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- TV Series: Dollhouse
- Episode: Echoes
- Starring: Eliza Dushku, Olivia Williams, Fran Kranz, Harry J. Lennix, Tahmoh Penikett
- Written By: Sarah Fain, Elizabeth Craft
- Directed By: Tim Minear
- Network: Fox
- Series: Dollhouse
Dollhouse: Echoes
The Series is Improving each week but is it to Late for Success? By
Stephen Lackey
March 28, 2009
Echo (Eliza Dushku) topline another episode of Whedon's DOLLHOUSE(2009).
© Mania.com/Robert Trate
This week, a nasty chemical finds its way out into a college and the results are messy. It turns out that the actives are immune to the chemical so a bevvy of them are sent into action to try and contain the chemical and the infected while Topher tries to find a cure. This is one of those opportunities where the actors actually get to play their characters in a completely different way than they were originally conceived. Sometimes, it really works such as with Olivia Williams’ portrayal of a near goofy DeWitt, and sometimes it doesn't such as with Harry J. Lennix’s adjustment to Boyd Langton. That had to be one of the most uncomfortable belly laughs I’ve seen on television in quite some time.
The episode overall, even if the concept is a bit over-baked, comes off quite well by the end. It does a lot to set up the future development of the actives and what looks like a mutiny coming next week. The drug doesn’t effect them the same way it does normal humans. It causes them to glitch and to remember things that were supposed to be wiped from their memories. Echo in particular begins remembering that something happened to her at the college before she was ever exposed because she first sees it on television. When she arrives at the school and finds a friend that despite all of weird actions decides to help her get into the school, I was saddened because I felt some more weak writing coming my way. But then there’s one of a few twists in this episode that brings the story back around. Unfortunately, I believe that twist worked so well because of previous episodes being written so badly. At some point, you accept that something tastes bad no matter how it’s cooked. But this week, there was a nice spicy flavor at the end that rescued the entire dish.
There wasn’t a lot of real action in this week’s episode which can be a bad thing for a series like this one. Similarly, one of my friends has stopped watching The Sarah Connor Chronicles because there hasn’t been enough action for him. This episode featured a lot of character and story development which is also dangerous for a show with a reputation for poor writing but it worked this week. The writers have taken a page from the Lost playbook too by adding flashbacks to give more back-story for Echo. While it’s again not an original idea, it’s still a good addition to this series. It’s very hard to care about someone who walks around like a zombie until they get programmed into being a prostitute - which seems to be Echo’s specialty - and then back to zombie mode again. The flashbacks provide a way for us to get to know Caroline and further understand her journey into becoming Echo. We can build some sympathy for her and some hope that she’ll escape the dollhouse. Hopefully, there will be more flashbacks to build her character around. Yes, there have been flashbacks before this one but most of them have centered around her meetings with DeWitt. This week was some real character stuff.
Ballard is a character that needs some real attention and development. His story arc with the neighbor active has come to an end so he needs something new to make him interesting. There’s always the possibility that he’s Alpha, and that would be pretty cool. He’s certainly obsessed with Echo and when Alpha left the dollhouse, she was the one he didn’t attack. Alpha has been playing games here and there and it’s possible that Ballard doesn’t even know he’s doing it. Maybe he has a nifty catch phrase that turns the Alpha part of him on and off similar to Mellie. This episode takes a step toward making Dollhouse a better show. The question is: anyone still watching?
I thought this was a fun episode in the tradition of Buffy. That's what is great about Joss he has the ability to have so much going on in 40 mins that you don't notice all the little things we seem to find and bitch about. Next weeks episode looks really good. Too bad this show is on Fox because it probably won't be given its chance to find its legs.