Logo

Cool News

‘Do We Really Want To Wake This Guy Up??’ That Eyepatch Guy From GALACTICA Is Back To Order Helo Around On DOLLHOUSE 2.3!!

Published at:  Oct 09, 2009 7:15:10 PM CDT

SPOILER ALERT !!



I am – Hercules!!

The Dollhouse has stockholders! Is it traded on the NASDAQ? What’s the share price?

Last week’s lactation episode was too focused on Echo for my taste. I seem to always prefer the episodes that are less about an active mishap and more about spending time with Paul, Topher, Adelle and Boyd. And sometimes Saunders.

Fox says to tonight’s installment, titled “Belle Chose”:

Echo and Victor's imprints collide when Echo is sent on an assignment as a fun-loving, seductive college student and Victor is imprinted as the psychotic nephew of a Dollhouse shareholder (guest star Hogan). Guest Cast: Liza Lapira as Ivy; Michael Hogan as Bradley Karrens; Ayre Gross as Professor Gossen; Joe Sikora as Terry Karrens; Danielle Langlois as Aunt Shiela; Deanna Douglas as Little Sister; Tara Holt as Big Sister; Susan Ziegler as Mother; Matt Winston as Franklin.


This episode is said to be the first collaboration between writer Tim Minear and director David Solomon since the “Out of Gas” episode of “Firefly.”

“Belle chose” was Geoffrey Chaucer’s name in “The Canterbury Tales” for a cooter.

9 p.m. Friday. Fox.



Follow Herc on Twitter!!







Next Month!!





Kubrick’s
Masterpiece!!
$9.99 Blu-ray!!



    + Expand All

    Readers Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 2:28:26 AM CDT

    cooter?!

    by heroic_duo

  • Oct 09, 2009 2:52:59 AM CDT

    It's French for Pretty Thing

    by chickentonight3

  • Oct 09, 2009 3:00:21 AM CDT

    Not trying to be mean or spiteful, but

    by josstossesthesalad

    why must every episode of Dollhouse get all of this hype? I mean it's as though Fox and the Whedonites are trying to force Dollhouse on people. All I am saying is that we need more coverage of other shows, not every detail of this one.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 3:03:06 AM CDT

    maybe show the guy in the promo?

    by mr_neutr0n

    You'd think a guy with Michael Hogan's geek cred would be all over the thing. Or did they think we couldn't handle seeing both of his eyes again?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 3:23:52 AM CDT

    When's John Cassaday directed episode going to air?

    by tall_boy66

    Wheond said at comic-con Cassaday will direct an episode, hope he does it before the show gets canned.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:18:14 AM CDT

    We force you to post

    by buffywrestling

    to the talkbacks that we force upon you. All your base belong to Joss.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:22:08 AM CDT

    Gorgomel

    by buffywrestling

    Still can't believe T:SCC lost so many viewers it got dumped into the death slot.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:37:18 AM CDT

    How Dare You Start This Party Without Me?

    by media messiah

    No one even bothered to call me to tell me that this Talkback had been posted??? Oh, well...I love you guys anyway?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:39:08 AM CDT

    Of Course, If This Is A Sausage Party...

    by media messiah

    ...I think I'll have to take a pass!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:40:11 AM CDT

    I really hate to say it, but so far S2 has been disappointing.

    by henrydalton

    And this is coming from a HUGE Joss fan. I know he does slow build-ups on pretty much every series he's ever made (with the possible exception of Firefly), but S2 really needed to come out right off the bat with all guns blazing. Instead, it seems to have gone back to that rather weird mix of 'of the week' eps with occasional broader story, and it's just been, well, a wee bit dull. It feels a bit like they blew all their load with Epitaph One as they didn't expect a second season to happen and now that it has they don't really know what to do with it. I really hope I'm proved wrong, and I'm sure I will be, as like I said, slow build ups and that, and I'll keep watching, but that's really not what S2 needed, and I know most people won't have the patience.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:42:00 AM CDT

    Plus

    by henrydalton

    They've managed to dissatisfy both camps by going back to 'mishap of the week' eps but making virtually NO concessions for people who didn't see the first series with regards to who the characters are, what's going on etc. That surprised me, particularly in the first episode, which I fail to see how anyone who hadn't seen all of S1 could understand.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:42:22 AM CDT

    Going, Going.....

    by jaydog

    ....gone by November. No matter how many talkbacks Herc creates out of desperation for it, lol.

    -J.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Is because the lead actresses for both shows are not likable. Dushku needs to stop trying to be the lead in everything. She is at best a supporting character. She is never convincing when she is the anchor-center of attention. In "Wrong Turn" you never thought she was going to get raped and killed by those hillbillies because she is for starters "Faith" and she is a tough girl in everything she plays. On "Fringe" Olivia just comes across as a bitch. Plain and simple. I don't know when Whedonites decided to turn on Gellar and say shit like "I only watched for Faith anyway". Gellar was one of the main reasons the show was successful. "Dollhouse" continues to prove that Dushku needs to fall back to the supporting player category she belongs in.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 5:16:04 AM CDT

    When is JettL's episode airing ?

    by miyamoto_musashi

    Surely has to be involved in this too.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 5:20:44 AM CDT

    mr Profit - hit the nail on the head

    by miyamoto_musashi

    John Noble is fantastic on Fringe, and enjoy his interactions with Josh Jackson. Anna Torv couldn't be blander if she tried.
    Same with Dollhouse needs to be an ensemble show but its sold on Eliza, well her body.
    If it wasn't an Eliza vehicle and if it was on cable where it belongs, Amy Acker would be the star.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 5:38:59 AM CDT

    You guys are wrong about Torv

    by optimus122

    She is fine in that role. Fringe is doing fine in the ratings for a sci fi show. I agree with Dushku being a co-star and not the lead. Torv is pleny likable.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 5:51:51 AM CDT

    This is gonna be the final episode!

    by gettingbannedisfun

    We all know that they will take the show off the air after this one, because nobody is watching it anymore.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 6:13:21 AM CDT

    How is getting banned working for ya?

    by buffywrestling

    Did you get your Big Boy badge?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 6:18:35 AM CDT

    Isn't It 7:17 Am On The East Coast, Or Something?

    by media messiah

    Too early for a fight! You kids get along now!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 6:53:19 AM CDT

    I agree with Optimus

    by thegoldbergv

    Torv is good. She takes would could be cliche alhpa female type character and gives it some personality. I don't get the Dushku hate either. Sure some times she's better than others, but its not like the problems with Dollhouse are all down to her acting.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 7:08:57 AM CDT

    Fox Schedule is TBA After 10/16 B-ball Hiatus

    by jaydog

    Which means Dollhouse is done. It's for the best anyway----when all of the "buzz" about your show is how much lower the ratings will get and when (not if) your show will be cancelled, it really is time to just pull the plug. What the Whedonites are missing about all this is that this show's epic failure is actually hurting Joss' cred. The lower this show goes only further reduces the chance that we'll see something else and better from Joss on TV in the future. This show was sporadically interesting in the first season, but it is one of those shows that-from a creative standpoint- gets worse the longer it's on because it gives you more and more time to sit back, scrutinize it, and realize how preposterous and flimsy the concept really is. This whould have worked far better as a movie or maybe a 4 episode miniseries. Good-bye Dollhouse. -J.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 7:16:04 AM CDT

    enjoy it while you can

    by palewook

    fox is a kitten hair from pulling the plug on dollhouse and showing house reruns in the dollhouse slot.

    fox believes if a house re-broadcast pulls a 1.0 to 1.2, they'll make at least 600,000 more for that hour. since they won't have to pay approximately 1 million to make the dollhouse episode for that week.

    chances of dollhouse seeing a full season 2, slim. if the ratings don't get above a 1.2 soon, it's dead.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 7:51:39 AM CDT

    0.6? 0.7?

    by aquatarkusman

    Ratings! How low can you go? Death row? What a brother know...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 7:52:18 AM CDT

    Sadly, I think Dollhouse...

    by doublearon

    will be cancelled. Why? Because the first episode of this season was making my head spin trying to follow one conversation and I'm okay with that and even like it... but most people don't, right?
    I had a lot of hope after Epitaph One -- all the potential of the show suddenly realized at once -- because it could appeal to a wide audience. This season has had plenty of moments that outshine anything aired in season one, but it's probably just too heady for most people and other issues with the show (spotty acting and an only semi-charismatic lead).
    I'd rather see it go on much longer, though. The instinct episode got me very emotional in the best ways near the end. It really paid off for me. Might help being a parent, I don't know. (That senator side-story was SO wooden and out of place, though!)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 8:16:16 AM CDT

    Buffywrestling

    by gettingbannedisfun

    No, not yet, but being a member since 2003 and then all of a sudden getting banned three times in two days, just for demanding more talkbacks about good shows and less about reality shows is seriously funnier than it sounds.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 8:20:19 AM CDT

    agree with Herc on echo-centric episodes...

    by anoneemus1

    it's because Dushku is really bad...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 8:24:35 AM CDT

    Cassaday set for ep 10, says his website.

    by chiahead

  • As Herc stated, Echo really isn't that interesting of a character, mostly because Dushku herself is only interesting when she's wearing sexy outfits. The focus of this show should be on Helo's efforts to dismantle the Dollhouse from within.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 8:52:06 AM CDT

    Dushku has only been interesting in one role...

    by johnnyangel

    Dushku has only been interesting as Faith, who was the bad ass little sociopath we all loved. In Tru Calling she was a boring little goody-two-shoes. In Dollhouse she can be anything but usually she's just a boring little goody-two-shoes. She needs more darkness or she just seems too empty to be interesting. Which is also where Dollhouse is going. Too empty to be interesting.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 8:55:26 AM CDT

    The reason why Dushku is the lead is simple

    by spike fan

    She is dating a Fox Exec and has a contract with Fox to do shows. So regardless of how good or bad she is they want to at least pay her for doing something as opposed to nothing.
    As for Whedons writing its very hit and miss. When its good its good but when its bad its really Bad Chosen S7 as one example. Whedonites reguarly give him a free pass on this and say he can do no wrong. But for me his main weakness being in Buffy that he would raise an interesting issue but then suddenly drop or ignore it and that goes back to Buffy S3.
    #### Anyway Dollhouse is not a good show and deserves to go. Compare that to say Rome which was an incredible show was only on for two years and could have gone on for several more now that was a show worth getting upset about when it was ended.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 9:00:42 AM CDT

    Dushku needs to stick to what she's good at.

    by bangoskank

    Slutty pictorial spreads in Maxim magazine. I have always thought she was awful, and yes, even as Faith.

    Torv, on the other hand, I like quite a bit... Though understand that I'm in the minority there.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 9:21:27 AM CDT

    Stocks

    by mooly

    Uhmmm...its been pretty clear since the first episode this season that the medical research group is the cover for DOllhouse. The stockholders are most likely for that company and not the Dollhouse directly. But I haven't seen the episode yet so maybe I'm wrong.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 9:28:42 AM CDT

    I like Eliza, but she can't carry a series.

    by kabong

    The way she lets her gaze wander when she's in a scene reminds me of Dolph Lundgren before he acquired a modicum of acting ability.

    As for the rest of the series, every move Whedon makes now is in the wrong direction or no apparent direction.

    It's over.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 9:38:12 AM CDT

    Another Chaucer name for a cooter...

    by membirdman

  • Oct 09, 2009 9:54:47 AM CDT

    Thanks to all those who recommended Sarah Connor Chronicles...

    by disgruntled_chinaman

    borrowed them from a buddy of mine, went through Season 1 in 2 days.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 9:58:28 AM CDT

    If Dollhouse is cancelled for reruns of House...

    by starwarsredux

    ...I will watch.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 10:02:42 AM CDT

    Despite low ratings, the show is not a huge loser

    by arianeb

    People are watching on Hulu, season 1 DVD saled were good and it has international sales potential. Whedon is filming season 2 with a lower budget in HD. But even these things will not save a show when ratings get too low. My guess is that the show will remain on and in production until they finish the 13 episode order around November. Then the show will be dropped and the season 2 DVD with about 5 or 6 unaired episodes can be sold in the spring.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 10:24:47 AM CDT

    T:TSCC

    by johnnyangel

    Maybe it's good that T:TSCC ended after the second season, because the ending was so awesome anything afterwards would have been a huge letdown. Sort of like the ending to Angel, which was the one of the best ever, and then the stupid comic books came along and ass raped the ending of the series to the power of infinity. Instead of just letting the heroes of Angel die heroes deaths like something out of Norse myth they had to come up with some sort of stupid continuation that negated the heroism and the sacrifice of the characters. Sucks, say I. Having said all that off-topic bs, maybe Dollhouse needs to just skip ahead to where the unscreened last episode of season 1 left them. True that's a pretty straight forward science fiction motif and yet still much more interesting that wherever the hell Dollhouse is now.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 10:31:00 AM CDT

    Out of Gas was astonishingly good TV.

    by raw_bean

    Possibly Firefly's best ep, up there with all of Whedon's, and the kind of brilliance that made the series cancellation infuriating. Hoping for something good from the same team on a Dollhouse ep.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 10:33:31 AM CDT

    Dushku & Torv

    by captainbass

    I'm not a Whedonite (Buffy = OK, Firefly = Shite) but I like dollhouse & I can't understand all the hate for the show. Eliza ain't great and is a weak element but there's more to the show than just her. I also really like Fringe, but Anna Torv spends too much time looking like she has mental constipation. A weak link in the casting of an otherwise good show. I don't even mind Joshua Jackson and he was (or so I thought) a reason not to watch when I first heard about it. Anyway, I hope both shows stay on the air for a while. Nobody gives anything a chance anymore...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 10:54:55 AM CDT

    I'm done with Dollhouse

    by s0cks

    I watched all of first season hoping for that magic that Joss created in his other shows to creep in to Dollhouse. I tried to get into the "new and improved" second season, but it's just not doing it for me. Joss usually creates wonderfully rich characters, but I guess when you have a main character that is anyone but herself, it's hard to get attached. Sorry Dollhouse, but your season pass just got deleted.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 11:02:43 AM CDT

    We need another Tartikoff

    by lock67ca

    A guy who put quality above ratings. Cheers finished at the very bottom of the ratings its first season, and a few more after that. St Elsewhere didn't fare much better. Both eventually became big hits for NBC, because Tartikoff knew quality and supported them, despite the low ratings. A show like Cheers wouldn't last 2 episodes if it aired today. I give Fox credit for sticking with Dollhouse as long as they have. It's getting better, but that may not be enough to save it, especially if it stays in that timeslot.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 11:28:18 AM CDT

    You People Are Either in Delusion or Denial

    by jaydog

    This show will be underground after tonight, lol. Baseball will preempt it next week AND THE SHOW WILL NOT BE BACK FOR NOVEMBER SWEEPS. FOX'S SCHEDULE AFTER THE 10/16 PRE-EMPTION IS "TBA" ACCORDING TO AN INSIDER. Dollhouse is over and done. Deal with it. Sorry Whedonites. Touche, TSCC fans.

    -J.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 11:54:49 AM CDT

    Meh. I think the house needs to close

    by brody77

    People need to stop blowing Whedon, and he needs to stop going to Fox.
    Helo can't act for shit and this show is just, well, it's fucking dull really, isn't it?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 12:15:08 PM CDT

    I'm betting 13 episodes

    by toonol

    I like the show, and hope it continues... but I have to admit, the ratings are terrible. There are two mitigating factors, though:

    It's Friday night. Fox execs know that ANYTHING put on will have poor ratings. And two... Dollhouse is one of those shows that does better on DVD than live airing, so they're going to at least try to get a full DVD release out of season 2.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 12:25:47 PM CDT

    There Are No Mitigating Factors...

    by jaydog

    Dollhouse's final airing is tonight, according to an insider. Whatever episodes Fox burns off will be during off peak points of the season. P.S. The DVD sales were also weak. -J.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 12:28:35 PM CDT

    Obama wins the Nobel Prize

    by jbs9200

    For what?
    Christ, I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 1:06:54 PM CDT

    Yeah fuck it. Let's run another cop show.

    by cookylamoo

    Nothing Americans like more than watching people get arrested.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 1:28:55 PM CDT

    Echo centric

    by mr.ftw

    The problem witht he show isn't the concept or Dushku's acting it's the fact they finally builtt he character of Echo into something in the first season only to wipe the slate clean in season two. The Echo character is boring and and you're given no reason to care about her. That falls into the writing and creative direction of the show. When your secondary characters are more intersting than your main character it's time to refocus your efforts.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 1:41:57 PM CDT

    TSCC was a train wreck

    by donkey_lasher

    I'd sooner watch T4 than half an episode of that shit.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 2:04:01 PM CDT

    Dollhouse - where good BSG actors go to die.

    by lockesbrokenleg

  • Oct 09, 2009 2:20:33 PM CDT

    Tigh should have got a part in

    by donkey_lasher

    House. A regular.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 2:57:39 PM CDT

    Warehouse 13 - Another BSG retirement home

    by lostbat

    And agreed: Before Christmas the Dollhouse is canceled... And Herc, seriously, stop this weekly forced Dollhouse talkback NOW.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 2:59:23 PM CDT

    Hold all "TV Talkbacking" until 2010.

    by lostbat

    Jack Bauer and Lost, the only 2 reasons to switch on the telly this season..........

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 3:13:03 PM CDT

    It's The Walking Dead, Smallville-style! Tonight brings Smallvi

    by buck swoop

    Zod and his soldiers release a virus into the air that turns humans into zombies.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 3:43:59 PM CDT

    Let me get this straight

    by thegoldbergv

    so FOX will renew Dollhouse, give it no promotion, put it on in the Friday death slot, put no recaps on for new viewers and then cancel it after 3 episodes?

    Wow. That is retarded. Still, over here in the UK they've already bought the entire season so at least we'll get to see it all. Its like Pushing Daisies all over again.

    Keep up the Dollhouse promotion Herc! Someone's got to!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:09:19 PM CDT

    Stopped by to count the "Amended: " posts...

    by chromedome

    none yet.It just ain't a Dollhouse TB without MM's delusions of grandeur, delusions that Whedon et al will consider the ideas he posts here, and delusions that he has superior screenplays already written.No, it isn't the typical DH TB... But it is a nice change of pace.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:10:27 PM CDT

    Was hoping for 13 "Amended:" posts...

    by chromedome

    cuz 13 makes me think of Olivia Wilde.I like thinking of Olivia Wilde.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:14:21 PM CDT

    please kill off ECHO

    by animas

    Amy Ackbar is the real star

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:22:00 PM CDT

    Haters: Take Whedon's length...bahahahahaha....

    by mjohnson

    Watch Dollhouse continue through its entire 2nd season! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Then go whack it some more while watching Lena Headey in that cancelled piece of crap Terminator show...knowing all the time that Summer Glau is back on tv...on DOLLHOUSE! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:41:50 PM CDT

    Not to be a jerk... I had no idea this show was still on

    by heckles

    This thing is just... bad. Really bad. Hiring Galactica favorites won't save it. It's actually kind of sad. A move usually reserved for new Stargate shows.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 4:43:43 PM CDT

    If Heroes can get a 3rd and 4th

    by donkey_lasher

    Then this can get another season. Lets get some perspective here.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 5:35:39 PM CDT

    Ausiello says Chuck maybe coming back soon

    by throwmetheidol

    Like within weeks. Worthy of an article here where we can all discuss what night to put it on.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 6:42:09 PM CDT

    raw_bean

    by drmorbius

    I share your affinity for OUT OF GAS. Great Episode that!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 6:56:38 PM CDT

    Jaydog...........or is it Jackass?

    by drmorbius

    The sad sac that said Dollhouse would NEVER get renewed, but if it did he would be the first to kiss everyones ass. It got renewed, and guess what, did he live up to his word? No, like the sad sac he is, he didn't. Your word means nothing. Now he shows up proclaiming it's over again. An insider told him so, how about a name? Didn't think so!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 7:10:11 PM CDT

    gah.

    by frankenfickle

    what a dumb show. this is the type of show that has no bearing on the world where humans live. it's not about anything other than the goofball story it's rolling out. which is why it's natural to read the plot synopsis and say, "so who gives a shit?"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 7:12:11 PM CDT

    Maybe you like the non-Echo eps because...

    by superxy

    She sucks. This show would be great with a different lead actress, or if the handlers/security/business people were the main focus. Dushku might be fairly hot, but she can't act her way out of wet paper bag. When the actor can't even sell that she has no idea what's going on, she must be bad. Give her some lessons from Keanu Reeves.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 7:45:07 PM CDT

    animas

    by cymbalta4thedevil

    Amy Ackbar? Is that Admiral Ackbar's daughter?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 7:59:15 PM CDT

    hm

    by hbdoublej

    This show sucks. Flashforward sucks. Joss Whedon is no better than David Goyer. Both of them are hacks. Abrams rules all!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 8:09:49 PM CDT

    Stargate talkback?

    by obi_juan

  • Oct 09, 2009 8:34:58 PM CDT

    Only 3 posts from off the meds MM?

    by xiphos_2

    Did somebody fix the crapper so it can flush giant corn filled logs?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 9:08:43 PM CDT

    The chance of Dollhouse lasting 13 eps

    by miyamoto_musashi

    is about the same chance as a President who has only been in the job for 9 months getting a peace prize, in other words no chance....errr....what...ohhh

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 10:45:28 PM CDT

    Cunt?

    by zumusikgirl

    ...not that I ever post here, but tonight was the first time I kinda felt like I did whilst watching AtS...(maybe I was pre-disposed with the Minear-age?) But, it was a perfectly enjoyable stand-alone, like much of [early] Angel was, except then it was much more digestible for the lack of cancellation theories...Uhhh, just saying, I really feel tonight clicked, as good TV, and I wish it would get a chance to grow...I feel like the looming network scheisse makes me want EVERY episode to be earth-shattering, but tonight I appreciated it for just being... I suppose it may've helped putting ED to the B...just thought I'd put this into the ether, so uh, it doesn't get cancelled? :/

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 11:48:53 PM CDT

    R.I.P. Shithouse

    by josstossesthesalad

    The people have spoken! I wonder if we'll get a Dodgers vs. Cardinals World Series in place of Whedon's piece of fanboy crap? Honestly though, Whedon can do a good show. Buffy was good, but of course he had help.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2009 11:52:29 PM CDT

    Dr. Morbius

    by jaydog

    It's posted repeatedly on Tvbynumbers as well. Unless it pulls a rabbit out of it's ass tonight with the ratings (it won't, it will still be the lowest rated show of all of the 4 major networks, because no one cares about this show except for about 4 people here, lol), it's toast. Don't shoot the messenger pal-o-mine. -J.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 12:01:34 AM CDT

    Sorry

    by josstossesthesalad

    Angels vs. Cardinals...it's late. Either way, baseball will kill dollhouse.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 12:07:55 AM CDT

    Tim Minear needs to write for DH a lot more

    by kimrae1977

    Great ep. I LMAO at Victor being Kiki. Next ep in 2 weeks, focusing on Sierra.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 12:10:10 AM CDT

    Nielsens are a joke, truly.

    by kimrae1977

    How many "Nielsen families" are there?

    There are 5,000 households in the national People Meter sample, approximately 20,000 households in the local metered market samples, approximately 1,000 metered homes for our national and local Hispanic measurement, and nearly 1.6 million diaries are edited each year.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 1:12:38 AM CDT

    Fox whenyou cancel this mess can you take Fringe also?

    by xiphos_2

    That show is offensively bad. It might be the worst show ever made in the history of televison. That's what you get for hitching your wagon to those incredibly lame tards Kutzman and Orci.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 1:29:28 AM CDT

    A brillant episode, in my top five.

    by buffywrestling

    The Good:

    Evner's acting. Creepy as the serial killer; adorable as Kiki. I don't blame Ballard for wanting to cuddle him.

    More Boyd. "Topher has ethical concerns. Topher!" Loved that he didn't even bat an eyelash to the news that they had to remote wipe Victor because he was on the loose with a serial killer imprint and no GPS.

    Ballard's scenes. "I was trained at Quantico." "Serial Killer... Thank God." "What are you looking at?" Pulling the plug on Terry just tarnished his armor even more as he becomes tainted by the Adelle's influence. She could give seminars on manipulation.

    Echo's progression. In season one she could barely hold a conversation and now she's ordering people to kill her to save themselves. "I skipped beginning evil..."

    "He'll be an empty-headed robot wandering around Hollywood. He'll be fine!" Topher experiments with a remote wipe & fails. Think Topher has the type of personalty to just let that go? He's on his road to Epitaph One.

    I liked the parallel between Terry's desire to re-create his family members with fake, controllable personae and the Dollhouse's mission to do the same thing. Thank you, Tim Minear.

    Promos for the next two episodes: Sierra, bloody Topher & Summer Glau. They will be shown after the Oct. 16th baseball hiatus, contray to what's being parroted by idiots from a ratings website that was spectatculary wrong about Dollhouse last year.

    The Bad

    The discussion of Claire's absence, the explanation about the dolls' GPS strips, and Ballard's general wide-eyed demeanor in the first couple of scenes tonight substantiates the theory that the episodes are being shown out of order. It's obvious this was originally meant to be episode 2. Shown in order, it would have made Echo's talk with Ballard in the park that much more poignent.

    Not much use of Micheal Hogan. Le tigh. Jamie Bamber got the better gig.

    Arlyle Gross, really? Kinda glad you got stabbed in the neck and didn't die.

    The Ugly

    As far as the Dollverse is concerned, no one in LA pays attention to car accidents.

    "We're not toys!!" That anvil knocked my silly.

    Dollhouse just got it's own offical twitter from Fox yesterday. Way to keep up, Fox.





    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 1:55:49 AM CDT

    Link to tonight's script

    by buffywrestling

    for those of you who like that sort of thing:

    http://www.dollverse.com/2009/10/script-season-2-episode-3/

    And a linked to Mo Ryan's Chicago Tribune's piece on why Dollhouse should be saved:

    http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2009/10/dollhouse-joss-whedon-eliza-dushku.html#more

    (sorry for tinyurling it. Tech issues. Just remove spaces)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 2:00:16 AM CDT

    "Cabin In The Woods" Moved To 2011...

    by media messiah

    ...to covert it into a 3D movie???That delay, instead of growing Whedon's audience, is going to lessen Whedon's falling fan base, yet, all the more? It makes little, to no, sense??? I have now lost all interest in seeing this movie, Cabin In The Woods--and I am starting to lose interest in all things Whedon, thanks to all the delays, and dropped projects from Mutant Enemy Production--including; Wonder Woman, and Goners, in addition to...Firefly's cancellation, the no on Serenity sequels, and the varying quality of Dollhouse? Hell, Angel even had its significant problems, and several of the last seasons of Buffy, as well, yet...I gave Whedon the benefit of the doubt--but, I just don't know anymore?It pays to be your own hero in life, because those you make your heroes are only human, and are bound to disappoint--and you can even disappoint yourself--but to some degree, you have control over whether you disappoint your expectations, as you can choose, at least, to try to do your personal best...in the positive, or not--it is somewhat...up to you. I think that is where I will turn my attentions, and forget investing in the work of others, mentally speaking--it just seems a fruitless and wasted effort?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 4:22:03 AM CDT

    I also find Dusku very off-putting

    by smackfu

    She's hot and all, but I don't know, there's just something about her that rubs me the wrong way (hehe). Torv on the other hand, I do see the coldness that everyone complains about, but I like her anyway. Honestly, I don't see how the character could work any other way. I wouldn't really buy a chipper, bubbly girl who was experimented on as a child in order to condition her to be a supersoldier in the first line of defense against an invasion from an alternate universe. The character and actor are fine just the way they are.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 6:52:04 AM CDT

    This show is a downer and has no charm

    by the mcpoyle clan

    Who would actually hire a firm as incompetent as the Dollhouse? All they do is fuck up their clients' requests.The Scooby Gang, Angel's crew, even Firefly, had their loses, but also their wins. They had their moments of foreboding and doom, but also managed to balance it with humour and camaraderie.I can't blame Whedon for trying something different, but it's not his strength.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 7:26:18 AM CDT

    malfunction

    by loonatic

    another malfunction of the week?

    sloppy writing ...

    this show is charmless andtiresome

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 7:45:47 AM CDT

    THis season is much more consistent than last.

    by rbatty024

    Although, I will say that last night's episode is the best of season 2. I was wondering how they were going to combine the two plots.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 8:30:20 AM CDT

    Tonight's episode and @Jaydog

    by jeffv

    First half was good. A break from the formula of "engagement goes wrong". Then Victor gets out. OK, not by incompetence (for a change) but by the uncle deliberately working against them. Still, not formula. But then it does drop right back into the "engagement goes wrong" formula with the Echo/Victor switch. That's where I went from "it's showing some potential here" to "ugh, not again." The actor playing Victor also shows how actives should be played. He's a chameleon. Eliza Dushku is not. Seeing both of them play the same character really emphasises her limits. The guy playing Victor had the original actor's body language, speech patterns, etc. but Dushku, not so much.

    (Only, how does a university prof get to pay for a doll? How does he even know about it? What happened to this being a super-expensive service for the super-elite?)

    That said, Jaydog: there's a preview saying "in two weeks" and "in three weeks" that's aired, so it looks like it's going to be back post-16th despite what you said there.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 8:31:03 AM CDT

    Best Ep this season

    by arianeb

    Excellent plot twist, lots of good scenes, excellent performances from the whole cast.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 8:38:27 AM CDT

    About versatility

    by jeffv

    The final episode for Peri in Doctor Who, where she gets the mind of an alien (replacing hers), was pretty creepy to me as a kid. It was brief, but she comes out of the procedure using her English accent instead of the American one she adopted for the show, and just acted sufficiently different that you *knew* this was not Peri anymore. And Nicola Bryant wasn't really known for her acting range. It was just a moment. It wasn't like she had to change every week, and I'm not going to hold it up as perfect, but it worked. Seems to me that if you have a show based on people being different people every week -- and they keep emphasising "they're not just acting, they believe who they are" -- you need actors that can carry that. I like Dushku, but she doesn't do it. And, again, having other actors in lesser roles (i.e. Victor) who can pull it off better just makes the deficiency more obvious.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 8:41:06 AM CDT

    A Different World

    by jeffv

    (Yet another post... sorry.) I'm thinking Dollhouse could have potential like A Different World. Started out as a Lisa Bonet vehicle, but then other actors started to outshine her and the show continued without her. I doubt Dollhouse would get that chance, but it would be worth it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 9:46:33 AM CDT

    DollHouse Will Be Gone....

    by jaydog

    ...by November sweeps at the latest. I have said that for three weeks, and I stand by it. "Buffywresling", your handle exposes you as the Whedon shill you are, so shut up and keep your inane insults to yourself. TV is a fluid animal and things can sometimes change by the hour. However, barring any significant uptick in ratings, either last night's ep was it's last original airing, or the one on the 30th will be. Fox will not allow a show that was originally supposed to be as "high concept" and "high profile" as Dollhouse flop around in the ratings sub-basement during sweeps when ad rates are set. I know that the realities of television economics can be unfortunate to those who have favorite shows that fail, but that's just the way it is. Fox creating a twitter account is, alas, not the ray of light you are hoping it to be. Dollhouse's best case scenario are Fox allowing them to finish shooting the original 13 and burn them off during the off peak of the TV season. Its worst case scenario is they will halt production next week and release the unaired eps on DVD. Either way, there will be no back nine order. Deal with it. -J.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 9:57:17 AM CDT

    When it does get cancelled it will be disappointing but...

    by miyamoto_musashi

    I didn't expect it to get past ep 7 of the first season, the premise, the choice of Eliza and friday night all stacked against it.
    The premise is better suited to cable, Eliza is better suited to Faith the series and Friday nights are better suited to sports, reality or very light scripted programs.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 10:52:04 AM CDT

    Typical

    by henrydalton

    I go and bemoan season 2 and then they pull out its first great episode... That was really, really good. I'd say up there with the best couple of Season One, but it falls slightly short in that it wasn't really much about the Dollhouse mythology, it was another stand alone. But a very good one.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 10:53:09 AM CDT

    Dollhouse malfunction: power the deflectors

    by kabong

    directly from the warp drive.

    Problem solved.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 10:55:16 AM CDT

    buffywrestling: thanks for script link

    by kabong

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:03:23 AM CDT

    Dollhouse is More Formulaic.....

    by jaydog

    ....than those who adore the sho are willing to admit. It's basically "The Pretender" with a pseudo-sci fi angle to it, that never goes beyond (to paraphrase another poster on here whose handle escapes me) "a nerd, a computer, and a chair". Dushku is a moderatley attractive young woman, but it very bland as an actress. It's simply too late to try to re-tool the series into less of an "Eliza Dushku Show". For one, the show was created as a vehicle for her. Fox hithed its wagon to her "star" (again), and got let down (again). I'm a fan of most of Whedon's earlier work, and I'm PISSED that this piece of vanity SHIT Dollhouse was produced instead of "Faith", a show all of the fans actually WANTED. And why?? Because Dushku was worried about being compared to Gellar. Boo-hoo! You didn't hear Boreanaz bitching about that when Angel was brought to him. And looked what happened there---a spinoff with its own tone and identity that lasted for years, followed up by another long running show (Bones). Yes I am pissed, especially now that after going 0 for 2, no one is likely to step up and cast Dushku as the lead in anything again- not even a Faith show. By not giving the fans the show they were clamoring for, Whedon and Dushku gave us a big "Fuck you", and karma (and the fans) are paying them back by not watching their shitty low budget little show that became repetitive and uninteresting by the 6th episode in the first season, with a downright ludicrous season 1 ending episode, and a lame eye-rollingly awful season 2 premier. -J.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:17:04 AM CDT

    Dollhouse rating rise

    by buffywrestling

    back to it's premiere numbers 1.0 in the demo. From tvbythenumbers[dot]com:

    "Dollhouse rose to a 1.0 adults 18-49 rating and 2.25 million viewers. That’s up from last week’s .8 (which rose to .9 in the final numbers) by 25%. Now we wait to see what happens on 10/23 since next Friday, 10/16 is the first round of the ALCS (baseball conference championships) on FOX. Ok, perhaps rising from a series low that was very low isn’t anything to brag about. But, it’s at least better than setting another series low!"

    So even they are expecting the show to air the next episode, Idiot. And I'd like you to find me the post where I ever said I expected a back nine order for season 1 or season 2, DoubleIdiot.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:20:39 AM CDT

    In the script

    by buffywrestling

    they describe the professor as a best-selling author, as to where he got his money from to hire an Active.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:30:11 AM CDT

    ss

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:30:22 AM CDT

    2

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:30:37 AM CDT

    ss333

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:30:48 AM CDT

    hey

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:31:00 AM CDT

    well

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:31:15 AM CDT

    2ss

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:31:28 AM CDT

    no

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:31:35 AM CDT

    ss

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:31:45 AM CDT

    hey

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:31:54 AM CDT

    2

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:32:06 AM CDT

    no

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:32:13 AM CDT

    s

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:32:23 AM CDT

    2

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:32:45 AM CDT

    leonard

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:33:03 AM CDT

    oh

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:33:15 AM CDT

    hey

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:33:28 AM CDT

    sd

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:39:48 AM CDT

    Someone's glitching (o.0)~*

    by buffywrestling

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:42:08 AM CDT

    yeah 2

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:42:24 AM CDT

    yeah

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:45:34 AM CDT

    e

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:45:45 AM CDT

    sd

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:48:53 AM CDT

    s

    by astrologic25

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:48:59 AM CDT

    stargate universe beat dollhouse so you can thank SG fans

    by dioxholsterreturns

    coz i know you guys want that shitfest of a dollhouse to end already

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 12:07:46 PM CDT

    great episode

    by logan_1973

    prob my favorite of the season so far. keep 'em coming...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 12:33:47 PM CDT

    wow a psycho killer who sees all women as whores...

    by jamf

    collects them and poses them for photos like dolls. that's so fucking original my head's about to explode.

    another boring ep. still, its got some nice lookin ladies in it so it's still a watcher for now.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 1:07:51 PM CDT

    put dollhouses friday numbers in perspective

    by palewook

    FX pulls better numbers from "It’s Always Sunny in Phildelphia." FX which is only available in roughly half the homes Fox is. Produced at half the cost, gets the same rating.

    proclaim the 1.0-0.9 rating a win if it helps you sleep at night. just don't be shocked when Fox pulls the plug without showing all of season 2.

    without pulling a 1.2 this past friday, appears to have sealed the fate of the dollhouse.

    house reruns are incoming.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 1:24:48 PM CDT

    Out of Gas is my favorite Firefly Episode

    by cinemanimetal

    I don't watch Dollhouse so I don't have anything else to say.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 2:24:04 PM CDT

    Better

    by kadayi

    Much better episode than the previous 2. Principally for Victor really being out there both as the SK & as Kiki.

    I agree that Elisha is the weakest link to the show and they need to dial back her presence a bit, because generally when they do the show benefits.

    As regards Fringe. I like Torv as Dunham. I think she's meant to be what she is in terms of cold and detached.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 2:36:32 PM CDT

    This just in: New Stargate spinoff on the way...

    by mjohnson

    ...it's called Stargate: My Ass. When a team of military officers and scientists experience a power surge while using the Stargate, they find themselves lost in my ass. Since she isn't doing anything now that her shitty series has been cancelled, Lena Headey stars.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 2:56:51 PM CDT

    DUSHKU IS SO FUCKING UNSEXY.

    by taintlick

    I CAN RUB ONE OUT TO A GREAT MANY BROADS, BUT DUSHKU JUST KEEPS ME LIMP.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 3:16:29 PM CDT

    No one is going to be surprised

    by buffywrestling

    when Dollhouse is canceled. No one. Not sure why anyone would suggest it being pulled off the air would be shocking to anyone, especially fans. It's like saying water is wet.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 3:23:09 PM CDT

    the dysfunctional dollhouse arguement:

    by logan_1973

    If the dollhouse operated like clockwork all the time, things would be a bit boring, don't ya think? Even the Enterprise and the Falcon broke down a few times...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 4:16:11 PM CDT

    Hell, even Clone Wars beats Dollhouse

    by lockesbrokenleg

    Clone Wars is TV's dirty little secret.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 5:05:19 PM CDT

    Ha! lockesbrokenleg- re: Clone Wars

    by tomonicker

    I just posted something similar to that regarding JJ's Trek! LOL! Actually, Clone Wars is actually better cumulatively than the Prequels too! Sadly... Now, if Clone Wars would have the balls to kill off Akosha in front of the audience it would reach an epicness eclipsing the prequels, at least. The last episode where Anakin rescues younglings was creepy because you know he will be slaughtering the same babies soon... Dollhouse has had it's moments, but I'm not sensing an upward trend here, an escalation of interest in the characters or their motivations. Paul's character has become less engaging... And I have tons of patience, but Echo is boring the shit out of me. The hint that they're might be a little of psycho boy left in her was nice, but ultimately just a cute cock tease. Sometimes still waters don't run deep, they're just stagnant pools.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 7:12:48 PM CDT

    The Rise In The Ratings Due To Eliza Promotions

    by media messiah

    Eliza appeared on various morning shows, and several late night talk shows, over the last week, including Letterman--and that is what is directly responsible for the raise in the ratings thise week. Talk promotions are essentiial to the success of anything...as it is an effective way to get out the word about whatever you are selling...and in this case, that would be...Dollhouse. Mission accomplished, right??? Wait, not so fast!!! For that kind of ratings growth to hold, and spread, they need to promote Dollhouse at the baseball game that will be pre-empting it--by having Eliza, and other cast members of Dollhouse, even Joss Whedon, attend the game--and perhaps do a quickie interview with a sports reporter during the 7th Inning stretch...followed by a promo commercial for the show. These types of embeded promotions, such as featuring cast members of a series in the crowds of sports events, and having announcers announce them...while executing live promotional tags, really help to draw new first-time viewers to a show--however, it is the quality of a show that will hold them. Dollhouse so far, is scatter-shot, and has no real identity or pulse, and Joss Whedon isn't giving his audiences something really entertaining-- consistantly. Humor is often infrequent in the series (humor being something that is really needed here), and the action...is often...missing in action within the scope of the show??? And again...there is no smooth...and easy to explain narrative that allows audiences to jump into the series, at any gven point, ala CSI or Law & Order. If you miss an episode of Dollhouse, or even 15 minutes, you are often at a loss as to what is going on? We still don't know who the good guys are, who the bad guys are, what the conflict is, and who with, why, and if there is any tangible conflict at all, or a reason given to us...the audience, to care about said conflict, if it exists, and or, care about the characters--as without conflict to motivate a character and push an arc influenced by said conflict, well, it leaves you cold--and without purpose as a spectator? You can't cheer, or feel involved, or that you have a stake in the goings on--all you can do is observe?If Joss and crew would simply answer these things questions, they could start building, and keeping an audience--beyond just those motivated by the talk show appearances of the lead star of the show. Those kinds of promotions can only attract so many viewers, but again, if you don't clear-up the questions to the problems with the series...that I raised, soon enough, when Eliza runs-out of high profile interview shows to do, the ratings will be back in the cellar, where they were before.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 7:17:48 PM CDT

    Sorry For The Typos

    by media messiah

  • Oct 10, 2009 8:19:39 PM CDT

    Clone Wars IS really cool this season

    by lockesbrokenleg

    I think Lucas is saving Ashoka for the live action show.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 9:02:45 PM CDT

    Media Messiah can't believe I agree with you

    by miyamoto_musashi

    but most of what you said is on the mark.
    "you can't cheer or feel involved", totally agree with that one, some shows the characters are too black and white, this one is too grey.
    The premise of the show, is challenging and difficult, you have some people that have had difficulties in life and allow their bodies to be used and abused. You have other characters that facilitate this type of prostituition and you have clients who treat humans as a commodity. These aren't nice people, Ballard has even become greyer.
    Besides the female whedon fans that would watch anything that Whedon produces and love it, i.e. the female versions of Herc, I wonder how many girls/women are watching.
    There are definetely voyeuristic reasons to like the show,but thats not enough.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 10:17:05 PM CDT

    Miyamoto_Musashi

    by buffywrestling

    Gender demo breaks down to almost the same for Dollhouse: W18-49 1.0 M18-49 .95

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 10, 2009 11:07:21 PM CDT

    just watched this episode

    by animas

    wow this is fuckin terrible, this show is not improving. Don't know if I can even stand to watch it anymore.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 3:03:49 AM CDT

    Miyamoto_Musashi: Maybe Whedon Is Trying To Cater To...

    by media messiah

    ..."The Female Rape Fantasy"? The Rape Fantasy, is actually, according to polling, no pun intended, the number one sexual fantasy of all women. Also another poll, one that just came-out last week, which states that more than half of all women want their male partners to dominate them in bed, sexually speaking. This thrust of emphasis, also no pun intended, is central to many dynamics in popular romance (soft porn) books, vampire novel, and seriel killer novels, that cater to women. The latter genre, also being a top favorite of females, both fiction, and non-fiction--which rival even romance novels in popularity? Perhaps shows like Secret Diaries Of A Call Girl and Dollhouse satisfy that fantasy for women, fantasies that see women giving-up the control of their own persons to a man, I don't know? But what I do know, however, is that the show is everywhere at once, and thusly, unfocused in its approach? Next week's episode, for instance, focuses on Sierra, and her back-story(?), and yet, we still know nothing of real import about Echo, the lead of the show? That was the same situation with episode number one of the new season--we learned everything we needed to know about Whiskey...and plenty about Topher, at their psychological and emotional cores, enough to progress, and evolve, their storylines, but again, we know little, to nothing, about Echo--and without Echo being properly developed, one can't properly advance the storyline overall. All we have been given is a situation, a setting where Dollhouse occures--one cast in a grey area...as you said, but there is no real conflict between the characters that would allow us, or cause us, the audience, to take sides, or want...to pick a side between the characters who are gathered in those situations. That is the failing of the show, and something that would be so easy to fix. Why Whedon refuses to do it, or seemingly can't, leaves me questioning what is going on in the writers meetings? We aren't talking about Quantum Physics here, Exotic Matter, etc.? This is Creative Writing 101 kind of simple?The show is intrigued with itself, and the techno gimmick, and techno babble of the show's high concept, and in doing so...those behind the sereis have forgotten to write characters with a purpose, a motive, and a goal--which sets them on a heroes journey. This is Joseph Campbell stuff. Somebody on the Dollhouse writing staff...please read his book on archetypes of story...and myths. That will inform you of all you need to know to escape the morass of too much exposition that this show is currently ensnared in, over giving us a real story of self discovery, the building of a hero--as measured by her enemy, and the inevitable final conflict between the two--and the evocation of the victory, or defeat, of said hero.Thanks for your rich and thoughtful comments of this subject...Miyamoto!!! I think, although it appears to be too late to save the show, the only thing that will make this series worth watching, that is, if it does continue...through some unforeseen miracle, is if...they, the show runners, address what is now quite obvious, to anyone who has studied proper story structure, the problem herein...that is found in the very things you and I have highlighted above--and that is the need to give the audience someone to cheer for--relate to, to feel points of commonality with, and empathy for, and with. Right now, Echo is just an unconscious sex toy, no different than a plastic/rubber blow-up doll...one with a faux vagina. How can you feel empathy for that? Answer? You can't!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 3:27:33 AM CDT

    Amended--Miyamoto_Musashi: Maybe Whedon Is Trying To Cater To...

    by media messiah

    ..."The Female Rape Fantasy"? The Rape Fantasy, is actually, according to polling, no pun intended, the number one sexual fantasy of all women. Also another poll, one that just came-out last week, states that more than half of all women want their male partners to dominate them in bed, sexually speaking. This thrust of emphasis, also no pun intended, is central to many dynamics in popular romance (soft porn) books, vampire novels, and seriel killer novels, that cater to women. The latter genre, also being a top favorite of females, both fiction, and non-fiction, which rivals even romance novels in popularity? Perhaps shows like Secret Diary Of A Call Girl and Dollhouse satisfy that fantasy for women--fantasies that see women giving-up the control of their own persons to a man, or said control being taken--I don't know? But...what I do know, however, is that the show is everywhere at once (meaning all of the place in terms of story), and thusly, unfocused in its approach? Next week's episode, for instance, focuses on Sierra, and her back-story(?), and yet, we still know nothing of real import about Echo, the lead of the show? That was the same situation with episode number one of the new season; We learned everything we needed to know about Whiskey...and plenty about Topher, at their psychological, and emotional, cores...enough to progress, and evolve, their storylines, but again, we know little, to nothing, about Echo--and without Echo being properly developed, one can't properly advance the storyline overall. All we have been given is a situation, a setting where Dollhouse occures--one cast in a grey area...as you said, but there is no real conflict between the characters that would allow us, or cause us, the audience, to take sides, or want to pick a side between the characters who are gathered in that situation? That is the failing of the show, and something that would be so easy to fix. Why Whedon refuses to do it, or seemingly can't, leaves me questioning what is going on in the writers' meetings? We aren't talking about Quantum Physics here, Exotic Matter, etc.? This is Creative Writing 101...kind of simple?

    The show is intrigued, and impressed, with itself, and the techno gimmick, and techno babble of its own high concept, and in doing so...those behind the series have forgotten to write characters with a purpose, a motive, and a goal--which sets them on a "hero's journey". This is Joseph Campbell stuff. Somebody on the Dollhouse writing staff...please read his book on archetypes of story, characters...and myths. That, Campbell's work, will immediately inform you of all you need to know to escape the morass of too much exposition that this show is currently ensnared in, over giving us a real story of self discovery, the building of a hero--as measured by her enemy (Whomever that may be?), and the inevitable final conflict between the two, and the evocation of the victory, or defeat, of said hero.

    Thanks for your rich and thoughtful comments on this subject...Miyamoto!!! I think, although it appears to be too late to save the show, the only thing that will make this series worth watching, that is, if it does continue...through some unforeseen miracle, is if...they, the show runners, address what is now quite obvious, to anyone who has studied proper story structure, the problem herein...that is found in the very things you and I have highlighted above--and that is the need to give the audience someone to cheer for--relate to, to feel points of commonality with, and empathy for, and with. Right now, Echo is just an unconscious sex toy, no different than a plastic/rubber blow-up doll...one with a faux vagina. How can you feel empathy for that? Answer? You can't!These problems don't allow me to recommend the series to anyone. I fondly recall, that I often would recommend Buffy to anyone who would listen, and to some degree Angel, and certainly Firefly, but Dollhouse seems rather OCD in execution to me--and I just can't recommend something like that to anyone else. Right now, Dollhouse is just a guilty pleasure for me, one without the pleasure--and also, for as much sex is implied, or shown on the show, it seems, and feels, oddly A-Sexual to me--as very little of it...turns me on, from an erotic sense of things?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 5:11:53 AM CDT

    Ah you had to ruin it...

    by v'shael

    I see one post where you simply apologised for typos. (Not that anyone was complaining about typos.) And I think "Wow, maybe's he learning.." and then, no, you had to go and ruin it with another fucking huge AMENDED post.

    God damn it...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 9:14:52 AM CDT

    Just for novelty value this post

    by thegoldbergv

    is going to actually be about DOLLHOUSE. The episode that just aired. Not about cancellation, not raitings, just the show.

    I liked it. It was better than last week, it had more good Topher lines, a bit more Echo development and it put Victor front and center. Honestly, that Enver, he is REALLY good. Every character he plays he just nails it. As a standalone episode, it worked well, I just don't understand why this one was aired 3rd when it appeared to follow on directly from the premiere. But thats FOX for ya, hey, at least they makes things interesting.

    No Denisof this week, or Sierra for that matter. I guess that'll be rectified next time its on.

    As for you MM, why is it that you insist on ending sentences with question marks? Even when they are quite clearly statements and not questions? That is a little odd? I think it is? Are you one of those teenage girls who sounds like everything they say is a question? Is that why you write this way? I am intrigued???

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 10:07:01 AM CDT

    Best thing about the ep

    by v'shael

    was the introduction of the remote wipe via phone idea. I'm in favour of anything that rushes us on the path to Epitaph.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 10:47:36 AM CDT

    @Media Messiah

    by jaydog

    I agree with you as well. The, um, "bounce" in the ratings were due solely to the media blitz by Dushku. But if all you can get is a 1.0 (up from a 0.9 the prior week) with that kind of promotion, you know your show is in trouble. The 1.0 ties the show's second worst rating so far, and still leaves Dollhouse as the lowest rated scripted show of the 4 major networks in all of primetime. That Fox could get her booked on any of those programs at all was borderline miraculous. Now we'll see if any of those curious viewers will come back after baseball (if the show itself even comes back after baseball). -J.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 2:19:47 PM CDT

    Hi Jaydog: The Ratings Bump

    by media messiah

    I can recall seeing Michael Jordan on the Tonight Show, about 10 years ago--maybe less? He was on the show promoting his cologne. He told Jay that the reason he appeared on his show was that his agent, Jordan's, informed him that a 5 minute appearance on Jay's show translated to 2 and a half million dollars in sales for any product...that one might be promoting. That said, I don't know how this would translate in terms of tranfering public interest to watching a show in terms of ratings, but whatever the numbers should have been, well, they weren't delivered, because a 25 percent bump in the ratings from last week, to this week, aren't a lot, considering that Dollhouse has lost 3 quarters of its audience since its original debut episode. The only thing that can fix that problem is a significant change in the direction of the show--an actual reboot, and rethinking of the series--almost a near, re-imaging, as I offered in my unsolicited Season 2 script outline that I posted here on AICN. It would have served to focus the series and its characters, and give it a complete and utter course correction, one that would have sent the characters of the show...on a story arc with a mission, an impotant purpose beyond the show being seen as just a high tech Bunny Ranch (the famous whore house), as well, it would give the show...the group dynamic that Whedon fans have complained that Dollhouse is missing. Without such changes in the series...and with the coming pre-emption, thanks to baseball, any ratings bump that Eliza managed to get for Dollhouse...thanks to her week long media blitz, is sure to all but disappear...by the time the next episode airs?They should have saved Eliza's media blitz for after the baseball pre-emption, knowing this in advance, but again, without a major, major fix of the show's story structure and overall theme, promotional talk show tours...are all for not, anyway?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 2:27:07 PM CDT

    TheGoldbergV: Question Marks

    by media messiah

    I leave question marks when I am trying to point the reader to a certain point, a certain conclusion--ala, when I find something curious, or downright suspect. I use it as a point of emphasis focus the reader to said conclusion that something is wrong. I am asking you, to be of the mind to question, in respect to something that is odd or strange...via the actions of, in this case, the network, the show runners, the writers, and or, the direction, or lack there of, of the plot, herein.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 2:32:47 PM CDT

    V'Shael: Haha...

    by media messiah

    ...that was funny. You have a wonderful sense of humor, my friend! About my amendment...I can explain. I simply knew the structure of some of my writing, and said typos, were just a bit too much this time, so for your convenience, as readers, I simply was showing you the respect to give you something you can read cleanly without stumbling over my mistakes.Sorry again!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 4:00:51 PM CDT

    @ Media Messiah

    by jaydog

    Very true, Fox should have put Dushku out there during the week after the hiatus, but I still don't think it would have made any difference. Last Friday's episode was terrible (with the exception of Victor's dance at the club, that was pretty damn funny). But Echo's daliance with the professor was a truly pointless subplot. Anyone who wasn't a regular viewer who popped in and saw that would likely not come back for more. And unless you are a regular viewer, you're not going to know who the hell Sierra is or why you should care how she became a "doll", which the previews showed for the next episode. Somebody really dropped the ball with this show. Why would a professor need to spend who knows how many thousands of dollars to pay someone to program a human being to pretend she likes him just to bang him, when he could just as easily hire a high end prostitute to role play for far less time, effort, and money? The longer this show goes on the stupider the entire premise is becoming. It truly is fatally flawed, as it is in its current incarnation. -J.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 4:43:09 PM CDT

    Jaydog: Agreed

    by media messiah

    It's what I have been saying from day one about the show. They have a rich playground to play in, but the premise as executed is flawed, as you said, and terminally so--also, as you pointed-out.The writers of the show, and namely the main writer, Joss Whedon...himself, need to study-up on "Operation MK Ultra"--the supposed real life Dollhouse. It is a so-called government brainwashing program, one that is truly scary, if more than just an urban legend, and thus, indeed, true. MK Ultra used victims of heavy brainwashing to ensnare powerful politicians, prosecutors, captains of industry...and other power players in society, into precarious situations--compromising positions that would serve to allow the government to blackmail and extort them, these targets of the operations, and force them to change their positions on political, legal, social, corporate/industrial, or media matters...so, on and so forth. The brainwashed agents were the bait used to compromise them, gain intelligence information, and allow for photographic, video, and audio surveillance to be taken of the subjects that were being set-up.This is what the secret purpose of the Dollhouse should be about. The Dollhouse should be like a Chinese Box (a box within a box, within a box, etc.) of layering intrigues--with varying different levels of the conspiracy unfolding at those different levels of each box. We should later learn that the conspiracy runs much, much deeper--that Dolls/Actives, much like MK Ultra are also being used as programmable assassins, not just sex surrogates being used to blackmail and extort corrupt Powers That Be. That is the potential for the greater story that has been ignored here with respect to the series. Again...the Dolls have the potential to be an "Army of Jason Bournes", and that is intriguing. They can compromise a President...sexually, ala Monica Lewinski--and or, instantly turn assassins, like Sirhan Sirhan...or turn domestic, or international spy, performing acts of industrial espionage, acting as disinformation agents, etc.As currently played, Dollhouse is falling way short of its potential to quite literally blow-away its audience and the press, and to finally justify its own existence, and story/character arcs.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 7:09:14 PM CDT

    They should avoid

    by bass ackwards

    Ever having Dushku play a character that one of the other actors are playing. They did it last season too with the thief episode, it's embarassing to see how much better the other actors are doing the same thing Dushku is trying to do. They need to avoid giving her any heavy lifting.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 11, 2009 9:37:30 PM CDT

    @MM: You're thinking is too limited.

    by v'shael

    If you have regular hookers and what not, you can go the MKULTRA route, and blackmail people. (Though typically, not politicians who have a limited shelf life thanks to elections. You go after advisors, civil servants, lobbyists, judges, captains of industry, etc... People who don't have term limits.)

    However, in a world which has technology like the Dollhouse, you don't need any of that. You just need to get them in the chair.

    Once you get them in the chair, their personalities can be replaced with an edited version of themselves. So much better than blackmail.

    And how you get them in the chair? By showing them how it works, and convincing them it is a form of immortality. And very expensive. People who have to pay a LOT for a service, are less likely to believe it is a trick. (They're more suspicious of something if its cheap or free.)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 1:10:11 AM CDT

    V'Shael: MK Ultra Used Children

    by media messiah

    They weren't just into regular hookers, the big fish where often targeted with children that went through that program. Some of them have been refered to as the Milk Carton kids--chikdren thought to have been kidnapped off the streets by pedophiles...and or, serial killers. MK Ultra was run and created by a Nazi who the U.S. got ahold of toward the end of World War II, a Nazi, who BTW, specialized in brainwashing agents--who was brought here via Operation Paperclip (look it up). This particular Nazi a scientist/doctor called himself "The most evil man in the world". He bragged that if you gave him a 6 year old child, or a child younger than that age, and allowwed him to subject them to severe molestation (rape) by adults...he could shattered their personalities and create a split personality--one prior molestation, one post molestation, and a third programmable personality that could take on any persona, language, accent, etc. Here is the advantage of brainwashed agents over hired prostitutes. German and English brainwashed agents who were captured by the enemy rarely, if at all cracked, even under torcher or threat of death, as the programming was so deep, often times the real personalities of the brainwashed agents would not suface, ever...and if they did they were so fragmented that they were not any good to the interogators. Now, back to the children. You might hear about party events hosted by politicians. I heard a story once on Coast To Coast Live...about these kinds of operations. A party would be held by the political elite, and things would go as normal parties do--but it was after the party when most of the guests left that the real party began. Children were brought out and supplied to the politicians as sex slaves. Of course, these are politicians that the intelligence community have previously I.D.'d as possible child molestors, or as potentially interested in children, sexually. And what happens when you place crack in front of a crack addict? Most are going to take the bait, that's what. These stories even involve a famous case about a kidnapped child by the name of Johnny Gosh. He was said to have returned to his mother as an adult, a repeated a similar story. He said some people had helped him escape. FYI--as a part of the program, they would kill a best friend of one of the children in front of them by way of a live autopsy in order to completely terrorize and mentally shatter a child victim they hoped to turn into an agent. You are making them into programmable sociopaths. The age 6 is a marking point in a human being. Everything that you are or become is usually set, or created on or before age 6...the reason why this Nazi scientist was so obsessed with that age. Just so you know, most people who cannot remember before age 6 are either victims of molestation, and or have experienced and witnessed some other dramatic shocking event in their early lives, hence their brains black those events out, like a mental computer crash. So, why use programmable agents in place of FBI Agents, etc.? The deeper and more creepy and unethical such conspiracy get, and grow...the more you are going to want to control and limit the number of witnesses who might be able to blow the lid off of things--so how do you accomplish that? You brainwash the participants, from start to finish. If you use adults, who have not come up through such a program and raised to adulthood, as has been alleged with MK Ultra...well again, you have many witnesses to your conspiracy, people who likely have great morals, believe in justice, and would attempt to use counter inelligence to expose the truth publicly. There would be too much of a risk of leaks, and of course, you'd probably have to kill a lot of people to keep things as secret as they can possibly be. However, if you limit the number of people to an ever growing group of brainwashed people, from handlers to tasking offers, operations execs, to current operative subjects...you have the Chinese Box effect...and a Dollhouse, where everyone is a Doll, even the people who may think they are not--again, the execs that are running it, the doctors, scientists--virtually everyone? And with it, the less messy things will get. It is interesting that reports of MK Ultra have lessened over the last 20 years, suggesting just such a thing. BTW, Stewart Copeland of The Police. His father was an American spy, as well, his mother was a British spy, hence the name The Police. One of his brothers created IRS Records with...strangely a Man In Black as its logo? Well, according to their father, MK Ultra is quite real. So, if they have great reason to use a program like this in the real world, then why would we assume that it would not be practical to use in the mythos of a TV show that mirrors it?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 1:24:15 AM CDT

    About The Chair

    by media messiah

    Of course, that would be easy on the show---if the technology works as claimed, but I suspect, as do many other fans, that everyone in the Dollhouse is a doll, as I said in the above post. The point is, the tech probably works on them because they have been all pre-conditions since childhood. Now, I know that this part of MK Ultra is not in the mythos of the show, but I get the feeling that if such a device does exist...like the chair, again, it would only probably work on people who have had their personalties split at an early age--once more, the ages of 6 years old, or younger. This would all suggest that Caroline and the other Dolls, as well as their back-stories, are all false, and that they were never volunteers to the program, but that this a part of the conditioning, by giving them false lives that never existed outside of the Dollhouse.Oh, I mentioned the marking point, it is actually called the "Imprinting Point" or "Point of Imprinting"--this according to psychiatrists, and other medical professionals, so there has to be something to it--the targeted sweet-spot age of 6 years old, or younger.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 1:28:03 AM CDT

    @MM : Pre-conditioned for dolls? Definitely not.

    by v'shael

    The events of Epitaph One pretty much confirm that's not the case, since large sections of the population can be wiped and imprinted remotely. And there's no way that reliance on preconditioning is necessary.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 1:28:29 AM CDT

    PS: My Experience Wiht Rich People

    by media messiah

    You are correct, they tend to be suspect of anything that is priced cheaply...no matter what the true quality is, but then again, most people are like that.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 1:29:06 AM CDT

    That's "With"--Sorry!!!

    by media messiah

  • Oct 12, 2009 1:33:57 AM CDT

    @MM

    by v'shael

    Your other post, about MK-Ultra and such, is a complicated mess of fact, partial fact, silly inference and outright bull.

    But I'd be more concerned about "It is interesting that reports of MK Ultra have lessened over the last 20 years, suggesting just such a thing."

    It suggests no such thing. And making an inference like that, is indicative of the inability to make rational connections.

    Reports of Bigfoot have also been in decline since the 70's. Does that imply anything about the compartmentalised "truth" of the Bigfoot legend? Of course it doesn't. And any rational person could see that.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 1:40:02 AM CDT

    With / Wtih = Why spelling is not important.

    by v'shael

    There's a reason you don't have to keep correcting a slight spelling mistake in the assumption that the average person will somehow fail to grasp your meaning just because a single letter is out of place.

    Msot popele cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht yuo wree wtirnig. The phaonmneal pweor of the human mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabridge Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in what order the ltteers in a wrod are, the only iprmoatnt tihng is that the frist and lsat ltteer be msut be in the rghit pclae.

    The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the human mind deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe.

    Amzanig huh ? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpieling was ipmorantt.

    So seriously, please knock it off with the constant unnecessary corrections.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 1:58:10 AM CDT

    V'Shael: I Have Heard Of That Report

    by media messiah

    But it was fun reading your example of it, as my brain instantly corrected all the misspelled words. That was cool V'Shael!!! Thanks, you always rock, and never cease to surprise!!!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 6:15:01 AM CDT

    @MM re:the question marks???

    by thegoldbergv

    I get your point, but to me the only impression it creates is that you are unsure of what you are saying, and add question marks as a means seeking validation of your claims. Thats just my impression though.

    As for Dollhouse, did anyone else LOVE the scene with the wardrobe guy?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 6:58:49 AM CDT

    Wardrobe guy

    by v'shael

    I was taken out of the story, to be honest, because the actor in question is a familiar face to genre viewers.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 10:50:16 AM CDT

    V'Shael re: remote wipe

    by buffywrestling

    It wasn't through the phone like Alpha's remote wipes because Victor wasn't carrying one, so they did it through thier bio-link as a way into his head. The scene between Topher & Ivy:

    T: No, no, no! Don’t engage until we know the worm is dead. You have to kill it in the g-line! The wave is hiding!

    I: Why is it moving?

    T: Because, it’s designed to go where it’s not supposed to! That’s the whole point.

    Dun,dun,DUN :)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 11:00:39 AM CDT

    No, but they introduced the concept

    by v'shael

    that the chair was not necessary.

    That's a good bit on the way to Armageddon right there.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 12, 2009 12:45:32 PM CDT

    Huge DVR jump for Vows

    by buffywrestling

    from the livefeed[dot]com:

    Premiere week DVR data is here and the results show that Fox's "Dollhouse" gained a higher percentage of additional viewers than nearly any other show.

    The "Dollhouse" premiere rating jumped a stunning 50% when seven-day viewing is added.

    Granted, the "Dollhouse" base was extremely low -- the show went from a 1.0 rating to a 1.5. Many other shows during premiere week obviously gained far more than a half a rating point. But executives look at how much a show gained compared to its initial live-plus-same-day number, and to boost your rating by 50% is huge.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 13, 2009 11:14:50 AM CDT

    Dollhouse

    by olafgladnbig

    Better than the previous week but the show still suffers from lack of focus.

    They spend too much effort coming up with the idiotic "Prostitute of the week" stories and avoid any real story development/conflict as mm said. If Ballard was working to bring the Dollhouse down they should have focused on that/who Caroline was/her family and friends that cared about her/ why we should care about her as a person. Show her more in flashbacks as a real person rather than her missions as a Doll.

    Or else focus on the powers that run the Dollhouse, make it about the technology and controlling it and explore the limits and the implications of it. Again the "prostitue of the week" storylines are the least interesting possible thing about this show.

    Reply to Talkback

User Login

Forgot password? Retrieve it here

or register as new user

Quick Talkback Form

Please login to post talkback