"You know what I hate about people like you? You think you can control people like me."
Kali Cunningham, her boyfriend Noah Mosley and her best friend Brian 'Shuggy' Dunne undergo a psyche examination called the Haizmann test, run by a sinister Guidance Counsellor called Mr Tidyman. The three test positive and the mysterious Beverin orders them to be 'injected'. They find themselves a week later being ordered to kill the thing they love most, and slowly realisation dawns that they may not be in the real world any more. Kali confronts Beverin and learns that she alone has passed the test ...
Comment
Tom deVille's directorial debut on the series is, like many of the episodes which form a part of the emerging backstory, a somewhat confused affair. There are some great images (and I liked the blocking out of product names and badges with 'product placement' labels throughout) and some nice ideas, but it takes two or three viewings to even start to understand what might be going on.
From the point they are injected, Kali, Noah and Shuggy (not to mention Tidyman) are all living in an artificial reality created and controlled by the mysterious Institute, apparently headed by Beverin. The whole thing is a test, a means of weeding out the weak and allowing the strongest - Kali - to survive. For the Institute appear to have plans for her. What those plans are, are at this time unknown ... as and when we get to see Dollhouse Burns then maybe things will become clearer.
The casting is tremendous. Anthony Daniels sheds his familiar C3P0 suit to play Tidyman with eerie reserve, and Terrence Hardiman's Beverin contains all the power and visual impact of his popular Demon Headmaster role in that children's serial. Ania Sowinski as Kali likewise gives an excellently controlled performance and is very impressive.
In summary, this is a nicely directed episode with several fresh approaches to handling television presentation (I especially liked the boxing process when Kali confronts her parents). However it really doesn't make a lot of sense on an initial viewing, and lacks a proper ending (a common-ish problem with Urban Gothic). Maybe expecting late night audiences to be awake enough to make the effort of following it (or videoing it to watch again) is too much to ask.
| Credits | |
| Written by | Tom deVille |
| Directed by | Tom deVille |
| Starring | Ania Sowinski (Kali Cunningham)
Anthony Daniels (Mr Tidyman) Rupert Hill (Noah) Tim Murphy (Shuggy) Terrence Hardiman (Beverin) Cinnamon Bone (Sadie) Nick Staverson (Kali's Dad) Marod Hardiman (Kali's Mum) Stephen Rashbrook (Administrator) |
Click here for full credit list | |
