Dollhouse
Well, I decided to give Dollhouse a whirl after Terminator, and I ended up being pleasantly surprised with its quality. The show has been getting a bit of a bum rap from some newspapers, and there were some logical lapses and boring subplots, but overall? I was engaged, understood, and had fun with it, and what more can you possible ask for in a television program?
The show centers itself around a young woman who enters into a contract with an organization that specializes in, well, certain operations. ANY operation, be it giving someone a date, professional assassination, hostage negotiation, commando work, and I'm guessing a whole lot more. This is made possible through a technology that erases the employees mind and assigns them a set of skills, a mindset, a way of being, everything that would enable them to fit into their specified role so the job may be done.
The organization's official name was lost on me (or wasn't mentioned) but it's informally referred to as the Dollhouse.
Anyway, the pilot lets us follow a job taken by Echo (codename given to the show's central character) to negotiate the release of a little girl whose been kidnapped; her rich father has enlisted the Dollhouse to facilitate the transaction. Echo, normally a thin, fairly athletic post-college graduate, is given nearsightedness so she has to wear glasses. She also has asthma. She speaks with authority and no nonsense to her client (and the kidnappers) and wears a smart business suit. The transformation seems unbreakable, but it soon becomes apparent that there can be really, really big problems in the process of making someone an "active," as they're referred to in the agency.
Aside from the kidnapping main plot, we get to see a few characters and their own respective problems. We have Topher, the morally lax technician who imprints the actives with the memories and skills they need for their assignments (or "engagements" as they're officially known.) He has a breezy, devil-may-care attitude about the illegal activities he's involved himself in, and it's implied that he may even enjoy it a little ("We're humanitarians.")
There's also Boyd, an ex-cop who works for the Dollhouse. He's a handler for Echo, and his job is to make sure nothing bad happens to her (which usually involves killing people.) He has a strong sense of morality and would probably prefer to be back out on the street instead of enforcing the Dollhouse's illegal activities.
Heading up the Dollhouse is frostily polite Andelle, who's business sense and desire to please her clients comes before everything... except the actives' safety, as demonstrated in the episode.
Finally, there's Paul, the FBI agent everyone thinks is crazy and he wants to take down the Dollhouse. He's exactly what you think (think Ellison, only without Richard T. Jones' great acting.)
Oh, and there's also another active whose name is Sierra, but I dunno if she's important or not. Besides Echo, Boyd and Topher are interesting characters, and Andelle is too enigmatic for me to make an opinion. Paul the agent had a rather boring subplot, so I'm not too interested in him yet.
Anyway, we meet all these guys and gals and get to watch a day in their life as things unfold, head towards a clean conclusion, unexpectedly break down, and then resolve themselves. There are some rather stupid scenes (how the hell does the Dollhouse operate with *that* lax security?) and as I've said, the accompanying subplot is boring, but the characters are mostly good, the main course riveting and engaging, and generally I hope to see more from Dollhouse. I'd definitely recommend it.
The show centers itself around a young woman who enters into a contract with an organization that specializes in, well, certain operations. ANY operation, be it giving someone a date, professional assassination, hostage negotiation, commando work, and I'm guessing a whole lot more. This is made possible through a technology that erases the employees mind and assigns them a set of skills, a mindset, a way of being, everything that would enable them to fit into their specified role so the job may be done.
The organization's official name was lost on me (or wasn't mentioned) but it's informally referred to as the Dollhouse.
Anyway, the pilot lets us follow a job taken by Echo (codename given to the show's central character) to negotiate the release of a little girl whose been kidnapped; her rich father has enlisted the Dollhouse to facilitate the transaction. Echo, normally a thin, fairly athletic post-college graduate, is given nearsightedness so she has to wear glasses. She also has asthma. She speaks with authority and no nonsense to her client (and the kidnappers) and wears a smart business suit. The transformation seems unbreakable, but it soon becomes apparent that there can be really, really big problems in the process of making someone an "active," as they're referred to in the agency.
Aside from the kidnapping main plot, we get to see a few characters and their own respective problems. We have Topher, the morally lax technician who imprints the actives with the memories and skills they need for their assignments (or "engagements" as they're officially known.) He has a breezy, devil-may-care attitude about the illegal activities he's involved himself in, and it's implied that he may even enjoy it a little ("We're humanitarians.")
There's also Boyd, an ex-cop who works for the Dollhouse. He's a handler for Echo, and his job is to make sure nothing bad happens to her (which usually involves killing people.) He has a strong sense of morality and would probably prefer to be back out on the street instead of enforcing the Dollhouse's illegal activities.
Heading up the Dollhouse is frostily polite Andelle, who's business sense and desire to please her clients comes before everything... except the actives' safety, as demonstrated in the episode.
Finally, there's Paul, the FBI agent everyone thinks is crazy and he wants to take down the Dollhouse. He's exactly what you think (think Ellison, only without Richard T. Jones' great acting.)
Oh, and there's also another active whose name is Sierra, but I dunno if she's important or not. Besides Echo, Boyd and Topher are interesting characters, and Andelle is too enigmatic for me to make an opinion. Paul the agent had a rather boring subplot, so I'm not too interested in him yet.
Anyway, we meet all these guys and gals and get to watch a day in their life as things unfold, head towards a clean conclusion, unexpectedly break down, and then resolve themselves. There are some rather stupid scenes (how the hell does the Dollhouse operate with *that* lax security?) and as I've said, the accompanying subplot is boring, but the characters are mostly good, the main course riveting and engaging, and generally I hope to see more from Dollhouse. I'd definitely recommend it.