Recap: Ghost, Episode 1, Season 1

Joss Whedon did not intend Ghost to be the opener of Dollhouse. An unaired pilot is available for viewing on the DVD set. I watched both Ghost and the original pilot, in succession. What follows is my recap of Ghost. Stay tuned for a recap of the unaired pilot.

Ghost is the first episode of Dollhouse that aired, replacing the original pilot. It opens with De Witt and Caroline talking, discussing Caroline's decision to "volunteer" to be a Doll. We then see Echo in action, on a motorcycle, racing with a rather hot guy. They end up at a party, where they dance and laugh. She wanders away and meets Boyd, who tells her it's time for a treatment, and she accompanies him to a van, all the while raving about how she thinks she's met "the one". She meets Topher, and gets into the chair for her treatment. We see a montage of backward flowing memories, all the way back to the crib. A docile Echo sits up and asks "Did I fall asleep?" Topher responds "For a little while."

Echo meets with Dr. Saunders, and comments that she hurt her leg, but doesn't remember how. When asked if she's concerned that she doesn't remember, Echo replies "Should I be?" While waiting for a masseuse, Echo wanders back to Topher's office, where she sees a blonde woman in the chair. Echo expresses concern because the woman is seemingly in pain. Topher tells Echo it's because it's the woman's "first time". What appear to be acupuncture needles connected to a computer protrude from throughout the blonde's veins.

Cut to a scene of a Latino man talking to his daughter on the phone from his limo. As soon as he hangs up, kidnappers burst in and put the little girl in a body bag. We later see this man meeting with DeWitt. We find out he is a "frequent client", and "although they are not robots", she's sure one of their actives can successfully negotiate with the kidnappers. Echo is programmed to be a near-sighted, asthmatic, super-hostage negotiator. The client is surprised they sent a beautiful woman for the job, rather than a fatherly, Edward James Almos type. He laughs when "Miss Pitt" assures him she has been doing this her whole life. He probes her for details about her imprint, and Echo reveals her persona was kidnapped as a child, and not given back.

Echo assumes control of the negotiations, and is very convincing in her role. She sets up the trade, arranging to meet at a dock in order to exchange the money for the girl. All is going swimmingly until Echo comes face-to-face with the lead kidnapper and collapses on the dock. The kidnapper is the same one who kidnapped the person from whom Echo's imprint was made. "Stop them from getting on the boat," Echo gasps. But in the ensuing melee, the client is shot, and the bad guys get away with both the money and the kid.

Boyd extracts Echo, and they head back toward the Dollhouse. Her Miss Pitt persona is bothered by seeing the ghost from her past, and it makes her want to rush in and save the kid even more. She keeps trying to put the pieces together. As they arrive at the Dollhouse, Boyd rushes in to convince DeWitt that Echo can still save the day, but only if she is not wiped. DeWitt acquiesces. Echo knows where the kidnappers are, and heads out with Dominic in a helicopter to save the day. She faces her ghost and rescues the kid. Sierra, imprinted as some sort of commando, bursts in with machine guns blaring, and takes out the kidnappers. They recover both the loot and the child, the client recovers, and everybody is happy. Sierra and Echo are wiped, and head to the communal showers. The dolls then retire for the night in their pods.

A side plot introduces Ballard. He is shown being chewed out and laughed at by his superiors because of his "Dollhouse" assignment. He has hosed several other major investigations, including that of the Russian human smugglers, the Borodines, trying to prove this "thing" exists, making a fool of himself along the way. He has embarrassed a senator, and the only legal activity he was involved in was his divorce. While they are chewing him out, Ballard is thinking of a bout in a boxing ring. He is getting his butt kicked badly, and is apparently down. His bosses ask him if he can "back off" of this dollhouse investigation. Ballard’s daydream shifts to him getting angry and coming back to kick his opponent’s butt. "I can back off" he says to his superiors, as he visualizes himself knocking his opponent out.

Ballard is sitting in a bar. He eavesdrops as this guy named Lubov comes in, hearing Lubov mention the Borodines. Lubov is evidentially connected to these Borodines, a Russian mob involved with human smuggling. Ballard is convinced the Borodines are somehow linked to the Dollhouse. He later follows Lubov into the Men's room, and pulls a gun on Lubov while he is at the urinal. "Say dollhouse", Ballard says while holding the gun to Lubov's head. Ballard sees this Lubov guy as a key to getting the information he needs.

The episode ends with DeWitt saying how happy she was that this (the kidnapping) was contained, while looking at a file. "How are we going to contain this?" She exclaims, as she opens the folder to reveal it says "Alpha". Cut to someone watching a video of Caroline in college, while stuffing a picture of Caroline in an envelope and addressing it to Ballard.

I liked this episode. However, I found it really dark in comparison to the unaired pilot. Ghost seemed to focus more on the darker side of the Dollhouse, and did not nearly emphasize DeWitt’s altruistic goals for her actives nearly as well as did the original pilot.

My next post will recap the unaired pilot. Read the recaps and comment on which you think makes a better introduction to the series. If you haven’t seen the original pilot, I urge you to get a hold of the DVD set and watch it. If you’re lucky enough to live in the UK, I understand you’ll get a chance to see it on SyFy. Those of us in the US will have to get hold of the DVD set. In my opinion, it is well worth the ~$40 to see the original pilot and Epitaph One (which I will be recapping soon.)

DVD Release & Season 2 Scoop

As hoped for, I got the Dollhouse DVD set for my birthday. It arrived in my mailbox on August 1st. I finally had a chance to break it open today, and I started by watching the original, unaired pilot, Echo. I really enjoyed this pilot, and now, want to go back and watch Disk 1, episode 1, to compare and contrast the 2.

The original pilot focuses on introducing Echo, Ballard, Sierra, and Victor. I seem to remember the reveal of Victor as a Doll to be somewhat shocking; I guess, originally the audience knew from the start. Clips of Echo performing "pro-bono" and "do-gooder" type assignments, including helping a young alcoholic woman sober up and re-connect with her family. (And I could swear that drunk was the little girl from Growing Pains, all grown up.) Ballard prods Victor for info regarding a possible Borodine-Dollhouse connection, and when Victor sends Ballard to an abandoned hotel basement, Ballard encounters a Caroline look-alike who claims to be searching for her missing sister, but has really been programmed to assassinate Ballard. Meanwhile, Dr. Saunders and Topher spar back at the Dollhouse, and Saunders' seeming hatred for Topher is revealed as they discuss the "grouping" tendencies of Victor, Sierra, and Echo.

I originally came in on the 3rd episode. I loved the show so much I went back and watched the 2 I'd missed on Hulu. I'm interested in seeing the series again from the start, as I remember being a little more confused by the 1st episode. I'm thinking the unaired pilot would have been a better way to introduce the series, but perhaps, would not have built the suspense. I'll post again later, after I've had a chance to rewatch the 1st aired episode.

The 12 aired episodes are contained on the first 3 disks of the DVD set. The 4th disk contains the unaired Epitaph One, as well as the Special Features. These include the aforementioned original pilot, commentary on Epitaph One, Deleted Scenes, and 4 featurettes. I'll be posting reviews of these over the next month, as I re-watch the first season.

In the meantime, Kristen at E! Online reports some season 2 scoop:

Show runner Joss Whedon spilled some Dollhouse dish at the Television Critics Association tour about what's in store for Echo (Eliza Dushku). Joss says, "Echo starts really realizing that as a person, she not only exists, but that she has a mission—that she has something she wants. This year we are going to see the results of everything she went through last year, particularly the event with Alpha where she was downloaded with all of her personalities. We are going to see what effect that's had on her, and we are going to find her to be a great deal less passive and a great deal more directed in what she wants, and that is, of course, going to make her life a lot harder. And the more she finds out about what is going on around her and the more we find out, the creepier it is going to get, because creepy is what it makes it fun."

Kristen also confirms reports that Amy Acker will be reprising her role as Dr. Saunders, despite being cast in Happy Town.

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.

Another Epitaph One Clip

Another Epitaph One clip has been released. This one shows no dolls whatsoever, but rather shows a bunch of armed folks discovering this unknown place 8 stories underground. Watch for yourself.

Whedon Discusses Epitaph One

EW has an exclusive conversation with Joss about Epitaph One. Reportedly, Whedon wrote the episode so that it would be a good series coda, should they be canceled, or a very good lead-in for Season 2. SPOILER ALERT: EW reports that the episode begins with Ballard and Caroline returning to an abandoned Dollhouse in 2019. Whedon tells EW. "Every flashback answers something about where people are heading but brings up a lot more questions about where they end up or how they got there." (Whedon says the season 2 opener he's writing and directing won't pick up right where the May season 1 finale left off, with "We've got to find Alpha!", but a little bit later.)

Whedon also says he understands why Fox decided to hold back the episode. As I've already said, I'm planning on getting the DVD set, and cannot wait to watch both this episode and the unaired original pilot. And I'd rather have the second season than the opportunity to see Epitaph One on Fox. If you haven't yet watched the clip of Wiped Clean, Ghostly Whiskey, do so as soon as you can. It's worth a watch.

Clip From Epitaph 1 Released

A clip from Epitaph One has been released!

Granted, it's only a 30 second clip, but it sure whets my appetite. The clip features the mysterious Whiskey, looking and acting sort of vapid, being surrounded by 4 apparent feds with drawn guns.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Whiskey."

"What is your last name?"

"I don't know."

"Where were you born?"

"I don't know."

"How did you get down here?"

"I've always been here."

Doesn't give us a lot. But I'm sure loving every glimpse of Whiskey that I get, and thinking Amy was MUCH more interesting as an Active than as a doctor.

Watch it for yourself and see what you think.

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.