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The Dollhouse Review by G. Suchan
Oops he did it again! He put the Midas touch on his latest prime time hit, the Dollhouse, starring Buffy and Angel star Eliza Dushku, now Echo, a human doll that’s had her memory wiped clean for the benefit of the greater good. In Buffy and Angel, Eliza Dushku made the best bad slayer ever but with the Dollhouse she has to play a different role for each episode, sometimes more than one. She’s growing with the role nicely and it is a pleasure to watch her unfold with the plot.
It’s not like any show can be compared to Buffy and Angel. The Dollhouse, isn’t even in the same genre. Being a sci-fi drama it’s more akin to Firefly, another of Whedon’s science fiction television shows. The Dollhouse stands out on its own merits.
The Dollhouse is an interesting idea that juxtaposes another show out right now, Terminator, the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Where the Sarah Connor Chronicles take the classic Terminator theme of artificial intelligence gone bad, the Dollhouse bypasses artificial intelligence (as the dominant theme) and basically creates computers out of human beings, hence the science fiction. Yet the thing about science fiction is that it plants the seeds of possibility in the back of the mind.
As is Whedon’s specialty, character development doesn’t disappoint. Olivia Williams plays Adelle DeWitt, an English dominatrix who runs the local doll house. The doll house nemesis, FBI agent Paul Ballard, played by Tahmoh Penkitt, is constantly looking for a way to “bring down the machine.” The strong heart of the show, Echo’s handler, Boyd Langton is played by Harry Lennix. A pretty young doctor with scars on her face, Dr. Claire Saunders, is played by another of Joss Whedon’s golden children, Amy Acker who played Fred on Angel. Fran Kranz plays Topher Brink, a technological genius that wipes the dolls memories and implants them with new ones. Then there is Echo, a doll with unusual characteristics that often seem to deviate outside the program.
The doll’s backgrounds are a mystery. Part of the plot is to unravel this mystery, while being controlled by an all-powerful company, the Rossume Corporation. Almost every character displays ambiguous loyalties to the doll house and its’ ultimate cause, of which has yet to be revealed. These things are part of what makes the show interesting and it is interesting. The dichotomy between science fiction and drama pulls in a wide audience where everyone is left feeling satisfied and wanting more.
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It’s one of those things people keep to themselves, along with listening to top 40 music and being addicted to soap operas; reading, watching or listening to entertainment news. It’s completely frivolous, with no meaning, nothing that impacts the world. So why do we do it?
We put stars on a pedestal, as if fame, fortune and good looks make someone better than another. It’s everything we want. It’s the ideal. If we see someone on the big screen our subconscious says, “they’ve made it.” But where have they made it to? As if those things actually could make someone happy. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to try.
There’s only one real reason we read and watch entertainment news. It’s because we are living vicariously through them, even if the news is fake or what’s being reported can’t really capture the whole picture. It’s not like there’s a movie made on a star’s life. Oh wait, there is. It’s called E-True Hollywood Story. But I wouldn’t know anything about it. I’ve never seen it. I don’t know where I got that idea and I don’t know that you can find information through it on Angelina, Cher and Princess Diana.
Why is America so obsessed with star relationships like Brangelina, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban and Lindsay and Sam? When it comes to relationships in America we idolize the ultimate monogamous relationship, the happily ever after. Our collective American subconscious craves it like Burger King hamburgers and McDonald’s fries, that we take home to the one boy, the one girl, the white picket fence and the house that is paid for.
It doesn’t matter if it’s real or if it’s a fantasy, we’ll all ultimately want it till we die or it kills us. So Lindsay Lohan is dating a woman? Perhaps I can date a woman too? Brangelina are soul mates? I can find my soul mate too. Madonna got a divorce from Guy? Oh my god, my world is crushed! Now my secret hope that the fantasy is real has hit reality. What will I do now? I’ll turn my attention to Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman. I wonder how many children I’ll have. Oops, I mean she.
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