Neil
Potential Slayer
[Mo0:0]
Posts: 187
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Post by Neil on Mar 25, 2010 8:34:44 GMT -5
Thank you!
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Post by joxerlives on Apr 5, 2010 15:53:21 GMT -5
ECHO
The good;
A solid introduction to the workings of the Dollhouse and the various characters we will encounter over the course of the series. Love Echo at the wedding reception and Victor being a doll is sure a shock. Interesting debate between Topher and Boyd, they seem closer here than in Ghost.
The bad;
You can see why the network demanded a reshoot, very little action and kinda hard to like the characters, especially when Echo shoots Agent Ballard. Also stretches credibility that there's no sex involved, reminiscent of the holosuites in ST;TNG
Best line;
Victor's "People are mostly crap!" just beating Topher's "Morality is programming" (or do they mean the same thing?)
Packing heat;
Echo shoots Ballard with his own gun.
Kinky dinky;
Astonishingly in this first ep there's no sex whatsover except for a little kissy kissy at the wedding reception. Addy remarks to the client about hiring girls to dress as cheerleaders for him. Topher justifies him being in the Dollhouse because it is "Cutting edge science in a house full of hot chicks". Personally all the naked showering scenes do little or nothing for me, when the actives don't have their personalities implanted they act like stoned children and I just find it extremely creepy (nudity in itself is seldom erotic, the context is everything).
Capt subtext;
Addy's client is a little too eager to turn down the offer of a male doll. Victor says that he wants to be Doris Day (cut to Sierra looking just like her or actually a little more Jackie O perhaps?)
How'd they get away with that?
The sociopath assassin Echo is programmed with is hard to take, she's loathsome but your heart bleeds for a girl who's been running from the police since she was 5. Still hard to watch Ballard threaten her though but this being a Joss show she turns the tables. Boyd seems pretty callous just abandoning a wounded Ballard but in fairness the police are on their way.
This weeks fantasy;
Echo is a vengful streetwalker, besotted fiance, damaged goods assassin and rehab girl. Sierra is Jackie O, Victor is a Russian gangster
Total number personalitites;
Echo; 4
Sierra; 1
Victor; 1
Total dolls;3
We meet Victor, Echo and Sierra
Addy is a bit British;
Likes her tea
Topher is a bit geeky;
His lab is an ubergeeks playground complete with gumball machine and whack-a-mole arcade machine
Subverting the Hollywood cliche;
Bondage;
Knocked out;
Kills;
Dolls injured;
Sierra with an unexplained cut on her face
Happy hookers;
Essentially the Dollhouse is the ultimate fantasy brothel, amazing that Joss was able to get that onto the screen but I guess The Sopranos, The Shield etc led the way. Here we actually have Echo beating up a pimp and packing his latest working girl off home, rather hypocritical given the nature of the Dollhouse, is what Addy and co do that different to what he does?
Know the face?
2 Joss Whedon regulars, Amy Acker and Eliza Dushku.
Guantanamo;
The conspiracy starts here, the power and reach of the Dollhouse is truly terrifying
Fanfic;
Plenty where Echo and the girls get to dress up as cheerleaders and 'Bring it on'.
Missing scenes;
Interesting missing scenes with Echo saving the girl in a spiral of self-destruction but the Dollhouse seems a bit TOO altruisitic
Reminds me off;
The dolls sleeping pods are very Alien whilst the Dollhouse itself is reminiscent of the Wolfram and Hart set in Angel.
Questions and observations;
Gotta say I prefer Echo to Ghost although I can see why the network didn't. Do we ever meet Ballards ex? Addy seems to imply they're all dammed.
7 out of 10, good enough, intriguing but not brilliant
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Post by henzINNIT on Apr 5, 2010 16:56:15 GMT -5
The Adelle speech at the start of the episode was a far more impressive display of the company's "whoring" than physically showing Echo off shagging someone. The way the high-class boss contrasts with the the lowly pimp was brilliant.
Not a perfect pilot, but a far more subtle and morally questionable start, and a far stronger attempt at the concept. Joss and Fox clearly never agreed on what exactly the show could (or should) be, which is a great shame. With the 27 hours produced, it rarely struck it's potential.
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Post by joxerlives on Apr 6, 2010 15:42:22 GMT -5
Yeah, it's hard to put a finger on why Dollhouse wasn't a greater success but maybe when I see season 2 I can work it out?
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