Dollhouse... thus far.

Last night I finally managed to find a working torrent for the latest ep of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.

For those of you who have been watching the show and quit because you didn't see the plot and premise going anywhere, this is the episode where your patience will be rewarded.

If you've been asking yourself what the show is trying to say, it's pretty much outlined here in a straightforward way. Given that such technology exists, many people will not be able to resist abusing the power to manipulate other people so completely and exactly. One "expert" in the ep even goes so far as to say that if the Dollhouse does exist, we as a species will cease to matter.

That's the premise, but how well is it executed? VERY well! I have to give major credit to Eliza Dushku (Echo/Caroline) for her ability to not only play a mindless doll in a entirely non-mindless way, but to play one or two new characters every episode and make the viewer feel that you've been playing that character for a whole season.

Tahmoh Penikett needs special mention in this ep. I loved him in BSG and I was really excited to see how he did in this outing. It wasn't really until now that I felt his character (FBI Agent Paul Ballard) had anything to offer. Now we know Paul has his own personal issues, isn't alone in his chase and doesn't have the backing of his peers.

Olivia Williams plays Adelle DeWitt, who runs the Dollhouse. I honestly can't tell if I like Adelle or not, but it's an extremely intriguing character and Olivia plays it very well. On the one hand she seems cold and calculating, but on the other she seems to have a heart which she's constantly trying to keep under lock and key for fear of it getting her killed. I'm anxious to see where she goes.

The whole show is about using people, and even the people doing the using are being used themselves. Perhaps in a broader sense, the show is about illusions of reality. People aren't just using and being used, but their purposefully placing illusions on themselves, mostly in order to survive the world they find themselves in.

All-in-all a great show. Slow start, but very much worth the build-up. It's the only show I'm keeping track of now that BSG is done. Since the show is still more-or-less in its infancy, there's little to speak of. The plot is freshly set and thee characters are established and moving. From here it gets interesting.

o7

PS: The BSG full-impressions won't be along until I get the full-series blu-ray set.