My thoughts/rants on: Dollhouse
The season (and possibly, series) finale of Joss Whedon's new show Dollhouse aired last night so I thought I'd pen down what I thought of the new (and, in my mind, exciting) series.
**SPOILERS AHEAD...not huge but still spoilers...semi-big***
THE SHINING STARS!!
1) The supporting cast is AMAZING! Seriously, anyone who isn't one of the two stars...friggin awesome actors that really suck you into their story and into the show.
--- Adelle DeWitt is in charge of the Dollhouse, she's British, she's a badass. What else can you say??? They actually have great character, maybe not development, but character exposition for sure. She surprised me more than once and she kicked so much ass in every way in the eps near the end.
--- Dominic Laurence is DeWitt's Chief of Security and you just know there's gotta be something going on with the boss lady ;) He's the quiet, stoic type who's got all sorts of subtle protective vibes towards DeWitt. He also has this grudge against Echo (Eliza Dushku's character) but don't we all...
--- Topher...something :P He is the genius techie that can grate on some people's nerves but I love him. He's a genius, he's immature, and his relationship with DeWitt is that of like a younger step-brother of sorts :P
--- Dr. Claire Saunders (whom some of you might recognize as Angel's "Fred/Illyria" is just really beckoning as a character. She was horribly attacked by this Active-gone-wrong and she has scars all over her face that you can't miss. And she's very quiet and sombre-looking, but it's hard to tell whether it's because of the attack or because of something else. All I can say is that she cares a lot more about the dolls than she probably should, and there is a lot of meaningful looks between herself and Topher. Honestly, through to the end, her character fascinated me.
--- Sierra/Victor. I group these two together because it's a little hard to judge them as individual characters seeing as how they're both Actives (ie, have no personality). But the actors who play them nail the innocence and naivety required of the part (something Eliza Dushku isn't so good at), and they are also so talented that when they play their Imprinted personalities, I honestly believe they are who they believe they are. It's also one of the most beautiful ships on the show because it develops from their Active states where they've got all the innocence of young children, and they seek each other out when they aren't supposed to. Victor has a line in [1x06] Man on the Street that just rips my heart out every. single. time. I hear it. The inflection in his voice, the look on his face...oof, it kills me just thinking about it. My only grudge here is that Joss pretty much dumped their storyline somewhere past the middle of the season. I mean he gave them a kind of resolution but like...still.
--- Mellie/November is also an Active, but one placed near FBI Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) as a neighbour to keep tabs on him. She knows nothing of this of course, she's been imprinted to fall in love with him and take care of him, and he's a blabber-mouth so it's just a natural way to keep tabs on him. Mellie...is adorable, is lovable, is kind of neurotic and clingy, she's just really sweet :P And November, her Active state, is just as sweet. Another character who kept me watching to the very end to see what would happen to her.
2) The concept was awesome. They have a house full of people whose personalities have been wiped and stored away until their contract it up, who are routinely "hired" to be whomever the clients wish them to be. Now most of you went straight for "sex" didn't you? :P I did too. But I was surprised (and happy) to see that the "Actives", as the dolls are called, were actually imprinted with a variety of personalities from sex toy, to midwife, to bodyguard, to therapist, to just a simple play date, etc. And the technology of it is mindblowing. While it isn't actually explained precisely how it all works, the neuroscience/psychological aspects to the show, to the imprinting, is really fascinating. For instance, when they needed an undercover bodyguard for someone, they programmed the Active to believe she wanted to be best friends with the client in danger. And in addition to that programming, they gave the Active "subconscious" imprinting giving her special training and instincts and the need to keep her new friend safe. To me, that just makes my nerd-brain squiggle :P
3) They touch on issues almost like BSG did. In fact, I believe that BSG sparked a trend that will grow in SciFI where gray issues will be debated without a solution, to really make the audience think instead of just handing it to them. The issues of slavery, of prositution, of ethics as a whole are all introduced but not as the plot, more like the cushion on which the plot rested.
THE BLACK HOLES OF SHIT...that sounds very very literal...ew
1) Eliza Dushku/Tahmoh Penikett (ie, the stars :p). They played pretty much the same characters they've always played so if you're in for a show featuring Faith from Buffy (with an innocent/naive side that comes off more as broken and demented), or if you want to see Helo Agathon in another show, you'll have a blast. To be fair to them, I was impressed by their acting a few times (and that's in scenes, not episodes). They're supposed to be the star-crossed ship that makes you root for them...I never did. Caroline/Echo (ED's character) never really knew he existed and FBI Agent Paul Ballard (TP's character) always just came off as an obsessive freak. Not to mention Caroline (the original personality before teh wipe) was a hippy activist (*twitch*), the kind that doesn't actually give a shit about reality and lives in her idealistic dreams, not caring about the ramifications of her actions. And Paul Ballard was saved from looking like a hero by blatantly not giving a shit about "saving" any single other doll but Echo/Caroline. Why? Because he got a picture sent to him anonymously with her name on the back...sounds like love to me. Nevermind that he's banging his sweet neighbour Mellie (with whom he also has no chemistry, and we kind of feel like it's because he feels bad for her), and that even when he finds out that adorable Mellie is a Doll like Caroline, he doesn't give a shit... I really hate him, I do. I mean, just ugh!
2) Boyd is Echo's handler (the guy who stalks her on her assignments to make sure she doesn't die or kill anyone). I don't really have any rants against him, he was fine enough as a character, I just never really got into him. The actor never really made me believe that I was watching Boyd, just...the actor.
3) The Premiere and the Finale. Between these episodes, most of the stories were great, they had great twists, great directing, great acting (aside from those three previously mentioned), great everything down to the soundtrack. But these two eps sucked major ass. MAJOR ass. The premiere I can understand because the network got involved and *jazzed* everything up (ie, removed anything of substance). The finale though, which aired yesterday...the final 2-3 minutes had the only twist that shocked and amazed me. For a minute I actually stopped hating Paul Ballard, it was beautiful really. Aside from that, it's like they tried to cram a whole new storyline/concept in the last 30 minutes of the series and it was completely unnecessary in my opinion. If they were hell-bent on having that angle they should have prepped better in previous episodes.
What was amazing about the finale was this:
---Alan Tudyk's acting. The man is phenomenal :P
---RandomBlondeChick's (aka Wendy's) acting, also great.
---The Saunders/Topher scenes were fantastic.
---Eliza Dushku's acting about 2/3's of the way in was actually quite appealing, I rooted for her then.
What sucked was pretty much everything else...which isn't surprising seeing as how it mostly had to do with Caroline/Echo and Paul Ballard...
OH! And as if I didn't hate Echo enough to begin with, they practically turned her into a fucking Bella Swan of the Dollhouse. She's *special*...why? Um...cuz she is! Fucking rat bastards...
THE TAKE-AWAY
It's a great series, mostly because it doesn't actually rely on Dushku/Penikett or their characters. I mean, it's based on Echo yes, but there's enough around her to keep you hooked to the show (or else I would have dumped it months ago :P). They picked bad leads but the entire supporting cast (aside from Boyd) is amazing enough to make it work. Give it a try ^^
What did you guys think of this show?
**SPOILERS AHEAD...not huge but still spoilers...semi-big***
THE SHINING STARS!!
1) The supporting cast is AMAZING! Seriously, anyone who isn't one of the two stars...friggin awesome actors that really suck you into their story and into the show.
--- Adelle DeWitt is in charge of the Dollhouse, she's British, she's a badass. What else can you say??? They actually have great character, maybe not development, but character exposition for sure. She surprised me more than once and she kicked so much ass in every way in the eps near the end.
--- Dominic Laurence is DeWitt's Chief of Security and you just know there's gotta be something going on with the boss lady ;) He's the quiet, stoic type who's got all sorts of subtle protective vibes towards DeWitt. He also has this grudge against Echo (Eliza Dushku's character) but don't we all...
--- Topher...something :P He is the genius techie that can grate on some people's nerves but I love him. He's a genius, he's immature, and his relationship with DeWitt is that of like a younger step-brother of sorts :P
--- Dr. Claire Saunders (whom some of you might recognize as Angel's "Fred/Illyria" is just really beckoning as a character. She was horribly attacked by this Active-gone-wrong and she has scars all over her face that you can't miss. And she's very quiet and sombre-looking, but it's hard to tell whether it's because of the attack or because of something else. All I can say is that she cares a lot more about the dolls than she probably should, and there is a lot of meaningful looks between herself and Topher. Honestly, through to the end, her character fascinated me.
--- Sierra/Victor. I group these two together because it's a little hard to judge them as individual characters seeing as how they're both Actives (ie, have no personality). But the actors who play them nail the innocence and naivety required of the part (something Eliza Dushku isn't so good at), and they are also so talented that when they play their Imprinted personalities, I honestly believe they are who they believe they are. It's also one of the most beautiful ships on the show because it develops from their Active states where they've got all the innocence of young children, and they seek each other out when they aren't supposed to. Victor has a line in [1x06] Man on the Street that just rips my heart out every. single. time. I hear it. The inflection in his voice, the look on his face...oof, it kills me just thinking about it. My only grudge here is that Joss pretty much dumped their storyline somewhere past the middle of the season. I mean he gave them a kind of resolution but like...still.
--- Mellie/November is also an Active, but one placed near FBI Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) as a neighbour to keep tabs on him. She knows nothing of this of course, she's been imprinted to fall in love with him and take care of him, and he's a blabber-mouth so it's just a natural way to keep tabs on him. Mellie...is adorable, is lovable, is kind of neurotic and clingy, she's just really sweet :P And November, her Active state, is just as sweet. Another character who kept me watching to the very end to see what would happen to her.
2) The concept was awesome. They have a house full of people whose personalities have been wiped and stored away until their contract it up, who are routinely "hired" to be whomever the clients wish them to be. Now most of you went straight for "sex" didn't you? :P I did too. But I was surprised (and happy) to see that the "Actives", as the dolls are called, were actually imprinted with a variety of personalities from sex toy, to midwife, to bodyguard, to therapist, to just a simple play date, etc. And the technology of it is mindblowing. While it isn't actually explained precisely how it all works, the neuroscience/psychological aspects to the show, to the imprinting, is really fascinating. For instance, when they needed an undercover bodyguard for someone, they programmed the Active to believe she wanted to be best friends with the client in danger. And in addition to that programming, they gave the Active "subconscious" imprinting giving her special training and instincts and the need to keep her new friend safe. To me, that just makes my nerd-brain squiggle :P
3) They touch on issues almost like BSG did. In fact, I believe that BSG sparked a trend that will grow in SciFI where gray issues will be debated without a solution, to really make the audience think instead of just handing it to them. The issues of slavery, of prositution, of ethics as a whole are all introduced but not as the plot, more like the cushion on which the plot rested.
THE BLACK HOLES OF SHIT...that sounds very very literal...ew
1) Eliza Dushku/Tahmoh Penikett (ie, the stars :p). They played pretty much the same characters they've always played so if you're in for a show featuring Faith from Buffy (with an innocent/naive side that comes off more as broken and demented), or if you want to see Helo Agathon in another show, you'll have a blast. To be fair to them, I was impressed by their acting a few times (and that's in scenes, not episodes). They're supposed to be the star-crossed ship that makes you root for them...I never did. Caroline/Echo (ED's character) never really knew he existed and FBI Agent Paul Ballard (TP's character) always just came off as an obsessive freak. Not to mention Caroline (the original personality before teh wipe) was a hippy activist (*twitch*), the kind that doesn't actually give a shit about reality and lives in her idealistic dreams, not caring about the ramifications of her actions. And Paul Ballard was saved from looking like a hero by blatantly not giving a shit about "saving" any single other doll but Echo/Caroline. Why? Because he got a picture sent to him anonymously with her name on the back...sounds like love to me. Nevermind that he's banging his sweet neighbour Mellie (with whom he also has no chemistry, and we kind of feel like it's because he feels bad for her), and that even when he finds out that adorable Mellie is a Doll like Caroline, he doesn't give a shit... I really hate him, I do. I mean, just ugh!
2) Boyd is Echo's handler (the guy who stalks her on her assignments to make sure she doesn't die or kill anyone). I don't really have any rants against him, he was fine enough as a character, I just never really got into him. The actor never really made me believe that I was watching Boyd, just...the actor.
3) The Premiere and the Finale. Between these episodes, most of the stories were great, they had great twists, great directing, great acting (aside from those three previously mentioned), great everything down to the soundtrack. But these two eps sucked major ass. MAJOR ass. The premiere I can understand because the network got involved and *jazzed* everything up (ie, removed anything of substance). The finale though, which aired yesterday...the final 2-3 minutes had the only twist that shocked and amazed me. For a minute I actually stopped hating Paul Ballard, it was beautiful really. Aside from that, it's like they tried to cram a whole new storyline/concept in the last 30 minutes of the series and it was completely unnecessary in my opinion. If they were hell-bent on having that angle they should have prepped better in previous episodes.
What was amazing about the finale was this:
---Alan Tudyk's acting. The man is phenomenal :P
---RandomBlondeChick's (aka Wendy's) acting, also great.
---The Saunders/Topher scenes were fantastic.
---Eliza Dushku's acting about 2/3's of the way in was actually quite appealing, I rooted for her then.
What sucked was pretty much everything else...which isn't surprising seeing as how it mostly had to do with Caroline/Echo and Paul Ballard...
OH! And as if I didn't hate Echo enough to begin with, they practically turned her into a fucking Bella Swan of the Dollhouse. She's *special*...why? Um...cuz she is! Fucking rat bastards...
THE TAKE-AWAY
It's a great series, mostly because it doesn't actually rely on Dushku/Penikett or their characters. I mean, it's based on Echo yes, but there's enough around her to keep you hooked to the show (or else I would have dumped it months ago :P). They picked bad leads but the entire supporting cast (aside from Boyd) is amazing enough to make it work. Give it a try ^^
What did you guys think of this show?