Joss Whedons Dollhouse

[ZarakiKujata]

I barely made it through this last episode. I found the whole plotline so stupid, it honestly felt like a pointless filler, the dollhouse is in stasis as it were (and yet there were 3 dolls on the loose..) and honestly the more they show of the non-doll characters (Ballard, Topher, British lady, and I assume eventually Echo's handler) the sadder their lives are and not in a tragic way(maybe Ballard), but more of a living in your parents basement at 40 with no friends sad..

[Deftscythe]

I barely made it through this last episode. I found the whole plotline so stupid, it honestly felt like a pointless filler, the dollhouse is in stasis as it were (and yet there were 3 dolls on the loose..) and honestly the more they show of the non-doll characters (Ballard, Topher, British lady, and I assume eventually Echo's handler) the sadder their lives are and not in a tragic way(maybe Ballard), but more of a living in your parents basement at 40 with no friends sad..

Think about the kind of people who would patronize the Dollhouse, then think of the kind of people who would want to serve those people. They're all pimps and slave-traders trying to convince themselves otherwise.

[Shade]

Thought this week's episode was pretty meh. Maybe because I've already seen the idea of "resleeving" a dead person in a new body done before in science fiction (Richard Morgan), to more dramatic effect. It was alright though, and Topher / Sierra had some fun scenes.

How many eps are we from the finale? I've lost count.

[ZarakiKujata]

Think about the kind of people who would patronize the Dollhouse, then think of the kind of people who would want to serve those people.

Also the same demographic I think Fox is trying to reach by having this on Friday nights.. lol

[Katlan]

I caught up on the last two episodes yesterday (the spy episode and last friday's). The spy episode was fantastic and pretty much every plot moving episode has been the same. It really showed how dark of a place the Dollhouse is. I think my favorite part of this past friday's episode was the Toffer bit's... it was cute to see him play around w/ a made friend.
I don't understand why they don't do less fillers and more main-plot centric episodes. Each of those episodes has been plain superior to everything else. I do really like how they are putting more focus on characters outside of Echo though as I think the others are a strong supporting cast. but lol @ them not even showing Echo's new handler.. is he that unimportant ? lol

Looking forward to this Friday's episode though, it looks like it's gonna be great

[Kilhart]

Asians get no love. :<

[Lexa]

Last episode was bullshit. Topher's bits were the only good ones. But I want more overall storyline progression.

[Elcura]

I agree, Topher and Sierra's parts were my favourite, but it was only at the end was it truly good.

Overall, I don't mind random episodes/missions if something plot-centric or story related is revealed or moved on, but this episode it didn't feel like much development was made. I still liked it because the concept was interesting, but honestly there would only be like 4-5 episodes of Dollhouse if everything was pure plot.

It's what American TV does, Supernatural, Chuck, Reaper etc etc all follow this format and it works, just depends on what the main content of the random episode is about.

[Jefe]

Eh, I tried hard to buy the fact she was the dead mother, but damn it was hard lol. She's an inferior actress when compared to the rest of the cast. I too liked Topher's bit.

[ZarakiKujata]

It's what American TV does, Supernatural, Chuck, Reaper etc etc all follow this format and it works.

Lost, 24, BSG, Mad Men, Breaking Bad all beg to differ.

[Eaglestrike]

Lost, 24, BSG, Mad Men, Breaking Bad all beg to differ.

Because only one format works for television shows.

[ZarakiKujata]

Because only one format works for television shows.

No, but I think the general consensus is that the format of the shows I mentioned is superior when it comes to dramatic story telling.

[Deftscythe]

I don't know why everyone expects every episode to be dedicated to the main plot in this series. No Whedon show has been like that. Angel and Buffy both followed the format of a season-long story arc interspersed with plenty of stand-alone episodes and Firefly didn't really have any encompassing plot at all(or didn't have time to get into it). Whedon has a certain story-telling style and there's not really a reason to expect Dollhouse to deviate from it.

[Katlan]

If the fillers were of the same quality (or close) as the plot-centric episodes then I think the fillers would be a welcome addition. There is nothing wrong w/ fillers imo... But so far, w/ the exceptions of maybe one or two, the fillers just haven't been as compelling. Maybe it has to do w/ everyone being a blank slate at the start of each episode? But all the story-moving episodes have been really good and leaving me w/ wanting more of them

[Elcura]

No, but I think the general consensus is that the format of the shows I mentioned is superior when it comes to dramatic story telling.

It doesn't work with every kind of show, some shows would suffer if they kept to the main storyline 100%. When they do that, there isn't a lot of room for the actual concept of the show to do anything. Dollhouse would mostly be about Billard trying to find the Dollhouse and/or clients and maybe a bit Dominic being a spy and something about Alpha.

The shows that have a constant storyline do that because they can't afford to have variations that expand on their main concept. What's the guy from Breaking Bad gonna do? What are the people from Lost gonna do?

When you spread the main story over "filler" episodes, it gives the characters time to develop (usually) and the viewer gets to see different aspects of the concept. Something about the main plot gets revealed or some dynamic between characters change.

Supernatural, Burn Notice etc etc follow that format and do fine with it (Supernatural espeically). People are generally impatient and can't appreciate what a seemingly random episode does for changing character dynamics, revealing information or feelings and the like.

It's more challenging with Dollhouse because the dolls don't really have personalities though, so it's more up to the supporting cast to change things around.

[SubzeroDiabolos]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I liked this episode. Maybe it's he woman inside me but the ending got me all emo.

[Linliel]

I liked this episode too! It had a nice little twist to it and had some interesting character development :D

[ZarakiKujata]

Alan Tudyk and Victor being Dominick were definitely the highlights of this episode...

[Eaglestrike]

It's not even over yet, lol. This is a great episode so far. Love the environmental systems guy.

[Eaglestrike]

OH MY GOD