# DollHouse 2/27 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746 "2009-02-28T02:21:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/1 "2009-02-28T02:21:37Z")
Wait…that guy is an active? I did NOT see that coming. ---
**Author:** ![Xan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@Xan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xan)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/2 "2009-02-28T02:38:58Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Wait…that guy is an active? > > I did NOT see that coming. What’s even more surprising is all the press stuff I’ve read is that he was rewritten from being an active to not being an active. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/3 "2009-02-28T03:22:00Z")
Did anyone else notice the British guy who was the manager for the singer was also the “butler” that Angel interacted with when he had to do those trials to save Darla’s life? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/4 "2009-02-28T03:25:22Z")
Ack. My dvr cut off. Can someone tell me what happens after dude-guy tells nerd-guy that Echo has gone off task? Was it a to be continued or did they wrap it up really fast? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/5 "2009-02-28T03:32:48Z")
All done with this show. Bye-bye. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/6 "2009-02-28T04:03:29Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > All done with this show. Bye-bye. You totally blew a chance to say “Bored now.” This episode did have two or three interesting turns in the arc of the series, but the story itself was pretty dumb. I tuned out at about the ten minute mark to watch Futurama and skipped a little of the middle too. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/7 "2009-02-28T04:44:33Z")
This was the week I stopped trying to like it. Two helpings were enough. The theme is too icky, the acting too bad, and it’s skewed to appeal to people 35 years my junior. ETA: Bored now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/8 "2009-02-28T05:28:19Z")
Beyond the creepiness, my problem is that this show just isn’t much fun. What I’ve seen of Buffy and Angel was often angsty but it was still enjoyable to watch. They were creative, they were entertaining, they were funny. If I’m around this time next week I’ll probably flip back and forth on this show again, but I wasn’t excited about next week’s either. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/9 "2009-02-28T06:19:51Z")
It seems to me that the show is building toward something, but it’s going too slow for even my tastes. I’m gonna keep watching, but I do think that today’s [Penny Arcade](http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/2/27/) is pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/10 "2009-02-28T06:20:56Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You totally blew a chance to say “Bored now.” True, but “All done, bye-bye” is a scifi themed quote too. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/11 "2009-02-28T06:34:46Z")
Lessee, nice butt shots, good damsel in distress scenes, sexy dancing and singing, major ass-kicking by Dushku … oh, I’m in. The thing that is interesting I think is that so many Wheedon fans are ready to give up on him after like, three eps. I’m not a Wheedon fan. IMHO Mr. Female Empowerment & Sensitivity is gonna have to turn this stuff on its ear sooner or later. I’d LOVE it to continue in the high adventure with sexy babes vein indefinitely, but what I know of Wheedon argues against it. I, a person who doesn’t really like Wheedon’s mindset, have more faith in him than his fans do. That’s rich. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/12 "2009-02-28T09:47:55Z")
This episode was fucking terrible. I’m hanging [until they supposedly turn the corner from the network-frakked stories to where Joss actually gets to run his own show](http://www.avclub.com/articles/eliza-dushku,24418) but it better turn that corner pretty goddamn fast. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/13 "2009-02-28T12:05:11Z")
I actually enjoyed this episode quite a bit. A few flashes of Whedonesque dialogue here and there and I liked the reveal that the FBI guy’s snitch is an Active. I’m in till the end of the season at least. I hope Whedon makes good on the Alpha plotline. ---
**Author:** ![Offkenter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f08c70/32.png) [@Offkenter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Offkenter)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/14 "2009-02-28T16:10:25Z")
I thought that this was the first episode that was actually good. They seem to be building up to making Echo, Amy Acker’s character and Boyd the good guys inside a corrupt organization, which seems like a really interesting meta-premise for a TV show. It’s almost a call back to season five of Angel. Whedon didn’t ever really have time to do anything but deal with that premise in very broad strokes in Angel before the series was canceled. If nothing else, in a large shadowy organization, it allows for a lot of “bad guys of the week” to plausibly show up. I also liked that what sexuality there was in this episode was less creepy. All the skin and sex in the the first two episodes were about as unsexy as I can imagine being possible for such beautiful people. Their sheer defenselessness made then into children, no matter how adult their bodies are. I can deal with pop stars wandering around in a glorified bikini for a whole show. Even if there is an element of exploitation to that, she had some choice in her life. It was even a plot point. It a way it put the Active’s lack of choice in their lives into sharper contrast. Echo’s discomfort at the costume change around other people was emphasis on that. Everyone else there could have quit if they didn’t want to do it. She couldn’t, because of her programming. I’m tempted to say that it was ironic that it was Echo who pointed out the pop star’s freedom to make choices but on reflection it wasn’t ironic. It also was the point that Echo started making her own decisions. She was still driven by her programming but she reached her objective her own way, freaking out her handlers in the process. The unreliabilty of the programming technology is obviously going to be an ongoing issue, and will make for some interesting stories. Dollhouse is showing some real promise. If you’re losing interest in it, I’d suggest not watching for a couple of weeks and then watching all the episodes that you missed on Hulu or [Fox.com](http://Fox.com) in an orgy of Whedonism. Joss really excels at long format stories, and keeping that in mind is what is making me stick out the initial episodes which I admit are still not up to par for Joss. They’re just exposition. The story hasn’t really begun yet, and when it kicks in I think we’re in for a great ride. This was also the first time I didn’t find the music in the credits annoying. The lullaby tone of it is making more and more sense. I don’t like it yet, but it isn’t annoying anymore. BTW, does the guy playing Topher remind anyone else of Allen Tudyck? I swear that he could be Tudyck’s younger brother. His delivery is almost identical as well. If they every do any more Firefly and they need a younger Wash for flashbacks, they have the actor on hand. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/15 "2009-02-28T16:22:34Z")
> [@Offkenter](#): > > BTW, does the guy playing Topher remind anyone else of Allen Tudyck? I swear that he could be Tudyck’s younger brother. His delivery is almost identical as well. If they every do any more Firefly and they need a younger Wash for flashbacks, they have the actor on hand. :eek: I was thinking that Topher was getting all the good Joss lines last night and I couldn’t place my finger on which Whedon regular he reminded me of, but there it is. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/16 "2009-02-28T19:10:37Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > This episode was fucking terrible. I’m hanging [until they supposedly turn the corner from the network-frakked stories to where Joss actually gets to run his own show](http://www.avclub.com/articles/eliza-dushku,24418) but it better turn that corner pretty goddamn fast. So episode six is supposedly the good one. So we’re going to find out it’s been canceled before episode seven, right? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/17 "2009-02-28T19:11:40Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Ack. My dvr cut off. Can someone tell me what happens after dude-guy tells nerd-guy that Echo has gone off task? Was it a to be continued or did they wrap it up really fast? Wow. My dvr cut off a lot more than I thought. I caught the end on hulu. Not the greatest episode, but I’m curious on how the longer story arc will play out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/18 "2009-02-28T19:41:27Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Wait…that guy is an active? > > I did NOT see that coming. Me neither. I was expecting him to show up dead, not wiped. Do you think he was an active before Topher started pressuring him, or did the organization take him after he started asking questions? Enforcing the _be careful what you wish for_ theme, just in case anyone has missed it.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/19 "2009-02-28T20:06:54Z")
Oh dear. I thought this show was really starting to pick up in last week’s ep, but that was pretty ho-hum. Yet more stuff about how today’s stars are just like the actives in the show, bred for our entertainment and doing all we demand of them bla bla bla but this week delivered with an annoying and cliched side order of “boohoo! you don’t know the misery of being a massively wealthy, successful and beautiful star!” Still, it’s not like I’m watching masses of TV and I love Eliza so I’m sticking around no matter what happens But what was the point of Sierra being there? Was she just 100% stalker bait? I kept expecting some kind of mental switch to be tripped by the situation and for her to kick ass but nothing. Huh. I didn’t see it coming about Victor being an Active, either. There’s bound to be at least one more amongst the main cast, hasn’t there? Now I’m going to be doing what I suspect everyone does who watches BSG or shows like 24 does - constantly accusing all the cast of being One of _Them_. (Like maybe Topher “we downloaded the technology into your brain of how to download the technology into brains, Topher”) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746/20 "2009-02-28T22:18:52Z")
> [@Promethea](#): > > …week delivered with an annoying and cliched side order of “boohoo! you don’t know the misery of being a massively wealthy, successful and beautiful star!” Well, some pop stars are really not massively wealthy, and life on the road like that is pretty hard. Being forced to play a part 24x7 for ungrateful, demanding fans is really tiring, I imagine. > [@Promethea](#): > > But what was the point of Sierra being there? Was she just 100% stalker bait? I kept expecting some kind of mental switch to be tripped by the situation and for her to kick ass but nothing. Huh. From what the security guy said, she was just stalker bait. I also was expecting Sierra to do something, and when she didn’t I expected a final reveal that the pop star was an Active (which would have answered last week’s thread question on how long an imprint lasts). Maybe it’s all misdirection, and Topher’s neighbor _just_ has a terrible crush on him. Or all set-up, so when Echo goes rouge she’ll have Sierra to back her up (or be a sacrificial henchman). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollhouse-2-27/487746.md?page=2)