?Dollhouse? Joss Whedon's recent series

THE HOLLOW MEN
The good;
Once again we have Victor/Topher and it's brilliant although how we get it, this seems a little bit contrived. Couldn't Topher just leave a note with the Topher-wedge saying "Victor/Sierra, I think one of us is a traitor, please follow us to Tuscon and try to find out who it is". The rest is a thrilling ride but frankly Miller's Crossing was easier to understand first time around (but worth it).
The bad;
The machine that can be blown up to make everything ok seems a little contrite (think They Live) but they didn't have much time to work with (3 eps of Dollhouse after cancellation compared with 10 for Angel). Although we know that Topher is a genius it seems awfully convenient that he can be lured to Rossum headquarters and solve a problem that has perplexed their experts in about 10 minutes. Truth be told there's WAAAYYYYYY too much Duex et Machina in this ep, I've watched it several times and in honesty still cannot figure out Boyd's motivations, the whole thing makes exactly zero sense. More redundant cocking of pistols.

Best line;
Mellie; (declining Ballard's offer of a rifle)"I don't think so, I'm afraid"
Ballard; (placing it in her hand) "So am I, that's why we have guns" (Words to cheer the heart of Sarah Palin/The National Rifle Association)
plus
Ballard; (as Boyd turns on him) "What did I miss?" Frankly Paul you're only as lost as the rest of us.
Packing heat; Sierra and Victor pick up the Sig and MP5 from the dead hitmen at the Dollhouse, Adele also packing an M4, everyone swaps guns at some point. By the end of the ep Ballard has traded up to some serious firepower with the M249 SAW (Squad Automactic Weapon) beltfed machinegun. Also see best line.
Echo;14
Boyd; 11
Dominic; 10
Sierra; 8
Victor; 8
Ballard; 13
November; 2
Adele; 3

Echo kissage; 4

Kinky dinky;
Victor/Anthony gives Sierra/Priya permission to shoot him if he turns evil but tells her to 'avoid the junk'. When Sierra tells Adele that Victor has had some 'enhancements' she says 'Really?' in a very suggestive manner.
Capt subtext;
When someone questions whether Bennett fixed the wedge Topher immediately springs to her defence. Adele comforts Topher over his loss of Bennett, pets Echo in a very maternal manner and Whiskey does the same to her in a far from maternal manner. Topher refers to Boyd as his 'best man friend'. Boyd jealous of Ballard, perhaps seeing him as taking over his role in the group? He also disapproves of Adele pimping Echo out in a very paternal manner.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost;
Echo; 6 definite, 2 possible
November; 1
Ballard; 1
Victor; 1
Adele; 1
Sierra 1
Topher; 1 possible

How'd they get away with that?
I'm really going to be happy when there's no more needles (shudder), the scene where they drain her spinal fluid especially wince inducing. Also someone showered with brains from their beloved who's just been shot in the head for the second time in 2 eps.

This weeks fantasy;


What do we think of the client?


Total number personalitites; note that it's Mellie in this ep, Paul's next door neighbour and not Madeline, the girl we saw testifying in The Public Eye.
Echo; 41
Sierra; 13
Victor; 11
November; 3

Total LA dolls;
9-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo

Addy is a bit British;
She remarks "Look lively".

Topher is a bit geeky;
He thinks that gun-toting Sierra is super sexy in a 'Ripley' sort of way (Joss of course having written Alien 4).

Subverting the Hollywood cliche;


Bondage; Echo tied to the surgery table
Sierra tied up; 2
Ballard; 2
Echo; 6
Victor; 2

Knocked out; doped Echox2
Echo; 9
November; 1
Sierra; 2
Victor; 3
Topher; 4
Ballard; 1

Kills; Victor kills at least 2 of Rossum's hitmen and Echo sends active Boyd to his death.
Sierra; 3 kills
Echo; 4
November;1
Victor; 2
Boyd; 4

Dolls injured;


Happy hookers;
Boyd refers to Echo bedding 'half of LA'. It's a very dominating concept, Caroline who was the righteous crusader against

 

EPITAPH 2; The return
The good;
Very, very good ep, lovely way to round out the series and a great send off for the characters. Many, many nice little features including Harding and his allergy to shellfish again and Victor still having Ernesto the Acrobat in his memories.
The bad;
Joss WHY NO COMMENTARY? You didn't do one for the last ep of Angel either. Or are you saving it for Special Edition DVDs to fund your new project? That said the dinner party is a nice touch.When Adele leads the Dolls into the streets outside where have all the butchers gone? The idea that Victor, Echo and Sierra have to hide underground for a year to escape Topher's pulse is just silly.
Best line;
Alpha; "We're not freak shows. Well ok I am. And Echo. But Adele's a class act all the way"
and
Adele; "I'm glad you didn't clean up"
Alpha; "It spoke to the schizophrenic in me. Well, both of them actually"
Packing heat; everyone armed to the teeth. For a guy who says he doesn't like guns Joss puts a heck of a lot of them in his shows.
Echo;15
Boyd; 11
Dominic; 10
Sierra; 9
Victor; 9
Ballard; 14
November; 2
Adele; 4

Echo kissage; 5
In the missing scenes we see that Echo/Rebecca got all kissy with Joel in the back of the van at the end of The Love Supreme

Kinky dinky;
Naked musclemen in chains. Say what you like about Joss he gives us cheesecake but for boys AND girls of all tastes and persuasions.
Capt subtext;
Note the tender way Adele feeds Topher whom she refers to as 'darling'. She offers to die with him but he wants her to live. Mag seems to have the hots for Kilo and vice versa, Zone commenting that she now has the option to 'go down'. Adele and Echo finally embrace. The butchers are now wearing suits, do they represent the network executives that cancelled the show?

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Paul and Echo appear to have become occasional sexual partners but not romantic lovers. Victor/Anthony and Sierra/Priya are lovers and have a son.
Echo; 7 definite, 2 possible
November; 1
Ballard; 2
Victor; 2
Adele; 1
Sierra 2
Topher; 1 possible

How'd they get away with that?
Paul is dead...(hmmm? Have I heard that somewhere before?). Once again shot in the head with his brains all over another character, in this case poor Mag.

This weeks fantasy;


What do we think of the client?


Total number personalitites; note 'mini-me' refers to herself as Caroline? But in every other way she's Echo, able to access all the memories in her head. Ballard refers to 100 people in Echo's head. 101 including him. Suprisingly the series doesn't end with Caroline getting her body back, she's just one of the personalities in Echo's head.
Echo; 101
Sierra; 13
Victor; 11
November; 3

Total LA dolls; Kilo again, for a second I thought it might be Ivy. We also have Romeo and Yankee
11-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey, Kilo, Romeo, Yankee

Addy is a bit British;


Topher is a bit geeky;


Subverting the Hollywood cliche;
Psycho killer Alpha pops up in his usual sinister fashion....and get's a great big hug from everyone!

Bondage; Paul and Echo in chains
Sierra tied up; 2
Ballard; 3
Echo; 7
Victor; 2

Knocked out;
Echo; 9
November; 1
Sierra; 2
Victor; 3
Topher; 4
Ballard; 1

Kills; Echo kills the Rossum honcho for the last time. Once they get into the fight with the Reavers...sorry butchers, you just lose track.
Sierra; 3 kills
Echo; 5
November;1
Victor; 2
Boyd; 4

Dolls injured;


Happy hookers;
Zone refers to Echo as a 'magically delicious superwhore'.

Know the face? Nate Dushku, Eliza's brother plays one of the Clive Ambrose's, he was also in the Angel ep 'Orpheus' as the armed robber in the doughnut shop.
18-Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Amy Acker-2 (Dollhouse/Angel), walking action figure-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse), Eliza Dushku-3 (Buffy/Angel/Dollhouse), Jim Piddock-2 (Angel/Dollhouse), Gregg Henry-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Alan Tudyk-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Felicia Day-2(Dollhouse/Buffy), Ale