Dollhouse - thoughts
I've been waiting to post on Dollhouse because, like quite a few, I really didn't think much of the first episodes. Then 'Man on the Street' hit and the mythology rolled out, and I became invested. Still endings (even if only the temporary ones of season endings) help me decided about a story's overall success. [Spoilers below cut.]
Acting:
Amy Acker and Alan Tudyk freaking nailed it ... like the world's most high-powered nail gun. When they revealed that it was Whiskey going all Mallory to Alpha's Mickey, I bounced on the couch. My friend was so enthralled with the show that he didn't even notice - that's how awesome it was. It was great to see Acker's range in this ep, as a pyscho, sex killer and then as Dr. Saunders. And Tudyk doing the multiple personalities (or is it mutliple persons) was phenomenal.
Even though he doesn't get to show it here, the biggest surprise is Enver Gjokaj. He has been perfect in every roll he's been given - the accents, the vocal inflections, the body language. Him playing Dominick was pretty much exactly like having the actual actor back. Dichen Lachman and Miracle Laurie were very good as well.
All of which highlighted for me that ... Eliza Dushku just does not have this range. Her 38-persona Echo was ... flat and kind of meh. Part of that could have been direction, but ... I don't get it. I loved her as Faith and thought she showed a wide range in that part. But repeatedly on Dollhouse I don't find her acting completely convincing.
Characters:
Oh, to see Whiskey go on the roller coaster of lashing out at Victor when she's anxious and conflicted about who she is, to discovering she really is a doll, to accepting that she's something more and cycling back around to caring for Victor.
And Topher - his exchange with Echo at the end finally cracked his facade. I'm dying to know why he made Whiskey hate him - there's something huge there.
Ballard - I completely heart him now that he used his bargaining chip to save November. It was a nice twist.
But Alpha - Tudyk's acting was perfect, but I wanted something more for Alpha, which I'll discuss below.
Story:
Echo and Ballard both save Caroline - cute callback to last week.
Ballard will work for them now. Heh heh heh.
I liked how Whiskey found something core within her, and Echo said she did, though the acting didn't sell it. But I wanted the reason for Alpha to be something more than, 'Well, he was a soon-to-be killer in his real life, so ...' But then, if it had turned out that all of his problems could only be blamed on the Dollhouse, that would have been too black and white, and one thing I've loved about the show is how amazingly morally ambiguous they've left everyone. Still, 'he was always an evil man' seems a cop out. I'm going to have to digest it more.
The slavery word got bandied around - good. But we need more really direct hits on that like Sierra's storyline. Now that packed a wallop and brought home the message about just how much this is rape.
I'm not completely in love with the soul thing, but then it's been in the tag line from the get go, so I will have to accept it. What if it's more along the lines of: "Each individual's brain lays down neural pathways in completely unique ways. No two people think in the same way. I see a red ball, and the information takes a route through my right hemisphere that involves 200 synapses (making this up). You see a red ball and something starts in your left hemisphere, crosses the corpus callosum and ends in the right hemisphere - 500 synapses were involved. We both got to red ball, but completely differently. So if you wipe someone, you still can't wipe the way their brain is hardwired." They've avoided this because it undercuts their premise without a lot of explainy (and Topher really being a genius). Hmmm.
Overall:
I think the show has only scratched the surface on exploring how this technology could change humanity. There are many things that have changed me from someone who thought it was a maybe to someone who really, really wants it to get a second season. What is the Dollhouse's real purpose? What's Adelle's story? Topher's? Many, many more. But they need to have a bit less Echo (or find rolls Dushku can own) and use this fabulous cast more.
Acting:
Amy Acker and Alan Tudyk freaking nailed it ... like the world's most high-powered nail gun. When they revealed that it was Whiskey going all Mallory to Alpha's Mickey, I bounced on the couch. My friend was so enthralled with the show that he didn't even notice - that's how awesome it was. It was great to see Acker's range in this ep, as a pyscho, sex killer and then as Dr. Saunders. And Tudyk doing the multiple personalities (or is it mutliple persons) was phenomenal.
Even though he doesn't get to show it here, the biggest surprise is Enver Gjokaj. He has been perfect in every roll he's been given - the accents, the vocal inflections, the body language. Him playing Dominick was pretty much exactly like having the actual actor back. Dichen Lachman and Miracle Laurie were very good as well.
All of which highlighted for me that ... Eliza Dushku just does not have this range. Her 38-persona Echo was ... flat and kind of meh. Part of that could have been direction, but ... I don't get it. I loved her as Faith and thought she showed a wide range in that part. But repeatedly on Dollhouse I don't find her acting completely convincing.
Characters:
Oh, to see Whiskey go on the roller coaster of lashing out at Victor when she's anxious and conflicted about who she is, to discovering she really is a doll, to accepting that she's something more and cycling back around to caring for Victor.
And Topher - his exchange with Echo at the end finally cracked his facade. I'm dying to know why he made Whiskey hate him - there's something huge there.
Ballard - I completely heart him now that he used his bargaining chip to save November. It was a nice twist.
But Alpha - Tudyk's acting was perfect, but I wanted something more for Alpha, which I'll discuss below.
Story:
Echo and Ballard both save Caroline - cute callback to last week.
Ballard will work for them now. Heh heh heh.
I liked how Whiskey found something core within her, and Echo said she did, though the acting didn't sell it. But I wanted the reason for Alpha to be something more than, 'Well, he was a soon-to-be killer in his real life, so ...' But then, if it had turned out that all of his problems could only be blamed on the Dollhouse, that would have been too black and white, and one thing I've loved about the show is how amazingly morally ambiguous they've left everyone. Still, 'he was always an evil man' seems a cop out. I'm going to have to digest it more.
The slavery word got bandied around - good. But we need more really direct hits on that like Sierra's storyline. Now that packed a wallop and brought home the message about just how much this is rape.
I'm not completely in love with the soul thing, but then it's been in the tag line from the get go, so I will have to accept it. What if it's more along the lines of: "Each individual's brain lays down neural pathways in completely unique ways. No two people think in the same way. I see a red ball, and the information takes a route through my right hemisphere that involves 200 synapses (making this up). You see a red ball and something starts in your left hemisphere, crosses the corpus callosum and ends in the right hemisphere - 500 synapses were involved. We both got to red ball, but completely differently. So if you wipe someone, you still can't wipe the way their brain is hardwired." They've avoided this because it undercuts their premise without a lot of explainy (and Topher really being a genius). Hmmm.
Overall:
I think the show has only scratched the surface on exploring how this technology could change humanity. There are many things that have changed me from someone who thought it was a maybe to someone who really, really wants it to get a second season. What is the Dollhouse's real purpose? What's Adelle's story? Topher's? Many, many more. But they need to have a bit less Echo (or find rolls Dushku can own) and use this fabulous cast more.