Dollhouse: Stage Fright - we get to hear Echo wail like she's on American Idol.

POSTED BY: Haken
UPDATED: Friday, March 6, 2009 14:37
VIEWED: 8723
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CELLARDOOR

Saturday, February 28, 2009 6:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Stoweaway:

What did you say to yourself when
Select to view spoiler:
Victor got up from the Dollhouse chair?

That was a "no way!" moment for me. It starts out looking generic and predictable. But Whedon doesn't disappoint on the surprises and developing characters.

I'm convinced. Now I'll be dedicated to Friday night TV for only the second time in my life.

-------------------------------------------------
Check out http://www.americasfunniesttshirts.com for hilarious shirts at a great price.

Probably the effect of how I responded could be translated to Mal's "...Huh." in general, but my actual response was a literal double-take, drop-jaw "dtukphurklmph" something or other. I'm pretty convinced my own self.

PIRATENEWS

Saturday, February 28, 2009 6:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by CellarDoor:

That literal nod/head shake from Echo at the end was also an interesting development. I'm intrigued to see where that goes.

Roger that.

Joss tryin to deprogram MKULTRAs and suicidal teens? Less humor in good works.

I wonder if Cathy O'Brien and Kelly are watching? OBrien wrote about the headshake thing with Louise Mandrell...
www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cathy+o%27brien+mandrell&aq=f&oq=

CIA sexslave singer Louise Mandrell and big sis

Was Echo singing a headnod to the Mandrells?

"It'll simmer your headmeat down to a bubbling brainy fondu."
-Eliza Dushku advert for Dollhouse

CELLARDOOR

Saturday, February 28, 2009 6:56 AM

I hadn't put two and two together about the show's complexity yet, but I just read this insightful analysis over at http://whedonesque.com/comments/19284 :

I'm totally loving 'Dollhouse'! And I've come up with a theory about the cheesy plot points, they are so we will look beyond the standalone nature of the engagements and focus on the story arc about the actives and the Dollhouse itself.

The first episode about the kidnapped little girl who might get abused (and the negotiator who had been) was really about how not all the actives were volunteers, some were kidnapped, and all are abused.

The second episode with the 'Most Dangerous Game' was about how all the actives are being forced to play out the games (many of them dangerous physically, but all could be dangerous emotionally) others set for them.

And tonight with Echo being body guard mirrored Boyd guarding her, as well as everything about prisons and freedom.

Posted by embers

Wish I'd thought of that! It makes sense though, and I only hope people stick around for multiple episodes to get the flavor of what's starting to take place.

[Edited to remove long, unnecessary spoiler tags.]

SINGATE

Saturday, February 28, 2009 9:27 AM

The highlight of the show for me was when

Select to view spoiler:

Echo wanged Beyonce in the face. Made the audience think Echo would just walk away after laying on the guilt trip. Wrong. The knockout was a great way of saying "no seriously, you are going to help her".

One aspect of the show that I admire is that Joss has found actors who can all pull off convincing foreign accents. We got two great ones tonight from Sierra and Victor. I also enjoyed Eliza throwing in some of her real life Bawston accent towards the end. I was expecting her to toss out at least one "wicked hard" before the end of the episode.

There are quite a few similarities between characters on this series and characters from other vehicles helmed by Mr. Whedon. There are two in particular that have really jumped out at me. The Dollhouse director reminds me of the woman who worked at Wolfram & Hart, Lilah if memory serves. This new character doesn't command the same presence yet but I definitely see similarities. The second is more of a vibe for me. For some reason everytime Sierra appears I immediately think of Kaylee. They do share some physical characteristics but beyond that I get this feeling Sierra is the kind of sweet that induces diabetes.

_________________________________________________

We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.

SHINYGOODGUY

Saturday, February 28, 2009 10:50 AM

Yes, that "nod" said so much and I asked myself "Does Sierra remember what took place during the assignment?" We know Echo is becoming self-aware but that head nod makes you go Hmmmmm.

When the plot twist happened I thought "Now, this is getting interesting" At first I thought the character was a throwaway just something to push the story along. Was I ever pleasantly surprised.

This ep was a parallel commentary on a couple of different levels. What I saw was comments on the DH, Britney Spears, Beyonce, etc. But also between Rayna's life and that of the DH. The need to be perfect for their audience and what Rayna really thought about her fans.

I thought it would be a straight "bodyguard" story where the "star" learns a great lesson about herself and her fans and how valuable they are. But it went in a whole different direction. We also get some more clues about the DH and the people that work there. DeWitt is getting more interesting. So is Boyd and the good doctor. I'm still not sure about Topher though. Where does he fit in all this?

Joss is laying the Reese's Pieces candies along the way in just the right order. It's up to us to pick up and continue to follow to the door with the prize. Patience my fellow travelers, patience.

This is gonna be fun!

SGG

Tawabawho?

ECGORDON

Saturday, February 28, 2009 5:36 PM

First off I have to ask why is it necessary to black out "spoiler" information concerning an episode that has already aired? If someone has not seen it yet then they shouldn't be reading this thread.

We've been have a pretty heated argument about this subject on my board, and that seems to be the consensus. The only things that should be considered spoilers are things you've heard or read about upcoming episodes, or else mention of some other show entirely. I was spoiled for a lot of events in Buffy and Angel (which I didn't watch until after Firefly) on this and other boards. The spoiler discussion on my board began when someone dropped a huge Angel spoiler concerning Amy Acker in the middle of the Dollhouse thread. My son has yet to watch the final season of Angel and was upset about reading that.

As for the blue gloves being a nod to Firefly, I can honestly say I didn't even notice that, but I did pick up another reference to the Ariel episode. One of the medics mentioned that the patient was "cyanotic."

Overall, I thought the ep was a bit weak and cliched, but a few good moments shone through. The acknowledgment between Echo and Sierra that there are some things they do not want their handlers to know is one of those. The Victor reveal did surprise me, because I thought it was going to be Miracle Laurie's character to be the one who was keeping an eye on Ballard, and of course that might still turn out to be the case.

I like Boyd since he seems to be the only one who has any concern for Echo's welfare or questions the validity of the Dollhouse's activity. I haven't yet decided what I think about Topher, but I do think he is entirely too proud of his ability since he seems to be as in the dark as any of them concerning the dangers of the technology.

LISSA

Saturday, February 28, 2009 11:50 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
First off I have to ask why is it necessary to black out "spoiler" information concerning an episode that has already aired? If someone has not seen it yet then they shouldn't be reading this thread.

We've been have a pretty heated argument about this subject on my board, and that seems to be the consensus. The only things that should be considered spoilers are things you've heard or read about upcoming episodes, or else mention of some other show entirely. I was spoiled for a lot of events in Buffy and Angel (which I didn't watch until after Firefly) on this and other boards. The spoiler discussion on my board began when someone dropped a huge Angel spoiler concerning Amy Acker in the middle of the Dollhouse thread. My son has yet to watch the final season of Angel and was upset about reading that.

I agree that info about eps that have already aired should not be spoiler tagged. This caused some confusion for me concerning that same Amy Acker spoiler you referenced! The day before it originally aired, I was reading a thread on fff.net in which events in previously aired episodes were being spoiler tagged. I unwittingly highlighted that major Amy spoiler for the night's episode, assuming it was yet another previous event. ...NOT HAPPY.

~lissa

ASARIAN

Sunday, March 1, 2009 2:50 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by CellarDoor:
That literal nod/head shake from Echo at the end was also an interesting development. I'm intrigued to see where that goes.

Actually, I didn't much care for that nod/shake. I mean, I was taken by surprise, pleasantly, when Echo suddenly did her "Shoulder to the wheel" thingy at the end of last week's episode. But again with the gesture of remembrance?? The second time around it's not subtle any more (and even detracts a bit from the first time). Now, I'm sorry to sound a mite harsh here, but I expected a bit more from Firefly-Joss in this regard.

Also, did DeWitt really have to spell it out why Echo actually acted in accordance with the mission parameters? Literally dangling death in front of the girl pop star, to make her realize she wanted to live, after all, did Joss really believe we needed that spelled out for us? (Or was that a Fox exec meddling?) And what's with Victor also asking whether he fell asleep? That gets a mite fake/forced, too.

Then there's Sierra. I dunno, she looks like plastic. Attractive, from certain angles, but I just can't shake the 'Cherry 2000' flashbacks (and at least Cherry was supposed to be a real robot). A 'Cherry 2000' sans the memory chip, that is; because even when loaded, Sierra still appears awfully empty.

What can I say? Talking of fandom, I'm still a fan of Eliza. Still a fan of Joss. And still a fan of Dollhouse. But the show is supposed to get better with each episode. And when it looks like 'things are going to get much, much worse,' then that gives me reason to worry some. Okay, maybe this ep wasn't really much, much worse; but it weren't as good as the last two. And that cannot be a good sign.

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

SERGEANTX

Sunday, March 1, 2009 3:56 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by asarian:
Also, did DeWitt really have to spell it out why Echo actually acted in accordance with the mission parameters?...

You know, I was kind of thinking that too. But, that's how they chose to interpret it. It's possible, perhaps even likely, that Echo recognized her friend from the Dollhouse and was honestly more interested in saving her protecting the diva.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

ECGORDON

Sunday, March 1, 2009 4:05 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by asarian:
Actually, I didn't much care for that nod/shake. I mean, I was taken by surprise, pleasantly, when Echo suddenly did her "Shoulder to the wheel" thingy at the end of last week's episode. But again with the gesture of remembrance?? The second time around it's not subtle any more (and even detracts a bit from the first time). Now, I'm sorry to sound a mite harsh here, but I expected a bit more from Firefly-Joss in this regard.

Joss has to work within the parameters of the network's notes and suggestions. If he doesn't he wouldn't be able to do the show at all. If he had not listened to the network about a rewrite on the Firefly pilot it is possible all that we would have had was an unaired version of "Serenity." Fox said they wanted the first few episodes to be more episodic than serial so it is inevitable there will be a few things that seem repetitious.

I've said this several times over the years concerning other shows, but I guess I have to say it again. I think that the fans are sometimes as harsh on a show as the networks are. Everyone wants a payoff right out of the gate, not enough people have enough patience to let things develop.

The more you bad mouth the show the fewer people will be inclined to check it out in the coming weeks. The rumors of a premature cancellation will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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