Dollhouse

[Winterwolf]

Yeah, Eliza was phenomenal in Instinct. That was beautiful.

 

I guess how much one likes Dollhouse depends on how one understands the show. So this is my rant on how I understand the show.

 

Everyone's a doll. Every person constructs him/herself an identity and calls it his/her real nature. But the so-called real person - Caroline for example - is as fake as any person the actives are given. But when the actives are stripped from their own lies - turned into Eden-like Adam/Eve like people - in that stripped form is when their true nature has a chance to appear. True, as actives they are given the lies of powers that be as identity's to be... but so is every person in the world. Your local church authority gives you your religious identity, your local peer group you are attracted towards gives you your political/national/whatever identity... and so on, basically everyone lives a lie. The dolls are just the mirror image of society under a magnifying glass. But in that stripped form their true being emerges. Alpha's true being was wrong, before he got wrong. But Dollhouse is about how Echo finds her true being - enlightenment. She's like that guy in the cave who decides to sit in an opposite direction and discovers that she's in a cave, because she now saw the opening.

 

Firefly had a quote about how government's consist of few people who are ungoverned. There is also this side to Dollhouse, where rich ungoverned people enjoy the working class as their pleasure. Damn, now I sound like lord of flies. Well... anyway, they do enjoy the dolls as their pleasure, but so are the common non-doll people being enjoyed by the ungoverned few. Since Whedon doesn't do black/white we are also shown the sad, lonely and vulnerable side of these ungoverned few... so that's why we (well some of us who probably really dig the show) feel sorry for all those sad rich people.

 

And this brings us to another Dollhouse issue. The touching human connection that goes through the masks, into the true nature. Like that moment in Vows where Adelle touches Victor's face and forgets herself. Or when Sierra touches Victor's face. Or how Echo gives herself under Ballard's guardianship in a very self-aware manner. Or when Echo feels sorry for that fat guy and gives her the female care at her own Echo will. Instinct was about a human emotion that's stronger than the identity mask. By the way, does anyone also think that Sierra looks very similar to Jaheira in BG2? Anyway, being a rant it probably doesn't make sense and few will read it... but, yeah, that's how I "understand" the show.

 

Also as a reply to the stuff Purkake said. Remember Firefly's episode Out of Gas? The one where we finally get Mal and the ship. And it was so amazing when in the end it turned out that the used ship salesman recommended the other ship but Mal fall in love with Serenity? And then finally all those pieces fell together and it was like the best thing ever. For me, Dollhouse is Out of Gas - so far, a 15 episode long Out of Gas. And I enjoy seeing how the pieces fall together.

Edited October 6, 2009 by Winterwolf

[Purkake]

That's pretty deep, man.

 

Out of Gas was really great. Dollhouse manages to have really average "imprint of the week" stories and awesome sub-stories going on in the background.

 

As for Sierra, she looks like a Tibetan sand fox:

 

[Volourn]

"guy in the cave who decides to sit in an opposite direction and discovers that she's in a cave, because she now saw the opening."

 

Woah. Deep.

[Purkake]

On a brighter note, here's the first pic of Summer Glau from episode 5:

 

[Purkake]

Pretty good episode with great acting from Victor.

[Volourn]

Good acting but it was an easy laugh with the dancing in front of the homophobic guys. L0L

[Winterwolf]

I think Adelle wants to have hot wild sex with Paul.

 

Victor as Kiki made my life. And Paul's "You got a problem?" - pure gold.

 

But, it kinda felt like too stand-alone. Sure there was a nod to Epitaph One. But Instinct and Vows had more mytharc in them than this episode. Essentially this was Haunted, but with much better execution.

 

Boyd should get more screentime.

Edited October 11, 2009 by Winterwolf

[Volourn]

I don't mind stand alones if they have good story/acting and they're mixed in well with arc centric episodes.

 

Agreed about Boyd. Though, I'm sure we'll learn about him, and why he went to work for the Dollhouse.

 

That's if the show lasts past these 13 episodes... the ratings aren't so hot.

[Gorgon]

Personally I thought she was a bit old to play a clueless teenager. Also I don't think Ballard makes sense, as in why he would work for the dollhouse. If he's trying to go undercover it's a mite obvious, and why would they trust him. If he just wanted another job because he got fired from the FBI then sold out his ideals completely, but he's as sanctimonious and goodie two- shoes as ever.

Edited October 11, 2009 by Gorgon

[Humodour]

I've given up on this series. It's ****.

 

I never was a die-hard Wedon fanatic like some people appear to be, though.

[Volourn]

Boo hoo hoo. People like something you don't. Oh, the humanity! Cry me a river.

[Humodour]

Boo hoo hoo. People like something you don't. Oh, the humanity! Cry me a river.

 

Quite an over-reaction there Volourn. I never said anybody else shouldn't like this or that because I don't like it others should stop watching it. I merely said I don't like it.

 

Does that offend your sensibilities? Perhaps you should heed your own advice: people don't like something you do, boo hoo you poor diddums.

[Volourn]

"I never was a die-hard Wedon fanatic like some people appear to be, though."

 

This implies that one would have to be a brainwashed fanboy of Whedon's to like the show. You basically stick your nose down ta those who like it. That's cool; but don't pretend otehrwise.

 

I like Whedon fine but I don't like all his stuff. In fact, I haven't even seen Firefly. L0L

 

p.s. Dollhouse > Firefly

[Humodour]

"I never was a die-hard Wedon fanatic like some people appear to be, though."

 

This implies that one would have to be a brainwashed fanboy of Whedon's to like the show.

 

No I didn't you silly ****. I could call somebody a die-hard anime fanatic or soccer fanatic and all it would mean is that they really, really like anime or soccer. Similarly, people who were fans of Firefly, Buffy, or Angel are likely to enjoy Dollhouse where the average viewer may see little appeal. Any negative connotations you attach are purely in your head, along with a quirky inferiority complex.

[Volourn]

K.

[Pidesco]

In fact, I haven't even seen Firefly. L0L

 

p.s. Dollhouse > Firefly

 

 

 

Now, that's an informed opinion.

[Blarghagh]

I haven't even seen Firefly. L0L

 

p.s. Dollhouse > Firefly

 

Step 1> WTF

Step 2>

Step 3> ????

Step 4> Profit.

[Purkake]

Volo hasn't seen Firefly? Burn the heathen!

 

It's just one season, go watch it or suffer eternal mockery(well, more than usual).

 

And FYI, Firefly is better.

[Pidesco]

After recently watching 3 whole seasons of Buffy, I'm going to venture a guess and say Firefly is Whedon's only really good show.

 

Buffy seems like a sequence of really awful romance plot arcs, glued together with supernatural spit. It just doesn't hold together.

[Purkake]

Did you miss all the awesome humor and drama between the romances and supernatural bits?

[Pidesco]

Well, the humor is the one thing I'll give Buffy. Whedon can write some pretty funny dialogue, especially one liners. The drama, though, I really didn't feel it.

 

In any case everything is swamped by "Do I love him?" "Don't I love him?" "But he's a vampire!" "But he is good!" "Now he is evil!" "I love her!" "I hate her!" "I hate him!" "I love him" "I love him but he doesn't love me!" "I like her but I'm a werewolf!" "I like him but he's a werewolf!" "I love her but I'm geek and she got killed!" "We betrayed our lovers with our best friends!" "I'm an evil, soulless vampire who's in love with another evil soulless vampire even if she's crazy!"

 

They spend more time emoing than fighting the supernatural.

[Purkake]

The fighting has always been secondary. Angel was a better balanced show, they managed to make it darker without losing the clever dialogue and there's less romance-y stuff, but the plot takes some pretty weird turns later on. It's still really good, though.

[Humodour]

the plot takes some pretty weird turns later on.

 

Try replacing 'weird' with 'stupid'. Angel got absolutely ridiculous in the last few seasons, and not ridiculous in a fun or enjoyable way.

[Purkake]

The last season was pretty good and the stupid plot stuff didn't really make the individual episodes bad, it just provided a bunch of WTF? moments and a whole annoying character.

[Blarghagh]

the plot takes some pretty weird turns later on.

 

Try replacing 'weird' with 'stupid'. Angel got absolutely ridiculous in the last few seasons, and not ridiculous in a fun or enjoyable way.

 

This must have been the part I saw then. The whole part with Angel's son and stuff, that was later seasons I suppose? It was wildly ridiculous anyway.