Dollhouse #7: Echoes/Season 1/2009

[Deset Gled]

I thought this episode seemed very forced. The reasoning and resolution behind the outbreak seemed like an afterthought, second to the real plot of finding an excuse for Echo to have glimpses of her blocked memories. The "everyone is high at college" plot was blatantly cheesy in a way that I could enjoy a lot in a semi-camp show like Buffy or Smallville, but it just seems like low quality work in a dramatic action show like Dollhouse. The "drugged" reactions of the folks at the Dollhouse also seemed unnatural and poorly developed.

I really, really want to like this show. But try as I might, I just haven't been able to get into it. The scheduling doesn't help, either.

 

[RangerWickett]

The scheduling doesn't help, either.

If scheduling is a problem, try out Hulu - Watch your favorites. Anytime. For free.. Each episode is online the day after the show airs. And it's legal, don't worry. The site is supported by NBC, Fox, and others.

 

[Fast Learner]

Well, I guess this episode blew the "they're all dolls" theory out of the water, since dolls and non-dolls responded differently to the drug. Pity.

It does, and I liked that theory.

BUT, notice how the female doctor wasn't in this episode, nor was the female lab assistant, so those two are left up in the air, perhaps purposefully.

 

[satori01]

This episode was an "The Emperor has no clothes" moment for me, in that I think this is not a show that Joss has experience stewarding.

Buffy/Angel have a "camp/cheese" factor that Joss does very well at.
Firefly has what I call "Star Wars Humor" the main group verbally snipes back and forth, and the humor is in the panic of the characters as they deal w/ the action situation.

Dollhouse just does not seem as dark as the subject material really should be.
It does not seem as fast paced as a analog to say Alias.
The dissociate nature of the characters also means I tend to feel limited to empathy to them. I feel no real bond for "Caroline" as she exists to me a snippets of a video, of a photograph, and has no permanence or import to me, right now, then say a persona Echo has taken on.

Thus the revelation of the backstory felt shallow and not very compelling. Of course it does not help that Caroline feels no different than any other Snarky persona that Dushku performs. She might as well say "5 by 5" and call herself faith.

Moreover the Whedonism funny lines felt forced to me.
I love the themes of the show, but the execution, and sadly the casting (and not just Dushku_), just are off.

 

[GSHamster]

I think the biggest issue with this show right now is that it is about bad guys.

Pretty much all the main non-doll characters, no matter how well-written or sympathetic are working for a vaguely or not-so-vaguely immoral outfit of their own free will. The only good guy is the FBI agent, who's really more of a side-story at this point.

That makes it very different from Whedon's previous shows. Buffy, Angel, Firefly were about a group of people who who were essentially good, if a little rough around the edges. So the audience was free to give their whole hearts to the characters.

I think that is making it hard for the audience to really connect to the characters in Dollhouse. As much as I sympathize with the doctor or handler characters, they are participating in something is that is pretty damn sketchy. In some ways, half of me is cheering Alpha on, even if he is going about it Punisher-style.

I think it's a good show, and a lot of the themes Whedon is exploring--personality, fantasy, prostitution, free will, slavery etc.--are very interesting. But I am wondering if the way it is set up intrinsically hurts the show.

 

[Remus Lupin]

I agree with GSHamster. On the other hand, it's ok with me if Joss wants to experiment with different narratives and different kinds of protagonists. But he'd better keep things interesting to keep me watching, because otherwise I've got no investment in what happens to these characters.

 

[Grymar]

I guess I'm still Mr. Happy. I really enjoyed the episode and can overlook the few weaknesses.

Line of the night: "You've never seen my Drawer of Forbidden Starches?"

 

[fba827]

Just watched it - some fun moments, and some moments that were less entertaining but served their purpose for explaining things.

The reappearance of Matt (the motorcycle guy who hired echo the first episode and again this time) puts him in first place running of my list of people that could be alpha (his hair and body type match, as does his liking of echo).