Recap & Analysis -- Season 2, Episode 4: "Belonging"

Wow. What can I say? That was the best episode of Dollhouse thus far. We were treated to a Sierra-centric episode that told us so much more about ALL of the players involved. This episode certainly exposed the darker side of Rossum, and we saw Adele’s humanitarian, noble facade crumble before our eyes. We also got to see Topher evolve significantly; he’s finally beginning to see people as more than scientific subjects, and he’s developing a bit of morals and conscience in himself. And we finally began to see the dolls emerging as people themselves, both in and out of their doll-like states.

RECAP:

The episode opens with Topher muttering to himself: "I was just trying to help her." This is not our usual smug, arrogant Topher. Rather, Topher is visibly upset. His face is bloody. The scene is blurry.

Segue to Sierra, at a craft market on Venice Beach. She is hawking paintings. A subtitle tells us it is one year ago. We find out she is Priya and she's from Australia. An admirer and repeat customer comes to her stall. Priya comments that he's not her type. We find out she's vending on the street because she lacks a work visa. The customer asks her if she'd consider doing a large, commissioned piece for him. He tells her he may even be able to arrange a showing for her.

We move into an art gallery. Priya is showing the large painting her customer commissioned. Priya is obviously bored by the rich clientele. Echo approaches her with a glass of wine and comments that Nolan said "the art was almost as beautiful as the artist." Priya replies that she's NOT one of Nolan's groupies. Echo advises that she should be happy because she's doing what she loves, and people want to pay her for it. Priya responds that these are not her type of folks and she plans to be moving on. Echo reminds her that shows like that will give Priya the ability to do so. She advises Priya to stick with Nolan.

We move to a conversation between Nolan and Harding, a Rossum Executive. Harding says although it's the least Rossum can do to repay Nolan for his hard work, it's an awful expensive, elaborate seduction. Couldn't they just buy her a necklace? Nolan says he tried all that, but Priya is an artist, a free spirit who can't be bought. Harding asks if she can be lured, then asks Nolan why they don't just build him a woman. Nolan replies that he doesn't want a Doll--he wants HER.

Echo tells Priya there's a lot of power in the room, and that Nolan is a medical genius. Harding interrupts to introduce them to Victor as "the finest Art Dealer in all of Italy." Priya appears to be immediately attracted to Victor. They converse about her painting, and Victor asks about the bird motif. She walks away with him, then tries to leave with Victor. Nolan stops her. She tells him to enjoy the painting. Her job is done, and she's leaving. Nolan accuses her of trying to give it up to some guy she just met, and tells her the man isn't even real. Victor is removed for a treatment. Nolan yells at Victor "You were supposed to help me." Victor says Nolan doesn't need his help and promises to find Priya after his treatment. Priya tries to follow. She tells Nolan "There is no 'we'". He says he's tried to give her everything--what else does she want? She says "I want to get out the door." He grabs her as she tries to leave. She tells him to get off of her. He says he won't take no for an answer. She slaps him and tells him there is nothing he could ever do to make her love him as she flees.

Flash to a scene of Priya and Nolan in his apartment. She kisses him and tells him she loves him. She asks when she can see him again. He snaps a picture of her as she leaves, and throws it into a drawer full of photos. The credits roll.

We return to a scene with Victor and Sierra in the Dollhouse. The affection between them is obvious. She is painting a picture of a bird. We see the black blob on the page as Sierra tells Victor she doesn't like the color. When he asks her why she uses it then, she replies "because it's always here." Echo eavesdrops.

We go to a scene of a frustrated Topher, examining something through a magnifying glass, muttering that it should work, but it doesn't. He ponders that Alpha could do it using just a telephone. He muses that he's talking to himself, just like Alpha did. He's startled by Echo entering his lab. She has Sierra's painting. Echo thrusts the painting at Topher, insisting that Sierra doesn't like the bad man, and that He makes her sad over and over. Topher calls it a primitive rendition and says he's not even sure it's a man. Echo replies: "You're not looking hard enough...you never do."

Flash to Topher asking Boyd about Sierra's repeat client. He tells Boyd he has a hunch that something is wrong. Boyd laughs. He thinks it's funny something is bothering Topher. Boyd tells Topher the client is Nolan Kennard. He's a Rossum VIP, MD, neuropsychologist, helps sick kids. He asks Topher if he wants Nolan's file. Topher asks about the engagements. Boys said they're typical romantic seduction scenarios, and that Sierra never exhibits any stress and always comes back with a clean bill of health. Topher tells Boyd he helped Sierra, and that she was a paranoid schizophrenic psychotic when she came there. Boyd comments he didn't ask. Topher shows Boyd the painting, and tells him Echo brought him the painting and told him the blotch represented the bad man. He comments that Echo is a mother hen to the other dolls. Topher says he needs a pattern, and Boyd suggests they check Saunders' files. Boyd says that Saunders didn't go on engagement, but rather looked after the actives while they were in the house. Boyd says Saunders would have seen a pattern. Saunders had a whole file of Sierra's paintings and noted that the blobs probably did not represent Sierra's state of mind before going to the Dollhouse, but rather a severe state of anxiety and rage, possibly symbolizing Topher. Topher wistfully comments "I'm NOT the bad man."

Flash to Echo and Victor in the painting room. He's gathering the black paint because Sierra doesn't like it. Echo encourages him to take them all. She tells him it's good to take charge. Boyd watches Echo and wonders what she is up to.

Flash to Topher in his lab, again obviously upset. He brings up Nolan's file, then Sierra’s. He retrieves Priya's original brain scan from a vault and reviews it scrupulously. Meanwhile, Boyd is watching Echo on a monitor. She's hiding under the stairs, reading a book. Topher bursts in and drags Boyd to the lab. He says Echo was right, he wasn't looking hard enough. He says Nolan is an expert on neuroleptics. Topher explains most neuroleptics are anti-psychotics. He shows Boyd 2 brains: "This is a normal brain; this is a brain on drugs...more specifically, anti-psychotics." He launches into a complex explanation of what he sees in the "brain on drugs." He compares it to Priya's original scan. Boyd says "You lost me at brain." Topher explains that Priya wasn't psychotic DESPITE her heavy medication...she was psychotic BECAUSE of it. Topher brings up the "wish fulfillment exercise" Dr. Saunders conducted with the dolls (last season, when they apparently woke up.) They had thought Sierra went back to the mental health clinic to confront the doctor who had originally diagnosed her. In actuality, Nolan Kennard owns that clinic and lives in a penthouse in that building. Topher has figured out that Sierra actually went back to confront Nolan. De Witt walks in as they wonder if she knows about all of this. Adele says "She does now."

We segue to a meeting between Nolan and Adele. She is her usual, calm, professional self. He says he wants Sierra back as soon as he can get her, and assumes that Adele called him in to discuss their policy on return engagements. She basically tells him she's on to him, and he's never getting near one of her actives again. She calls him a raping scumbag one step shy of a murderer. She tells him their services end now. He asks her what she's going to do…call the police? He tells her to imprint Sierra and send her to him permanently by close of business. If she does, he'll see to it that she keeps her job. Adele's face shows she's clearly repulsed by the man and the situation. We go to commercial.

We return to a conference between Adele and Harding. We see Adele's facade start to crumble before our eyes as Harding orders her to do things their way and to do what Nolan wants. Harding exposes us to the dark side of Rossum as he attacks Adele’s morality. Adele is practically in tears as she protests. Harding calmly asserts that they're placing a psychological basket case into a life of wealth with a man she adores. He admonishes Adele for wanting to tell Rossum that one of their "most valuable assets" is a kidnapper and a rapist. Adele says they're not slave merchants, and however Priya got there, she's in HER house, under HER care. She will not allow it. Harding threatens Adele in return. He calls her "Miss Lonely Hearts", and says Victor is the least of Adele's indiscretions. If feeling moral helps Adele get through her day, that is her business; The Dollhouse is Rossum's business, and Adele will run it in the manner she's told, or they'll replace her with someone who will. And Adele won't like Rossum's early retirement plan, if you get his drift.

We go to a scene in the shower room. Victor is getting rid of the paint. Sierra finds him doing so, and gets playful, painting Victor's face. He has a flashback of him in battle and collapses. He says "I don't want to take charge." Sierra comforts him.

Flash to a scene of Topher protesting to Adele "We can't do this!" She says "we" are not going to do this; "you" are. They don't have a choice, and she means that. Adele is broken. Topher protests that Dr Saunders would have never allowed it. Adele asks which Dr Saunders? The one cut down right in front of Topher's eyes, or the last woman he gave a permanent imprint to in order to save her life, the one that ended up hating Topher so much she fled the city? Adele is drinking heavily as they converse. "You'll do it because you must,” She commands. “The hard reality is that everyone was chosen to be here because their morals had been compromised in some way.” She goes on to say that Topher was chosen because he had no morals whatsoever. He has always thought of people as playthings, but he also took very good care of his toys. She tells him he'll have too let this one go.

Topher is choked up as he approaches Sierra, who is sitting with Victor. He tells her it's time for her treatment. She wants to bring Victor. Topher tells her she can't. He takes her to his lab. Meanwhile, Boyd retrieves Echo's book from a false front in a step. He muses: "So she can remember." He's interrupted by a phone call from Adele. She wants Boyd to ensure Topher follows commands, and especially the command “to keep the dolls in their places.” We go to commercial.

We return to Topher's lab. Echo is in the chair, getting a treatment as Adele walks in. She asks Topher for a report on Sierra's last engagement. He says "You mean Sierra's last engagement EVER." He calls Hearn an idiot. Adele tells Topher she has a 22 year old paranoid schizophrenic who may be a possible replacement for Sierra.

We flash to a scene of Topher walking through a psychiatric hospital with a doctor. They’re discussing a patient who is delusional and usually incoherent. Nolan passes them as they enter the ward. Dr. Kennard has been treating and medicating her, but "nothing seems to take." Priya is paranoid, talking to herself, rocking back and forth, and obviously not mentally healthy. She lashes out and says everyone there is a liar. Topher tells her he's not a liar. He softly says her name: "Priya." She screams not to call her that. She tells Topher that they're dissolving her from the inside out. She begs Topher to help her. He offers to take her out of there. She tells Topher that men with guns took her there to fill her with poison and torture her. He tells her it's not uncommon to believe that. She complains that she's a prisoner.

We move to a montage of scenes. Topher is in his lab, examining brain scans. Sierra is dressed up, happily getting into the back seat of a limo. Adele is drinking in her office. Priya is being forced into a straitjacket and dragged into a mental hospital, fighting them the whole way until they sedate her. A calm Sierra is approaching Nolan's apartment. Echo walks in on Sierra being brought to the Dollhouse for the first time, with Topher taking her original scan. Sierra enters Nolan's apartment. He asks if she's here to stay. Sierra says she's all his. Victor sits alone in the Dollhouse. Topher puts Priya's original scan back into the vault. Adele enters. She asks Topher if it's done, with a pained look on her face. When she says "good", Topher replies "If you say so." Adele comforts Topher. "If you have actually managed to develop some pangs of conscience, you can take comfort in the fact that, in this matter, you had no choice." "No, I didn't", he muses while he fingers Priya's tape.

We go to a scene with Sierra and Nolan. She's seducing him. She playfully asks if she's being too aggressive. She giggles as she asks if he wanted her wide-eyed, stupid, or even mute. She teases him, asking which fantasy he wants her to be forever. Nolan's face changes from pleasure to panic as Sierra grabs his hair and slams his head against the wall. "Priya?" Nolan hesitates? "You just couldn't take no for an answer," Sierra growls as we cut to commercial.

We return to Boyd confronting Echo with the book she stashed under the stairs. Echo plays dumb. Boyd asks her when she learned how to lie. Echo asks if she's in trouble. Boyd says "Not from me, but there are a lot of people who would be very upset if they knew what you were doing." He warns that she's pushing, both the actives and the staff, and there may be consequences she cannot control. He warns that some people are not ready to wake up. Echo says she doesn't care because something bad is coming. She says there’s a storm coming, and she wants them all to survive it. Boyd warns that she may just bring the storm on herself.

Segue to Sierra and Nolan, only she's not Sierra. Rather than giving her a permanent imprint, Topher evidentially gave her back her original self. She's back to being Priya. She tells Nolan she's no longer his lab rat. He asks if she came for revenge. She says the last thing she remembers, he was poisoning her. She can't remember a single minute of the year she supposedly loved him. She taunts him for resorting to brainwashing to get her. She says she can't remember anything from that year about him, but she CAN remember falling in love with somebody else. She trusts THAT man. HE thrills her. She can't remember him, but she CAN feel him. She loves THAT man even more than she hates Nolan. Nolan begins beating Priya. She asks if he's going to fight fair this time. He doesn't. He throws her across the room, bangs her into walls, and rips her clothes off. She struggles harder. She's doing a pretty good job of fighting back, so Nolan grabs a knife. He tells Priya that the struggle is a turn-on. He tries to control her with the knife, but she manages to take it way from him. He approaches her, and she stabs him. She stabs him over and over. Then she collapses in tears.

Flash back to the Dollhouse. Topher is in his lab when he gets a call. We only hear the musical interlude and none of the conversation. Flash to Topher, running into Nolan's apartment. He finds Nolan dead on the floor, in a pool of blood. He calls for Priya. She's curled up in a corner, hysterical and covered in blood. Topher tells Priya that they have to run. They’re startled by a noise. It's Boyd. He tells Topher that, as Head of Security, he hears ALL incoming calls. He orders Priya to wash up, then go to Nolan's room and pack a suitcase for a warm weather destination. He tells Topher to go get the supplies from the van, including plastic sheeting, tools, and acid. Topher asks Boyd what he's talking about. "Consequences," Boyd replies. We go to commercial.

We return to another montage, with a musical overlay. Boyd and Topher are cleaning up the scene. Priya is washing up and packing a bag of Nolan's things. Boyd orders Topher to drain and dissect the body. Topher is nauseated. He complains he can't do it. Boys hands him a saw. Priya sees her painting hanging in the apartment. Boyd goes through Nolan's wallet and starts taking his credit cards. Priya finds the drawer of photos. Topher cries as he dissolves the body in acid. Priya cries as she finishes washing up. Topher finishes with the body, and is puking. His face is covered with blood. He is crying. "I was just trying to help her...now she’s ruined!" Boyd matter-of-factly states: "You had a moral dilemma, your first, and it didn't go well." Topher cries that Priya does NOT belong in the Dollhouse. Boyd responds: "She does now."

Boyd says: "Now I have to start the lies." He makes a phone call to "the goose" to say "I need someone disappeared." Back at the Dollhouse, he calls DeWitt and reports Kennard's permanent engagement plans involved leaving the country with Sierra. He lies that Kennard left in a hurry, without Sierra, and they found his car abandoned south of the border with fake ID in the glove box. Sierra is back in the Dollhouse.

Priya is with Topher. She is still Priya. She complains she doesn't know what is real anymore. Yesterday, she had lost her mind and was trapped in a nightmare. Then Topher brings her there and wakes her up, and she's sane again. They tell her it's been a year, she finds about all the things they made her do, and then she kills a man. She cries "I woke up from a nightmare only to live in one...You were supposed to HELP me."

"I thought I was," Topher responds. "I was fooled. I'm so sorry." Topher is obviously humbled. He asks Priya if there's anything he can do to make it better. She asks for a beer, then asks if it will be her last. She asks Topher if "we're happy here". He stammers before admitting he has no idea how the actives feel. Priya spots Victor. She remembers she loves him. She asks Topher if THAT'S real. He says that it is real, and Victor loves her back.

Priya admits she wanted Nolan dead, and that's all she thought about while locked up in the mental hospital. Topher humbly says he never should have let Priya go to Nolan's. He should have just set her free. She admits she would have gone there anyway. She wanted to confront him. She doesn't know what she thought would happen. As she gets into the chair for a treatment, she asks Topher to erase that day from her master tape. She doesn't want to remember it--she couldn't live with herself if she did. "This secret we have...can you keep it?" she asks. Topher says he must. He can keep it, but he doesn't know if he can live with it. Priya comments she knows she can't, but she doesn't HAVE to. She lays back and prepares herself for her treatment. Topher is visibly upset as he watches. Sierra raises, accent gone, and asks "Did I fall asleep?" She's Sierra the Doll again. Topher walks her down to where Victor is sitting alone. Sierra and Victor are obviously happy to see each other again. They walk away holding hands. Topher watches, his face showing that he is a changed man.

We go to Echo, reading her book. Inside, she finds a folded sheet of paper. It has a transit pass tucked inside, with the note saying "For the storm". We flash to Sierra and Victor, spooning in a sleeping pod. Credits roll.

ANALYSIS:

Hands down, this was the best episode of the season, and possibly the series thus far. What last week's episode lacked in character development, this week's more than made up for. On the surface, the episode was about Sierra and her back-story. But I would argue that we saw more character development in the other characters than we saw in Sierra.

What did we learn about Sierra? Sierra was an Australian artist named Priya, here without the proper Visa, getting by by hawking her wares at the craft market by the beach. A powerful Rossum VIP became obsessed with her. She wasn't interested. He did everything he could to try to woo her, but neither neither money nor power could sway her. So the VIP used his power to have her committed to a mental hospital, and drugged her to the point of psychoses. Then he used his power to commit Sierra to the Dollhouse, all under the guise of curing her mental health issues. When his ruse was uncovered, he used his power to ensure it was continued, even expanded. He's obviously so important to Rossum, they'd do anything to keep him happy, so they gave him Priya, against her will. Priya got a raw deal. She did nothing to deserve what happened to her. Unlike Caroline and Madeline, Priya had no part in agreeing to the contract; she was forced into Dollhood without any say in the matter. Her character was such she'd never willingly agree to such a thing.

Through his interactions with Priya, we saw Topher really start to change. I'd argue that this episode was actually more Topher-centric than Sierra-centric. Topher finally evolved into a fully fleshed out human being, a real man rather than an adolescent characterature. This episode was about Topher's self-delusions getting completely shattered, about him seeing and coming to terms with the consequences of his scientific tinkering. Like Adele said, he was brought in because he failed to see people as intelligent, special creatures. Rather, the old Topher viewed himself superior to every other human specimen on the planet, and anything not as genius as himself was a lab rat, there for his ministrations. His world view was Darwinian--if you're not one of the fittest, who cares what happens to you. The evolved Topher realizes every life has value, be it that of a free spirit, a scientist, or an average Joe, and that no one deserved to have his life manipulated for another's amusement. Topher was forced to see the dark side of his doings, and he didn't like what he saw.

Topher also realized that even in their wiped state, the dolls are human beings that retain feelings and emotions. No science can completely wipe a mind of all its humanity, no matter how hard it tried. As Boyd and Adele both pointed out, Topher had finally developed a conscience. He was looking down from his pedestal to see the hell he had wrought. He was responsible for that all of that evil done in the name of science. Now, he is prepared to climb down from that pedestal and walk amongst those who he had written off as valueless in the past, possibly even to begin trying to atone for what he has started.

Adele went through a similar transformation. Always the caretaker, Adele was prepared to stand up for her actives and come down on the gross bad guy who had duped her into a game she did not want to play. We saw Adele shatter when she realized the limits of her power, and the depth to which Rossum would sink to cover its tracks. Adele had the rose colored glasses knocked right off of her face. However righteous she pretended to be, she was just as complicit in the wrongdoings as the Rossum VIPs. She wasn't funding research that would save the world while protecting those that made the sacrifices to fund it; she was merely helping to pad the pockets of those that didn't care about who they trampled along the way. And she was highly dispensable. Her way wasn't even going to come into play here; she was a puppet as much as those Dolls she was trying to protect. We saw Adele descend into a well of drunken darkness, no longer a benevolent powerhouse, but rather a powerless pawn in a game she no longer wanted to play. No matter how hard she tried to be the ray of goodness, she too was powerless against the evil.

Boyd remained his cool, level-headed self throughout the chaos, making me question his true motives even more. I'm convinced more than ever that he's some sort of mole. I'm more confused about who he's mole-ing for, though. He seems to be trying to coax Topher and Adele into some kind of epiphany, while protecting the dolls at the same time. Each week, he does more and more guiding, to help other Dollhouse personnel to see the consequences of this scientific tinkering. He appears to be 100% loyal to the Dollhouse on the surface, yet he kept both Echo's self-awareness and Topher's change-of-imprint to himself, purposely hiding it from his Dollhouse superiors. Just who exactly was he protecting when he covered up the murder to Adele? Just who did he call on for assistance with the cover-up? Was he covering for Sierra, for Topher, or for someone higher up?

I loved the development of the "doll" character reflected in this episode. We did get to see where Sierra and Victor's attraction first began. And it began despite the fact that only one of them was a doll at that time. Again, we saw that the dolls have human feelings, no matter what state that they're in, and that science cannot ever completely erase chemistry. Through Dr Saunders' notes and Sierra's paintings, we saw that all dolls retain feelings from their former and current states. What Echo has tried to describe, all the dolls experience to some extent. Love is way more powerful than science can ever be. However, that build up of emotion can be an explosive thing when a doll is released from her contract and returned to her former state. Priya could remember nothing but the built up hatred she had for Nolan, despite a year of programming designed to change that. Yet, Priya also remembered the love she developed during that missing year, even stronger than anything else. That feeling was present in any of her mind-states.

I also loved how we saw the dark side of Rossum through subtle interactions. That evil seems to transcend to anything even remotely associated with Rossum. No ends can justify their means. They manage to dupe their participants into thinking otherwise for a while, but no good can come of anything Rossum even breathes on. This episode planted enough seeds to explain the Topher, Adele, and rest of the Dollhouse we glimpsed in Epitaph One.

Echo was almost ancillary in this episode. We saw her trying to make the others take charge. We also found out the others may not be ready to. Through Echo's machinations, we saw a glimpse of Victor's past and what ghosts he may be running away from. Echo wants to make all of the actives as strong as she; the other actives may be there simply because they are not that strong and never will be. Boyd seems to have an awareness of this that no one else has, and he seems to be trying to guide Echo to that very awareness. He sees Echo's proclivities, recognizes the impact they may have, and seems to be trying to guide her to the same awareness. Unlike Paul, Boyd seems to want to protect Echo's developing abilities, rather than exploit them, while keeping her safe from those who would try to program them away. He also seems willing to provide her with an escape, when/if the need should arise.

I can't wait to see the continued evolution/devolution of Topher in the weeks to come. Now that he's developed a conscience, what paths will Topher take in the storm ahead? Will Rossum be able to scare him into line like they did Adele? What will Adele become now she realizes she's just as bad as the guys she works for? How will she deal with having to compromise her values on a daily basis to protect her life? How will she continue to protect her family while convincing her bosses she's playing their game? Or will she take the path of least resistance and take up residence at the bottom of a bottle?

Who is Boyd, and why exactly is he there? Was Ballard just the Keystone Kop, the FBI distraction sent so the real mole could infiltrate unnoticed? We know Dominick was a mole from an agency more covert and more powerful than the FBI. He worked unnoticed for how long? Could Boyd be of the same ilk? Or could Boyd possibly be affiliated with Rossum, working for someone higher up the chain than Harding, and there to report back to the real higher ups? While the other characters are beginning to unfurl their leaves, Boyd is clenching his tighter. He becomes more interesting and more of a mystery with each passing episode.

I am so disappointed that we have to wait an entire month for another episode. Fox, in their great wisdom, think that reruns of drivel House and Bones will bring bigger numbers than our great, multi-layered sci-fi masterpiece. The good news is that they may run back to back episodes in December to catch us up, and hopefully, entice more folks to watch the show live. Maybe enough folks will discover this great episode during the hiatus and join us for the back nine of the season. Maybe the hulu numbers will convince Fox to let Joss go out with a two-hour wrap up, so we get the ending we truly deserve. I fear nine episodes will not be enough to finish fleshing out the characters and to provide a spectacular wrap-up.

I’m told Hulu watching, ITunes downloads, and international numbers may sway Fox to fund a few more episodes. I, for one, will be rewatching on Hulu during the hiatus. It certainly can’t hurt, and I’m going to miss my weekly fix. This was supposed to keep me occupied until Lost came back. I also invite everyone to come join me on the forums at Fox to show our support for and love of this show. If there’s any news that breaks over the hiatus, I’ll post it here.

In the mean time, I wait with baited breath for the remaining episodes. I can only hope they’ll all be the quality of THIS episode, “Belonging”.

Recap: Dollhouse Season 2, Episode 3: Belle Chose

Let me begin by saying that this was my least favorite episode of Dollhouse thus far. It seemed to be a stand-alone episode that contributed little to the overall story arc, and it failed to develop character in any significant way. If this was the first episode I ever watched, I probably would not come back for more, something that does not help if cancelation is indeed looming overhead. I’m not going to separate the recap and analysis this week, as I find little to analyze about this episode. Perhaps therein lies the reason for my disappointment. I have come to look forward to peeling back the various layers of the onion each week. This week, the show was more like an orange than an onion—you immediately get to what is beneath the surface without a lot of thought or work.

The episode opens, and we see a man playing some sort of game with some mannequins. Only, we realize that they’re not mannequins when we see one of them begin to sweat. We’re in some sort of playpen of a madman. He has these women, named for various female members of his family, held hostage and paralyzed, there for the man’s unknown machinations. One begins to come to and tries to escape. The man injects her with something, and she stabs him with a needle. He bludgeons her with a croquet mallet, crying “I guess we’ll need to find a new Aunt Sheila.”

We flash to the weirdo walking down a street, apparently stalking an unknown woman. As he crosses the street to follow her, he is hit by a car. Roll credits.

We’re at the Dollhouse. Ballard is looking for Echo in the shower room. He takes her for a treatment.

We go to a scene with Boyd and Adele, walking down the hall, discussing the “disappearance” of Dr. Saunders. Boyd says she didn’t disappear, she left. Adele notices Boyd is calling her “Claire” these days, rather than Dr. Saunders. They encounter Victor, who complains the new doc is “not his best”. They continue to Topher’s lab, where the weirdo is in a hospital bed, in a coma and hooked up to life-support. Topher is mapping his brain. Boyd wonders why they’d ever want to wake a guy like that up. Our patient obviously has a criminal record, lessened by buying off judges. We learn weirdo is the nephew of one Bradley Karrens, a major shareholder in Rossum Corp, and that’s why they’re trying to treat the guy.

Topher shows Adele two brain scans—his and Terry Karrens’. Terry’s brain scan shows similarity to that of a serial killer. Topher expresses he has “ethical concerns’ with trying to wake him up.

We learn Echo has become Kiki, an empty-headed co-ed on a romantic engagement with a college professor. Paul obviously does not like this dumb persona or the assignment. He takes Kiki to the dressing department and waits with another handler as his active is dressed for her assignment. They’re obviously bored.

Adele meets with Uncle Brad. Adele questions why they should help someone like Terry. She threatens to return him to a hospital. Bradley discusses Terry’s checkered past and history of crimes against women. He hints that “victims” had been paid off in the past to keep them quiet. Now, he’s afraid there are women out there that Terry needs to tell someone about. Brad wants Terry revived so that he can question him about some missing women.

Echo, as Kiki, prances in front of the mirror. Paul seems relieved when Boyd comes to relieve Paul of his assignment. Boyd tells Paul they need an FBI Investigator to question a possible serial killer. We see Victor in the chair, getting a treatment. Victor has become Terry Karrens. Cut to commercial.

When we return, Victor (as Terry) is in an investigation room, alone, muttering that he knows his rights. Adele and Bradley are with Topher, monitoring the investigation via CCTV. Ballard reviews a pile of missing person reports with Bradley, asking what they might have to do with Terry.

We flash to a scene of Echo (as Kiki) in a college class. She gets a paper back with a big red F on it. Kiki is the proverbial airhead, clearly confused by Chaucer. She says she thought the class was about mid-evil literature, not advanced-evil literature, and now, she wishes she took Evil Lit 101. The professor invites her back to his office to discuss her grade. The episode continues to switch back and forth between Victor and Echo, showing the parallels of their respective assignments.

Back to Victor. He is being interrogated by Ballard. Ballard taunts him, makes fun of his name, and asks about the veterinary paralytic they found in his system. Adele and Brad continue to monitor the interrogation. Ballard seems to get nowhere with Terry. Bradley questions the approach they’re taking with Terry. Adele sends Bradley off with Topher to see the real Terry. Back in the investigation room, Ballard tells Terry he’s not special, just weird and ordinary. He tells Terry he surrounded himself with fakes to feel like he was in control. Then he shows Victor video of the real Terry, laying in a coma in a hospital bed. Victor says “Goodness gracious” as we go to commercial.

We come back to Victor and Ballard in the interrogation room. Victor is confused, saying it’s impossible, and that it cannot be him in the video. Ballard tells Victor to remember the car. He tells him he THINKS he walked away from the car without a scratch, but he didn’t. Victor watches the video of Uncle Bradley, looking at Terry in a coma. Ballard tells Victor that they need to find the women. Victor needs to tell them about the women if he ever wants out of the hospital bed. Victor points to the picture of Aunt Shelia and tells Ballard that it’s her fault. She made him do this. She didn’t pay enough attention to him. He calls the women whores.

We go back to Echo, in the professor’s office, discussing Chaucer and the role of women in Chaucer’s tales. Then we go back to Victor, as Terry, discussing the role of women. We continue to go back and forth between Victor discussing the women with Ballard, and Echo discussing women with the professor. Victor tells Ballard he can fix things, make them right. They just need a new Aunt Shelia. Ballard reports to Adele that Terry has killed at least one of the women.

Adele receives a phone call, and rushes to Terry’s hospital bed. Alarms are blaring. Topher reports that Terry is in cardiac arrest. Not really, says the doctor. Someone tampered with the equipment. Adele rushes back to her office. The camera shows the interrogation room is empty. She calls Bradley and chastises him, immediately deducing where Victor has gone. Bradley says he’s taken Victor to try to get the information out of “Terry” himself. Bradley gets no further with Victor than Ballard did. Instead, Victor knocks Bradley out, crashes the car and escapes. We cut to commercial.

We return to Adele in her office. She is upset, as she cannot get Bradley on the phone. Ballard thinks Terry is returning to his victims. Adele wants to use Victor’s GPS strip to locate him and the women. Topher reports Victor’s GPS strip was removed during facial reconstruction surgery, at the order of Dr. Saunders, and was never replaced. Ballard suggests they try to locate them by using the GPS in the car.

We flash to the women. The tranquilizer is wearing off. They’re crying, afraid Terry is coming back to kill the rest of them like he killed Aunt Shelia. One woman, Robin, reminds the others that they are humans, not toys. She urges them to fight.

Ballard reports Victor is on foot, or maybe on the subway. He asks where Terry was hit by the car. Adele reports he was hit in Beverly Hills, so Ballard heads that way. Adele orders Topher to perform a remote wipe so that Terry doesn’t use Victor for his nefarious acts. Topher says it can’t be done. Adele reminds Topher that Alpha did it to Echo. Topher reminds Adele that Alpha used a cell phone, and asks Adele for Victor’s cell number. Victor doesn’t have a cell phone. Adele commands Topher to “think of another way and think of it fast.”

We see Victor emerge from the Hollywood and Vine Subway station. Then we see Echo discussing Chaucer with the professor. She’s starting to come on to the professor. She puts on some music and starts to dance. Boyd is monitoring her from the van outside. Just then, Topher calls Boyd to inform him he has to take the biolink system offline. He tells Boyd he needs to take the system down to attempt a remote wipe of Victor.

Victor is walking down a Hollywood street, checking out women. He comes to a club and goes inside. Flash to Topher in the lab with Adele, attempting the remote wipe. Flash to Victor. He appears to be in pain. The system goes down, and there is a power outage at the Dollhouse.

Back to Echo. She is dancing with the professor. All of the sudden, she pulls out a knife and stabs him in the neck. Echo says “Goodness gracious” as we cut to commercial.

We come back to the Dollhouse. The power is still out. Adele calls Boyd and tells him that they are calling in all of the actives, as the whole system is down. Boyd concurs with the decision and offers to help spread the word to the other handlers. Back to Echo. She is rifling the professor’s pockets. Evidentially, something went wacky and Echo assumed Victor’s imprint. She steals the professor’s keys and leaves. Boyd rushes in to extract his active only to find the professor bleeding on the floor. He calls for an ambulance.

Adele and Topher are talking. Topher says everything got scrambled. They know Echo became Terry. They wonder what happened to Kiki.

Flash to Victor in the club. He’s dancing. Evidentially now, Victor is Kiki. The remote wipe transposed the imprints. Ballard enters the club, hot on the tail of Victor. His phone rings, and he steps out to take the call (Adele). Meanwhile, Victor (as Kiki) hits on some guy. The guy takes offense. Ballard returns to see Victor has knocked the guy out. Victor sees Paul and rushes to him.

Back to the caged women. They’re trying to break out when Echo comes in. Echo hits a woman with a croquet mallet and informs the women that she is “him”. The women are confused. Echo holds her head. She seems to be getting confused too. Echo accuses “Mother” of doing this to Terry. She starts beating the women. Just as she is about to bludgeon one, she appears confused. She stops herself and muses “Did I fall asleep?” Cut to commercial.

We return to Topher and Ivy, trying to fix the computer. Ballard returns with Victor, still as Kiki. The system comes back up. Everyone is relieved. They immediately use her GPS strip to locate Echo. She’s in Beverly Hills.

Back to Echo. She is very confused. She seems to be part Echo and part Terry. “He was here…he’s still here,” she mutters. “He wants to kill you. You have to kill him first.” She drops the mallet and grabs her head. Robin grabs the mallet. She tells Echo to move away from the door so they can all escape. Echo tells Robin “he” will not let her get away from the door. She says they have to kill “him.” Robin says “No problem” as she raises the mallet above her head. She begins beating Echo, but another of the women stops her. Echo tells the women he is coming back. He’ll never stop—he can’t. They’ll have to kill her in order to kill him. Robin tells Echo it doesn’t make sense. Echo describes how Terry stalked the women before taking them. She warns them he’ll do it again. She tells the women that they need to stop “him”. Robin raises the mallet to bludgeon Echo, just like Terry bludgeoned Aunt Shelia. Luckily, a group of men from the Dollhouse rush in just as Robin raises the mallet above her head. One grabs the croquet mallet from Robin as Ballard rushed in to protect Echo. Ballard asks Echo if she’s okay, and she replies in the negative. He asks her if she wants a treatment as he leads her away.

Back to the Dollhouse. Adele is by Terry’s hospital bed. Ballard says he never really got inside of Terry’s head. Adele informs Paul that Bradley is having Terry moved back to a regular hospital. She comments it would be nice if Terry never woke up.

Echo is a doll again. So is Victor. They pass each other in the hall. Echo stops outside of Terry’s room. “I think he dreams,” Echo says. “Not anymore,” Ballard responds. Terry flat lines. Echo says “Goodness gracious.” The credits roll.

Like I said, not a lot to analyze here. We learned very little to advance the overall story arc. We did get to see the seeds of the remote wipe technology, the end result of which was a big part of Epitaph 13. We also got out first glimpse of programming being used for no beneficial reason whatsoever. Idealistic Adele seemed repelled by what they had to do for one of their major investors. She had no real idea of the true depravity contained within Terry’s mind, as his family had managed to cover up all of his criminal past, save for a few misdemeanors. She seemed horrified when she fount out the extent of Terry’s true nature, almost determined to undermine their efforts in any way she could. We also saw her mother hen side come out when she realized Bradley was using one of her dolls for something of which she did not approve. Adele continues to try to draw a line when she sees her assignments beginning to get out of hand.

We also saw Topher question the ethics of his scientific misdoings for the first time in his life. Even Boyd was amazed that Topher had misgivings about the current assignment. Topher’s humanization continues, if only in baby steps. We also learned that, for all intents and purposes, Claire escaped. Although as the doctor, Claire was free to come and go as she pleased, it was obvious that Adele thought she’s never leave the Dollhouse. We learned that Claire had approved the removal of Victor’s GPS strip. They implied she probably had her own removed as well, as Adele was unable to locate her. So we saw a second doll that the Powers that Be cannot keep completely under control. But that’s as far as the layers go.

In terms of Echo, I guess we saw a little moral development on her part as well. We saw the re-emergence of the uber-doll. When the imprints transposed, Echo was somehow able to control the Terry inside of her, where Victor could not. She stopped Terry from using her to bludgeon the women. Instead, Echo somehow interpreted the Terry inside of her, using the part of herself she retains to instead warn the women. She was seemingly willing to die herself, rather than let the unsavory implant use her to kill others. We also saw that Echo’s retaining bits of all of her imprints, intentional or not, when she closed the episode by repeating Terry’s tagline. The sardonic manner in which she repeated the tagline seemed to imply she can control the darker sides of the memories she retains.

We have to wait two weeks to see if episode 4 is better than episode 3. The coming attractions promise us Sierra’s back-story, and in my opinion, episode 4 shows promise of returning to advancing the overall tale. Episode 5 will introduce Summer Glau as some sort of counterpart to Topher. These episodes appear to be a return to the multi-layered Dollhouse we’ve come to know and love. I hope they will give me an opportunity to analyze again, rather than to merely recap.

I seem to be in the minority when it comes to not liking Belle Chose. Was there depth there that I missed? Why did the rest of you think this was the best episode of the season so far? Please use the comments section below to enlighten me on your viewpoints. I’d love someone to say something that will change my opinion of this episode and make me want to watch it again to catch what I missed.

Latest Dollhouse Scoop from Kristen: "Season 2 is All About Murder and Sex"

Source: Eonline

Head over to Eonline to read about what the cast says Season 2 has in store for us dolhouse fans. Sierra and Victor get closer, as well as do Ballard and Echo. Reportedly, "Eliza says, "Echo doesn't know entirely what's going on yet…[but] as she becomes more and more self-aware, she's recognizing this constant, tall, dark, looming man in the Dollhouse."...As Tahmoh explains it, "They have a connection. It's not a physical attraction, but I hope it's something that we explore a lot more this season. You're not quite sure what it is. There's a past, there's a history, there's an understanding between them that's very different. I think the audience is really going to like it and be really curious about where we're going in the first few episodes.""

Kristen also has posted exclusive video interviews with Fran Kranz, Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj and Olivia Williams.

News from Comic Con

Comic Con is underway, and the Whedon panel happened yesterday. Lucky Comic Con attendees were treated to season 2 spoilers. Joss is reporting that additional Whedon alumni will be appearing on Season 2. Whedon confirmed appearances by Alexis Denisof (Angel) and Summer Glau (Sarah Connor Chronicles). Reportedly, Amy Acker will appear in at least 3 Season 2 episodes. Reportedly, Felicia Day will also be appearing in Season 2, building on her appearance in Epitaph One.

TV Guide reports: "Whedon kicked off the panel by raving that the staff he assembled for the Fox series' freshman run was "the best" first-season staff he has ever worked with. So expect no major changes there." They also report: "Amid the cheers and woots, Whedon gave the show's fans pause when at one point he teased, "There is one trustworthy person in the Dollhouse — and I'm going to kill them." I'm interested in hearing who others think may be killed off. Whiskey, due to her portrayer joining another show? Victor, due to the fact he now needs either reassignment or plastic surgery?

Comic Con attendees got to see Epitaph One. Although reportedly, this episode has also been "leaked" and can be found on the internet, I'll be waiting until I get my box set next week to watch it. Although Joss originally made this episode in anticipation of series cancellation, he promises Season 2 will "honor what was seen" in Epitaph One. He also said Season 2 will be more political, and will get out into the world more.

Whedon also thanked fans for setting their TIVOs and other recording devices to capture Dollhouse. Evidently, the largest numbers in the ratings came from the "record now to watch later" folks.

Reportedly, the panel was so popular that some rabid fans were left outside, and it was standing room only inside. This echoes Whedon's comment that the fans brought the show back from oblivion. Let's hope Season Two rewards our efforts.

Season 2: Good News & Bad News

The good news is that Joss Whedon, the man himself, will be writing and directing the season 2 premiere. The bad news is that premiere has been pushed back one week, to September 25. It is still scheduled to air on Friday nights at 9 pm. Curiously enough, Fox has scheduled Glee to run in Dollhouse's original premiere date.

Reportedly, Joss wanted to have 3 or 4 episodes in the can before airing the 1st, and asked Fox to push the season 2 start date back by a week. Reportedly, season 2 will involve Echo trying to discover her "inner Caroline" as well.

The DVD release is still scheduled for July 28. (And I am still hoping to receive the set for my August 1 birthday. I plan a re-watch of the 1st season before the late-September premiere as well.) However, Whedon has also produced a special, limited edition collectors' edition of the season 1 set. It will only be available at Comic-Con, and must be pre-ordered on the Fox website. (link) It includes special packaging, as well as an individually numbered letter from Joss. Only 5000 of each format are being made. If anyone reading this is lucky enough to be attending Comic Con, and/or gets his/her little paws on one of these babies, please tell us about it in the comments section below. I'll have to be satisfied with reports, as I, unfortunately, will not be there. If you know someone who IS going, you may designate that person to pick up your box set for you.

Also, UK viewers are going to get a chance to see the still un-aired "epitaph 1" without having to buy the dvd set. Evidentially, the UK viewers are a lot more fanatical than those of us here in the US. Be can thank their enthusiasm for helping to sway TPTB to renew our beloved show. Dollhouse airs on Sci Fi in the UK. (Is it called SyFy in the UK now too?)

Hopefully, Comic Con will bring us even more Dollhouse news to tide us over until September.

EW.com Posts Exclusive Scoop on Season 2

Joss and his team have started writing season 2, according to Entertainment Weekly. Joss reports that season 2 will expand on season one, and that he's "pumped".

Source: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/06/joss-whedon-buffy-dollhouse-1.html

Exclusive: Joss Whedon on 'Dollhouse' -- 'Back with such a vengeance'

Jun 11, 2009, 09:12 PM | by Mandi Bierly

Joss Whedon is two weeks into breaking stories for Dollhouse's second season, and we're happy to report that he sounds like a happy man even without that season 1 budget. Whedon wrapped his top-secret horror film The Cabin in the Woods on May 29 and hit the Dollhouse writers' room on June 1. "I just wanted to die of tiredness," he tells EW.com exclusively. "About two hours after starting to talk to the writers about story, I was back with such a vengeance, and so energized and so pumped because we really understand the show now. We understand what works, and what didn't work so well or what we weren't so thrilled about. We don't have the onus of trying to be a big hit sitting on our shoulders. We can just be ourselves. And so the stories we're breaking are pure, and exciting, and everybody's on-board in the room, and it's never flowed better."

What does that mean for Season 2? "I'm really proud of the second half of season 1, and we're just expanding on that in a huge way: Finding out the different things that Eliza [Dushku] can be, at the same time as extending our mythology," Whedon says. "Really, just every meeting is like, 'What's the most fun we can have with this actor?' about the whole cast. All I can say -- 'cause I'm gonna be Mr. Un-Spoiler -- is that we're having a crazy amount of fun, and usually, that tends to translate onto the screen."

Speaking slightly spoilery, Whedon tells us that season 2 won't pick up right with "We've got to find Alpha!" but a little bit later. Alan Tudyk has a role on ABC's midseason series V, but Whedon hopes he'll be able to use the character sparingly: "Alpha will always be a part of the equation." Whedon's also hoping to work out a similar loan with the producers of ABC's Happy Town, who nabbed Amy Acker, aka Dr. Saunders/Whiskey. For more insider scoops, keep reading after the jump.

More scoop: Whedon says that Echo's last word in the finale, "Caroline," was the beginning of her season 2 quest. "Echo wants to find not just Caroline, but what's going on behind everything. She doesn't have all of the skills. [Laughs] But she does have this weird super power of becoming a different person all the time, so she might start using that more specifically to find out who Caroline was and what happened to her and why this place exists." So she still has all those past imprints in her? "Well, they're supposed to have wiped them out of there. But we'll see how well that went..."

Other burning questions: Summer Glau hasn't signed on for any episodes of Dollhouse yet. "We're still breaking the episodes," Whedon says, "but we didn't honestly go into the season going, 'Now how can we figure out how to service Summer?' when we already have a huge ensemble. I adore Summer and she's phenomenal, but I have to service the cast I have first. If something comes up that's good enough, my God, I'd hound her. But the rumors of her becoming a big part of the show are greatly exaggerated."

And, sorry, but don't hold your breath that Whedon might become involved in the big-screen Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot. "I believe [the producers] did ultimately reach out to my agent after the news broke," Whedon says. "I think that's something better left untouched by me. So, I wish them luck."

Fox Announces Fall Premiere Dates

Today, Fox announced premiere dates for its fall shows. Dollhouse is scheduled to return on Friday, September 18. So we won't have to wait all that long after the DVD release for our second season. (The DVD release is scheduled for the end of July.) However, although Fox is leaving Dollhouse on Friday nights, it appears to have ditched the sci-fi Friday concept. The lead-ins to Dollhouse are a pair of sitcoms, including the very mediocre "til Death." I hope the weak lead-in doesn't kill our beloved show, and that Fox takes into account the DVR numbers.

I, for one, will probably be taping Dollhouse. 9 pm on a Friday night is not exactly prime viewing time for a single gal. And since we managed to save Dollhouse for at least one more season, I will be re-capping episodes here, once season 2 begins. (In fact, I plan to review all the 1st season episodes, as well as the 2 DVD only episodes, as soon as I get my little paws on that box set.) I'm hoping the numbers remain high enough for a 3rd season. After all, I need some new loves now that Lost is reaching its final season.

More Renewal News

All of the popular sources have confirmed that Dollhouse will be back for a 2nd season. Evidentially, the renewal involved slashing the budget, which sources say is not that big a deal, as the sets are already built. Guess that means no more fighting on top of sleeping pods! I'm hoping Amy Acker's new show being picked up does NOT lead to Whiskey being sent to the Attic, and to a new doll being imprinted as Dr. Saunders.

I love Washington Post's TV Reporter's comments:

"We hear Sony is practically paying Fox to keep " 'Til Death" on the air until it has enough episodes for syndication, and the budget on "Dollhouse" reportedly was sliced as part of the deal to get a second-season pickup late last week -- an order that caused The Reporters Who Cover Television's eyebrows to rise until they nearly disarranged their bangs.

After all, Joss Whedon's latest exercise in feminist heinie-kicking-and-tight-tank-top-wearing hadn't even copped 3 million viewers the other day. That's not even a decent FX number, much less a stat that would merit renewing a series on the country's No. 1-ranked network. The reporters suspected that "Dollhouse's" eyebrow-raising pickup had something to do with the fact that the company that produces "Dollhouse" is owned by the same company that owns the Fox broadcast network. They sensed that the renewal had more to do with keeping the show going for the sake of DVD boxed sets, overseas sales and other ancillary interests than with copping the largest audience possible for Fox, and they said so yesterday during a Q&A with Fox execs.

Those execs were braced to meet that suggestion with stout denial. They are great believers in stout denial and they are very good at it.

"It's a bet on Joss Whedon," Reilly insisted when asked about it, adding that Fox is committed to having original scripted programming on Friday nights.

Unless it's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," Fox's other scripted Friday drama this season. "Terminator" is canceled because, Reilly explained, they looked at that show's ratings and "the trend line was not pointing in the right direction."

Hey, let's take a look at the ratings track on "Dollhouse" -- shall we? It's 4.8 million, 4.2 million, 4.2 million, 3.6 million, 4.3 million, 4.1 million, 3.9 million, 3.4 million, 3.5 million, 3 million, 3.1 million, 2.7 million."

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/18/AR2009051802744_2.html?sid=ST2009051900007 (Lisa de Moraes, Washingtonpost.com)

Never got into Sarah Connor myself. I love true sci-fi, but am not a fan of the shoot-em-up-action-movie-set-2000 years-in-the-future type of thing. But I'm not sure Fox isn't dooming Dollhouse by leading in with comedies. But then again, didn't the Simpsons originally lead into The X Files? And we didn't even have TiVo in those days. Me, I'm still a good old VCR gal. I'm also single, so my Dollhouse habit rarely involved live viewing. Hulu serves as a backup for the occasional power outage.

I wonder how others think scheduling will effect viewing. I'm also wondering why Fox doesn't try a Dollhouse/Fringe block...

Save Joss Whedon's Dollhouse!

About the 3rd episode, I stumbled on to the best new TV show since "Lost," namely Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. (It must be some sort of pattern with me. I actually didn't discover Lost until the 3rd episode either. I had to wait for re-runs. We didn't have Hulu.com back then. But I digress.) I was immediately intrigued by this new series, seemingly a darker "Fantasy Island", except in this version, rich folks pay scientists to imprint willing volunteers with a new, dream personality each week. The hour flew by sooner than I knew it. I never did get up to get that soda I had thought about during the first, ever so short, commercial break. I turned the TV off and went to my computer, hoping Hulu was carrying this fantastic new show. It was. And the first 2 episodes were just as intriguing as the one I had just watched live. My VCR got a new weekly entry in its recording schedule.

I care very little about TV shows these days, with the exception of Lost, to which I am almost obsessively devoted. I like a few sitcoms, but if I miss them, it's no big deal. I certainly don't schedule my social life around them. But it's different with Lost. I stay in on Wednesday nights, and spend the hour after the show dissecting it in internet chatrooms. Until recently, no other show held my attention like Lost. And then I discovered Dollhouse.

Dollhouse is my new, favorite television show. It doesn't quite have the internet proliferation of Lost. But give it time. Lost didn't have it either during its first season. Please, give it time.

But the folks who report on TV are telling us our time may be up. Dollhouse is a "bubble show," meaning the network has not decided that it wants to pick it up yet. But they haven't canceled it either. Maybe we can change their minds.

Let's start to build that Internet Presence, like Lost has. As time permits, I will be enhancing this site with additional Dollhouse-related information. In the meantime, please leave your comments below. And help me get this site to go viral. Maybe that way, we can get their attention. We can show them how much Dollhouse means to us.

Dollhouse is the best new Sci-Fi series to hit the tube in decades. It is innovative, creative, and current. It is destined to become a sci fi classic, if it is just allowed to run its course.