Dollhouse - season 2 (1 Viewer)

[Will_B]

Fox ran previews during the episode noting that Dollhouse is off next week, returns the following Friday, and begins some stories with Terminator's Summer Glau the week after that.

I admit that when I saw Summer's face appear on screen in the advertising, my first thought was OMG! THEY'RE BRING BACK TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES!!!!
Followed swiftly by disappointment.

I did not like tonight's episode, because I don't like movies like "Saw". I forced myself to watch the episode, and it seemed well made, but not to my tastes.

My housemates, who had never seen an episode, were getting many appropriate laughs from the clever dialogue. On that level the show was working.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I thought this episode rebounded terrifically from the last one. It's right up there with "Epitaph One" in terms of exploring the dark side of this concept. Echo has benefited from her composite event; it has made her more than simply an empty vessel. But because Topher screwed up playing with technology he didn't quite understand, Echo has been contaminated. Echo's inherent nature is decent, but as the scene inside the serial killer's playhouse made clear, she only has a limited ability to control his tendencies when in close proximity to the triggers for his sociopathy. The "goodness gracious" at the end was horribly disturbing.

Originally Posted by Will_B

Fox ran previews during the episode noting that Dollhouse is off next week, returns the following Friday, and begins some stories with Terminator's Summer Glau the week after that.

I admit that when I saw Summer's face appear on screen in the advertising, my first thought was OMG! THEY'RE BRING BACK TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES!!!!
Followed swiftly by disappointment.

I hear that. I really like this show, but I liked "Terminator: TSC" even more. FWIW, "Dollhouse" creator Joss Whedon said pretty much the same thing.

I did not like tonight's episode, because I don't like movies like "Saw". I forced myself to watch the episode, and it seemed well made, but not to my tastes.

My housemates, who had never seen an episode, were getting many appropriate laughs from the clever dialogue. On that level the show was working.

I think the fact that the episode made you uncomfortable is simply a sign that you are an emotionally healthy human being. It was incredibly twisted. The fact that Alpha, who has been granted nearly God-like intellect, is essentially the same emotional profile as this guy is even more disturbing. The most disturbing thing is that a decent creature like Echo now as a serial killer living inside her.

I believe I read that:
Summer Glau is not going to be an Active, but rather a non-imprinted replacement for Dr. Saunders, who's on the lam in "Happy Town"

 

[Patrick Sun]

I never need to see Victor with a college coed imprint.

This show is still not really clicking, and I can see why people are tuning out.

I think general audiences need some lead character consistency, and this show is the anti-thesis of such a need for the TV viewing populace to keep returning to it.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

"Dollhouse" rebounds to season premiere ratings misery! Finally beats ABC repeats! (2.2 million, 1.4/3)

Considering that the show was under 2 million viewers last week, I guess this is good news, such as it is.

 

[Joe_H]

From Dichen Lachman (Sierra)'s Twitter:

Great news from fox today guys! They R going 2 air all 13. But keep up the dvr & tell all your friends to tune in Fri Oct 23 onwards

http://twitter.com/Dichenlachman/status/4825934426

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I'm glad to hear this. Despite the issues, I don't want the show to just abruptly disappear (see Defying Gravity).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The Hollywood Reporter has an article about it here, too: http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/10/fox-we-will-air-all-13-dollhouse-episodes.html

I'm really happy to hear this, and I'm glad the Whedon has structured the 13 episodes as a closed arc rather than the first half of a 23-episode season.

I'm also tickled by the quote from the Fox exec: "If you cancel it, you're an asshole; if you renew it and then don't put it back on, you're an asshole," he said. "I'm still paying for 'Terminator.' 'Dollhouse' has a small rabid fan base that in the world of social media seems bigger than it is. We gave them another season knowing full well we were going to burn in hell if we pulled it."

 

[Will_B]

Yep it sounds like he's sleeping on the couch because of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles being canceled. That's nice!

 

[Will_B]

People will assume Dollhouse has been canceled. Whedonesque reports "We get Friday's episode, then nothing until December 6. Then, for three straight Fridays, we get back-to-back Dollhouse. (Downside: Dollhouse is out of the sweeps month entirely.)"

Si the end of October and the entire month of November has no Dollhouse.

Best to just set the Tivo to find the show, rather than keep track.

 

[Michelle Schmid]

My DVR has an episode scheduled to record tomorrow and then lists another on 10/30 which says Part 1 of 2. Are you saying the 10/30 ep. won't air until December? Bummer. I like this show!

 

[mattCR]

Tomorrow is it, then it's off for sweeps. When it airs in December, they will air two episodes a night. (quickly burn off)

And that will end DH.
However, Joss is directing an episode in the back 9 of "Glee"

 

[Will_B]

If they burned it off a little faster, they could release season 2 on dvd & blu in time for Christmas. But, not quite.

 

[TravisR]

There's nine episodes left (after tonight) so unless they air it on more than just Friday night, it'll have to run into at least January. That assumes that they're skipping all of November and that there most likely won't be any episodes aired on December 25 or January 1.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Tonight's episode was actually emotionally wretching to watch in some respects. Some crazy internalized stuff going on that found the surface as well.

 

[Joe_H]

I feel like this would've really be good in season 1. I feel like a lot of people turned off because they found every character on the show entirely immoral and unlikeable, and seeing someone actually struggle with it like in tonight's episode might've helped that.

Great episode though.

 

[Todd Stout]

I came across this article last night:
blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2009/10/dollhouse-sits-out-november-sweeps.html

"Dollhouse" will return Friday, Dec. 4 with back-to-back episodes featuring the first appearance by Summer Glau. The double runs will continue through Dec. 18, leaving three of the show's 13 episodes to run in 2010.

 

[Will_B]

I missed tonight's episode. But here's the details for what's left:

A Fox rep tells io9 that this is the airing schedule for Dollhouse between now and 2010:

Friday, Oct. 23 (tonight) - Episode 204 (9PM-10PM et/pt)
Friday, Dec. 4 - Episode 205 & 206 (Summer Glau episodes 8PM-10PM et/pt)
Friday, Dec. 11 - Episodes 207 & 208 (8PM-10PM et/pt)
Friday, Dec. 18 - Episodes 209 & 210 (8PM-10PM et/pt)

Joss says (courtesy of Whedonesque.com):

Hi guys. Lot going on.

First off, TV addict not dumb. (But you gotta get clean, man. We love you and you HAVE A PROBLEM. I'm just saying, try a book. A book about TV! Not cold turkey.)

Directing Glee. This is not a diabolical Fox scheme. This is me going "can I can I?" Did you see last night? Best cut-to-opening-credits moment since the halcyon days of BSG.

Howzabout that schedule? Well, I'm not as depressed as everyone else. We weren't about to rock sweeps anyway, and though there's a chilly November, December is CRAZY. It's like an Advent calendar of episodes! We get November to try to spread the word (which I'll be leaning on Fox to do, though it's hard to imagine them doing as good a job as the WhyIWatch guy) and then December is pure gluttony. Plus the episodes line up extremely well in these pairs, and we'll have an absurdly appropriate lead-in.

Back to breaking Tim's episode. Keep the faith, peeps. I'll bring you news (and hopefully a little humor, I mean would it kill me to punch these up a little?) when I can. -j joss | October 22, 18:11 CET

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Joe_H

...they found every character on the show entirely immoral and unlikeable, and seeing someone actually struggle with it like in tonight's episode might've helped that.

I agreed with Keith Carradine's character when he wondered why they had any more problem with this than their normal operations. If they're willing to run a high tech brothel for rich perverts (what kind of freak must a guy be if he can't get a woman based solely on his wealth or if he wants a brainwashed woman over a willing woman?), I don't see why sending Sierra off with the neuroscience doctor bothers them at all. He was disgusting but, like Carradine said, they were sending Sierra off to a life of wealth and privilege whereas she's back to being a sperm receptacle for anyone with enough money to pay for the next couple of years. If they really cared about her, they'd free her all together.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

There's the small matter of a contract and choice. The Dollhouse employees have been able to labor under the protective umbrella of choice. The dolls agreed to do these things (even though they didn't know what things they'd be doing) for a period of time in exchange for something. None of them, that we know of, agreed to do in perpetuity -- until now.
In theory, the Dollhouse has had responsibilities to the dolls. When the contract is over, they should be no worse off then they were before. For instance, they wouldn't let smoeone sign up to murder a doll. They wouldn't allow someone to sign up to perform a hysterectomy on a doll. Or have sex with a doll and give her HIV/AIDS. Sending a doll off to be a permanent slave isn't in the charter. The writers rightly pointed out, however, that the Dollhouse employees have long since compromised any grounds to make a moral stand.

As for what type of freak a guy must be to be unable to get a woman based solely on his wealth, I'll admit that wealth is a wonder aphrodisiac, but I'd like to think there's more to a woman than that. Perhaps there are tons of women out there these guys could get, but they don't have the qualities the guys are looking for (and that extends beyond just looks). Surely we as a society don't still buy the notion that money buys happiness. There are plenty of wealthy guys with lots of options who call on call girls. The reasons are many, but they're valid reasons beyond "freaky". Maybe it's worth the money not to sit through an exciting discussion about the latest episode of Desperate Housewives.

 

[Citizen87645]

It wasn't that he couldn't get a woman, it's that he couldn't get Priya/Sierra.

what kind of freak must a guy be if he can't get a woman based solely on his wealth or if he wants a brainwashed woman over a willing woman?