Clockwork Orange. It's suggested the cult leader has a penchant for underage girls.

This weeks fantasy; Echo is a blind religious zealot

Total number personalities; Echo; 11 Sierra; 4 Victor; 1 Total dolls;3 Echo, Sierra and Victor

Topher is a bit geeky; Prefers the term 'man reaction' as a euphemism for male arousal.

Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1

Knocked out; Echo by Dominic Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1

Dolls injured; Echo roughed up and slapped around again

Know the face? 5 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock

Guantanamo; Big government kicking in the door and storming inside...to discover enough illegal weaponry to take Iwo Jima in the hands of those seeking the end of the world. Hard to know who's right or wrong?

Missing scenes; Very nice dinner scene on the deleted scenes, actually makes the cult members much more likable.

Questions and observations; Hard to know what to make of the rights and wrongs of this ep, the ATF agent plays a dirty trick although ultimately he's proved to 100% right and avoids another Waco. The irony that the cult members have sacrificed their free will much more by choice than the Dolls have (or have they?). The difference is that the cultists pose a threat to the outside with their arsenal whilst the Dollhouse doesn't...yet? Dominic shows his dislike of Echo whilst the affection developing between her and Adele also becomes evident In many ways these eps remind me of early eps of Angel, that it was supposed to be an anthology show with the case of the week but eventually became more a story of Angel Investigations themselves with the cases as incidental. The problem is that with the Doll's wiped every week it's difficult for the characters to develop. Also whilst it's a slick series it lacks the humour and and joi de vive of Buffy and Angel (and even Firefly) it feels too sterile.

Marks out of 10; 7/10, again, enjoyed this more in the re-watch than I thought I would 

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎24‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 2:23 AM, Fat Elvis 007 said:

We didn't know Mellie was an active prior to this--that's what made the reveal so awesome. I remember being certain that Mellie was about to be killed off, and being ready to quit watching if Joss leaned on that trope again, especially in such a violent manner. So that moment was hugely satisfying to me and made me finally realize this show was worth sticking with.

Yeah, due to the mix up in eps we never got the shock that Victor was a doll but he was able to pull it off here;

The good; Wow! Mellie is a Doll! Did ANYONE see that coming? Excellent ep with loads of character development, first meeting of Ballard and Caroline (excepting 'Echo') and a heck of a dust up. The subplot with an abused Sierra is horrible but very well written and acted, you just knew that this would be a problem sometime as Herne says (CHEERED when Boyd punched him through the glass, great stunt from Mike Massa). And Echo has paid sex with her first realistic and sympathetic client/trick.

The bad; Not much, very good ep. You do think that Adele takes a hell of chance with November by not activating her about 30 seconds earlier?

Best line; "Perhaps I need to give it to you" Adele gives Boyd a bonus, not because he wants it but because she needs to give it to him to salve her conscience. Also like "PORN!" (all in the delivery)

Packing heat; Echo takes Ballard's gun off him, Dominic pistol-whips Herne Echo;4 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 5 Sierra; 1

Kinky dinky; According to Joss when they asked casting for extras to play the Dolls they were inundated with pictures of porn stars. Must have been hell. Why do we all bother to pay for porn? Why don't we just phone up a casting agency and pretend we need attractive background players for our TV show? Echo's personality thinks her fiancée has suddenly become rich through internet porn.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; November beds Ballard (and she's a heck of a screamer) and presumably Echo returns to finish her romantic engagement with her client Echo; 3 November; 1

How'd they get away with that? The funny "What a rick!" and the indescribably horrible, Herne abusing Sierra. He's a son of a bitch but November killing Herne makes me wince every time.

This weeks fantasy; Echo plays the dead fiancée of the Internet mogul and then a hit chick. November plays Mellie and death-in-Laura-Ashley

Total number personalities; 2 for Echo Echo; 13 Sierra; 4 Victor; 1 November; 2

Total dolls; 4, here's November! Echo, Sierra, November and Victor

Subverting the Hollywood cliché; The client is actually a sympathetic figure and is even concerned about the security guards Ballard knocked out. For once we have a fat client/trick rather than a male model although Mellie actually thinks him kinda cute.

Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1

Kills; November kills Herne with her bare hands (never talk flower arranging with HER!) Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1 November;1

Dolls injured; November badly roughed up by Herne

Capt subtext; The redneck guy thinks the Dollhouse is a great idea because it allows a guy to be with another guy but means that there's 'Nothing queeny' going on (his wife/girlfriend's expression when he says this makes me laugh out loud every time, just like Echo's 'Porn' line). Dominic punches Herne when he hints that there was something between him and Adele. Jealousy?

Happy hookers Takana describes Echo as a 'whore with a heart of gold'. Herne makes a good point about Adele hiring out the Dolls to be sweating under 'some Emir' (the difference being they'd signed up for that, they hadn't signed up to be sexually abused whilst in their non-programmed state, Sierra actually saying she doesn't want to). Joss refers to Miracle Laurie as 'Being a pro' but rapidly rethinks his phrasing. Just idly watching '2 and a Half Men' whilst I'm writing this and Charlie and Alan are being treated to a pair of hookers by their future stepfather in Vegas. It strike me how attitudes to prostitution in TV and movies have changed in recent years, Pretty Woman, Belle Du Jour, Patty the daytime hooker in My Name is Earl, Hung etc. In a recent ep of The Big Bang Theory to cheer Howard up Raj and Leonard hire him a working girl. Times have certainly changed, used to be the only time you ever saw prostitutes on screen was when they were murdered or were informants.

Know the face? 5 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock. Whenever I see Herne I can never help but think 'Is that Dennis Quaid?"

Guantanamo; The Afro-American woman likens the Dollhouse to slavery. Ballard is pretty damn rough with Takana.

Reminds me off; The Vulcan grip from Star Trek is mentioned. The internet mogul is very reminiscent of David Nabbit from Angel who also frequents ladies of the night (but likes his a bit more demony). According to Joss' commentary Eliza didn't care much for her housewife look but I think she looks great, reminds me of when The Mayor gave Faith that dress in Graduation Day pt1

Questions and observations; Interestingly according to the reporter the rumours of the Dollhouse have been circulating since the late 80s? Ballard and Mellie actually make a lovely couple, very sweet. For a moment I wondered if Echo's message was some sort of double bluff but to judge by Joss' commentary the message was real. From whom? We learn there are 20 Dollhouses all over the world. What is the greater, X-files style, conspiracy? Echo demonstrates genuine affection for her client, even after she's meant to have been wiped. Adele knows this but still keeps her in the field. Absolutely love the scene where Echo thinks her fiancée made his money through internet porn, she may be a Doll but she's no brainwashed sex slave, she reacts in exactly the same way the real woman would have done. The interviews on the street are also interesting, not to stereotype but you look at the blonde girl and kinda wonder if she is a Doll? Again, this almost feels like the 3rd pilot for the show.

Marks out of 10; 9/10 best ep so far

[Joe Hellandback]

The good; So we find out how Echo came to the Dollhouse. Hilarious to watch Dominic bossed around by Victor and the other dolls and lovely scenes between Adele and Topher.

The bad; Why do they use the NSA as cover? Surely they're involved in intercepting communications, not stuff like this?

Best line; Toper (of Dominic) "He didn't take any, no way would Dominic have any fun" plus again "Nothing is what it appears to be"

Packing heat; Dominic with his Glock (personally I always found them a bit light for my taste?) Sierra and Victor also get one whilst we also see Victor with an M16 in his flashback. Echo;4 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 6 Sierra; 3 Victor; 2

Kinky dinky; Echo's knee socks, high heels and micro-mini dress are spectacular, especially when she's on the bike (but is that ED?). Check out her stumble when she chases Sam from the lab. She engages in bondage sex with her returning client/trick.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; none unless Echo goes back to finish her engagement. Why are Topher's trousers off? What did he and Adele get up to? He says she's his 'Superior in every way"? Echo; 3 November; 1 Ballard; 1

How'd they get away with that? The poor kid headbutting the glass, yeeesh! Tophers ode to drugs is also pretty near the knuckle.

This weeks fantasy; Echo returns to her biker-party-girl persona which we see in Ghost, Victor is a federal agent and Sierra a government scientist

Total number personalities; Echo; 14 Sierra; 5 Victor; 2 November; 1

Total dolls;4, but we hear of another Doll, Foxtrot? Sam becomes an active at the end but do we ever see him again? Echo, Sierra, November and Victor

Addy is a bit British; "Sarcastic? Unfeeling? British?" She uses the British term crisp. Brown sauce is actually a mix of fruit and spices. Topher also refers to his machines that go 'Ping!' which is a reference to Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

Topher is a bit geeky; Topher is so excited to meet the Rostrum head guy he might throw up. He quotes Mighty Mouse 'Here I come to save the day'.

Bondage; no but Echo ties up her client Sierra tied up; 1

Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1 November;1

Capt subtext; Adele's interview of Caroline is reminiscent of seduction. Paul wants to take care of Mellie, just like he wants to save Caroline, always the white knight. Topher and Adele begin to share. Adele says she has a good story about Victor. Dominic hints that there's more to him than just a professional heavy, namely his suits, is he hinting that he's gay?

Know the face? 5 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock

Guantanamo; The press are fed a cover story of a student prank gone wrong

Fanfic; One theory explored in fanfic is that Caroline is actually Adele's daughter?

Reminds me off; Very reminiscent of the classic 3rd season Buffy ep Band Candy, Adele in particular similar to the wonderful teen Joyce.

Breaking the programming; In this ep all the Dolls glitch but Echo starts before she even get's the drug. She actually says 'No' to her treatment.

Questions and observations; Adele refers to her and Caroline playing this game for 2 years? First return client/trick, the same guy from Ghost. Caroline is an anti-war protester and animal rights activist. My personal theory was that Leo, her boyfriend who was shot was actually Alpha. Boyd plays the piano pretty well. We learn Caroline's full name, Caroline Farrell and Dominic's, Lawerance Dominic. We find hints of the Dolls previous lives, Victor was a soldier, November is mourning someone

Marks out of 10; 7/10 again, enjoyed this more than I thought

[Joe Hellandback]

The good; Excellent scenes with the actives planning their escape in true The Prisoner style. Very gratifying to watch Victor beat the stuffing out of the guy abusing Sierra.

The bad; Seems all very reckless of Adele, Victor throttles one handler and beats up Sierra's client. Echo beats the crap out of another handler before raiding the armoury and threatening everyone with a gun. Perhaps Topher put in blocks to prevent them killing anyone but given how the wipes haven't been working lately this still seems very risky.

Best line; Dr Saunders; "Let the tide wash in"

Packing heat; Echo with a glock. The Dollhouse has it's own armoury in the handlers room with Glocks, M16 carbines and H&K MP5s. Echo;5 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 6 Sierra; 3 Victor; 2

Echo kissage; By request this new topic will be included.

Kinky dinky; Mike suggests that they've been kidnapped to have sex with aliens, an idea that Mellie is understandably not too keen on (presumably she's seen Alien vs Predator; Requiem or Taboo Comics/Monsters and Angels-internet GOT-fic?). But she's quite OK with the thought of showering naked with both boys and girls unlike Sierra who's more hesitant.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 3 November; 1 Ballard; 1

How'd they get away with that? Dead Echo is plenty frightening! Victor is also pretty hardcore throttling the handler but that suits his soldier mentality. Echo beating up Sophie is also pretty savage.

This weeks fantasy; 1 each for everyone, their own personalities but without the memories. Echo is still the moral crusader we see in Echoes. Victor the level headed military man, November the maternal free spirit, Sierra kinda prickly and damaged.

Total number personalitites; Echo; 15 Sierra; 6 Victor; 3 November; 2

Total dolls; 6, we meet 2 more, a blonde girl called Tango (who I think we've seen before as a background player?) and Mike who seems to be a conspiracy theorist and finds himself in the ultimate conspiracy. We also meet handler Sophie who like Topher's assistant Ivy will become a recurring minor character. We see another active in military garb (maybe filling in for Victor?) but we don't get a name. Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango

Topher is a bit geeky; Astonishingly he's afraid of the dark

Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1

Knocked out; everyone passes out once they've achieved their closure Echo; 2 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1

Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1 November;1

Capt subtext; Ballard's dream suggests he has a sexual attraction towards Caroline at the expense of Mellie. Victor is appalled by the Village People-style leather chaps he appears to have in his wardrobe (Rid'em Cowboy?). Echo eyes Tango's legs in her stockings and suspenders. Tango closely resembles Liza Minelli's character in Cabaret. Is she off to a hetero client who wants to have sex with her or to a gay guy who wants to sing 'Money makes the world go round' with her as Buffy star Joel Gray (Doc from season 5) did in that movie. Boyd says he would have liked to have seen Echo leading everyone to freedom, he subconsciously wants to free everyone?

Happy hookers; Echo refers to the Dollhouse 'Pimping them out'

Know the face? 5 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock

Guantanamo; Dominic suggests that the handlers think of the Actives as pets instead of children? Mike thinks they're government prisoners.

Reminds me off; The Buffy ep Tabula Rusa (a phrase used in this show), the characters all have their personalities and are trapped somewhere but don't have their conscious memories

Breaking the programming; They all do so Adele allows them all to partially achieve their secret desires under controlled circumstances.

Questions and observations; Victor very much the military man and does it very convincingly. November has a daughter called Kate who died, did she kill her? Even unprogrammed Caroline is pretty tasty in her fight with Sophie, maybe she retains some of her fighting skills from her imprints? Sierra's loathsome returning client (who appears to have forced her into the Dollhouse in the first place?) calls her Maria but is that her real name or the name of the personality he hires? Is he the guy who gave her the cut on her face in Echo? Victor's love for Sierra seems to be able to overcome even his mindwipe. Presumably Mike didn't really have an awakening, he's the control entered by Topher to convince the others they have to make their escape quickly.

Marks out of 10; 8/10

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎20‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 11:47 AM, nosleepforme said:

This was one of my favorite episodes, because it was the first episode that was really not just about Echo, but that used the entire cast and I loved the background music at the beginning. However, I must say the reveal of Dominic as the spy still does not make a lot of sense to me. 

I agree in both matters

On ‎20‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 10:31 PM, Delphi said:

This was probably my favorite episode of the first season. I honestly think everything landed so perfectly. I loved that we got insight into the other characters.

I really enjoyed the whole Sierra plot because of all the spy highjinks.

Plus I love Echo trying to be helpful.

They say this was the ep that got the series renewed for a second season. 

 

On ‎24‎/‎01‎/‎2016 at 7:49 PM, snarktini said:

I've forgotten so much about what happens on Dollhouse it's almost like watching it for the first time! Almost everything is a surprise. (May have been a voluntary mind wipe -- by the end I was pissed about squandered potential. Frankly, I'm a little afraid to watch S2. I don't remember what's going to happen, but I remember I loathed it the first time.)

 

Did not remember Dominic working for the NSA. And I would have assumed he was being framed to get rid of the threat, as Adelle implied, if he hadn't so explicitly confessed.

 

I think the revelation does make some sense. It's not the inside man we viewers have been looking for -- who's feeding info to Ballard -- but a different one. A spy, not a saboteur. He said he's not there to take down the Dollhouse. The NSA just wants it watched, and protected so the Dollhouse isn't revealed publicly (presumably until the government decides what to do with it themselves).  

 

His actions against Echo make more sense in this context. As security head it was logical he'd want to prevent another Alpha, but murdering a top money-making asset behind his boss's back didn't feel quite right if his only loyalty was to the Dollhouse. That he was worried about exposure makes it fit better for me.

 

The Adelle / Victor story made me sad. She can't share her life with anyone, given what she does. To be clear, that doesn't mean it's okay to turn a human into a sex toy! Loved the moment when she said it was "ironic" that he was the most real person she knew, and he unknowingly corrected her that she used the word wrong. Ha.

Well, she has her 'needs', I always felt this made Adele so much more human (as it does Ramirez), she wasn't the ice queen we took her for. And after all, Victor gets well compensated for his favours, monetarily or otherwise. 

The good; Exciting ep, the first I ever went back and re-watched immediately after again, Very clever mislead in the first scene, we think it's Dewitt getting wiped. The humanisation of Dewitt continues and it's beautifully written and played by all concerned. Good scene too between Ballard and Mellie, your heart bleeds for him.

The bad; Echo the spy-catcher wonders why Dr Saunders doesn't leave the Dollhouse? Possibly HER DISFIGURED FACE?! No commentary which is a real shame. The Sierra stuff is OK but we've seen it all before.

Best line; Dominic "Sooner or later everyone get's there's" (Here's hoping!) also like Echo "I've got a good feeling about you and I've got the whip" and Dewitt (on the idea of Victor the imprinted Doll becoming a client of the Dollhouse and hiring another Doll for his pleasure) "I think the universe might just collapse!"

Packing heat; Dewitt pretty handy with her foil, Dominic with his Glock Echo;5 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 7 Sierra; 3 Victor; 2

Echo kissage; By request this new topic will be included.

Kinky dinky; Ramirez wishes to be kidnapped by a pirate (I have a friend with an almost identical fantasy, tied to the mast and ravished by Johnny Depp and his pirate crew). Surprisingly Dr Saunders says that the actives aren't submissives, I'd have thought that would have been a hugely popular choice for clients (what about Sierra who begs her client to hurt her?).

The English language does not really have the words to adequately describe how sexy dominatrix Echo is. Suffice to say she's sexier than Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman and you can't say more than that. Reputedly this scene alone got Dollhouse a second season, a shame we couldn't have had more Echo in sexy outfits (hot cop, sexy stewardess, nympho nurse, cheerleader, French maid, naughty schoolgirl/Girl Scout) to earn it a third.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Victor/Adele. Not sure if Dominatrx Echo actually had sex with her client or not, some Dominatrixes do, some don't.

Echo; 3 definite, 1 possible

November; 1

Ballard; 1

Victor; 1

Adele; 1

How'd they get away with that?

Dominic getting wiped is hard to watch even after all the things he's done.

This weeks fantasy;

Echo is a dominatrix and a spy-catcher. Victor is Roger the romantic, Sierra a spy.

Total number personalities; 2 for Echo, 1 each for Victor and Sierra

Echo; 16

Sierra; 7

Victor; 4

November; 2

Addy is a bit British;

Her ideal lover is called Roger, second name Moore perhaps? She also uses the term 'Crackerjack' which will mean a lot to a Briton of a certain age but little to the rest of the world (does she have the requisite pencil?).

Dolls injured;

Echo roughed up by Dominic, Victor cut by Dewitt. Poor Ramirez hurt for a second time by Echo, this time with the whip (which is probably far preferable to the fire extinguisher for her!) .

Capt subtext;

In the van dominatrix Echo talks of S&M being about trust and surrendering yourself completely to another. This actually is a good analogy of the handler active relationship and what Topher tells Boyd when he first meets Echo. Dr Saunders comments on the many same sex relationships the actives are called out to do. Victor comments that he wants to keep his collection of high powered businesswoman shoes. Ramirez says she'd prefer S&M Barbie Echo to suave lady-killer Victor.

Happy hookers

Boyd considers the Dollhouse 'pimps and killers', himself included.

Guantanamo;

So who is we? Who is sending the messages to Ballard? Dominic and the NSA? That makes no sense and seems unlikely, is there more than one person inside trying to bring it down?

Dominic is intent on torturing Ivy for info. Almost reassuring that the government want to control the Dollhouse, the NSA may have little oversight but at least it has some. The idea of the attic is just so scary

Fanfic;

Dominatrix Echo the most popular whip-cracker since Calamity Jane. And the video clip lives forever on Youtube.

Reminds me off;

Mixed segments Quentin Tarantino style. Ballard is reminiscent of season 5 Wes in his obsession whilst sleeper assassin Mellie is like season 7 Spike. Sierra at the NSA is very Mission Impossible but even more Alias.

Breaking the programming;

Echo not only volunteers to help Topher but comprehends the purpose of the chair. Dewitt and Topher know but allow her to continue.

Questions and observations;

Echo waves to Mellie who seems to know her, as Echo or as Caroline from Ballards research? Victor refers Dewitt as 'Katherine', is that her real name? (gives credence to the 'She's Caroline's mother' theory).

The Miss-Lonely-Heart storyline has actually been mentioned a few times in previous eps. Note Topher suspects it's Boyd who has betrayed the Dollhouse but still goes to give him a chance to run before informing Dominic, he really does consider him a friend (or has his own doubts and wants to bring the Dollhouse down)

Fan bloody-tastic, second best ep of season 1

Marks out of 10; 9/10

[Joe Hellandback]

Haunted

The good; Terrific central concept, imagine waking and being told by your friend that you've died and then getting to attend your own funeral and find out what everyone thought of you. Some lovely scenes too with Topher and Sierra and the continued humanisation of Adele. The story of this ruptured family getting back together is actually very touching especially when the drunken brother reminisces about the first night he and his sister spent in the house together and how glad he was they made up, Gatsby and Nick style, just before she died.

The bad; If Margaret and Adele were such good friends why doesn't Adele recognise Margaret's family? Exactly how did Margaret know that someone was attempting to murder her? The idea that her handwriting would be enough to prove that a note is genuine takes some swallowing.

Best line; Adele; "Loneliness leads to nothing good, just detachment" which would have been comfort to Ballard who has rough sex with Mellie even though he knows she's a Doll. Mellie; "Are you looking for a Dollhouse client?" Ballard (haunted(!), looking at himself in the mirror) "I found one". Also like Margaret/Echo; "Elmo" Jocelyn; "EMO" Margaret/Echo; "That's not a word sweetie" (her entire character summed up in that sentence)

Echo kissage;1 Echo/Margeret kissed by her son.

Kinky dinky; Incestuous vibe between Margaret and her son, his 'mother's bed' line especially. When the son says that Margaret/Echo "Checked out his body" she doesn't deny it but claims it was 'subconsciously' and she'd had 'too much wine'. He also spies on her voyeuristically through the window knowing her nightime routine and she doesn't appear at all disturbed. Adele is also a voyeur, watching Topher and Sierra. Ballard's violent sex with Mellie borders on rape fantasy. She digs it but doesn't want it all the time (a common reaction amongst most people I think). Echo in jodhpurs and riding boots, MMMMMMMMMMMM! Margaret seems a cougar, using the Dollhouse for younger men before getting her own. Sierra seems to fantasise about 'Sexy, sexy aliens' is a she a GOT-fic/Monsters and Angels/Taboo Comics fan?

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; does Topher have sex with Sierra? Possibly... Echo; 3 definite, 1 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 Sierra 1 possible Topher; 1 possible

How'd they get away with that? The nanny story is HORRIBLE! The son murders his mother plus the incestuous subtext. Even though it's all a game and she get's into it you feel for Mellie being treated so roughly by Ballard. Question is would he have stopped if she'd wanted him to?

Addy is a bit British; Margaret says Adele would keep a 'Stiff back and stiff upper lip"

Topher is a bit geeky; Huge geekfest right down to lasertag and classic sci-fi debate.

Capt subtext; Topher fantasises about Adele and Margaret together. Margaret expresses her admiration for Echo's body and even gropes her breasts. Boyd warns of the collapse of civilisation. Ballard feels self loathing at having taken out his frustrations about the case by ravishing Mellie, even if she enjoyed it. Adele puts the mind of her old friend Margaret in Echo, the Doll she has developed an affection for. Adele indulges Topher his fantasy in the knowledge that she allowed herself her tryst with Victor. The sons jealousy of the mother's new young husband is pretty clear.

Know the face? Gregg Henry played a Sheriff in Firefly (and every other show you've ever seen! Check him out on IMDb, 132 credits in 34 years) 6 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock, Gregg Henry

Guantanamo; Rather sinisterly Sierra wants to interfere with the other sleeping Dolls and make them fight for each other's amusement. Her idea about having them perform comedy skits is a lot more reassuring. That the Dollhouse is able to remotely cyber-wipe the FBI computer is scary beyond belief.

Missing scenes; Great scene where Adele and Echo/Margaret look at Margaret's body in the coffin and she complains she doesn't like the dress she's being buried in.

Questions and observations; Adele is clearly dismayed at the thought of how people would remember her if she died, she's ashamed of the Dollhouse or just thinks people wouldn't understand? She states that 'Illusions aren't pointless. Note Topher doesn't just want a sex slave, the girl he creates for his birthday is sparky and challenging, beating him at lasertag. Call me a sap but I was really touched by the ending, despite all appearances to the contrary Margaret was loved by her brother and daughter and is able to tell them that she loved them in return from beyond the grave, the uncle and niece are reunited and are a loving family once again. Is Margaret really living on? The real Margaret died with her body, surely it's only a copy in Echo? It reminds me of Sheldon's question about the Star Trek transporter, are you really transported or does the real you die and a clone assembled at the other end? When Ballard looks up Novembers prints she seems to have multiple identities, her Dollhouse characters or was she some sort of identity thief? Is it really Eliza on the horse? Adele holds Margaret's hand as she is wiped, does she experience Margaret's life as well?

Marks out of 10; 7/10

[Joe Hellandback]

The good; Totally had me fooled with Alpha (partly because his agoraphobic uber-geek and Ballard makes such a great team). Stunning performance on both counts. You really feel for Mellie when Ballard dumps her. Great performance from the actress who plays the little girl too. Dominic asking for 'Whiskey' is a masterful bit of foreshadowing and Ballard is one smart cookie with his plan (but not as much as you-know-who).

The bad; Alpha's plan seems unnecessarily complicated? Ballard says he doesn't have a badge any more but then he shows one to 'Kepler' (did he swipe Loomis'?)

Best line; Adele; "There's indignation enough for everyone to have seconds" plus reprogrammed Echo upon seeing Alpha "My prince"

Packing heat; Both Boyd and Ballard with their pistols again. Ballard also uses a stungun on Topher. Echo;6 Boyd; 7 Dominic; 7 Sierra; 3 Victor; 2 Ballard; 8

Echo kissage;2 She plants a big old smackaroo on Alpha, so much so it cuts her lip

How'd they get away with that? Watching Alpha slicing up Victor is HORRIBLE! The little girl's plight is also horrific but at least she has a chance to recover. Also hard to watch Ballard cruelly dumping Mellie and her near suicide. Plus Alpha's recycled urine.

This weeks fantasy; Topher has made Echo into a grown up, healthy version of the damaged little girl in order to counsel her, Alpha turns her into a white trash princess. Sierra is a CSI girl (her technobabble may be a subtle joke on them). Victor is Dominic

Total number personalities; Echo; 19 Sierra; 9 Victor; 6 November; 2

Total dolls; add Alpha so 7 Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha

Topher is a bit geeky; He actually uses the phrase 'All frakked up'.

Subverting the Hollywood cliché; Amanda lets Echo sit near her, not because she trusts her but because she has flicknife concealed on her.

Bondage; Boyd puts Ballard in handcuffs (presumably his own?) Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1

Knocked out; Toper get's tasered into unconsciousness by Ballard Echo; 2 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Topher; 1

Dolls injured;. Poor Victor, traumatised by Ballard and Boyd crashing down on top of him and then cut to ribbons by Alpha.

Capt subtext; Check out the very caring, maternal way Dr Saunders helps Victor who really comes across as a frightened child. The Briar Rose story has a feminist slant on it similar to Buffy, Amanda and Echo prefer the ending where the Briar Rose saves herself. Echo says that Amanda is "Close to moving forwards but it'll hurt" just as she is. Interestingly when Ballard asks Alpha is he Kepler he replies "Well there are a lot of aspects to that question" . He also refers to the Dollhouse as 'The New Eden' which it just might be. He asks Dr Saunders if she always wanted to be a Dr and when she says yes tells her that's a lie.

(Un)Happy hookers; The little girl seems to have been exploited as a child prostitute by her mother's boyfriend. All the Dolls in the Dollhouse are above the age of consent but only those we've seen (and only in LA).

Know the face? Alan Tudyk was Wash on Firefly/Serenity 7 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock, Gregg Henry, Alan Tudyk

Guantanamo; Drugging and torturing Dominic who's on a day trip out of the attic, very hard to watch (great performance from Enver, really nails Reed Diamond in his mannerisms). Sending Echo to help the little girl is everybodys way of living with themselves.

Fanfic; The adventures of doomed lovers Echo and Alpha disturbingly popular. The little girl's story reminded me of a Buffy fanfic "Thanks for taking care of my body, Faith' where we learn why Faith is as screwed up as she is and Buffy, Joyce and Dawn help her get over it and adopt her as a new Summers girl

Questions and observations; So, the headquarters for the whole Dollhouse project is in Tuscon? Can anyone tell me exactly WHY Alpha is hiding naked in a dumpster when he kills the homeless man? Or am I trying to find logic in the actions of a madman? Note when Ballard finally gets into the Dollhouse he says 'It really exists', he'd obviously begun to doubt his own sanity. 'We call that editing' may be a subtle joke on the crew. Alpha thinks the Dollhouse is a good place but with bad people. I hate stairs without risers too, always fear I'm going to fall through them. Note Boyd gives Ballard a way out, he's not going to turn him in if he can help it. Surely consensual slavery is a contradiction in terms, if it's consensual it's not slavery? The Dollhouse we see was only built ten years ago despite the rumours dating from the 80s.

Marks out of 10; 9/10 really good

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎23‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 8:36 PM, Carrie Ann said:

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

What a shame, I loved both series, do you remember when they had ED and Summer Glau presenting both shows together?

OMEGA

The good; Got to say I didn't see the Whiskey twist (is that a drink?) coming at all. Utterly brilliant, this storyline lifts the series up and helps it go off on a high. Such a dumb gag but it always makes me laugh out loud when Alpha 'watches his step'.

The bad; How stupid must the Dollhouse be to use criminals as Dolls? Although wouldn't it be wonderful if we could reprogramme paedophiles and psychopaths so they were no longer either?

Packing heat; both Boyd and Ballard (the latter switching to a Colt 45 for some reason) plus November and Sierra Echo;6 Boyd; 8 Dominic; 8 Sierra; 4 Victor; 2 Ballard; 9 November; 1

Echo kissage;2

Kinky dinky; Lovely though she is I never really thought of Amy Acker as turn-your-head-gorgeous in the same way as Eliza Dushku, Charisma Carpenter, Sarah Michelle Gellar, (they tried to make her into AI's glamourpuss in season 5 but it didn't really work which is why we got more Mercedes McNab as Harmony who IS turn your head gorgeous),but here she is a revelation, I was firmly convinced that it was Eliza doing the slinky dance to Roy Orbison's dreams but WOW! Also Echo's push up bra and Daisy Duke denim short-shorts as part of her white trash princess look. Bounty hunter Sierra seems to have an instant attraction for Ballard.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 3 definite, 1 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 Sierra 1 possible Topher; 1 possible

How'd they get away with that? Killing the girl implanted with Caroline's memories is hideous. Alpha's idea of kidnapping a string of girls, implanting them with Carolines' memories and then killing her over and over again is too horrifying for words. Meeting 'Alpha's' first victim is also very disturbing but not half as much as his bloody rampage in the Dollhouse, especially how he kills his handler. He also refers to Crystal being a 'woman at 13'.

This weeks fantasy; Sierra and November are bounty hunters, Echo is Crystal and her composite personalities

Total number personalities; Echo; 21 Sierra; 10 Victor; 6 November; 3

Total dolls; add some Whiskey to the mix! 8-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey

Topher is a bit geeky; He refers to Solyent Green (Angel also a Charlton Heston fan)

Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1

Knocked out; Echo; 2 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Topher; 1

Kills; poor Wendy is killed by Alpha Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1 November;1

Dolls injured; Echo winged by Alpha's bullet.

Capt subtext; We finally learn November's real name and she is released from her contract (love Adele's very genuine hug for her). I guess whatever was between her and Ballard was quite real for him to pick her over Caroline? The heartbreaking scene where Dr Saunders tells Victor he's broken and no one will want him any more hardly needs explaining (thankfully the lollipop scene makes up for it). Why did Topher programme Dr Saunders to hate him? Perhaps because of his own self-loathing? Or did the original Saunders already hate him?

Know the face? 7 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock, Gregg Henry, Alan Tudyk

Missing scenes;. Very important, if you have the DVDs be sure to watch them to find out what happened to bounty hunters Sierra and November and how Alpha got away.

Reminds me off; Echo/Crystal and Alpha/Bobby on the run are very Badlands/True Romance/Bonnie and Clyde. But above all they remind me of Spike and Dru whom Angel once described as "Bonnie and Clyde if they had 100 years to get it right" The idea of violent prisoners being 'cured' by brainwashing sounds a bit 'A Clockwork Orange'? Ponder the fact that this series has a character called Ballard (and indeed Dawn was reading 'Empire of the Sun' for school in the later seasons of Buffy). Alpha digs out the tracker on the back of Echo's neck much like Dark Angel. Caroline refers to Return of the Living dead as Xander did in Buffy. Topher talks of souls in jars which may be an Angel ref. Alpha's madness is similar to Glory whilst the way he kills his handler is reminiscent of Buffy killing Gnarl in season 7. The track 'Dreams' which Whiskey dances to is also used to good effect in Blue Velvet.

Breaking the programming; Echo as a conglomerate of her personalities breaks away from Alpha's crackers plan, possibly because most of her imprints (Margaret from Haunted, the Dominatrix, Esther from True Believer etc) were good people mixed with her base personality of Caroline. By contrast most of Alpha's imprints were bad people mixed with his underlying personality of a psychopath.

Questions and observations; Ballard's plan to get rid of the bomb squad is truly inspired. Interestingly despite the bad blood between them Tanaka doesn't arrest him. Great double bluff, we think that Caroline is being let go but actually it's November whose real name is Madeline Costly. More episodes like this and Dollhouse would be a far superior series to what it was.

Marks out of 10; 9/10 really good

[Joe Hellandback]

EPITAPH ONE

The good; All of it, just terrific stuff. Gritty opening title rather than the normal dreamlike sequence. Whiskey's appearance is especially good, the scene where Adele confronts an imprinted Victor is awesome (lovely touch that he's enjoying shellfish whilst in Victor because he's allergic in his own body).

The bad; Couldn't we have Joss doing the commentary and not his brother? How does the little girl reach high enough up to attack the girl in the shower?

Best line; Topher; "Children with matches!" but also like the Echo imprinted little girl "Great, puberty all over again"

Packing heat; everybody is armed to the teeth (even Adele for the first time apparently at the request of the actress). Weird to see this little girl running around with guns considering how anti-gun Joss seemed in Buffy? Echo;7 Boyd; 8 Dominic; 9 Sierra; 4 Victor; 3 Ballard; 10 November; 1

Echo kissage;2

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 3 definite, 1 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 Sierra 1 possible Topher; 1 possible

How'd they get away with that? All of the stuff with the little girl.

This weeks fantasy; Victor is the Rossum head honcho, Echo is a Russian immigrant

Total number personalities; Echo; 22 Sierra; 10 Victor; 7 November; 3

Total dolls; another Doll, Juliet is mentioned but we don't know which one she is. Also November is mentioned but Victor asks 'Which one?" implying that there was the replacement from the girl who played Mellie in season 1. 8-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey

Topher is a bit geeky; The survivors describe Topher's rumpus room as a nursery. Topher from 2 years back is reminiscent of Michael J Fox.

Subverting the Hollywood cliché; When Zone teases Mag about regretting killing an imprinted person she replies "I wish it could have been you"

Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1

Knocked out; Echo; 2 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Topher; 1

Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1 November;1

Capt subtext; The first thing Dominic notices when he's freed from the attic is that suits have three buttons again. The commentary also seems to hint he might be gay? Adele and Topher almost seem to be like a mother and son.

Happy hookers: Zone comments that the Dollhouse is a brothel built to make better hookers. Apparently the network gave instructions to avoid prostitution in the series. I wonder what went wrong?

Know the face? Hooray! Hooray! It's Felicia, Felicia Day! Whedon veteran from Buffy and Dr Horrible plus The Guild. Zone remind anyone else of Patrick Swayze crossed with Corey Feldman? 8 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock, Gregg Henry, Alan Tudyk, Felicia Day

Guantanamo; The imprinted little girl describes Mag and Zone as bigots because they killed anyone imprinted.

Fanfic; more fic than you can shake a stick at to tide you over until the season 2 DVDs come out

Missing scenes;. I like the idea of the scene with the bear in the lift, I wonder if it's the same one from the Angel ep Soul Purpose? Anyone know where I can find that clip on the internet? Do they ask it to press the floor button and then it get's frustrated because it's paws are too big?

Reminds me off; We have an apocalypse in LA just as we saw in Angel season 6. The evil little girl is reminiscent of The Anointed in Buffy. Topher's idea of the cyber-attack via the phone is a feature of the Stephen King novel 'Cell' Topher's rambling like Wes in season 5 of Angel. The photo wall is very BSG. The commentators are Dr Who fans to judge by their 'Don't blink' remark. The butchers resemble the reavers from Firefly who were also the result of well intentioned technology gone wrong.

Breaking the programming; Echo can now maintain her own personality (pure Caroline or the composite of her imprints?) whilst she's imprinted but still have all the knowledge of her imprint. She seems to have headaches as a result as does Sierra.

Questions and observations; Great ep, truly, truly great, the first 10 out of 10 for the series. Kepler certainly does nice work, his Dollhouse has survived a remarkably long time. The tension between Topher and Dominic is evident right from the start. Dominic actually warns Adele of the consequences of letting the tech run riot. Whiskey's scars are healed as are Victor's. Is the argument in the kitchen the moment Adele turns against Rossum? Is the life after death idea a transfer of consciousness from one body to another or just a Haunted style imprint? If so, it's not really life after death, it's just making clones of yourself. Sierra's real name is Priva Testrene (Tibetan apparently). Adele strikes you as a very good leader, hope Caroline doesn't kill her. Interesting to see that Victor seems to lead the Dollhouse defence force (which is why Paul is talking to him whilst Dr Saunders is fixing Echo up?). So Dr Saunders blanked herself into Whiskey to avoid the madness of being alone for 2 years? Does Whiskey kill everyone and herself with poison gas? Or as the commentary suggests it's just knockout gas, she imprints all the unconscious butcher's with Echo's wedge and creates countless guides to safe haven?

Marks out of 10; 10/10 excellent, they saved the best until last, I wish the whole series could have been this good, can't wait for season 2

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎25‎/‎01‎/‎2016 at 5:29 PM, snarktini said:

 

 

At the risk of sounding super pervy, I've been distracted by Dushku's chest in the last few eps. Did she get implants or are they just padding the hell out of her? Vastly different look from the first few episodes, when we saw Echo braless in her jammies. 

 

A bit of wedding lingerie work wonders! No need to worry about being pervy, Joss may be a feminist but he isn't afraid to exploit the sexiness of his female stars. He just makes sure to do the same with his male stars. 

VOWS

The good; How gorgeous is bride Eliza? May not have affected ED but made me go awwww! The Toper/Saunders relationship is fabulous. Love the way that when Khar catches Echo snooping in his desk she almost get's away with her explanation, she's very plausible.

The bad; Jamie Bamber's hair makes him looks like one of the Four Seasons, I keep expecting him to break into 'Oh what a night'. Why does Khar just fire 2 shots at Echo when he has a pistol with 15? When the limo blows up you can clearly see it's nowhere near the airport.

Packing heat; Echo uses a pistol taken from Khar's goons Echo;8 Boyd; 8 Dominic; 9 Sierra; 4 Victor; 3 Ballard; 10 November; 1

Echo kissage;3 at her wedding

Kinky dinky; One of Echo's previous clients was a TV newsreader with a splosh fetish (a desire for sex with people covered in food). We now have Dominatrix Echo in the opening titles each week, much like Buffy and Faith dancing just too damn sexy not to show again and again. Sierra's 50s Princess character likes to be tied up and spanked (so much for Adele's assertion that the actives aren't hired out as sexual submissives). Topher refers to 'deviant excitement'. I never thought Eliza could be more sexy than as the dominatrix but seeing her in her wedding night lingerie she's just stunning and you couldn't pick which you prefer, sugar or spice? (a remark you understand much better if you've seen Batman Forever). Dr Saunders puts on the lacy teddy and puts the moves on Topher. He seems to have erotic dreams about Fozzie bear which is a whole other level of kinky. Topher observes that he could easily have made a willing sex slave but Saunders counters that the real ultimate fantasy is to make someone who initially hated you love you.

Capt subtext; Note Adele stroking Victor's scarred face, remembering their Miss Lonelyheart time together. Dr Saunders keeps her scars because although she knows she's a doll her physical imperfections make her unique amongst them. Echo's handler telling Paul 'You're the client' really hit's home. Echo flashbacks to her and Whiskey done up like Ava Gardener and about to get all kissy at a masked ball. To my shame the first time around I missed the idea that what triggers this memory for Echo is Dr Saunders giving her a gynaecological exam implying they did a lot more than just kiss. Dr Saunder's assertion that the ultimate sex fantasy is to make the person who despises you love and desire you is possibly an allusion to Caroline/Echo, Rossum's greatest enemy surrendering to them and allowing them to turn her into their willing plaything, their's to use, exploit, pimp out and humiliate as they wish for fun and profit. Question is did Topher make Saunder's hate him as an aspect of his own self-loathing? Echo's remark of 'We are lost but we are not gone' may be an allusion to the whole Dollhouse situation.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo and Khar Echo; 4 definite, 1 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 Sierra 1 possible Topher; 1 possible

How'd they get away with that? Echo's husband hitting his wife is a true 'Jeez!' moment. He may be an evil arms dealer but even he seems ashamed when she accuses him of domestic abuse. Sierra's anti-Asian racism towards Ivy is also a little much even if played for laughs.

This weeks fantasy; We see Echo as a bride/undercover agent and Sierra in her Jackie O/Audrey Hepburn personality. Echo also slips back into Margeret from 'Haunted' and Alpha's 'Badland's' style girlfriend Briar Rose from the end of the last season.

Total number personalities; one more for Echo,

Bondage; we don't see any but Sierra obviously has a thing for it Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1

Kills; assuming they die when she shoots them Echo kills two of the arms dealer's henchmen. Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 3 November;1

Dolls injured; Echo with a big old gash on her head and concussion

Happy hookers; Echo is an undercover agent who wins her mark's confidence by actually having sex with him, the stuff of bad erotic thrillers (Undercover Heat anyone?)something that gives Ballard great moral angst.

Fanpics; the bride Eliza image often used in manipulated pictures by 'Fuffers' to show Faith marrying Buffy (SMG in her wedding dress from The Prom)

Guantanamo; Paul no longer cares about due process

Questions and observations; Echo has a new handler but this is the only time we see him. As Joss says the lighting on the Dollhouse is very different. Topher sleeps at work which seems to be a common thing in the Dollhouse. I think I'm beginning to fall a little in love with Ivy, she's a character who keeps growing on me more and more. In reference to the Jonas Brothers do they mean they're Dollhouse clients or that customers hire the actives out to play their roles? Still weird to hear Jamie Bamber talk with his real accent. Adele knows about Echo's unique nature but wants to watch her develop. Echo's remark of the 'Honeymoon is over' may be her telling Paul that from now on things are only going to get harder for them. Shame we don't get more of Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof etc this season but not enough in the budget (perhaps why they dropped CC/Conor from the last season of Angel so that they could have fan-favourite Spike?). It seems Joss' favourite series is BSG. I love Adele's new hair. Everyone boozing pretty hard, even Dr Saunders (whiskey?).

Marks out of 10; 7/10 good ep, Joss didn't expect to get a second season so this is a partial reboot for the show

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎28‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 4:04 PM, Delphi said:

There were indeed budget cuts for season two. Part of the reason Dollhouse for a second season while Terminator was canceled was because Joss agreed to a lower budget while Terminator needed all the money it could get.

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.

[Joe Hellandback]

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,

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎24‎/‎08‎/‎2015 at 2:10 AM, Fat Elvis 007 said:

 This is my personal favorite episode, and IMO, the best constructed episode of the series. Sierra's story had an emotional core that seemed lacking from the show at most points. It made me wonder how the show would have been received if Caroline had an equally compelling origin story from the beginning.

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. 

 

On ‎26‎/‎01‎/‎2016 at 2:59 AM, snarktini said:

Wait, they keep Sierra after finding out she came to the Dollhouse against her will?! Why wouldn't they erase this bit and let her go? I'm horrified. (For sure, every Doll is coerced / misled in some way. I don't believe anyone can legally consent to a Dollhouse contract. This is obviously different. There is no gray area here.)

 

Poor Sierra. At least she has sweet Victor.

 

So, question: Why doesn't "blank" Sierra have an Australian accent? I assumed they stripped out what they didn't need -- memory, personality, sex drive, intellect, etc. -- but left basic functions. Do they instead "reformat" the Dolls entirely and load a brand new OS template that includes speech and swimming?

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.

Edited June 14, 2018 by Joe Hellandback

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎26‎/‎01‎/‎2016 at 5:00 AM, snarktini said:

Wow, I did not enjoy this episode. Bennett is ridiculous -- an injured, scenery-chewing, mustache-twirling, teenage genius who's apparently on the spectrum. I assume the tics are intentional and we'll learn why she's driven to torture Echo, but for now it's more off-putting than intriguing. 

 

We'll see how they are able to integrate a new big bad and Dollhouse team. 

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

[Joe Hellandback]

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

[Joe Hellandback]

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

[Joe Hellandback]

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

[Joe Hellandback]

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 .

[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.

[Joe Hellandback]

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

[Joe Hellandback]

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

[Joe Hellandback]

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

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Amy Acker is guest starring on this week's episode of Grey's Anatomy (S15.E21: Good Shepherd). She is playing one of Derek's sisters, Kathleen.

[RachelKM]

So, I just rewatched this.  It occurs to me that Epitaph I and II take place in 2019 or 2020 depending on what year the second season actually takes place in.... They may have had the mechanism wrong, but damn if it didn't get the timing of the apocalypse just about spot on...

[Delphi]

On 8/3/2020 at 7:25 AM, RachelKM said:

So, I just rewatched this.  It occurs to me that Epitaph I and II take place in 2019 or 2020 depending on what year the second season actually takes place in.... They may have had the mechanism wrong, but damn if it didn't get the timing of the apocalypse just about spot on...

It's only August... they have time to be right. 

[Kromm]

On 8/3/2020 at 7:25 AM, RachelKM said:

So, I just rewatched this.  It occurs to me that Epitaph I and II take place in 2019 or 2020 depending on what year the second season actually takes place in.... They may have had the mechanism wrong, but damn if it didn't get the timing of the apocalypse just about spot on...

Nobody could have ever guessed apocalypse via a rea...

Oh never mind. 

[sinkwriter]

Just started rewatching this show - man, it's been a long time! Which is fun, because my memory is now hazy on some details and makes it like I've almost never seen the show before. I remember some things, but there are a lot of details I've forgotten. Mellie being a sleeper agent is one of the big ones.

Rewatching Man on the Street, I had a vague memory that this episode was pivotal for some reason but I couldn't remember why. Watching the episode, I knew Mellie doesn't get killed but I couldn't remember how she got out of the situation. I thought maybe Ballard made it back just in time. So I was waiting for him to run and get there... until the phone message came on and Adelle said, "There are three flowers in a vase," and then it all came flooding back to me. BEST MOMENT EVER! I remember watching the series when it first aired and thinking, I swear if they kill her off, I will be furious. And then they amped up the amazing with her surprise programming. Seeing her switch to kickass mode was so cool. 

I also remember really appreciating that they cast Miracle Laurie as Mellie because she was not your standard sized actress. I thought she was beautiful and loved that she got to have this romance with one of the lead male characters. It was so rare (and often still is) to have a curvy actress be in a romantic role or a kickass role -- they're usually the sidekick or the comic relief -- so that was one area where I really tipped my hat to the Dollhouse casting. That Mellie got to have more depth than I would have expected (from a character usually meant to be the "mild-mannered neighbor" and prop for exposition needs) was super gratifying.