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Post by faithswatcher on May 11, 2009 20:24:58 GMT -5
I'm seeing some hate on the IMDB boards for Eliza not playing a multi personality character very well. However, i felt she did perfectly, there was enough difference in mannerisms etc to show the change in character, but not too much that it seemed over acted and forced.
Just curious to see the general consensus.
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Just Willow
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Post by Just Willow on May 11, 2009 20:27:29 GMT -5
i think she was really good. in the first little bit of Dollhouse, i could see that little bit of Faith still in her, but perhaps that was just because i was sort of looking for it, but she's really some out of that shell and done bits of everything, and she's awesome in all of them.
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Post by snizapman6294 on May 11, 2009 20:45:02 GMT -5
if there were an option between #'s 2 & 4 i'd choose that... my mom hates the episodes where she plays sweet, little innocent Ellie Dushku (my mom's convinced her name's Ellie) from boston... and i kind of have to agree. i mean knowing Eliza as Faith, the baddass butch slayer-bitch for how many years, now? 5? (BtVS s 3, 4, 7/AtS s1, 2, 4) so (1998-2003?) yeah...
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Just Willow
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Post by Just Willow on May 11, 2009 20:46:55 GMT -5
if there were an option between #'s 2 & 4 i'd choose that... my mom hates the episodes where she plays sweet, little innocent Ellie Dushku (my mom's convinced her name's Ellie) from boston... and i kind of have to agree. i mean knowing Eliza as Faith, the baddass butch slayer-bitch for how many years, now? 5? (BtVS s 3, 4, 7/AtS s1, 2, 4) so (1998-2003?) yeah... hell yes! badass Eliza is so much more fun to watch! |
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EvanCooper93
Potential Slayer
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Posts: 102
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Post by EvanCooper93 on May 11, 2009 22:33:17 GMT -5
In all honesty, I thought Eliza was perfect for the part. Plus, half of those people on the IMDb boards are pure haters. Haha.
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theend
Potential Slayer
Dollhouse DollFreakinHouse[Mo0:0]
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Post by theend on May 12, 2009 1:34:39 GMT -5
I honestly don't get when people say that, I always believed her characters and I think she's a great actress.
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gumgnome
Junior Vampire Slayer
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Post by gumgnome on May 12, 2009 5:50:48 GMT -5
I think she's good, and it's a very difficult part to play. However, i do feel that she either plays innocent or down-to-business and there's not a hell of a lot in between.
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redhead
Common Vampire
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Post by redhead on May 12, 2009 6:10:31 GMT -5
She was ok. I think someone could have played the part better, but I wouldn't say her acting ruined the show. She was probably the "weakest" doll on the show.
I think the problem was making her the main character. If the show had been a bit more of an ensemble piece, rather than focusing on Eliza people would have concentrated less on her acting... Hopefully the second season will be more like that!
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Post by AndrewCrossett on May 12, 2009 8:36:17 GMT -5
I don't understand why there's this meme that Eliza is a mediocre actress. She's no Judi Dench, but she's quite good at what she does.
I think people have heard that she's a weak actress, then when they watch her they subconsciously look for evidence to reinforce that and ignore evidence to the contrary. Judged fairly, without preconceptions, by the standards of other TV actors, she does just fine.
Keep in mind that if she *totally* disappeared into a new character each week, it would be even harder to identify with her or come to care about her. She needs to be a new character while also remaining recognizable as Echo.
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Post by Midnight Butterfly on May 12, 2009 10:09:05 GMT -5
She was good but could have better. I think the reason why she didnt portray the multiple personalitys is because Caroline was trying to break through in most of them.
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rufio
Novice Witch
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Post by rufio on May 12, 2009 10:22:02 GMT -5
I think she's done great. She seems to have definitely improved since the earlier episodes. In "Stage Fright" I think is when she was most reminiscent of Faith, but in "Haunted" she was great portraying Margaret the older woman. She also was great in the final episode when she was dealing with Alpha. She was somehow hotter with that southern accent too.
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Post by Rebecca on May 12, 2009 12:37:05 GMT -5
I believe Eliza is a talented actress. I thought she did very well as Faith in both Buffy and Angel. Although I didn't follow Tru Calling, I loved her in Bring It On.
That said, I would agree with the sentiment that she was the "weakest" doll, as it came across. It felt as though they were playing on her strengths: bad ass, vixen, down-to-buisiness, and helpless victim. The other dolls were put into situations which called on a lot of acting ability we hadn't seen before (mainly because the actors are new to me) but also much different than the situations we saw Echo.
The other dolls (especially Victor and Sierra) shined because of the very different roles they were written as well as the actors ability to completely capture the characters. Victor was quite believable as a Russian mobster, a british spankitude-partner, NSA Agent, and horse-buyer. Sierra as well as an ex-NSA Agent, Taffy, an Australian fan-girl, gamer-chick, and bounty hunter (which we totally didn't see enough of). They're both wizzes at different mannerisms and accents, whereas Echo wasn't put into many roles with accents and her mannerisms were pretty similar character to character.
When she did try different mannerisms, sometimes they worked and other times less so. For example: Haunted vs. Grey Hour and Needs.
Also I found that when she played a similar (or exact same) imprint as another actor, I liked the other actor's portrayal better than Eliza's (Grey Hour Echo vs. Sierra Taffy, Omega Echo vs. Whiskey, MotS Echo vs. SitHoL November message deliveries).
I will say that over the entire season, I feel like Eliza has grasped her role as Echo and has really done a great job. She could have done better, as said above, so there is definitely some room for improvement.
One last thing: I don't attribute low ratings to Eliza's acting ability. I put that squarely on the shoulder's of Fox studios for not advertising enough and changing the first half of the already short season, effectively dropping initial ratings and giving the show an almost certain air of cancellation. Audiences don't want to invest in shows who have a great chance of not being renewed.
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Post by VampSlayer on May 12, 2009 21:07:00 GMT -5
She was okay.  |
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menomegirl
Innocent Bystander
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Posts: 30
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Post by menomegirl on May 12, 2009 21:18:35 GMT -5
She was okay as Echo but I think Eliza played a much better Faith.
Still, I hope the series gets another season.
Edited to add:
VampSlayer, is that you? Is this where you wandered off to? LOL.
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Post by buffyrocksmylife on May 13, 2009 11:29:24 GMT -5
Eliza was a perfect actress in "DollHouse." I love that show. I totally am behind on what's been happening in it tho, been to busy to watch it,  But, dollhouse is awesome. 5 WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT ELIZA: 1. She's hot 2. Great actress 3. Can play ANY part. 4. Makes anything she's in a good movie + show 5. She's a great role model. |
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Post by Midnight Butterfly on May 13, 2009 12:49:53 GMT -5
I love your avatar buffyrocksmylife ;D
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Post by lightandmagic on May 16, 2009 15:42:14 GMT -5
I think she did decent. It wasn't anything amazing, but I think she played each role adequately. I think the problem is that while she is a fairly good actress, the other cast members just seem to be better than her, so she doesn't look good in comparison. Which sounds weird to say, but I'm sure if she was put in a show that didn't have such a strong cast, she'd probably be the standout.
I do have to give her a lot of credit for her portrayal of Taffy, as I remember reading an interview where Dichen did her portrayal of Taffy first, and then Dushku had to try and imitate it, and I have to say she did quite well in that respect, and I actually enjoyed her portrayal more (although I think Dichen's performance has been a stronger performer overall).
I also really enjoyed her portrayal of Crystal, from Omega.
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El Diablo Robotico
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Post by El Diablo Robotico on May 19, 2009 0:13:36 GMT -5
I think she did decent. It wasn't anything amazing, but I think she played each role adequately. +1 She's hardly a bad actress--she's not at all stiff or wooden or unemotive. It's just that the more I see her, the more all her roles start blending together and seeming very similar. She doesn't really seem to have a lot of range, which is sort of a problem for a show like this, where she's supposed to play a new character each week. But she certainly didn't detract from the show in any way. |
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Post by Greer on May 19, 2009 6:51:23 GMT -5
I think that she did an ok job. There are few roles that I feel that she does perfectly well---one of which is playing the badass, I can take care of myself-Faith type, and when she does that, I feel that she plays it perfectly well! There are just times when I feel like she could do a little better, and have some more range as do Victor and Sierra. There are a few episodes that come to mind, i.e. Grey Hour and Briar Rose(as the mother). I just didn't buy her as the mother, but it's a hard role to play!
Overall, I do agree with Rebecca that Eliza has grasped her role better and is improving over the course of the season. I definitely think that she can carry a show with her as the main character,and that FOX just needs to move the show to another night.
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Post by AndrewCrossett on May 19, 2009 8:10:39 GMT -5
Remember that they were trying to balance the concepts of having a different starring character each week, with the need to have one unifying character that the viewer could follow from story to story. If she'd disappeared into a new character Tracey Ullman-style each week, it would have looked like an anthology show, and you can't do an anthology show with an overarching mythology because the viewers will lose interest in the characters.
Eliza had to balance the need to be a different character each week with the need to be recognizably the same person each week. I'm not sure how she could have done that much better than she did.
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