Dollhouse, or How consent isn't a play-thing

Not often can one drop the names of (feminist thinkers) Andrea Dworkin and Catharine McKinnon when discussing a network show, but that is exactly what Emily Nussbaum did over at her blog Surf when discussing last night's episode of Dollhouse "Belonging." And damn if it's not a great read!

Written by Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen and directed by Jonathan Frankes, this latest episode moved away from Eliza Dushku's Echo/Caroline plot (and even benched Tammoh Penikett's Paul Ballard!) and focused instead on the doll Sierra (played by Dichen Lachman) - her backstory which we had glimpsed at last season (namely, Priya-turned-Sierra was taken to the Dollhouse because she wouldn't comply with a valued 'higher-up' of the Rossum corporation which owns the Dollhouse). Discussing the main themes of Dollhouse and how they relate to the Whedon world, Nussbaum tells us that,

If you're a resentful Whedon nerd, you've got mind-control issues, a sexually charged situation his series tend to at once oppose in theory and play out in a cathartic way in practice. (As Dollhouse in particular demonstrates, it's awfully hard to distinguish these things when your sex slaves are mincing around in tiny tank tops.)

"Belonging" pushes that sex-slave theme to its limits. It bubbles over with unsettling insights into the Dollhouse's ethical status, fueled by brilliant performances by both Dachman as Sierra and Fran Kranz as Topher, whose status as Sierra's creator/brainwasher is given tremendous complexity (he's regretful, he's complicit, he's innocent, blood is on his hands).

As a quasi-fan of the show myself (during its first season it never quite grabbed me though those last episodes, and Epitaph One - the unaired mythic 13th episode, really pulled all the punches and got me back into the Whedon-bandwagon) I am thoroughly enjoying this new season (trust FOX to pull a Whedon and give us a good thing before killing it off!). This is mainly due to the fact that it has truly embraced its ethical ambiguity and exploited it to advance more (and more interesting) questions than any other broadcast show on TV. Through Sierra's storyline - clearly the one that most mirrors the slavery-motif of the Dollhouse, Whedon & co. crafted one of the most affecting episodes dealing with human trafficking and female consent I have ever seen on TV.

With "Belonging," Dollhouse breached new territory for the show, delving deep into the wounded conscience-addled Topher (played by Fran Kranz) - a character who began as a two-dimensional "nerd" stereotype, at once too smart for his own good and too disinterested to care about his dolls, but who has morphed into the character that most self-reflexibly shows us the limits of the Dollhouse's ethics. In one of the most chilling lines of the series, we hear Olivia Williams' DeWitt tell Topher that

"The cold reality is that everyone here was chosen because their morals have been compromised in some way. Everyone except you. You Topher were chosen because you have no morals. You have always thought of people as play-things. This is not a judgement; you alwasy take very good care of your toys. But you're simply going to have let this one go."

Topher's character arc (as Epipath One showed us) will be to deal with this newfound conscience as the searing revelation of what his technological prowess has done (and will do) to everyone inside and outside the Dollhouse becomes clearer and clearer. Is the Dollhouse simply a fancy prostitution agency which manages to disavow human consent by instilling/imprinting a 'real' desire out of nothing? Or is the question an even bigger one: what are the expectations of desire and consent in a world that is already so invested in performance and make-believe? Priya/Sierra may be able to go back to the Dollhouse as a clean slate (maintaining only her love for Victor) but Topher is left alone in his geek quad to live with what he has done and what he must do every day: 'help' these dolls. But at what price? At whose bidding?

If the last couple of episodes have shown us anything is that the better Dollhouse is as a series, the more uncomfortable are the ideas/questions it (re)presents. We have to wait til December 4 for the next couple of episodes, but I personally can't wait for what Whedon & co. have in store for us.

Dollhouse, or How let's meet the players

Dollhouse returned last night with a Whedon-written-&-directed episode called "Vows" which delved deeper into the moral ambiguities surrounding the Dollhouse (through Whiskey/Saunders' storyline) and set up the ongoing threads for season 2 (a senator-led witch-hunt against the Dollhouse, Paul & Echo's alliance, Whiskey's self-discovery). I don't know what new viewers thought (or if any tuned in) but it was a solid episode featuring a great cast:

Spoilers Ahead...

Guest Starring

Lee Adama (known as 'Jamie Bamber' outside the BSG-verse) played Echo's "assignment" - a husband whose business is a bit shady. (PS. Is Bamber hotter when he's angry/villainous or was that just me?)

Wesley Windham-Pryce (ie. 'Mr Alyson Hannigan' er... I mean 'Alexis Denisof' outside of the Buffyverse) plays (and will recur throughout) as a Senator who has it in for the 'Dollhouse': but why?

Amy Acker as Whiskey/Dr Saunders. After finding out her identity was a sham (she was the premier 'doll' until Alpha sliced her up) she's left in shambles battling with her inner-engineering.

Series Regulars

Enver Gjokaj as 'Victor' (a doll) - following the same fate as Whiskey (at Alpha's knife) we find Victor getting cosmetic surgery at the Dollhouse's expense (which irks Whiskey, but then... we all know why Ms DeWitt would want to keep pretty-Victor's face intact, no?)

Dichen Lachman as 'Sierra' (a doll) has probably the most hysterical scene in the episode where her interaction with Ivy ("Uh, could I have the other one? The man one?") showcases her imprint's racist/sexual personality, but has little to do other than hold hands with Victor at the end of the episode.

Harry Lenix as Boyd Langton (Echo's former handler and now head of security of the Dollhouse) plays the 'father' figure throughout (not just with Echo but now taking on Whiskey as well).

Fran Kranz is Topher Brink, the mastermind behind the Dollhouse's technology - who we saw wounded and damaged in 'Epitah One' begins his morally-tinged journey into ambivalence with his interactions with Whiskey.

Olivia Williams (playing probably my favorite character on the show) is Adelle DeWitt, the head of the LA branch of the Dollhouse (yes! there are more we learned!) and is intent on keeping Ballard close at hand. Good thing she knows how to get things done: by emotionally manipulating people to her advantage.

'Helo' (Tamoh Pennikett) is (ex)Agent FBI Paull Ballard who after spending season 1 pursuing the 'Dollhouse' and finding out what happened to Caroline/Echo, is now 'employed' (though to what capacity the episode doesn't reveal til the end) under the Dollhouse though as DeWitt tells us, his motives (much too chivalrous) are his best guarantee in keeping Echo safe.

And last (and most would also say least) we have Eliza Dushku (Faith herself!) as 'Echo/Caroline): the 'best' doll in the Dollhouse who's self-awareness keeps chipping away at her doll-persona ("I am all of them, but none of them is me" she tells Paul at the end of the episode)

Whedon v Twilight or How I'm Seeing Double

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks this whole Entertainment Weekly giving bi-weekly covers to Twilight is bullsh*t (seriously, off the top of my head I can think of about 4 covers this year alone). I know they sell, but of ALL the Fall films they had to choose this so-called "saga" for their cover story?

Thankfully, the peeps at TV Addict agree with me, and came up with an alternate cover: one I would MUCH rather buy/read:

Dollhouse's Echo/Epitaph One or How this is fearless TV at work

Dollhouse's 'Lost Episodes' (read: the original pilot 'Echo' - which got scrapped, and the thirteenth episode 'Epitath One' - which FOX refused to air in the Spring but which will be available when the Dollhouse DVDs make their way into shelves everywhere) make for great bookends to what was arguably a shaky start to Joss Whedon's provocative new show. Careful: SPOILERS AHEAD.

More so than its aired brethren, 'Echo' and 'Epitath One' carefully distill the moral ambiguity and bleak-toned originality of Joss's premise:

Echo is part of"a member of a group of people known as "Actives" or "Dolls". The Dolls are people whose personalities and existence in the outside world have been wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas—including memory, muscle memory, skills, and language—for different assignments (referred to as engagements)" (So Wikipedia summarizes it).

Echo

Written and Directed by Joss Whedon

If the aired pilot functioned as a way to introduce gentle viewers into this complicated world (with a ransom story more akin to Law & Order than to a Whedon show), 'Echo' doesn't shy away from plunging us deep into the core of the show's premise: what is the real purpose of the Dollhouse? (a question keen viewers might remember from Echo's encounter with Paul Ballard late in the season and which 'Epitaph' will pick up in full force). The episode guides us through the Dollhouse's process: we see Echo in several assignments as Adele explains that the Dollhouse gives its clients not what they want, but what they need. And so we follow as Echo gets given a mission to throw Ballard's mission off target (having gotten Caroline's picture just as in the aired-pilot and following fake tips from 'Victor', Ballard is getting quite close at finding the Dollhouse it seems) - culminating in a moment as shocking and well-executed as the Echo/Paul fight from 'Man on the Street', showing how well Eliza and Tammoh actually work against the other.

In a way, this 'lost pilot' gets quicker at what the season one as a whole works to develop: it intertwines the Paul/Echo story much faster, gives away the Victor/Doll mystery right away and - this is most glaring in the last scene - Echo whispers 'Caroline' before falling asleep, suggesting Echo's ability to remember past her wipes (This if we all remember is the last scene of 'Omega' though it fits much more beautifully here)

In particular (and given the amount of scenes spliced straight into the aired pilot) I wish the Boyd/Topher conversation had been kept intact as it illuminated (much less didactically than what actually aired) the tensions within the Dollhouse in regards to the Dolls:

Topher: Does that tie keep you warm?

Boyd: Uh... no.

Topher: It's just what grownup men do in our culture. They... ah, put a piece of cloth around their necks so they can assert their status and recognize each other as non-threatening kindred.

Boyd: So what is this? The 60s? We're going to burn our draft cards?

Topher: You wear the tie because it never occurred to you not to. You eat eggs every morning but never at night. You feel excitement, companionship when rich men you've never met put a ball through a net. You feel guilty, maybe a little suspicious every time you see that Salvation Army Santa. You look down for at least half a second if a woman leans forward. And your stomach rumbles every time you drive by a big golden arch even if you weren't hungry before. Everybody's programmed Boyd.

In a sense, despite being the first episode, 'Echo' feels much more like an episode from the second half of the season (post-'Man on the Street', if you will) which suggests Whedon & co. only hit their stride once they realized this was less a show about 'who's Eliza gonna play in this episode?' (read: a Network friendly action of the week type deal) and more of an intricately woven adult premise dealing with human trafficking, body/soul metaphysics and tech morality.

Epitath One

Written by: Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon

Directed by: Joss Whedon

We start in an LA we might only recognize because we've seen the Terminator films: it is dark, flames envelop the background and we are told it is 2019 and these 'actuals' (humans who we presume can't/haven't been 'printed') we meet are afraid of any tech as they seek refuge. Where do they end up? Inside the Dollhouse of course.

This is not your regular Dollhouse; for this Whedon & co. came up with a framing device that might have seemed hokey if it did not work perfectly to retell the 'Dollhouse' mythology (following it through past what the season finale showed us) tracing it through what is arguably one of the most fascinating characters on the show: Adele DeWitt. While the rag-tag pack of survivors find a way to survive inside the Dollhouse (battling an unseen murdering force and finding a creepy haunting-like Whiskey/Dr Saunders) we get fragments of Adele's memories that explain how the technology that gave people 'not what they want but what they need' ended up causing the mayhem we witnessed at the start of the episode where remote wipes and reprinting is now not restricted to Dolls but to anyone walking the streets.

This is fearless storytelling not least because Whedon & co. have pretty much mapped the direction of the show (or, not just mapped it but showed the audience said map: we see snippets of romantic pairings, we see the Dollhouse as a safe haven from above, we see Boyd fleeing, Whiskey/Dr Saunders scarless, we hear about 'what happened to November'). In short, this is an episode that functions just as powerfully as an 'ending' (which it almost was) and as whetting titillating flash-forward: I am even more excited now for season 2 than after seeing 'Omega'. This is Dollhouse we were all waiting for, with a sprawling mythology, a deeper purpose, and an array of well-grounded characters. That said, it might say something about the show as a whole that, being this its strongest entry, it showcases the least amount of screentime from Ms Dushku: albeit, she is more than capable and believable as Caroline than she ever was as Echo, but the episode instead finds itself weighing heavily on two of Whedon's regulars: Amy Acker and Felicia Day, and on Dollhouse's boss-lady, Olivia Williams, all capable thesps with Joss at the helm.

Overall, these make for great bookends to Whedon's new show and I'm glad they are being released to the public for not only do they enrich the stories and characters we got to know in this first season, but they also set up wonderfully the world and the tensions which will populate season 2. Brava Joss, brava indeed!

Dollhouse, or How OMFG!

OMFG. I won't tire of saying it. Or thinking it. Or feeling it. But damn if it doesn't represent the 'edge-of-my-seat-ess' that I experienced during Joss Whedon's Dollhouse Season 1 Finale.

[Spoilers Ahead]

So, what were the Top 5 Greatest OMFG moments in 'Omega'?

OMFG Moment #1: Saunders is Whiskey 1.1... isn't 'Saunders' at all

OMFG Moment #2: Alpha attacks Whiskey 1.1

OMFG Moment #3: Alpha pulls a Caleb on his handler

OMFG Moment #4: Agent Ballard 'saves' November, not Echo!

OMFG Moment #5: "Caroline..."

Now if only Dollhouse wasn't already dead in the water... sigh...

Dollhouse, or How it's good: tell your friends

Dollhouse just keeps getting better and better. Joss and co. have started to flesh out the universe of the Dolls and have worked hard at exploring the moral ramifications of the actions of the Dollhouse without sacrificing tension, drama and even romance. The latest episode ("Needs") was an interesting (literal) mind-bending experiment that saw Echo, Victor, Sierra and November deal with their 'inner demons' and sought closure through their newly found free-willing actions. But then, nothing ever beats 'concept episodes' in a Whedon show right? Here's to looking forward to next week's installment.

Dollhouse delivers, or How Joss never lies

Man on the Street written by Joss is finally the Dollhouse I was waiting for.

Dominic: You played a good hand.

DeWitt: I played a bad hand well.

DeWitt: There is a distinction.

Well played Joss, well played.

Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog, or How... random thoughts on NPH et al

Have you watched/sang along to it yet? Well, what are you waiting for? Acts 1 and 2 are up. Just go to DrHorrible.com.

Random thoughts on DHSAB:

- All NPH needs is a camera and Joss's dialogue to make me start giggling like a schoolgirl.

- How awesome is the fact that Bad Horse's letters and calls are sung by a trio of cowboys?

- Where do I get this iPhone app?

- Oh Nathan! You do play the goofy hero who's self-involved very well!

- Ogres might be like onions cause they have layers (and not parfaits like Donkey would have wanted) but apparently Captain Hammer is a pie: underneath the first layer, there's a different layer, but underneath that, it's the initial first layer. Am I not making sense? You clearly haven't been watching then!

- And yes, the hammer is his penis.

Next:

Will our devilishly handsome villain get the girl? Will the girl dump the do-good-er? Will the Captain get hammered out of the picture?

Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog!

Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, or How I'm Seeing Double

You've heard about it. You've seen the teaser (here). But to create more hype about his upcoming webisode/musical... thing, Joss Whedon has unveiled a prequel comic of sorts via Dark Horse Present over at myspace (while you're at it, check the new Gerard Way/Gabriel Ba Umbrella Academy comic!). Titled Captain Hammer - Be Like Me! - Nemesis of Dr Horrible, the comic follows Captain Hammer as he teaches you how to help him save the world, snitching on your soon-to-be-villain friends and such.

Check out the Zack Whedon-penned and Eric Canete-drawn comic to see how Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion look like in comics!

So, sure, NPH is a bit less geeky looking than his comic-counterpart, and Nathan's not quite as Man of Steel-esque as his graphic doppelganger, but you can see the resemblance, right?

Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, or How I'll follow Joss wherevereth he will goeth

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

Dollhouse, or How I can't wait!

Trailer's up here.

Supporting the Writers, or How Joss is Just Plain Funny!

And if you don't yet know why, it is because (among many other things) Joss Whedon can write things like this off the top of his head (from Whedonesque):

I have news... that I might have news!

PURPLE PROSE: because you (meaning “I”) demanded it!

Friends, Echo, Bunnymen, lend me your ears. Well, eyeballs. It’s been a few days and I wanted to tell you what’s the what in me-land. Yes, I’m still sick (@#$&#!). Yes, I’m still striking… ly handsome! Zing! Still got it! I haven’t been on the front lines as much as I’d like but I do have some reports.

PICKETING WITH THE STARS! Unbelievable! An amazing experience. Wasn’t there.

PICKETING WITH THE WRITERS at Fox. Still a good experience, though starless. The oddest part of the strike to date: A man came up to us, expressing sympathy and wishing us success and handing out his card… for his jewelry store. I guess he thinks we’re gonna win big. Or maybe he was handing out his card to the wrong side. SO random.

(After picketing I went to an acupuncturist for the first time ever in order to help beat this terminator-like cold. A warning to the uninitiated: this is not like visiting a typical Western physician. Do you have any idea what goes on at an acupuncturist’s office? For the love of God, they PUNCTURE you with needles! They really ought to make that clearer in the name.)

But the big event of the day: got together with a bunch of showrunners whose fans have significant online presence. I won’t say which shows, as the meeting was tippety-top secret, but I will tell you – JUST BETWEEN US – that one of them rhymed with “Cattlecar Flalactica”. And one rhymed with “Gyureka.” And one sounds just a little bit like “Fritz Galway’s Bunny is Really Wealthier”. MORE I CANNOT SAY. And Jane and Marti were there. And a lot of others. There was no food.

The point of the meeting was that the WGA is aware of – and a little blown away by – the passion, tenacity, and organizational savvy of the online community. The “Jericho” nuts are the stuff of legend. Whedonesque and the creation of Fans4Writers were spoken of in awed whispers. I’m not kidding: one of the WGA workers asked me, “So, your fans. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?” I swear, having you guys in my corner is like being friends with Zorro. People in the community are amazed.

We met to see if there was some way for US to organize the way YOU have – to use the nettyweb to show the studios that there are no longer two sides to this struggle; there are three. The audience has a voice, and a right to be heard. We talked about different ideas that have been floated by fans to make some kind of nut-like show of unity and support. How can we do something so noticeable it might even get into the mainstream press? I’ll let you know when it’s worked out – should be within a day or so. Should be fun, too. Hell, it was fun just being in a room full of smart writers again, pitching ideas. (Also fun was typing “Hell”. Makes me sound butch.)

I also asked about a Mutant Enemy strike day, and the WGA peeps said they had no problem with that. We still don’t have a date (I still don’t have a lung) but I’ll be organizing that soon. Here’s the deal for whomever can come: Bring a sign, walk the line. (If you can’t make one there’ll probably be extras, but I think it’s more fun to make your own. Nothing rude, please.) I’ll get as many M.E. writers (and hopefully a few actors) as I can to walk outside one studio for a four hour shift alongside… well, any fan that carries the banner. More on that as it develops. Back to you, Bob.

Jaime Paglia of “Eureka” – I mean Flaime Flaglia of… florget it – talked about getting this movement into the non-California-or-New-York states, and I thought that was wisely wise. There are shows shooting in Boston, Rhode Island, Philadelphia – and there are fan-bases in EVERY state. We talked about getting some rallies going at local affiliates all over the country. I, of course, got to boast about the Browncoats and the “Serenity” screenings… The idea of people massing in different cities, whatever their fan-affiliation, is exciting, newsworthy, and let’s face it, fun. (Personally, I’d like to do a whistle-stop tour of the country, but right now that may be a bit ambitious for a man who can’t stand up for more than two hours.) (Still, standing at the back of a train, waving – and the WGA offered to provide bunting. Who doesn’t love bunting?)

The point is twofold. The first is that we expect this to take a long time. We want to make an impression NOW, but we also want to keep thinking of ways to spread awareness and keep you all engaged and, frankly, entertained. Because the second point is that there was no one in that room who didn’t understand that they were there BECAUSE OF YOU, because you guys have already proven yourselves not just dedicated fans but an active, forceful community. Take a moment to be all up in yourself. Now get over yourself. Now doubt yourself. Now hug yourself. Now touch your knee – Hah! Didn’t say “Simon says”. Like, ever. FOOLS! It’s you unauthorized-knee-touching fools who are proving that the internet is indeed the line in the sand (“…must be drawn Heah! This fah! No fuhther!”), for it’s the one medium the congloms don’t control. Televised news is largely ignoring us, the print media is eating Nick Counter’s astonishing lies like candy they get paid to eat, but you upon the ether… you haven’t been silent and you can’t be silenced. Go ahead. Touch that knee. Simon be damned.

It’s nice to blog sans rage for a change. Better for the immune system, too. Thanks, all, and keep watching the skies.

-j.