And after this week it's supposed to get really good, right? Right?
True Believer. Echo becomes a blind woman so she can infiltrate a very secretive and well-guarded cult.
There's a potential for some seriously cringe-inducing television machine if the Dushku as blind person performance isn't flat-out nailed. Affleck as Daredevil, anyone? I have fears.
Other miscellaneous TeeVee-related things:
1. I'm almost to the end of my re-watch of Buffy season three. Why isn't there television like this on anymore? Sigh.
2. Castle was actually quite enjoyable–I wish the female lead had more charisma or at least was written with a bigger personality, but Nathan Fillion and his family were a lot of fun. We'll keep watching.
3. This season of ANTM is shaping up to be one of the best ever.
4. Life is still the most awesome show on TV.
There is TV like this on any more. It’s called Dollhouse. Stop living in the past. Joss grew up. It’d be nice to think his fans were capable of the same.
Well, I guess that’s the end of the discussion.
?!?
Please — when even the creator and the actors are admitting the first episodes aren’t firing on all cylinders, it’s hard to pretend they are. I’ve been a defender of the show’s potential, but I’m not delusional that it’s been reached yet.
If you have something to add to the discussion other than baiting comments, you’re welcome here. If you don’t, you’re not.
We are such children!
Joss haters — all of you! Let the man create, for the love of god!
So tonight’s episode: Ok? A couple nice twists, but a little flat. One problem (I think) so far is that almost all the characters are acting in isolation — either b/c they have no memories, or b/c they distrust each other. So not a lot of sparks. Hope that next week we can get some alliances or friendships or some sort of character build.
Still bored by the FBI guy. Not bored by the “man reactions” banter.
Gwenda, how did you feel about Dushku’s performance as “a blind woman”? I thought she did al’right, except for one Faith-like once-over of the Sparrow guy …
p.s. I’ll be curious if you continue to enjoy “Castle.” The promos made me wonder the same thing about the female lead; she’s a little Cold Case-y for me.
You pretty much nailed my reaction, and I thought she did okay as blind girl. She and Ben Affleck should have a blind-superhero-character off.
I know, odd, right? It’s not often that I can buy the female character’s secret fascination with the cocky guy, but not his with her…
I loved LIFE in the first season, but stopped watching – is it as good as it was then?
That could be read as a deep philosophical question.
We went back and watched season one after we got hooked by season two. Some people said the early eps weren’t as good as season one, but they’re still better than anything else out there, and I think it’s just as good as season one now.
I’ve been fairly pleased with the first few episodes. However, that has a lot to do with expectations. I think they stack up quite nicely against the first five episodes of Buffy, and certainly against the first few episodes of Angel.
Firefly was the only Joss show that really worked from the second episode. So yeah, I’m generally happy. Just like episode 3, this one was really all about the very last scene, and one look. Next episode should be the first big mythology episode, so I’m really looking forward to it and hoping it brings the show up a notch.
They’re being mighty coy with just how much she’s retaining, aren’t they? “I see perfectly” suggests Echo’s got a lot more going on under the hood than she’s showing us. It’s an artistically interesting choice to let the main character be unknown even to the audience, and I think it can pay off in satisfying ways. Though if we keep getting hints that she’s keeping secrets but we never see what she knows, the show might bury itself in oblique build-up. I’m feeling optimistic. This week was the first time I tuned in with unequivocal anticipation, but I guess I’ve become a fan!
It’s a challenging structure for a show, and they’re doing more unusual things with it than I’d realized up front, where it’s being touted as “hot girl kicks ass plus SF”. Dollhouse actually reminds me most closely of The Prisoner, one of my all-time favorites. They both do fun and surprising things around the expected contract between audience and narrative (“We need Information!”). Not going to be to everyone’s tastes, and maybe I’m giving the show more credit than it deserves, but so far I’m really intrigued by how it’s handling this.
really! i’m surprised. i’m still watching it out of loyalty but i think it’s taken a turn for the hokey. and the relationship between danny and the captain? ugh!
the lack of a demon-and-monster-infested world and a tongue-in-cheek premise really shows how thin whedon’s single-episode-arc ideas are. most of these eps have been silly so far. if next week’s ep isn’t great, i might give up on it.
I was underwhelmed by blind Echo. For the record, I have yet to have a blind adult or child ask to touch my face to “see” me. Personally, I was also disappointed that they didn’t show more of what she was doing (other than cane use), but that’s personal, not about the show. (He, I also tried to identify what kind of cane she was using. A little obsessive, I know.)
Echo/Esther’s lack of disorientation upon regaining her sight was, I think, a bigger miracle than actually regaining her sight.
The single arc shows are still not holding up for me, personally. I am hoping that some of the logic holes will get addressed by later shows — and that it will show that no, they were not holes but clever storytelling.
Yes! Esp. on the lack of disorientation thing. She can read biblical names
that good after not reading since nine?
I agree on Reese and Tidwell — or at least I did at first. I still don’t
quite buy it, but they’ve put more interesting in the dynamic as it’s gone
on. (Those first few eps of them hooking up though? Definitely painful
moments.)
Hello Gwenda! I was impressed by your recent comments over on Jeff Vendermeer’s blog, and so have ambled over to check out your site. I wish I had something to contribute on this Dollhouse thread, but was sufficiently turned off by the pilot and Dushku’s performance that I didn’t bother to tune back in. Looks like my initial assessment was right? Anyway, cheers!
It seemse like the switch has flipped, for me; while I could pull this episode apart pointing out problems, including some discussed above, I’ve reached a point where I’m interested enough to pass over many of them. Dushku is getting better, and I’ve sort of become inured to the general skeeviness of the show, i.e. I take it as given that there are no good people on the show and that the politics of it are muddy at best. I was amused by the hunt for the “male reaction” back at the base, and I liked the reveal of Reed Diamond during the fire rather than the expected Boyd. The unscrupulous ATF agent was the thing that bothered me most, just because it felt so familiar.
Yes, this continues the upward trend, I think. I continue to want more context for the engagement personalities — I want the equivalent of Al and Ziggy to set up some expectations for who this person is going to be. Secretly, I still want a recurring personality who is played by different actives in different episodes, sort of like last week but long-term.
Dammit, that comment above is from me, not Eve’s Alexandria. The perils of a shared computer! (Nic remains more sceptical about the show than me, in general.)
I’m still not captivated by Dollhouse and the fact that it’s taken this long makes me think I never will be. Most of my problems have to do with Dushku’s skills (I found it difficult to distinguish her “blind” from her “blank doll”). Her favorite expression is a concerned frown. Unlike Dave, the skeeviness still gets to me. I want more from Helo, too, as he comes off as a really poor investigator. I’ll stick with it for the next episode, for the supposed game-changing episode. But if that doesn’t sell me, I’m done.
As for Castle, I liked the first two episodes. I want Fillion to have a good show, too, so I’m hoping for success. But I feel like it’s buried in the schedule. I had no idea it was on last night, for example. But maybe that’s me.
I completely agree that Life is the best show on television right now and I wish it was on twice a week so I could get a more regular fix.
There was a moment in a previous episode–the backup singer one–where Echo and Sierra had significant eye contact on the main floor–Sierra went to say hi, but Echo shook her head and they didn’t speak that made me wonder a lot more about how much they retain. Of course, I have no idea if we were supposed to notice that or not.
I am wondering, now that we know there’s a mole, if the ‘breakdowns’ that Echo has been having are related to that. Ie, they’re not accidents, they’re intentional? because if these are like the first 5 times the dolls have malfuctioned since Alpha, that makes more sense than “Oh. No. What a surprise. They are broken again.”
Yes, the touching faces thing annoyed me too. Just because she’s blind doesn’t mean she can just go up to everyone and touch their faces to know who she’s talking to. I thought it was nicely done with Jonas and her vision, but should not have happened with anyone else.