Dollhouse - Whedon/Minear/Dushku Back To TV

:lol: I saw it with the dvd order.

I don't know if that completely guts my point or not. :lol:
 
Does it? My point was, "it takes a couple of episodes to get into a show" and I didn't get in until The Train Job which was the second episode (and Serenity was 'double-length'). So that kinda means, "by the end of the third episode".

If FOX ran FIREFLY out of order, just because I 'got it' at the end of Train Job doesn't mean the consensus did. Perhaps for them it was "Shindig" or whatever aired third. I was making about about my perceptions of FIREFLY and how, generally, the first few episodes of a series are usually shaky, including FIREFLY.

Doesn't completely gut my point.
 
So, opinions on episode 4?

It was a lot better than the previous one I would say and it is still building Alpha up as the behind the scenes mastermind.

One thing about Alpha that interests me.... it is assumed that he is the first Active, that just went batpoop crazy. But Topher said in this episode "There is only one other person who could have done that and he is dead." Then he discusses this theory with DeWitt, confirming he was talking about Alpha.

Why would Alpha have insanely detailed knowledge of how the mind wipe/personality imprint gear works?
My guess? He helped design the technology, possibly Topher's partner or something, maybe he decided to test it on himself. Having him start off as a science type guy would make sense considering who they have cast to play him, as Alun Tudyk looks more of a convincing scientist than a raging super ninja.


The rest of the episode was good as well, I was impressed how both the Echo-Taffy and the Sierra-Taffy were both very similar in body language, positioning and the like (although they had to differ in places, both Actives have a different body type/build so the muscles will react differently).


Random Side Note: Anyone noticed there is a small similarity in how Alun Tudyk and Topher look? Maybe Alpha is Tophers brother or something?
 
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I've always felt Topher was Dollhouses evil version of Wash.

Anyhow - episode 4 was shamelessly manipulative. Echo is a whore, no wait, super Clooney-heist girl. It's manipulative. It's just a shock twist that abuses the fact we don't know what the **** is going on. Also, Echo is dull and annoying and I don't care about her. And Boyd was hardly in the episode. This episode was about one character with no personality being helped out by a character with a fake personality while people talked in the background about someone who might be a bad guy. The remote wipe was a good twist, but the interesting part of the show was Helo and the whole discovery of Alpha and NOT the actual engagement. The engagements are boring and manipulative and fundamentally, unengaging in any emotional way. And they're the main crux of the show. While the backdrop of Boyd, Helo and now Topher are far more interesting.

I'm just waiting for Tudyk. When he shows up, I expect the series to get into an actually enjoyable groove. When does he arrive?
 
No idea when he is going to show... but episode 11 is apparently called 'Omega' so my bets would be on either that episode or the previous one!
 
So. You all gave up, huh?

This last episode was actually really, really good, and was a game changer.

Enough to save the series? Not sure.
 
I saw the fifth episode, True Believer, where Echo goes into a religious cult.

It was meh. Unoriginal. Waiting for her to composite and Alpha to show up. Or Helo to discover the Dollhouse. He's pretty interesting.
 
Sixth episode was awesome. Plenty of questions brought up, Ballard coming face to face with Echo, the possibility of a 'friend' for him inside the Dollhouse (not sure if that is true or not considering how many mind games DeWitt likes to pull), the fact that little ol' Mellie is a sleeper active and has trigger words and the like.

Awesome.

Oh, and it was the first episode that wasn't centred around Echo's next engagement.
 
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Bass said:
I saw the fifth episode, True Believer, where Echo goes into a religious cult.

It was meh. Unoriginal. Waiting for her to composite and Alpha to show up. Or Helo to discover the Dollhouse. He's pretty interesting.
Click to expand...

Watch the next one.
 
Hellsbuttmonkey said:
Sixth episode was awesome. Plenty of questions brought up, Ballard coming face to face with Echo, the possibility of a 'friend' for him inside the Dollhouse (not sure if that is true or not considering how many mind games DeWitt likes to pull), the fact that little ol' Mellie is a sleeper active and has trigger words and the like.

Awesome.

Oh, and it was the first episode that wasn't centred around Echo's next engagement.
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P.S.- the lines about Boyd (Echo's handler) and his bonus made me laugh cause they take on new meaning this week. :lol:
 
The latest episode, #6, is the first, truly GOOD episode of DOLLHOUSE.

It's a properly exciting, well-written, thoughtful episode. It's VERY good. And it's the first episode since the pilot to be written by Joss Whedon. (I'd love to see the original pilot that was 'too dark and confusing'...)

And I want props, dammit. Since the beginning, I've pointed out the problem with the show is Echo. This episode, which is incredibly exciting, focuses on Ballard, Boyd, and DeWitt. NOT Echo. And it's ****ing excellent. There's characters to root for. The scenes with Echo were good ("See?! PORN."), but BALLARD IS AWESOME. He's so ludicrously badass. Boyd did his proper detective ****, and it was the business. And DeWitt has finally stepped forward as an awesome antagonist.

Also, the vox pops were REALLY cool (especially the scientist and the obviously gay guy stuck in the closet... oh, and the black woman).

YES! :rockon:

One thing did annoy me: Mellie's reveal as a doll. While the reveal isn't TOO bad (it kinda stretches credibility that they'd have Mellie AND Victor trying to throw just Ballard off the case - they're EXPENSIVE remember?) what annoys me most is her name.

So far, every single Doll's name is based on the phoenetic alphabet: Sierra, Echo, Alpha, Victor, etc. Mellie isn't. This feels like cheating to me. "M" is Mike. Especially since she could've easily been called Charlie or Juliette. If they wanted to throw us off a bit, Michelle would've been perfect (as it's the female version of Michael). But Mellie is annoying.

To sum up, Mellie's reveal is a bit incredulous and a bit of a cheat.

Everything else in this episode was BRILLIANT. I knew this would get good as soon as Ballard met Echo, and I was right. Unfortunately, the next two episodes seem to be "Echo goes into boring land for a boring engagement", but hopefully, the rest of the season and the next will focus more on the characters who actually have a personality.

I look at this show and wonder how much cooler it could've been if it had been from Ballard's POV from the very beginning.

In any case... I'm awaiting Alpha Tudyk (seems he's in the last two episodes only... the wait!!!!)
 
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Bass said:
The latest episode, #6, is the first, truly GOOD episode of DOLLHOUSE.

It's a properly exciting, well-written, thoughtful episode. It's VERY good. And it's the first episode since the pilot to be written by Joss Whedon. (I'd love to see the original pilot that was 'too dark and confusing'...)

And I want props, dammit. Since the beginning, I've pointed out the problem with the show is Echo. This episode, which is incredibly exciting, focuses on Ballard, Boyd, and DeWitt. NOT Echo. And it's ****ing excellent. There's characters to root for. The scenes with Echo were good ("See?! PORN."), but BALLARD IS AWESOME. He's so ludicrously badass. Boyd did his proper detective ****, and it was the business. And DeWitt has finally stepped forward as an awesome antagonist.

Also, the vox pops were REALLY cool (especially the scientist and the obviously gay guy stuck in the closet... oh, and the black woman).

YES! :rockon:

One thing did annoy me: Mellie's reveal as a doll. While the reveal isn't TOO bad (it kinda stretches credibility that they'd have Mellie AND Victor trying to throw just Ballard off the case - they're EXPENSIVE remember?) what annoys me most is her name.

So far, every single Doll's name is based on the phoenetic alphabet: Sierra, Echo, Alpha, Victor, etc. Mellie isn't. This feels like cheating to me. "M" is Mike. Especially since she could've easily been called Charlie or Juliette. If they wanted to throw us off a bit, Michelle would've been perfect (as it's the female version of Michael). But Mellie is annoying.

To sum up, Mellie's reveal is a bit incredulous and a bit of a cheat.

Everything else in this episode was BRILLIANT. I knew this would get good as soon as Ballard met Echo, and I was right. Unfortunately, the next two episodes seem to be "Echo goes into boring land for a boring engagement", but hopefully, the rest of the season and the next will focus more on the characters who actually have a personality.

I look at this show and wonder how much cooler it could've been if it had been from Ballard's POV from the very beginning.

In any case... I'm awaiting Alpha Tudyk (seems he's in the last two episodes only... the wait!!!!)
Click to expand...

This what I thought after I watched. I said something on twitter while i was watching and and than seen Strangefate say the same thing. This is the 3rd person to say this about this episode.

I love Ballard owning the security guys. And the fight with him and Echo.
 
I can't even explain how much more excited I am for the next episode and the one after that and so on.

This episode has me excited for this show in a way I simply wasn't before now.
 
No Echo = Good Show.

Been saying it all along. This episode was about characters we CARE about and LIKE. Not false character traits in a jiggly body.
 
Bass said:
No Echo = Good Show.

Been saying it all along. This episode was about characters we CARE about and LIKE. Not false character traits in a jiggly body.
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I think the use of Echo is really interesting, and a good way to drive the show forward, but she really needs to be merely one fraction of the ensemble, and by no means the main character of the show.

I bet it moves further and further towards that. Sort of like how The West Wing was supposed to have Rob Lowe as its main character, and they gave up on that halfway through the first season to make him just another one of characters on a big ensemble show.

I am crossing my fingers for that to happen here.
 
Bass said:
One thing did annoy me: Mellie's reveal as a doll. While the reveal isn't TOO bad (it kinda stretches credibility that they'd have Mellie AND Victor trying to throw just Ballard off the case - they're EXPENSIVE remember?) what annoys me most is her name.

So far, every single Doll's name is based on the phoenetic alphabet: Sierra, Echo, Alpha, Victor, etc. Mellie isn't. This feels like cheating to me. "M" is Mike. Especially since she could've easily been called Charlie or Juliette. If they wanted to throw us off a bit, Michelle would've been perfect (as it's the female version of Michael). But Mellie is annoying.

To sum up, Mellie's reveal is a bit incredulous and a bit of a cheat.
Click to expand...

Don't be surprised if they come out and say her Active name is actually November. The actress was originally cast as an active called November that was removed from the original episodes and they created Mellie's character instead, saying "we might see November later in the series".

Bass said:
Everything else in this episode was BRILLIANT. I knew this would get good as soon as Ballard met Echo, and I was right. Unfortunately, the next two episodes seem to be "Echo goes into boring land for a boring engagement", but hopefully, the rest of the season and the next will focus more on the characters who actually have a personality.
Click to expand...

Are you sure about that? Next weeks episode is the standard "Echo goes to an engagement" episode, but the week after is apparently centred around an accident causing Echo, Victor and Sierra to revert to their original personalities (my guess is another 'Alpha is messing with them' moment) and try to escape from the Dollhouse.
 
I shall download this episode since everyone says it's good... maybe I'll just stick to the episodes Whedon pens or people say are great until the DVD comes out.
 
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