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DOLLHOUSE |
Echo - Eliza Dushku Boyd Langton - Harry Lennix Topher Brink - Fran Kranz Paul Ballard - Tahmoh Penikett Sierra - Dichen Lachman Adelle DeWitt - Olivia Williams Claire Saunders - Amy Acker Mellie - Miracle Laurie Daniel Perrin - Alexis Denisof 
OTHER DOLLHOUSE SEASONS Season 1 OTHER JOSS WHEDON SHOWS Buffy The Vampire Slayer Angel Firefly 
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VowsEcho, a woman who can be programmed to be anyone, is on assignment as the new bride of one of the largest weapons dealers in the States. When he finds out that she is not all that she seems, her life is put in danger. Inside the Dollhouse, mind-controlling genius Topher is being stalked by Doctor Saunders who is still coming to terms with what she learned at the end of the last season. It took half a dozen episodes to get DOLLHOUSE off the ground in its first season, but that's not the case with this second season. Whilst this opener is not as good as the show got towards the end last time around, it is far better than most of the early episodes. There are emotional fallout issues to be dealt with and these might be opaque to anyone who didn't see the show the first time around, but the main story of Echo's assignment is straightforward enough. Jamie Bamber (of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) guest stars as the arms dealer and though he hasn't got that much to do he makes the most of the sudden bursts of action, something that series star Eliza Dushku has a long history of in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel and which she is easily capable of selling. Acting honours, though, go to Amy Acker as the doctor who was revealed to be one of the programmable actives herself and a killer to boot. The twisting of her psyche by the discoveries that were made then is a tough act to pull off, but she does so really well with a mixture of barely contained psycho and hurting victim. DOLLHOUSE is now in its second season and has a sense of confidence and purpose that it only discovered halfway through its last run, so we are promised good things to come. Written by Joss WhedonDirected by Joss Whedon Top InstinctEcho is imprinted to be a loving mother with the added wrinkle that the changes to her mind are extended to her body, allowing her to breast feed the baby she is supposed to mother. When the man who paid for her decidest that things aren't working out, she decides to take the baby away from him and no amount of mind wiping is going to suppress the maternal instincts aroused. Eliza Dushku gets to play a scary psycho woman in the latter stages of what is a fairly straightforward story that only comes to life when the mind wipe doesn't quite take. As she takes on the father in a house darkened by her wire-cutting but lit by lightning flashes, the episode riffs like mad on those thriller movies where nice girls go evil, but the writing team are far too clever than to let things work out the way the audience expects. There are issues, such as why the formidable Ms DeWitt doesn't put Echo in the Attic following the second completely screwed up mission in a row with evidence of the programmable girl's brain glitching all over the place, but it's entertaining enough for that not to get in the way of the fun. Written by Michele Fazekas & Tara ButtersDirected by Steven S DeKnight Top Belle ChoseVictor is imprinted with the mind of an injured psycho in the hope of finding out where the women he kidnapped are to be found, but he then escapes. In an attempt to remotely wipe the imprint, the personality is transferred to Echo who is on an assignment as a student fantasy for a lecturer. Regular Joss Whedon co-worker Tim Minear comes up with an entertaining thrill ride that has lots of great moments and an opening scene to really make you sit up and pay attention, but doesn't quite hang together and leaves a slight sense of disatisfaction in its wake. Exactly how rich do you have to be to hire an active from the Dollhouse when a university professor can manage it? How can a client walk out of the Dollhouse with an active without anyone noticing? Problems aside, however, there is more than enough fun to go around and once again a croquet bat manages to be a very sinister weapon. Written by Tim MinearDirected by David Solomon Top |
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