Saturday, April 25, 2009

Right now, we should be drinking.

Damnit! I turned the teevee too soon and thought WILLIAM FICHTNER was gonna be on Dollhouse. *sigh*

Dollhouse, Week 10

Alas, there was no Fichtner, but there was Gregg Henry, one of the kick-ass HITGs. Alas, he was woefully underused. Even as the red herring, he could've been given more to do. (Question: The boat fiasco = The noodle incident?)

Good
Topher - Layers! It appears that even he succumbs to his loneliness once a year, and creates a geek dream girl to play laser tag with for his birthday. Gah, how sad. It wasn't even some nasty, pervy scenario; he just wanted someone to hang out with! Also, love his interactions with Boyd.

Jane Espenson
! wrote some of tonight's episode - can you guess which parts? (I'm guessing the discussion with NerdSierra about androids. And the, 'more money for everyone, yay!')

"We can't play with the sleepies..."

Everlasting life?
Another morally questionable twist of the Dollhouse tech. Should there be a second season, this facet could give it legs.

Tudyk = Alpha? It's a guess. In any case, I would give about ten Tahmohs for one Tudyk on a regular basis. Let's make this happen, Joss.

Eh.
The Echo-focused plot. I like a drawing-room mystery as much as the next gal, but this was pretty rote and unsurprising. I mean, why wouldn't the killer be the evil popped-collar preppy with a gambling problem, when the bitter daughter and drunken uncle get so little screentime? (Also, I've only seen Jordan Bridges play a good guy once. and he still died.)

And yet another strange wardrobe choice takes me out of the story
: the solid gold dress at the end? Seemed a bit much for a daytime reading of the will and stroll by the pasture. One can be both practical and hot in a decent pair of jeans and shitkickers.

November's breasts
: MVP of the whole Mellie/Paul storyline? Paul's anger at the whole situation and the rough sex that followed is fine bit of darkness to add to that plot, but I'm still not feeling all that sorry for Ballard, and Mellie is such a simpering doormat I feel like smacking her around a bit myself. Perhaps I should give Joss, et al., kudos for creating a story wherein the mad scientists, rather than their victims, are the most interesting and sympathetic characters.

Um, where *was* Echo's handler?
Seemed like he would've been handy when the Topsider Killer made with the syringe....

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Maybe there'll be cake?

Dollhouse, Week 9

Well fuck me, THAT was an excellent episode.

Adele uses Victor! Holy shit! There was cake! (so the 'meeting' was just a much-needed day off...) And, fittingly, it's kinda violent and twisted and desperate. Adele is just a fascinating character and Olivia Williams is incredible. It was an excellent use of the entire cast while maintaining Echo as a focal point, action-y, emotional, suspenseful... Which makes next week's ep seem all the more disappointing - an Echo mystery of the week? Really?

Random observations
I told Joss there should be swords...

Victor's got a hot lady handler! We need to see more lady handlers... And I don't mean that in a dirty way!

"...or an assassin that does cheers..."

"You think I'm a spy?"
"Not in a bad way...."

Art class? Are there be fingerpaints and paper mache? Wait, they let them have scissors? and not the blunt-point kindergarten kind? That's not gonna end well.

Ballard - how many guns are shoving in your pants there, buster?

For a minute I thought that file room was the Intersect.

"...no need to hide your flaws" - so really, the Dolls just give you the out if you have a tendency to fart in bed...

Oh Evil Reed Diamond, I hope we'll see you again...preferably bound and splayed in the back of my van...

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Banana pancakes? We're all gonna die.

Dollhouse, Week 8
Freedom has to be earned. God, their teasers suck. Poor Eliza got her boobs shoved up to her neck and we get a redundant fantasy sequence that shows us nothing but Tahmoh's absurdly smooth and ripped torso. And still, despite said torso, Ballard's stuff leaves me cold.... "Show - don't tell" - OREALLY?! Too meta show, too meta...and not in your favor.

Staff meeting! One of the main reasons the last few eps have worked better than their predecessors is that they've stayed in the office. The House is the most fascinating aspect of the show, and that's where the cream of the cast is. Dr. NotFred rocks. Not sure why she isn't a regular, as I have avoided (most) spoilers. And I'd definitely like to find more backstory on her than Caroline or Ballard.... Also, I want Olivia and the First Lady to arm wrestle with those serious biceps they got. We also finally saw some female handlers! Finally! Where have they been and will we see them again?

Aliens! I thought for sure the blonde dude was your redshirt for the evening. Somewhere that actor has sung 'Springtime for Hitler'* in community theater.

The faux Doll revival/revolt was exciting and answered some questions, including the incredibly depressing fact that Sierra apparently entered the Dollhouse because she was raped...and got raped again (many times over?) by Handler McPerv. Mellie/November, though, was not consistent: she was frightened, then badass, then frightened again, so I wasn't sure what to make of her. Of course, by the time she hit the cemetery I was just wishing the poor girl could catch a break. But: awww Victor/Sierra smoochies...

Um, I don't like Caroline. She's righteous to the point of foolishness - the type of foolishness that gets people killed (bye cutie boyfriend!). And sweetie, we're part Cylon, we're totally programmable.

House
House : Mos Def on the virtual beach :: Death : Max Van Sydow playing chess on the shore

I haven't seen the Kutler suicide ep yet, but I'm happy for Kal Penn's new White House job. He seems like an earnest down-to-earth guy who sincerely believes in the administration's work.

Also, see him in The Namesake, a touching, lyrical film based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri.

ER
It was a lovely, low-key series finale, despite Stamos' scenery-chewing. Alexis Bledel impressed me with very believable non-Rory portrayal of a young intern: inexperienced but smart, overwhelmed and awkward, but caring.

Young Rachel Greene is tall just like her Pops and seems to have gotten over her troubled teen ways... but why did they give her that awful up-do at the beginning of the ep? It was like she was in a BBC costume drama from the neck up.

Oh, Dr. Carter you haven't looked the happy - or that hot! - in ages. You're a County rat and you know it...

Castle
Nate Fillion has a new murder mystery show: it's pure fluff and lamely predictable and absurdly unrealistic. But then there are random moments where he's playing laser tag with his precocious but responsible teen daughter, or Susan Sullivan just appears in all her fabulousness, or he's wearing onion goggles while making dinner, or name-checking Commander Riker and Sleestacks ... and it becomes damn charming ... and evident of some serious geekitude on the writing staff.

Also, the wardrobe folks on this show dress Fillion very well.

(
But what in the hell were they thinking when they put the lovely Stana Katic in that ruffly hot pink atrocity and the wing-y hair last week? She looked like a refugee from Shindig...)



*
It's Captain Jack!