Yep. Remember how Topher reacted when Paul asked, “What about…their soul?”
He laughed and just said, “Their what???”
OTOH, it was hinted at that no matter how their brains were scrambled, there was still a part of them was was them. Look at the love between Victor and Sierra and how it couldn’t be erased.
Yes, definitely - although I don’t think it necessarily follows that a “soul” is the reason why elements of personality persist. It’s also possible (in fact, given the difficulty in producing Ballard 2.0, it’s almost certain) that the imprinting process is imperfect, that Topher’s ability to rewrite every aspect of a person’s brain is limited.
It’s more than that. I *trust *myself. Implicitly. You may not be able to say that for most people, even your own children. At least not to the same degree. With Dollhouse tech, there’s no better way to ensure you are surrounded by people you can instantly trust and team up with.
You also know these people won’t screw you over. Even for a selfish psychopath, the aura of selfishness probably extends to imprinted people, since “they” are now “you”.
I know I’m late to the party here, but my wife and I just finished watching this show. (long story involving a fired Tivo hard-drive) What an amazing transformation this show went through! As Dr. Saunders said, “I wish we had more time!” The last 1/2 season or so would have made a great 2 or 3 seasons. Alas, we have to settle with what we had. It was a tough sell at the beginning (the mindless slave/whore ickiness at the start almost put us off watching) but everyone said “it gets better” and boy does it ever.
I can see why people felt the “Epitaths” were tacked on, and seemed to be from a different show, but I loved them, and were glad to see them, because I think the “different show” they were from is Dollhouse season 6 or 7. They are a glimpse of where things were heading, had the show had more time to evolve. Not something you usually get to see when a show lasts only 2 seasons.
The Boyd twist seemed kinda out of nowhere, but now I want to go back and watch again to see if there were clues. Knowing Joss, I bet there were…
So many unanswered questions, sadly. Did Boyd really care about Claire? Did Claire kill Bennet for personal reasons (to hurt Topher) or did Boyd make her do it? What happened to Alpha to flip him to the good side (other than the traditional “heel-face turn”…)? How did the tech get out after they blew up the Rossum HQ. ah well… leave them wanting more, right?
Damn… Victor/Enver Gohkaj(sp?) really needs his own show. That guy is awesome.
As for the transporter/brain transfer question, I agree with AndyPolley… the best part of SF is this type of questioning that it spurs. That we think about it after the show is over means they were doing something right.
But consider this… there’s got to be a line drawn somewhere. Which, if any, of these scenarios would be considered “killing you and making a copy” ? (assuming in all cases sufficient medical magic to make it work)
- chop your arms and legs off, ship all your parts to another state, then reattach
- cut you down the center, send the halves in separate boxes somewhere, then reassemble.
- cut you into 1 inch cubes, move them across the room and reassemble.
- scenario #3, but cutting one cube at a time, and reassembling as you disassemble.
- “beaming” by removing one atom at a time, and reassembling as you disassemble, putting the exact same atoms where they were originally
- scenario #5, but feeling free to swap identical atoms (since they are indistinguishable)
- scenario #5, but using atoms from the surrounding area of the destination instead of the original ones
8,9,10) same as 5,6,7 but with quarks instead of atoms - head transplant
- head severed and kept alive by machinery (Futurama style)
- brain transplant
- dollhouse-style brain scan, copy and imprint onto self (like Paul)
- dollhouse-style brain scan, copy and imprint onto someone else (like Caroline and the Rossum execs)
15a) scenario 15, but kill the original - brain scan, with computer emulation instead of imprinting. “living” and thinking, but only inside the computer, maybe with a robot body.
16a) scenario 16, but kill the original
I think #1 is an obvious no. My gut says 2-14 are no’s too, (with 7 and 10 being close calls) but YMMV. Only 15-16 are iffy for me, but I can’t put my finger on why, if I can call the others a no.
Regarding 7 & 10, remember that you body is constantly replacing worn out cells, and swapping atoms from your food and air for atoms in your body, so why should this be any different?
A mini-comic include with the Dollhouse: Season 2 DVD, “Epitaphs”, attempts to fill in some of the details between “The Hollow Men” and “Epitaph One.”
Daniel Perrin (the Senator played by Alexis Denisof) has become President.
Zone’s girlfriend has just found out she’s pregnant and is one of the first people wiped.
Griff (the guy killed by the little girl in “Epitaph One”) is an executive who has to kill a crazed secretary (by throwing her out a window) after the first mass wiping.
The secretary crash lands on two crazed women who were about to attack Mag.
The comic ends with Topher’s assistant uploading her own personality to the phone system in a counter mass-wiping move. She transforms a middle-aged man, but it’s implied she made a lot of phone calls.
The beginning of the apocalypse actually plays out a lot like Stephen King’s Cell.