Dollhouse - "Belle Chose" (Tim Minear)
Tim Minear brings his ludicrous serial killers over from The Inside and decides that subtlety or indeed, coherence aren't needed.
Make of what you will from this list:
- a college professor can afford to hire a doll
- Ballard is given the job of interrogating Terry/Victor because he used to work for the FBI but, as we have seen before, the Dollhouse usually prefers the perfection of imprinting one
- Brad and Terry/Victor escape easily
- the usual lack of physical consequences when someone is thwacked with a croquet mallet
- Echo doesn't have her towel hooked up in the shower just so Paul could look uncomfortable at seeing her naked
- there is slow motion of Kiki/Echo looking at herself in the mirror
- having gender non-specific names makes you a perve
I am looking forward to the day when I can say I knew that Enver Gjokaj was going to a star when I saw his range, assurance, and general awesomeness in Dollhouse.
Olivia Williams as Adelle is the only thing that I positively like about Dollhouse*. I like Enver as an actor but he is playing many roles so it's hard to like the combination.
The issues that this show is tackling bother me. Exploring misogyny is too near to celebrating it for my liking. Isn't it hilarious when a man behaves like a woman? Shoogling his bum like that - it's so silly and funny.
In normal circumstances, I don't watch much that deals with serial killers or child abusers or prostitution or arms dealers or, you get the idea.
Like Charles, I find myself wondering "if Buffy and Firefly were the exception and that in actuality the real Joss is the one responsible for Angel and Dollhouse."
I am not going to systematically write about Dollhouse anymore. I know for a fact that if this wasn't a Joss Whedon show, I would definitely not be watching any more of it. I need to get a grip and just stop watching.
*Adelle may even be one of my top five Whedon characters.
When Echo got hit by the mallet but didn't show any bruises (why does no one show bruises on this show? or Buffy?), I thought "well, it's because she's Faith the Slayer and slayers don't show bruises."
And yes, Enver Gjokaj is about the best actor on this show.
Still watching, though it's not appointment TV.
well, possibly;
1. Rossum is in bed with Academia and vice versa, we know this already. The lecturer fiscal income is irrelevant.
2. It was a test of Ballard by Adelle.
3. There's a spy in the dollhouse still remember?
4. Down to the network not the show.
5. echo did that on purpose, the way she spoke and everything was 'self aware' ala Epitaph 1.
6. Was just a cheesy shout out to Silence of the Lambs.
7. Told us more about Ballard than it did about the gender issues.
i think the show has really picked up since it started last year and i liked this episode a lot. i notice you (apparently) confuse Whedon with Minear a bit and it's Tim's episodes on Angel and Dollhouse that you seem to especially dislike, which is fair enough but maybe the 'Whedon-double' issue is actually a Joss and Tim issue.
Actually I had forgotten there was still a spy but I would like to bet 5p that that issue isn't resolved.
The slow motion tells us more about the programme makers than Ballard.
Nice try regarding the lecturer though quite why Rossum would be interested in helping out a Middle English professor (and his university) is beyond me. I prefer the idea that he is a best-selling author (maybe he’s a Dan Brown) who can’t tear himself away from teaching. Either way, I did enjoy Arye Gross in Ellen.
Actually, I’m not confused with Minear and Whedon. I do pay attention to who writes (or is credited with) an episode. Though if you mean that I have a tendency to not like Minear’s work compared with Whedon’s you are right (but, of last season’s first five, I enjoyed “True Believer” the most). And you definitely have a point regarding that I may have an issue with them working together because I think Firefly's “The Message” was one of the worst things in the Whedonverse and they wrote it together.
yeah, crikey but my post comment came off sounding a lot more patronizing than i intended, i was indeed thinking of your views on The Message etc.
thank you for the reply - i very much appreciate that you do so... i often find we disagree so it's nice that you respond.
you do make me think about a lot of issues and opinions that i would probably miss otherwise - and i appreciate that too!
wow, flattery much? i must be in a good mood LOL!
Dollhouse has been canceled. After January, the show won't be around anymore for you to complain about. On the bright side, this will no doubt allow Joss and company to make the Doctor Horrible sequel sooner, rather than later. Unless of course, you have some sort of issue with that one as well.
If so, perhaps it would be wise to just steer clear of Whedon's material altogether from now on. It seems to me, your negatives about his work are more abundant than his positives. I could be completely wrong. I'll keep digging here and get back to you. Nevertheless, your blog is always entertaining and interesting to read, even if I find myself disagreeing and shaking my head more often than not. Keep writing. Love the humor. -John
Dear John,
Thanks for stopping by and for the nice things you said about my blog.
I am clearly in a unhealthy relationship with the work of Joss Whedon. I love the vast majority of Buffy and three episodes of Firefly are probably three of my favourite episodes of anything. Serenity is one of my favourite films. However, when it comes to Angel and Dollhouse, I want to love but can't and, despite how bad I think they are at times, I keep watching.
As you may have noted I have stopped blogging about Dollhouse (and Angel) because in the words of Anya, "God, I hate this. This tone in my voice? I dislike it more than you do, and I'm closer to it!" Ironically, "Belonging" was a great episode, not without flaws, but utterly compelling and superbly acted so maybe I stopped too soon.
I am sad that Dollhouse has been axed because lots of people will need to find new jobs now but, on the other hand, I can't wait to see Enver Gjokaj become a star.
As to Dr Horrible, I have a cat called Penny (as well as two others called Wash and Tara) so...