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Review

Dollhouse – TV Review

Have you ever wanted to find the perfect date? Or the best hostage negotiator? Or the person best suited to help you rob a bank? Well look no further then Fox 8s new Sci Fi series, Dollhouse, where you can make whoever you want¦ for a price.

Dollhouse is an exciting series full of twists and turns that will have you guessing week after week. The Dollhouse is a secret organisation that takes the memories of people in trouble and stores them in computers. These people are walking Ëœdolls’, and when they’re needed, to be the perfect date, negotiator, or bank robber, they are implanted with other memories best fit for the job at hand. The trouble starts with one of the dolls, Echo, begins to remember her past life and her past jobs.

As dolls these people have a child-like mind, and everything in the house is kept calm and simple for them. When they are Ëœactive’ they can be dangerous, imprinted with a multitude of different skill sets and thoughts. During the first episode we find out that one of the earliest dolls, Alpha, became violent in his doll state and attacked and killed many people. Throughout the series we learn about why he did this, and discover why he kept Echo alive.

Created by a man who calls himself an atheist, Dollhouse asks many spiritual questions, namely about the soul and what can make a person good or evil. Echo was a woman named Caroline before she entered the house, and as Caroline she spent most of her time trying to stop animal exploitation. As Echo she cares about the other dolls, and she feels bad when others are hurt or sick. Other dolls who experienced abuse before they entered the house carry that over into their doll state, and one doll falls in love with another. In similar vain to the Orson Scott Card ËœThe Worthing Saga’, Dollhouse struggles to find what makes a person they way they are, and if it is something that can be fundamentally changed.

This series also focuses on the morality of such a place. Would it be better to send one dolls imprinted with the best police defense data to handle a hostage negotiation, rather than an entire SWAT team? To use dolls instead of prostitutes could be safer for the women involved.

One of the main draw cards of this series is its cast, and Eliza Dushku shines each week with every different person she becomes. From sexy starlet, to serious hostage negotiator, to a woman investigating her own death, Eliza plays these roles so well you forget that it is one woman having to act these very different ways. Tahmoh Penikett makes his return to the small screen, after playing Helo in Battlestar Galactica for four years, as Agent Ballard, the man who’s investigating the Dollhouse. Other cast members include Dichen Lachman, Aussie actress who has starred in Neighbours, as Sierra, a new doll to the team who could be trouble for the house.

Dollhouse aires on Fox 8 Tuesday night at 8:30pm. The pilot episode is not the strongest of the series, which could be why so many Americans switched off after only one episode. However, the pilot does its job by introducing the audience to the characters and plot, as well as giving us a little glimpse into what can happen when the dolls don’t work as planned. The rest of the series is well crafted, with plenty of action and character driven moments sprinkled throughout.

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About The Author

Kathy O'Donnell

A massive science fiction fan, Kathy has been reading and writing for this genre for many years. Despite her young age, she has a BA in Film Production and is furthering her career by studying a MA in Writing, Editing, and Publishing. When she's not doing this, she loves to watch TV and yell at the characters thereon.

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Article Information

  • Posted: Sunday, June 28th, 2009
  • Author: Kathy O'Donnell
  • Filed Under: Film, Review
Tags: , , , , ,

Comments

One Response to “Dollhouse – TV Review”
  1. Susie Rowe Squeezy says:

    I’ve been looking for a new TV show to watch and Dollhouse sounds very cool. I’ll be checking it out.

    June 28, 2009 at 2:30 pm

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