After some delay, I've finally gotten my hands on several weeks' worth of new TV on DVD releases, so it's time to get cracking! I'm starting off my review extravaganza with the second (and final) season of FOX's Dollhouse, which came home on October 12.

The Show

I really wanted to like Dollhouse; I loved Buffy and Angel, liked Firefly, and am a fan of Eliza Dushku. However, I was one of those people who tuned in and tuned out just as quickly; the show just didn't stick with me the way I was expecting. I heard murmurs that it got much better in the second season, so I was curious to see if that was true. Now that I've watched it (and read Inside Joss' Dollhouse besides), I can say that yes, it does get a lot better. Do I think it was amazing? No, but I'll say it was worth my time.

From the start, the show just feels more coherent, and doesn't drag as much. The season opener, "Vows," is my favorite on the disc. I am a little biased, since it's the episode that guest-stars one of my new favorite faces, Law & Order: UK's Jamie Bamber, who does an amazing job as the ruthless arms dealer that you somehow can't help but be charmed by. (As Whedon says in his commentary on the episode, Bamber has so much integrity in the eyes of the audience because of his run on Battlestar Galactica that it makes him a particularly effective villain.) Yet my inclinations aside, the episode is legitimately entertaining and interesting. The plot keeps moving, the characters seem more alive, and the action pieces are really fun to watch. Plus you can never go wrong with an explosion of any kind.

From then on, it's a question of if the series can keep momentum going. It makes a neat turn when it takes FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) and puts him inside the organization he once investigated as Echo's (Dushku) new handler. To replace him as the "villain" (I use the term in quotes because the moral ambiguity makes it hard to say who's good and evil in this series) in comes Alexis Denisof as Senator Daniel Perrin. He, too, is not at all what he appears to be. Then, of course, there's the matter of that pesky vision of 2019 we saw in "Epitaph One."

The majority of season two is something FOX probably hated, given how they handled season one: less stand-alone stories and more of a serial arc, telling us the history of the Dollhouse at the same time that people are working to destroy it. The result somewhat reminds me of the Terminator franchise, in that the characters are working toward the prevention of an apocalyptic future and later dealing with its coming to pass. Like that franchise, it can be bleak. It's also very much a Whedon show in that things get complicated, with characters routinely changing sides or uncovering new motivations. It all leads to an ending that you'll either love or hate.

Likewise, Dollhouse is a show that you're either going to love or hate. Those of you who love the show will own this in a pinch. If you stopped watching in season one because you found it slow or not quite fitting together, as I did, you'll want to give season two a look. (You don't have to have seen all of season one to appreciate season two, though it doesn't hurt.) Yet if you weren't interested in its themes or its dense mythology, you're better off staying tuned out.

The DVDs

The packaging for this set is bare-bones. There's no accompanying booklet; just the titles of episodes on the inside of the plastic case and a list of special features. Likewise, the disc art is sparse. It's kind of disappointing when I've seen that you can do some very fun and creative things with DVD packaging.

Dollhouse is a four-disc set, with the discs able to be flipped through. There's no indication on the discs themselves of what's on which disc, so you'll have to consult the package.

Presentation-wise, though, this one is pretty good. You have 1:78:1 widescreen video that's accompanied by an English 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track. The discs are closed-captioned, with an impressive array of subtitles for a DVD set: English SDH, Spanish, French and Portuguese. I found the video and audio to be crisp and clear both on my Blu-Ray player and on my laptop. This set might be blah on the outside, but there's a good transfer inside, and that's what's most important.

The Special Features

In a way, fans are lucky that Dollhouse got the axe early and didn't teeter on the brink for awhile. Not only did Whedon get to wrap up the show but the DVDs also have complete special features that cover the whole series. There are two featurettes: one a retrospective interview with Whedon, and another with Whedon and the cast. They get to look at the series as a complete body of work, and therefore so do we.

There are also two commentaries: one on "Vows" with Whedon, and one on "Belonging" with Jed Whedon and Marissa Tancharoen. Unfortunately, there are no cast members involved. (At least Eliza Dushku appeared on a track for season one.) The former is my favorite, because since it's the season opener, Joss talks about how the show changed between its first and second seasons, and what he was hoping to accomplish. That additional information is insightful for those who may have lost interest in season one or perhaps didn't see it at all. I'm surprised that there aren't commentaries on any of the later episodes, especially the last one; those would seem prime places to put a commentary track.

There's also a collection of deleted scenes and outtakes.

The Bottom Line

While I enjoyed this release, I honestly can't give it more than a rental recommendation because it's the kind of show you really have to be sure you like before you buy. There's a reason it divided even Whedon fans. I'm glad that I added it to my collection, but before you invest $33 (at least according to Amazon's current price), give it a peek.

DVD Review - Dollhouse: The Complete Season Two

Smart Pop Books has generously offered us three books for various contests.  Below are the details for a book of a collection of essays regarding Dollhouse  You can also view our contest for a Glee book ("Filled with Glee") and a book on the The CW hit series, The Vampire Diaries ("A Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls").

Though Joss Whedon’s television show Dollhouse ended in January 2010 after its second season, its small but devoted cult following is still reeling from not only from its mind-blowing plot twists but also its challenging, dystopic look at the ethics of new technology.

Inside Joss' Dollhouse is a fitting tribute to this complex, engaging show. The anthology’s 18 sometimes funny, always insightful pieces cover Dollhouse from anticipated start to explosive finish. Drawn from an international contest judged by fan favorite Whedon screenwriter Jane Espenson, its essays get right to heart of what Dollhouse viewers loved most about the show.

Espenson also acts as the book’s editor, offering context and extra insight on its topics and the show—a role she played in previous anthologies Finding Serenity and Serenity Found, also on Joss Whedon creations.

From programmer Topher’s amorality to the accuracy of the show’s neurobiology, Inside Joss' Dollhouse brings Dollhouse back to life with a depth sure to satisfy its many still-mourning fans.

Read our review of "Inside Joss' Dollhouse".  Here are the contest details:

Contest open only to residents of the continental United States and Canada.

To enter, email me at clarissa [at] tvovermind.com and write “Dollhouse Book Contest” in the subject line.  Please provide your name, city and state/province in the email.

The contest will run until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 19, 2010.

clarissa @ tvovermind.com
twitter.com/clarissa373

Contest - "Inside Joss' Dollhouse" (Dollhouse Book)

When Joss Whedon's Dollhouse premiered, as a fan of his work and a fan of Eliza Dushku, I said, "Oh, this should be great!" After watching it, however, I became one of those people who tuned out. When everyone said that the second season was so much better, however, I wondered what I was missing.

The hugely popular Smart Pop book line has helped shed a light on the series with its new edition Inside Joss' Dollhouse, a collection of essays on the controversial show edited by Whedon collaborator Jane Espenson (known to fans of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica and Warehouse 13...talk about a resume!). She uses a discerning eye in selecting essays that were culled from not the usual list of people with credentials, but all comers. As a result, Inside Joss' Dollhouse has a certain "regular people's perspective" feel to it that differentiates himself from other books in this vein; while I enjoy those books myself, I also enjoy this one for being different. I get a kick out of anything that shows that TV fans put a lot of intelligent thought into our viewing and aren't just mindless statistics.

That said, TV analysis, like art, is completely subjective. Show a dozen people the same scene, and there's bound to be a handful of different opinions. What some people call art, I call a big blur on a canvas. You'll either find these essays to be insightful, or reading way too deep into the series. I found them a way to help comprehend a show that I didn't understand. The collection opens with Kate Rennebohm's essay which discusses identity and its connection to the body in Dollhouse, a well-written and easily comprehended piece that made me see the show in a deeper way that I hadn't before. The following selection by Kristin Noone discusses the Karel Capek play that inspired the name of the Rossum Corporation. Unless you're up on 1920's Czech playwrights or did some homework, that's something that will be new territory even for Dollhouse fans. Those two essays are just the beginning.

The goal of a book like this is to enrich the experience of a TV series and/or to make it intriguing to those with a curiosity toward it, and Inside Joss' Dollhouse succeeds on both levels. Fans of the series will learn some things about it that they might not know, and find new ways of looking at its content. If you're like me and tuned out from Dollhouse feeling like it fell flat, this book will elucidate the series for you and at least give you food for thought. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give it is that it made me interested in going back and watching Dollhouse in its entirety. I feel as if now I can better understand what everyone else was raving about.

Inside Joss' Dollhouse is available now in stores. You can also order it at a discount directly from Benbella Books (the publisher of the Smart Pop line) by clicking on the book cover above. If that's not enough Dollhouse for you, stay tuned for my review of the Season 2 home release later this week.

You can also enter our contest to win a free copy of this book.

TV Book Club "Inside Joss' Dollhouse" Review

It was only this weekend that sci-fi legends Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams shared the stage at Comic-Con. TVOvermind was there, and you can read a synopsis of the panel here. Now, Joss mentioned that his already-cult-classic Dollhouse was cancelled because it was “trying to fit a square peg into a round hole," and the cancellation was perhaps spurned by "more of a cable mentality" on his part. That means he wanted more creative freedom, and FOX didn't give it to him. Instead, Dollhouse's high-concept life was cut short after only two years.

Still, that doesn't mean you won't be able to watch those two seasons again and again and again thanks to the magic of Digital Video Discs (or Blu-rays). It's recently been announced that the second sesason of  the series will be hitting shelves on October 12, 2010. That's still a fairly long way away, but you might as well pre-order while the copies are still fresh, right?

You can do that through the links below. Personally, I'll be skipping Dollhouse or order Firefly, which I've heard is a much superior show. However, as a new Whedonite, I'm probably the only person left who doesn't have a copy of Firefly on my shelf. That'll be fixed, trust me. In the meantime, you can order Dollhouse, The Complete Second Season on Blu-Ray or DVD below. The DVD (which curiously is listed as having only one disc) runs for $31.99, while the also one-disc Blu-ray is running for $41.99. Guess the high prices of TV DVDs isn't the materials that make them after all.

• Dollhouse: The Complete Second Season [DVD]
• Dollhouse: Season 2 [Blu-ray]

Pre-Order Dollhouse: The Complete Second Season

Speechless, angry, joyful, confused, and heartbroken. If you experienced all of these feelings then you have just watched a Joss Whedon series finale.

If you take a look back at my wish list for what I wanted from the Dollhouse finale, you will see that I got only two and half of my wishes, but one big revelation made up for the other ones in abundance. All in all, I enjoyed tonight's episode, but I have seen and heard of others that did not. That's OK, too, because this wasn't an ending for everyone. I mean, in my eyes, the ending of The Sopranos does not hold a candle to the epic ending of Angel. The latter was the one I was screaming at when I saw the credits appear all of a sudden. But without further adieu. I give you, Dollhouse - "Epitaph Two: Return"...

The Set Up: 2020

Our survivors from "Epitaph One," who include Zone (Zack Ward), Mag (special guest star Felicia Day) and Iris/Caroline (Adair Tishler) are ambushed by a crowd of "butchers" while collecting water. As they drive, they mention how they don't have much gas and that Iris/Caroline can't remember the exact location to Safe Haven. Zone lets his feelings be known that he doesn't think anything can be done to save the world, but Iris/Caroline believes that they can. The trio reaches what looks like an empty barn area, but are captured as soon as the disembark their vehicle by armed men.

They are taken to Neuropolis, which used to be Tucson, and are put in a cell in the old Rossum building as "merchandise". Iris/Caroline mentions that Safe Haven and Neuropolis are practically neighboring areas and that her camp used to get vaccine and techs from raids on the building. Upstairs, we realize that Harding and Ambrose have imprinted themselves in new bodies. Harding's body has gotten so fat that he is in the market for a new one. The guards bring in muscled guys in chains. As Harding inspects the "merchandise", he notices one of them look familiar... Of course. It's PAUL!!!!

"Harding" flips when "Ambrose" says that they captured Paul with a girl. Uh-oh for him. Hell YES for us!

In the cell, the guards come and fall into Echo's trap and she takes out all of them. "Harding" shows up and he and Echo exchange insults, one of which involves "Harding" asking Echo if she ever thought that if she had not of cut the head off of the snake (Rossum) that the tech wouldn't have gotten out of control. Hmmm... He mocks Echo about her killing him, because his personality is backed up. She offs him anyway. While tending to a wounded woman, Echo and Iris/Caroline meet. Meanwhile, Paul finds Topher, who has lost his mind. Turns out that Rossum shot a person in front of him everyday that he didn't build the tech they wanted. That's all kinds of frakked up. Echo tries to get through to Topher, who reveals that he can build tech to "bring back the world". Let's get this man a lab, people! STAT!!!!!

Safe Haven

Safe Haven is actually a barn where everyone is planting, sowing, and plowing to keep the food supply steady. In the middle of the garden is our dear Adele DeWitt, rocking a Sarah Connor look and the couture fashion a thing of the past. But it's who's with her that has me in glee: a  little Asian kid, whose name is "T". After Adele shows him some edible strawberries in bloom, he runs into the house and shows his mom: Priya.

YESSSSSSS!!!!!!

Later, the group sits for dinner, but I notice that 1) Tony is nowhere in sight, 2) that there is more than one house for the Safe Haven crew, and 3) Adele still has some snobbish standards about her. But that's the least of our worries as Paul, Echo, Zone, Mag, and Iris/Caroline enter the house. They got Topher, which seems to make Adele's entire life. See? Tight family here.

The gang then gives a rundown on Rossum's plans and how they are going to counter them. Rossum wanted Topher to build a "pulse bomb" that could wipe the remaining humans. Why would they do that and risk themselves being a part of that equation? I don't know. The crew then announce that according to Topher, they can reverse that tech and replace everyone back to their original identities. Downside to that plan? It means that people could forget everything past their mind wipe, for Priya that means forgetting T. Another problem is that Topher needs a certain type of tech... which can only be found back at the L.A. Dollhouse. Womp womp. If the pulse bomb works then the imprinted Dolls will have to stay underground till it wears off so they won't get wiped in the process.

The group needs Zone and Mag to help out by being guides since they know the area well, but Zone is not for dying for an untested theory. While he rants, there is a sound and a huge ass truck from the world of Mad Max appears outside the house with soldiers who look like they just escaped from New York. They have shields, gear and shards of metal in their heads and faces. One guy stands out, speaks Russian, then he switches his tech to English.

Damn, TONY what happened to you?!??!

The Road To Nowhere

Tony and Paul talk about Tony's methods, which the Safe Haven group doesn't care for. Tony spots one of the tech heads showing T how they download tech to their heads. He orders the guy to go do something and leave T be. Later, Tony, who has now taken on the Victor persona, chews the dude out, whose name is Romeo, for showing the tech to T. Back in the house, Priya is livid that Echo called Victor and his cronies, because she doesn't like what they stand for and is trying to shield T from their ways. Echo explains that they need Victor to get back in to the Dollhouse so they can stop the horror around them. Priya makes it known that she doesn't want to go. Meanwhile, Zone apologizes to Mag for his behavior and is ready to help out. We also learn that Mag has an eye for one of the female tech heads, Kilo (Maurissa Tancharoen).

On the bus, which contains all the tech heads, the Epitaph One survivors, and the L.A. Dollhouse camps, we get to see each faction communicate with each other. Iris/Caroline and Adele marvel over Topher's genius, while Zone gets wigged out by Kilo. He (as do we) learn that the tech heads use USB drives of different skills to upload tech into their brains when they need them. They can't hold all the tech like Echo does and have to eject certain techs for others to fit. Hmmm... Interesting.

Priya and Victor catch up and we see that things didn't work out for them, except for T. The relationship seems like it ended in bitter tears. From the looks of things, Tony left three years ago and returned as Victor, because he really thought that the tech would help them. Priya is bitter that she has to take T to the one place she didn't want him to see in order to retain the memories she will have of raising him. T doesn't even know that Tony/Victor is his father, which is something Priya and Tony decided on together earlier. They continue to argue over who said what and what went wrong and it breaks my heart to see this couple at odds with each other. Will they make up by hour's end?

Meanwhile, Echo is fidgety and nervous. Paul notices and tries to calm her down, but its not working. She asks Paul why does he think everything will be peachy after they send out the pulse. Paul answers that Echo won't have to fight anyone else's battles anymore and that scares her. Echo surmises that Paul thinks he knows her, but Paul said that its not a claim and that he would know her if she would just let him in. They reveal that they have been intimate a few times in light of death, but that's it. Paul then says that he thinks that its ironic that Echo has over 100 people in her head, but is still alone. Deep... That's deep...

Toy Soldiers

The group makes a plan to enter the Dollhouse and as soon as they arrive outside the place, they are shocked to find that the butchers have either multiplied or just been hiding. They leave the safety of the vehicle and make their way to the Dollhouse entrance. They shoot, fight, and kill butchers along the way. After they get Topher, Adele, Iris/Caroline, Priya and T underground, Paul tells the rest of them to follow pursuit. In the process, Mag's legs are shot up! Paul runs back to get her, but is SHOT IN THE MOTHAFRAKKING HEAD!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Echo, clearly hurt but toughs it out, calls for Zone to get Mag and tote her back. They then enter the Dollhouse. Damn, Paul...

The group convenes outside the hole into the Dollhouse. Zone tells them that the last time they were there, that butchers had infiltrated the place and that they need to be careful going in. Echo and Tony/Victor enter the rabbit hole first to find...

The Dollhouse fully operational and running with Dolls as before.

Huh?

As the two marvel at this, they are approached by...ALPHA (special guest star Alan Tudyk)!!!!!! Then they give him hugs.

HUH?!!?!?

Seems that Alpha joined forces with them at times, but Echo thought they lost him in Reno. But Alpha made his way back to the Dollhouse and made it his own. I'm still confused, but OK! Alpha asks about Paul, but is shocked to find out that Paul was taken down not even fifteen minutes earlier.

Adele and Echo try to get Topher to tell them where the tech is, but he isn't making any sense whatsoever. They ponder if there was anything at the Dollhouse that Topher needed to begin with, but they are ambushed by the tech heads who don't want to return to their old selves!!! They aim their guns at Topher, ready to shoot, asking for more imprints to help them become unstoppable. Tony/Victor walks in with Alpha and they try to talk down the tech heads. When Tony/Victor lets them know that he is not down with their plan, they aim the gun at him. This is when Alpha and Echo attack, disarming and taking out the techies. Whew!

Adele tends to Topher and she mentions that he is tired. Topher then gets an idea and runs to the bed chambers, where his bed area from "Epitaph One" sits untouched, thanks to the two schizophrenics in Alpha's head. Adele realizes then that Topher didn't come back for the tech, but for an idea.

In another room, Priya gleefully destroys the techs that the techies had, all while claiming that Tony/Victor would be back for them. She also feels that Tony/Victor wouldn't have been able to take out Echo to retrieve the tech anyway. Echo, meanwhile, tries to keep her composure as she tells Priya that she is wrong. When Priya doesn't listens, Echo snaps and berates Priya for not seeing that the love Tony has for her is not on a memory stick. It's there in his brain, always was and always will be no matter what. Then Echo loses it and combines Priya's problems with her own as she finally deals with Paul dying and never telling him that she loved him. It's a powerful scene and if anyone still thinks Eliza Dushku can't act after that, then I feel sorry for you.

The Return

In one of the most heartbreaking moments of the night, Topher watches a video of Bennett (special guest star Summer Glau) explaining the concepts of Imprinting. Topher gets his info and the group is now ready to set the pulse off. Topher babbles that the pulse needs to be on a higher platform, which could be Adele's office, and that the pulse will cause a sort of explosion. Adele becomes worried, because Topher said that the pulse had to be set off manually... No. No. NO NOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Topher says its a small price to pay, because he didn't want to cause any more pain. FFWWWWT!!!! That's an arrow going into my heart!!!! Later as Topher builds the "pulse bomb", Adele tells Topher that he doesn't have to do it alone. Topher says he has to fix their heads and that Adele needs to fix the rest of them and that her job is the hardest.

Meanwhile, Tony is burning all of his tech when Priya walks up with T and introduces the two as father and son. Tony reveals his name to his son, who responds first by saying that his name is Tony as well and then asks his father if he could help burn stuff. Priya stands by crying as Tony and Tony Jr. burn the past.

Zone and Mag give their goodbyes since Zone wants to be there when Iris finally becomes her original self. Mag begs for Zone to be a positive role model to the kid. Zone then asks Mag what was she before The Wipe. Mag answers a student of sociology at UC Berkley and Zone reveals he was a landscape architect. Hmmm....

Adele and Echo discuss the others, which include Alpha, who left because he wanted to be wiped, but Echo says that he won't, because he has evolved. Adele then says she will lead the other Dolls out into the pulse, then plays with the irony that the last fantasy Echo fulfills for the Dollhouse is her own. Echo responds that she doesn't have any fantasies, which Adele remarks is a pity. Before Adele departs, she tells Echo that Alpha said to dismantle all of the tech in the building, starting with the Imprint Chair.

The last couple of scenes feature montages of Adele leading the Dolls, Zone and Iris out the Dollhouse and Topher building the device in Adele's office. Topher finally gets the thing to start up. He turns around and notices the memory board on the wall. He looks at it, notices something and says, "Hmmm..." Then the place goes up and the pulse is sent.

Out on the street, the Dolls all collapse with Adele and Zone still standing, then slowly they all start to wake up, their personalities all replaced. Iris wakes up and ask Zone what's going on and he tells her it will be all right...

Inside the Dollhouse, Echo finds a package in the Imprint Chair with her name on it. It is an Imprint Wedge. She loads it up finds out that it was an Imprint of Paul, who tells her that he has a lot of baggage from childhood and if there is any room. Echo tells him that they have time and space.

Echo then walks from the Imprint Room; past Priya, Tony, and Tony Jr. who are reading; and past Mag who holds a vigil beside Kilo. Echo finally reaches the bed chamber and lays in a pod with only her thoughts... and Paul.

The End...

Wow...

Bravo.

The Final Imprinted Thoughts...

- So guys, it has been one helluva run. The one thing that I didn't think Joss would do was give us a happy ending of some sorts, but he gave us Happy Endings all around! Except for Topher dying, which sucked, but served the story well. Now on to the good things...

- Priya, Tony, Lil TJ: The introduction of T as the love child of Priya and Tony was excellent. I didn't expect it and it was a nice twist in their story line. The ten year gap did hell with this development (as well as others), but I thought it came out nicely and it was one of my favorite moments of the night. Who would've thought that Tony's upgrades in the previous episode would be a precusor to this problem? Nice subtle setup... I'm going to miss these two the most.

- Adele and Topher: Sharp contrasts to the people we met last year this time almost. Very heartbreaking performances from both of them and I couldn't get enough of Adele's Mother Hen persona. I'm going to miss these two second to Priya and Tony. Fran Kranz gave a great performance and I have never felt so sorry for a TV character as I have for Topher tonight. He had the weight of the world, not only on his shoulders, but his mind as well. But for the love of GOD, what did he notice on the wall?!?!?!

- Paul and Echo: The notion of Echo literally having Paul with her in her head forever might sound too mushy, or stupid, to some people, but this, again, fits the Whedon mold and I bought it and loved it. Eliza Dushku killed that scene where she let loose her emotions about Paul dying.. Very well written and executed by everyone involved. Bravo.

- The Bad Things: 1) Alpha's sudden appearance and conversion to the side of good. I am still in "Huh?!" mode with that one. 2) The techies going rogue all of a sudden. I would have really loved to see a hint of that somewhere. It just looked forced. Finally, 3) The time frame of everything. In other words, the nuanced plot points such as; the techies and Alpha's conversion to good, for example, would have been able to be fleshed out if they weren't rushed into an hour time slot. But we can't blame Mutant Enemy for that. They had their hands tied.

- What happened to Whiskey? Or even Dominic? These also bothered me a bit. And is bothering more as I think of it...

- The 10 year gap is fodder for a comic book series. Just throwing it out there.

So what do you guys think? Like I said, it's been one helluva ride and I am thankful and glad for all those who tuned in to the show as well as my recaps. Hope to see or hear from you all again, but for now, I would love to hear your comments.

It's been real...

Dollhouse 2.13 "Epitaph Two: Return" Recap

It's almost time to bid adieu a show that people didn't give a chance and when they actually did put aside the snide comments, paid attention and listened... it was too late.

Dollhouse will have its final curtain call tonight and like any other Joss Whedon apocalyptic production, expectations are high. The stakes are high and the bets are in: will Dollhouse go out in a bang and prove to the naysayers that they were wrong, even going as far as listing reasons why it should be cancelled? Or will it prove the naysayers right in their assumption of it being a bad experiment?

Well, in my eyes, Dollhouse was never a failed experiment. It was a look in the darkest aspects of humanity without demons or monsters serving as avatars for problems that manifest the human soul. It dared you to look at the world for what it was and where we are headed, and dared you even further to acknowledge and talk about the issues at hand: morals, human trafficking, greed, the dark side of power, and control. These issues are around us and Joss Whedon unveiled them by asking people to remove the rose-colored glasses for an hour and to glance at the craziness that happens when we eat, study, or sleep.

Did Dollhouse drop the ball sometimes? I would be a fool to say that they didn't, but a lot of other shows that are given common praise have as well. But that's beside the point. One of the finest TV shows in history is about to end and here's what I would like to see transpire in it's last hour:

#1 - An Explanation of  "Epitaph One".

If you haven't seen the game changing unaired episode from Season One, "Epitaph One", then you missed one of the greatest hours on TV that Whedon has produced. It set up tonight's episode as well as all of Season Two, but after last week's episode, I can't help but to question some of the glaring and nuanced aspects of the episode. If you haven't seen Epitaph One then I suggest you skip the next two paragraphs and go to my second wish...

In "Epitaph One", Whiskey (Amy Acker) is the sole Doll left in the Dollhouse. When the Actuals, people who have never been imprinted, show up in the Dollhouse, it is Whiskey who helps them escape and hold back the "butchers" by gassing the place. Whiskey stays behind to save the others. So this leaves me to wonder then if that supposedly happened (because the remaining group of Actuals will appear on "Epitaph Two: Return" tonight), then how did Whiskey make it back to the Dollhouse? Last we saw of Whiskey, she was lying unconscious in the basement of the Rossum building after a battle with Echo. Whiskey also was Imprinted with a version of Clyde, one half of the founders of Rossum Corp. Oh and did I mention that the basement area blew up?

So, in short, how did Whiskey manage to get back to the Dollhouse? Did Echo and the Bunnymen take her back there and wiped the Clyde imprint from her brain? One would suggest that is what happened, but what if we are wrong? Also, "Epitaph One" was mostly told through flashbacks that took place back at the Dollhouse, so wonder why they would go back there where Rossum could find easily them?

#2 - A Semblance of a Happy Couple

If any of the previous blow out battles of Joss's productions are any indication, then this one hopeful answer will not come. Buffy, Angel, Firefly/Serenity, nor Dr. Horrible ended well in this category, so I am praying that the only couple left, Anthony and Priya, make to the credits in tact and holding hands. I would even accept an Echo and Paul happy ending, or hell, an Adele and Topher pairing; just as long that I see some happy, I am cool.

#3 - The Return of Ivy

Am I the only one who thinks that she should be a part of the crew since she was in on the takedown of Rossum? If she's not with them then she has to be somewhere dead. The one thing about Rossum that scared the crap out of me is their ability to track anyone they are looking for, which for Ivy, doesn't bode well. Can we at least get a mention of her? Please?

#4 - One More Epic Catfight

If the writers/producers of Mutant Enemy know how to do anything other than give us great TV, it is organizing a good fight, catfight or otherwise. Since this is do or die, I am hoping to see one last smackdown with the forces of good and evil.

And finally,

#5 - A Resolution

I know I am reaching pretty far with this one given the finales of previous Whedon productions, but those same productions have carried on in different mediums. Buffy, Angel, and Firefly have comics that take place after their respective shows ended and are all produced by Whedon and other Mutant Enemy writers. Firefly got the big screen treatment in Serenity and Dr. Horrible is about to get a sequel soon. See the trend here?

But with in an interview with Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune, Joss Whedon states that he will wrap up Dollhouse, because the concept just wouldn't work in other mediums, such as film or comics. And he sounded adamant about his stance as well, so I just beg of him to not leave my mouth dropped like I did during the Angel finale. Please, Mr. Whedon, I beg of you.

The series finale of Dollhouse, "Epitaph Two: Return" airs tonight on FOX @ 8/7c.

What I Would Like To See In The Dollhouse Series Finale Tonight...

The series final of Dollhouse will be airing on January 29.  We already posted promo photos for the episode and now FOX has released several sneak peeks, which you can view below.

ECHO RACES TO STOP AN APOCALYPSE ON THE SERIES FINALE OF "DOLLHOUSE" FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, ON FOX

Picking up from the events depicted in "Epitaph 1," the "lost" episode of DOLLHOUSE, and set in the year 2020, Echo and her surviving Dollhouse crew attempt to restore order to a devastating future world before mankind is eliminated in "Epitaph 2: The Return," the series finale episode of DOLLHOUSE, airing Friday, Jan. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (DOL-213) (TV-14 D, L, V)

Cast: Eliza Dushku as Echo; Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard; Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt; Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton; Fran Kranz as Topher Brink; Enver Gjokaj as Victor; Dichen Lachman as Sierra

Guest Cast: Amy Acker as Dr. Claire Saunders; Summer Glau as Bennett Halverson; Miracle Laurie as Madeline Costley/November; Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic; Alan Tudyk as Alpha; Adair Tishler as Caroline; Maurissa Tancharoen as Kilo; Felcia Day as Mag; Zack Ward as Zone; Nate Dushku as Clive; Noah Harpster as Matthew; Christian Monzon as Romeo; Brandon Dieter as T

Email: clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow: twitter.com/clarissa373

Sneak Peeks - Dollhouse 2.13 "Epitaph Two: The Return"

Whoa.

Let me catch my breath for a second and try to explain the plethora of emotions, theories, and questions that are circulating through my body like an IT system on its way to crashing from information overload. "The Hollow Men" was great, but it wasn't "Getting Closer" nor was it "Epitaph One". I blame this on the release of the episode title for the series finale of Dollhouse being released early, which is "Epitaph Two: The Return". Knowing that title ruined some of the shock and awe of tonight's episode, "The Hollow Men", because we knew that it wasn't going to end well despite the efforts of Echo and the Bunnymen. We did get some shocking deaths and some 'reasoning' behind the madness that was Boyd, but in the end, I couldn't help but to constantly anticipate the inevitable, which was the Apocalypse, or as Topher calls it: the Thought-calypse. In other words, "The Hollow Men" was spoiled for me weeks ago. But that didn't stop me from doing a kamikaze hara-kiri and reviving myself from the sheer will of needing to know how it all ends!

Ok. On to recap...

The Set Up

2 Years Earlier...

We pick up moments where we left off from last week's psychotic reveal of Boyd being the puppet master of the intricate Rossum Corporation. Caroline claims that she will expose them to the world, but Boyd knows that Caroline is on her own and no one will miss her if she gets out of pocket. He then boasts the company's resume by detailing all the good things Rossum has done with their research, but strikes a nerve when he reads a blurb from medical records that belonged to Caroline. Boyd explains that Caroline is one of the special people "on a microscopic level" through her blood type. He then asks Caroline for a few years of her life, which she is not having, but Boyd reminds her that her actions in the last 24 hours are worthy of a Federal prison sentence, never seeing the light of day again. After telling Caroline that Adele is waiting for her downstairs and that she basically has no choice in the matter, Boyd continues to say that he will "protect" Caroline as she develops her "special" abilities; and that she will trust him. Why? Because she will learn to do so.

Boyd (and Harry Lennix) has NEVER been so frakking creepy as he was just now...

Present Day

Priya and Anthony are on the elevator back to the Dollhouse. Priya doesn't want to do it, but changes her mind when she realizes she couldn't live with herself if she didn't come back. They enter a war torn Dollhouse and wonder if they were super tardy for the party.

Outside on the top of the building, Adele, "Mellie" and Paul wait for the others. While doing so they eradicate any means of them being tracked by Rossum, which includes a mini surgery to remove "Mellie's" tracking chip and destroying their phones. Topher and Boyd show up with a whacked out Echo, who is screaming that she is burning and is in hysterics. Obviously, Boyd has done something to her. But what? He even goes as far as claiming that the reconstructed wedge is responsible for the Echo's issues, but Topher says that it is fixed and that Bennett died to fix it (sniff). But the point of the matter is that Echo is the key and they need her to break into Rossum in Tucson. Adele simplifies their problems by saying that instead of sneaking around, they should simply walk into the front doors of Rossum with Echo as their prize. That should be interesting.

Take Two Tophers and Call Me In The Morning

Back at the Dollhouse, Priya and Anthony discover that Rossum took the security feed to cover their tracks. As the two prepare to leave, Priya notices a note on the Imprint chair that says "Press Enter". Anthony volunteers his brain and tells Priya to shoot if the person he becomes is evil. Priya doesn't want to do it, but Anthony calms her down by saying its the only way to help their friends. So Anthony let's the chair do it's thing and Priya is ready for whatever wakes up in his place. And who might that be?

Topher 2.0! Enver Gjokaj for the win!!!!!!

After a hysterically funny intro between the two, Topher 2.0/Anthony becomes scared that the reason he was activated was because of his death, which he thinks has happened given the bloodshed around them. He immediately wants his body back, but Priya calms him down by pointing out that Topher has to still be alive if the Topher 2.0 wedge was left behind. They then try to deduce the reasoning behind that fact and Topher 2.0 remembers that Topher had an additional security camera installed that no one else knew about (so he could catch Ivy stealing his food. HA!). After viewing the last thing recorded, Topher 2.0 and Priya witness Boyd standing over Echo and then 'slyly' throwing something away in the trash can. The two dig in the can to find a syringe and deduce that Boyd is working for Rossum.

They later try to track the group through Mellie, but can't due to her chip being deactivated. Priya wants to kick some ass, but first have to deal with Topher 2.0's bewilderment of Boyd's betrayal, which is funny to us, but not her. Topher 2.0 comes up with a solution of upgrading Anthony and Priya with some damn good fighting skills. Priya's not sure, because she doesn't want to be involved with any more tech, but as Topher 2.0 claims: It's about time that the good guys get some leverage of their own.

Anthony awakes, but doesn't feel any different. As soon as two Rossum soldiers appear, Anthony takes them down under a second flat. I would like some enhancements, please?!

The Snake and the Rat

The gang arrives at Rossum's doorstep and demand to see the man in charge, but who they find instead is Clyde, this time in Whiskey/Saunders's body. After telling the group that he ditched Saunder's personality in the technological ether, Clyde/Whiskey focuses on Caroline/Echo and the others. He/she tells them that his "original got caught in a loop" and that today's world is all about people who can evolve with it. Adele asks if that includes them and Clyde/Whiskey asks if that's why they came in the first place. What?!?!

Later during a one on one, Clyde/Whiskey compliments Adele on her accomplishments, most notably getting Caroline to 'be her best'. Clyde/Whiskey also believes that Caroline will be the savior of the chosen few left over after the apocalypse hits. Adele, who is one of those chosen surviving"few", asks how will Caroline be the Second Coming if her brain is fried. Clyde/Whiskey tells her that they don't need Caroline's mind, just her body. Um... What?!?!

He/she then informs Adele that The Man Behind The Curtain knew that Adele would be the one to guide Caroline in her right path. Can I say that Amy Acker had the mannerisms of a man down to a science?

Boyd, Topher, Paul, and "Mellie" are all locked in a holding room. Boyd acts as if he is trying to get them out, but slyly provides a keycard to finish the job. Boyd then tells Paul and "Mellie" to find a weapons room, while he and Topher go look for Echo. Paul tells the two to be careful. My heart continues to split in a a million different shards at Boyd's betrayal...

While moving through the corridor, Topher tells Boyd his suspicion of Echo/Caroline being drugged by the same stuff that Nolan drugged Priya with. He also tells Boyd about his plan of leaving the Topher 2.0 wedge for Priya and Anthony. Boyd, amazed at Topher, tells the brainiac thanks for sharing.

Meanwhile, Echo remembers everything from Caroline all the way up to her latest Imprint, but most importantly, she remembers the ultimate betrayal. Echo awakes saying only one name: "Boyd."

Family Matters...

Boyd and Topher find the Research and Development room and 'break' into it. Topher notices his tech that Adele gave to Harding. He thought it would take years to make, but apparently Rossum has to meet the holiday shopping deadline, because they have everything ready for assembly. Topher panics and is in destructive mode. Boyd then reasons that they can use the tech to get out of the building and asks Topher to fix one.

Paul and "Mellie" find some weapons and while they load up, "Mellie" wonders why she is there and feels that she is in the way since Paul can't save her every five minutes. Paul tells her that he couldn't leave her behind, which prompts her to say that she is a program, which Paul responds to by saying that he is one as well. But to Paul that doesn't mean anything. He continues by declaring they will feel how they feel no matter what so they should just go with the flow of things.

Topher rebuilds the Wipe Gun (which can wipe anyone clean if they have the architect in their head or not) and discovers something that a team of engineers couldn't, which makes Boyd beam with pride and remark that he was glad that he chose Topher, who is bewildered.  Boyd reaches in his pocket and then gets knocked on his ass by Echo as she attacks and shows no mercy. While Topher screams for Echo to stop, it takes a gun pointed at Echo's head, courtesy of Clyde/Whiskey, for Echo to press pause on her fists of fury. Topher is shocked when it is revealed that Boyd is the cofounder of Rossum, but I am shocked at the bombshell Boyd drops afterwards. When Echo accuses Boyd of preparing to kill Topher, Boyd is horrified that Echo would suggest something so venomous. Why? Because they are his family and he loves them...

SMACK!!! (My jaw hitting the floor)

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

Paul and "Mellie" find the AC unit and "Mellie" comes up with the idea that instead of risking their lives trying to destroy Rossum's mainframe, they should just let it overheat from lack of air.

Meanwhile, Boyd gives Echo, Adele, and Topher his view of the concept of family values. In short, Boyd's views are warped as much as a big person in spandex. Not healthy for anyone.

Topher gets the ball rolling by putting together that if Saunders killed Bennett then Boyd knew about it. This gets Boyd to say that because all of them are so loyal and dedicated to the cause to sacrifice so much then he has to have them on his side while the world ends. Adele would rather be dead, which Boyd says will be better than being a mindless enslaved drone. And Boyd's solution to all of this? Be either "the destroyed or the destroyers". Echo chimes in on how much she trusted and adored Boyd, who says he still feels the same and took care of Echo while others tried to stop her. Why? Because she is the "key" to saving them all. It seems that whenever Echo got an Imprint, it sent some sort of neurological chemical that pretty much is the reason she can retain her identity. In other words, let's say Boyd had that unique chemical in his body, he could pretty much do the same thing Echo could. But Boyd wants to extract the unique trait from Echo to make a vaccine against Imprinting that will have to be extracted through Echo's spinal fluid. Ew and heartbreaking... He then uses the remote stunner to knock out Echo.

Paul and "Mellie" start doing damage to the AC unit and Boyd demands that Adele repeat that infamous trigger phrase to unlease the killer in "Mellie". She refuses. In the AC room, Paul shows "Mellie" how to hold a gun and shoot. Then all of a sudden over the PA system, Adele's voice (which is actually a recording) gives the trigger phrase. "Mellie" goes into assassin mode, shooting at Paul, who drops his gun in an attempt to show "Mellie" that he is harmless (and because basically he wouldn't shoot her no matter what). He manages to knock "Mellie's" gun out of her hand, but she gets the upper hand and nearly takes him out. At the last minute, she comes through, fighting the tech. She tells Paul that she can't do it much longer and that when she was with him, he made her feel like a real person.

Then she turns around and blows her own brains out.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I Created The Thought-pocalypse..."

Meanwhile, the scientists start the extraction of Echo's spinal fluid. Boyd leaves while the procedure begins and misses when Priya and Anthony come in and rescue Echo. She tells them that they must rescue the others and destroy Rossum for good.

Topher and Adele lament about how they are the reason they are in the predicament they are in now. Topher wants to destroy the tech, but Adele restrains him from being killed on site for touching anything. Then Priya enters as if she has been captured and warns for her friends to get down. The room is suddenly filled with exploding charges and Anthony comes in and kicks ass, dropping all the goons. Topher then declares that they have to destroy all the tech and schematics connected to it.

Echo runs into Clyde/Whiskey and the two engage in a good ole fashioned catfight. Whedon-style! GOD HOW I MISS THOSE!!!

Boyd gets word that Echo escaped and runs into Paul, who has a gun drawn. Then Paul starts mumbling how Adele killed "Mellie" and with that door open, Boyd walks right in, using it to his advantage. He tells Paul that Adele is the evil one and must be stopped immediately. Oy vey!!!

During the cat fight, Clyde/Whiskey lets it be known that she has 20 houses filled with bodies to be downloaded with his Imprint and that they really don't need Echo alive to tap her spine. The two women fight until they reach the computer mainframe room where Echo knocks Clyde/Whiskey unconscious. When this is over, Paul walks into the room with Boyd and is shocked when Boyd aims a pistol at his throat.

Echo explains that Boyd is the Rossum cofounder to Paul, while Boyd says that if she Caroline then she still should trust him with her life. She screams again how he betrayed her and Boyd again says how he protected her and that now it's her turn to protect them all. Paul tells Echo to shoot and don't think, which prompts Boyd to boast that Echo wouldn't do it, but Caroline might. Echo then shoots Paul in the leg to get to Boyd. The two get into a scuffle, but Boyd gets the upper hand. He informs Echo that he wanted to keep her, because he liked her, but that he doesn't need her alive. Echo exclaims that she loved him and Boyd only says he knows. He cocks the trigger, but Topher comes from behind and WIPES BOYD'S MIND!!!!!!

Then, Boyd sits up and asks Echo: "Did I fall asleep?" Echo answers, "Only for a little while..."

I might be the only person out there who choked up at this, but dammit, I did.

Then we see Echo walking towards Boyd the Doll, who I am assuming they can Imprint to be anyone. But Echo hands him a grenade and tells him to walk into the closed area where the mainframe is located and pull the pin.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boyd, strapped in a belt of explosives, says, "Yes, I try to be my best..."

I'm near bawling stage at this moment....

The others evacuate the building and wait for Echo on the outside. The bottom area of the place then goes up and Echo makes it out. Paul asks her if they saved the world, and Echo says she guess they did.

10 Years Later...

All hell has broken loose as Echo and Paul shoot at "butchers" in the post-apocalyptic world of "Epitaph One".

So much for saving the world...

Imprinted Thoughts

- Was I the only one upset at seeing Boyd in Doll state? I mean he was seriously warped in the head with world domination, but they could've Imprinted him with someone else. I don't know... It just pained me for some reason to see him like that and the Doll state theme music didn't help at all. Then the creepy exchange of "Did I fall asleep?"/"Only for a little while" became poignant and took another meaning as they left Echo and Boyd's mouths. That scene will forever haunt me every time I see this show from beginning to end, no matter how much I despise Boyd for what he did. Like I said, I may be the only person who feels this way, but Boyd was my favorite character in the Dollhouse world, next to Anthony (Victor) and Adele and it pained me to see that he was the man behind the curtain all along. That was like if Giles revealed to Buffy that he was an agent of The First the entire seven years of Buffy's run! So to see him in Doll state was just as upsetting. Maybe, again, it is because he could've been an extra foot soldier in the impending war if they had of Imprinted him with someone else. Who knows? But that's Whedonomics for ya...

- Mellie's death... Another "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" moment that sent me reeling! She was out! If only she had of listened to Paul when he tried to stop her from going to the Senate hearing. Another reason why you should never utter words of affection in a Whedon world. I am soooo worried about Priya and Anthony in the series finale...

- The return of Topher 2.0! That was a big present for me and I am glad we got to see Enver go crazy again with his acting chops. Can't wait to see his next role.

- The one thing that bugged me while I watched the show was that why didn't the crew figure out that the technology was already sent to each Dollhouse to help with mass production? No matter if you blew up the mainframe, the tech had to be saved elsewhere as a precaution. Just saying.

So as I said at the beginning of this recap, the ending was spoiled for me by the title of the final episode so I was little anxious to see how they got to the endpoint. I really can't wait to see how it all ends and if the final promo tells us anything...

It's going to be epic...

See ya next time! And until then...

Try to stay away from any tech... As if that is even possible...

Dollhouse 2.12 "The Hollow Men" Recap

The series finale of Dollhouse has been delayed from January 22nd to January 29th in order to accommodate a telethon to raise relief funds for Haiti. George Clooney is organizing the charity effort, which will be broadcast live on several networks including FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MTV.

The penultimate episode of Dollhouse, "The Hollow Men," will still be airing tonight at 9 p.m. ET, and then the finale, "Epitaph Two: Return," will air on January 29 at 8 p.m. ET, according to SCI FI Wire. Written by Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, and Andrew Chambliss and directed by David Solomon, the episode is a follow-up to the post-apocalyptic episode "Epitaph One" from the Season 1 DVD.

Set in the year 2020, Echo and her surviving Dollhouse crew attempt to restore order to a devastating future world before mankind is eliminated.

Guest stars include Felicia Day, Adair Tishler (as Caroline), Zack Ward, Summer Glau, Alan Tudyk, and Amy Acker.

According to Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune, "The series finale of Dollhouse is wonderful & bittersweet. It does what a Whedon finale does: It will make you miss the show a lot more."

View promo photos for the Dollhouse finale here.

Dollhouse Series Finale Moved Back a Week

Okay, so I am still picking shards of glass out of my face after ramming my head into the TV screen after that bitch slap of a reveal from Dollhouse last night. Are you as tripped out as I am? I hope so. Well not to the point of hurting yourself. That would be bad... But anyway. Speechless does NOT justify what I witnessed last night. The danger is near and bodies are starting to pile up and no one is safe. Especially when the ultimate double cross is at hand.

Okay, last shard out! Let's begin the recap!!!

The Set Up

Three Years Earlier

So we start out three years into the past with Caroline tricking a poor, horny security guard into letting her into Adele's office. It is here where Caroline finds files on her and of Bennett Halverson (special guest star Summer Glau), which she promptly takes. But before leaving she discovers security video feed of the Dollhouse and she is instantly  intrigued.

In the Now

We pick up right where we left off last week with the whole gang in attendance, discussing bring back Caroline. Echo doesn't want to do it, but is set on Caroline being the key to salvation and identifying Clyde's partner, aka the Head of Rossum. Ivy brings up the possibility of Caroline taking over Echo's personalities, which as Topher so eloquently puts it, is like someone returning to their house filled with strangers having a wild party. The group decide that's a chance that they are willing to take and set up the Imprint Chair for Echo to receive Caroline. But there is a problem.

Caroline's Imprint Wedge is missing.

Excuse me?

With The Help Of Old "Friends"

Three Years Earlier

We witness Caroline meeting Bennett for the first time after Caroline steps in and saves Bennett from two vapid females.

In the Now

Echo watches the video footage of Caroline that Alpha was watching back in season one. Adele walks in and comments on Caroline's true character, which was an idealist and in Adele's eyes worse than evil. Echo tells Adele that she didn't take the wedge, which Adele admits she thought Echo did, but only for a second.

Ivy (guest star Liza Tapira), on the other hand, thinks Echo's the culprit, which Topher (and I) think is stupid after Echo's Attic adventures where she got the idea of retrieving Caroline in the first place. But the most interesting thing is what these two are plotting to do. They connect a cable to the Imprint Chair and ghost connect to the Washington D.C. Dollhouse where they Imprint a Doll to capture and hold Bennett, while Anthony and Paul come and extract her. During the extraction, Paul sees Madeline as a Doll, eating in the D.C. Dollhouse cafeteria. Paul tells Anthony that they can't leave yet...

Once they get back to the L.A. Dollhouse, Bennett nitpicks how the Adele runs her Dollhouse, before declaring that Adele would be gone before she could make any changes. Adele sweetly tells Bennett that she can be either treated as a guest or a prisoner; and if Bennett knew what was good for her, then she would match her thinking with the fact that she is in another ballpark. It could make things easier on everyone.

Then things get hilariously funny when Topher literally trips over himself when he is reunited with Bennett, who wants to press charges on Topher for knocking her out. Aww... Aren't they cute?

Adele fumes over Paul's decision to bring Madeline/November into the fold and orders an immediate lockdown of the house.  Meanwhile, Echo tries to console Paul, who wonders if you are ever truly all right after being implanted and a Doll.

The lab gets hot and heavy in nerd talk as Topher tells Bennett to rebuild the broken wedge of Caroline. But after Topher apologizes for knocking Bennett on her ass, he goes in for a kiss, which is stopped by Bennett's question of who are they trying to resurrect. Topher stalls until Echo steps into the frame.  Uh-oh...

Flashback: Three years earlier

Caroline and Bennett bond over washing Bennett's hair. It's typical girl time, but it is also Bennett's first day on her job at Rossum. Caroline looks worried that she is using the poor girl, but looks can be deceiving with this bunch...

Back in the Now...

Boyd returns to his apartment and tells DR. SAUNDERS!!!!! (guest star Amy Acker) that is time for her to go back to the Dollhouse, because Adele is about to implement the lockdown. He then asks her if she is scared, which Saunders replies not anymore. They then share a passionate kiss!!!!

The Stakes Are Raised

At the Dollhouse, Echo asks Topher what did he do to Paul, which implies the Imprint job. Topher, who is trying to nurse a busted lip courtesy of Bennett, explains to Echo that there were two areas that he needed to reconstruct Paul's brain pattern; one that would have him retain all his memories, but left him a vegetable and the other being his fresh memories, which included his time (and feelings) with Echo. This is when Saunders and Boyd walk into the medical room, clueing Topher and Echo in on their involvement. Adele then asks Topher where is Bennett and notices Saunders. We are then thrown back to a memory of Adele's.

Flashback: Three Years Earlier...

Adele tells the real Dr. Saunders to tend to Whiskey, because she is their #1. Dominic (guest star Reed Diamond) then stops and fills Adele in on the break in of her office and that Caroline was behind it. He also fills her in on what was stolen (the files) and the two decide to keep the news to themselves. They also plan a trip to Tucson, Arizona, which is where Caroline and Bennett are roommates at a university and the location of Rossum Corp.

In the dorm room, Bennett confronts Caroline about the files she found of them in the closet and Caroline tries to defend her actions by explaining the evils of Rossum Corp. But Bennett doesn't care about that, because she thought Caroline was her friend. Caroline is amazed that Bennett is not mad at being used. But the jaw dropper for me is when Bennett explains that she is mad that Caroline doesn't use her!!! Wow.... This is when Caroline nonchalantly asks Bennett if she wants to help blow up a building... Nice.

Back in the Now...

Echo stares at Bennett through a two way mirror. Boyd walks in and Echo voices her concerns about Caroline possibly kicking her out of consciousness. Boyd gives Echo the Giles/Buffy speech as he tells her that she is strong and that Caroline would be proud to know Echo for her tenacity. The two hug and it's really a touching moment. He then informs her that the lockdown is about to happen now. She asks for a few more minutes and runs off. We find that she has went to go get Priya and Anthony (who claim to have felt like fifth wheels by not doing anything) only to let them go. She tells them that they have to get away and if they so happen to lose their way back then so be it. Before Echo goes back into the Dollhouse, she runs into Dominic, who has escaped the Attic with news that Clyde is dead and Rossum is on to them all. AAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!

The group brings Dominic into the medical lab where they deliberate. Topher thinks that they are relying too much on what's going on in the Attic "Matrix". Adele isn't taking any chances and orders that all the Actives be given back their original personalities and let go. She then announces that Echo and the Bunnymen are on their way to Tucson. I hope you got that joke/analogy...

Flashback: Three Years Earlier

Echo and Bennett enter Rossum Headquarters where they start to work on bringing down the building. Echo sets charges at strategically placed areas, but she comes across a lab not on the map. She enters the lab and is shocked to find various different human test subjects. She tells Bennett to leave the building, but it's too late as the charges go off.

Back in the Now

Adele orders for Dominic to be put back in the Attic, despite Saunders' recommendation to be taken to a hospital. Dominic manages to call Adele a bitch. Echo sides with this decision, because they will need an inside man who can help with intel. Adele blows Paul's circuits when she pulls her ace out of her pocket with November being Implanted with Mellie, Paul's neighbor. "Mellie" tells Echo that Paul never gave up looking for her, which Echo replies that she knows.

Boyd announces silently to Adele that Ambrose is in the building and is all shades of pissed. They find Ambrose in Adele's office with two goons and he wants Adele to go with them as her control over the Dollhouse is finished.

But Adele has something for their ass. Boyd takes out the two goons and Ambrose with three shots, but suffers a shot to the gut himself!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!

The Ultimate Ultimate ULTIMATE BETRAYAL!!!!!

Three Years Earlier

Caroline runs to Bennett and tells her to lie like she was working late and someone broke in. Basically giving Bennett a way out, because Caroline wanted to be caught herself and didn't want Bennett to suffer whatever punishment that was coming. But it is Adele and Dominic who capture Caroline, but they are then ordered to send her to The Man Behind The Curtain Upstairs.

In the Now...

Echo bursts into the interrogation room that holds Bennett and demands the mad scientist to bring Caroline back. Bennett refuses at first, but relents after Echo offers Caroline to Bennett to do whatever she wants. Echo even offers to "hold the bitch down". It is that crucial, yall...

Adele tells Boyd that Ambrose probably has his personality Imprinted in other bodies and that the one he just shot might be a decoy. She tells Boyd to leave as she feels Ambrose in on what happened and that Saunders will be safe, because Boyd will be basically drawing the fire.

Topher finishes restoring all of the Actives original personalities and has to do Caroline last. When the two brainiacs start getting graphic with nerd talk, Echo leaves them alone.

Then we are treated to a scene originally from Epitaph One!!!! Boyd talks to Saunders about leaving and how she has to stay behind, becasue Echo is already in trouble and he doesn't want Saunders in the line of fire. Saunders cries and says she wishes that they had more time. Hmmm....

As Bennett works on the wedge, Topher looks on in awe. Ivy leaves and the two love birds finally kiss and it's hilarious, due to Topher's busted lip. But why do I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach? Topher leaves to go get another tool and this is when Dr, Saunders walks in and admires that Topher finally got  heart and is actually capable of living someone. Topher walks back in as Dr. Saunders puts a bullet in Bennett's head!!!!

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Blood shoots onto Topher's shocked face and Dr.Saunders quietly, cooly, walks out.

Later, the remaining group finds Topher and Adele tries to get him to snap out of it. Everyone deduces that Rossum must have had Saunders and turned her into  a sleeper agent. The building starts to beep and it is because the goons from Rossum are infiltrating the building. Topher snaps out of it and tells Ivy to run for her life and to not become him. Ivy doesn't want to go, but ends up leaving just in time. Paul goes to get more weapons and Topher finishes rebuilding Caroline's wedge. As they set up Echo for Imprinting, Topher suggests that Adele leave with Mellie, because "they need their General alive". Topher begins the Imprint when a soldier walks in for the kill. Topher is knocked out and when the soldier raises his gun to shoot Echo, he gets his head snapped by BOYD!!!!! YEA! He came back!!!! Why is there a sinking feeling in my stomach? Boyd tells Echo to "hang on" as he holds her hand.

Flashback: Three Years Earlier

Caroline steps off the elevator and meets another version of Clyde, possibly Clyde 2.0. Then the most f'ed up moment of the year happens: Boyd steps from the shadows. HE'S Clyde's partner!!!!!

My jaw hits the floor...

Caroline answers why her? And Boyd says because she is special and that she will not be like any of the other Dolls. Caroline asks if she should just trust them. Boyd says she will...with her life.

Heart shatters and my head goes into the TV!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT. THE. FRAK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Imprinted Thoughts

- What in God's name just happened?!?!?! How?!?!??! Why!??!?! WHEN?!?!?!?

- Boyd is the other half of Rossum???? A part of me says that I shouldn't have been shocked, but I can't help but to be horrified at what I just witnessed! It slightly makes sense so far in some areas, but in others such as Saunders being brought back in and Boyd keeping her safe is the only thing that rings clear to me after the suicide inducing final scene. Everything else? Still trying to process it.

- Less Priya and Anthony. They need to fix that next week.

- Bennett dying came more  as a shock, since I thought Bennett would manage to destroy the wedge. But when Saunders stepped into the room, my heat sunk cause I could just feel something was up since she isn't stable in the mental department.

- Is Caroline really as evil as everyone is making her out to be? What is her role in all of this after we know that it was Boyd who sent her into the Dollhouse and it was Boyd who was her Handler? See my head is constantly spinning and its been a day since watching it...

- What do you guys think?!!??

I will see you guys next week. I still have shards of glass still in my face it seems....

Dollhouse 2.11 "Getting Closer" Recap

It's almost over, folks. Joss Whedon's gone-too-soon series Dollhouse will air its series finale on January 22. The series, cancelled due to low viewership, will leave behind a small but dedicated fanbase, who will certainly love this titular follow-up to the first season's finale, "Epitaph One." It's a dystopian episode, apparently, that will take place in the dark future of 2019, where the technology of the Dollhouse has been turned into a global weapon -- and will focus on the efforts and the group of freedom fighters "The Actuals" to take down the threat.

Here's the press release for the episode:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22

**SERIES FINALE**-"DOLLHOUSE"-(9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) CC-HDTV 720p-Dolby Digital 5.1

PA: Viewer discretion is advised.

ECHO RACES TO STOP AN APOCALYPSE ON THE SERIES FINALE OF "DOLLHOUSE" FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, ON FOX

Picking up from the events depicted in "Epitaph 1," the "lost" episode of DOLLHOUSE, and set in the year 2020, Echo and her surviving Dollhouse crew attempt to restore order to a devastating future world before mankind is eliminated in "Epitaph 2: The Return," the series finale episode of DOLLHOUSE, airing Friday, Jan. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (DOL-213) (TV-14 D, L, V)

Cast: Eliza Dushku as Echo; Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard; Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt; Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton; Fran Kranz as Topher Brink; Enver Gjokaj as Victor; Dichen Lachman as Sierra

Guest Cast: Amy Acker as Dr. Claire Saunders; Summer Glau as Bennett Halverson; Miracle Laurie as Madeline Costley/November; Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic; Alan Tudyk as Alpha; Adair Tishler as Caroline; Maurissa Tancharoen as Kilo; Felcia Day as Mag; Zack Ward as Zone; Nate Dushku as Clive; Noah Harpster as Matthew; Christian Monzon as Romeo; Brandon Dieter as T

And here is a  collection of promotional photos taken from the episode. They certainly make it look like "Epitaph Two" is going to be a dark and crazy finish to this short-lived but still cult show.

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Photos - Dollhouse 2.13 "Epitaph Two: The Return"

Dollhouse returns with new episodes on January 8th, and FOX has also released promo photos and a synopsis for the January 15th episode, which you can view below (you can also check out the photos for the January 8th episode).

SACRIFICES ARE MADE WHEN ECHO LEADS THE CHARGE TO TAKE DOWN THE ROSSUM CORPORATION ON AN ALL-NEW “DOLLHOUSE”

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, ON FOX

Sacrifices are made when Echo leads her crew to Arizona to dismantle the Rossum Corporation’s mainframe in the all-new “The Hollow Men” episode of DOLLHOUSE airing Friday, Jan. 15 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (DOL-212) (TV-14 D, L, V)

Cast: Eliza Dushku as Echo; Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard; Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt; Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton; Fran Kranz as Topher Brink; Enver Gjokaj as Victor; Dichen Lachman as Sierra

Guest Cast: Amy Acker as Dr. Claire Saunders; Summer Glau as Bennett Halverson; Miracle Laurie as Madeline Costley/November; Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic

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DOLLHOUSE: Boyd (Harry Lennix, R) finds Echo (Eliza Dushku, L) in a delicate situation in the DOLLHOUSE episode "The Hollow Men" airing Friday, Jan. 15 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. �2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Carin Baer/FOX

Email: clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow: twitter.com/clarissa373

Photos - Dollhouse 2.12 "The Hollow Men"

Dollhouse is slowly coming to an end, but a new episode will be airing on January 8th.  Summer Glau and Amy Acker will both be guest starring and FOX has released several promo photos, along with a synopsis.  Check them out below.

ECHO'S ORIGINAL PERSONALITY IS THE KEY TO AVERTING A DISASTER ON AN ALL-NEW "DOLLHOUSE" FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, ON FOX

Summer Glau ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") Guest-Stars

Topher races to reconstruct Echo's original personality and memories when Adelle realizes they are the key to adverting a devastating future. Meanwhile, Echo and Bennett's shared past and the identity of the Rossum's Corpration's mysterious leader are revealed in the all-new "Getting Closer" episode of DOLLHOUSE airing Friday, Jan. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (DOL-211) (TV-14; D, L, S, V) CC-HDTV 720p-Dolby Digital 5.1

Cast: Eliza Dushku as Echo; Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard; Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt; Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton; Fran Kranz as Topher Brink; Enver Gjokaj as Victor; Dichen Lachman as Sierra

Guest Cast: Amy Acker as Dr. Claire Saunders; Summer Glau as Bennett Halverson; Miracle Laurie as Madeline Costley/November; Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic; Philip Casnoff as Clive Ambrose; Liza Lapira as Ivy; Rick Otto as Gabe; Jay Malone as Young Man

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DOLLHOUSE: Adelle (Olivia Williams, second from R) realizes the key to adverting a devastating future is restore Echo's original (Eliza Dushku, second from L) personality and memories in the DOLLHOUSE episode "Getting Closer" airing Friday, Jan. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Also pictured: Harry Lennix (R) and Tahmoh Penikett (L). �2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Michael Yarish/FOX

Email: clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow: twitter.com/clarissa373

Photos - Dollhouse 2.11 "Getting Closer"

Welcome to" The Attic"! Prepare to have your mind frakked...

What could possibly be one of the most complicated episodes of Dollhouse to date in terms of plot twists and technical jargon, "The Attic" delivered... and left me scratching my head. Bad thing? Hell No!!!! Let's get to it!

The Set Up

We pick up right were we left off with Echo being tended to by a female Attic representative, who is injecting tubes and wires into Echo. When the attendant leaves, Echo starts to spasm and flatlines!!!! When the female representative returns with another representative, the two remove the tubes and Saran Wrap from Echo and she awakes and dispatches both of them quickly. She breaks out her room and attacks the first person she sees for info on the whereabouts of Victor and Sierra. The guy tells her that they use real names in the Attic, which for Echo is Caroline Farrell. She types in the real names of Victor and Sierra (Anthony Ceccoli and Priya Tsetsang, respectively), finds them, frees them and then leads them to the exit, but they are split up by a plastic, bulletproof wall that forms between them. Echo then watches in horror as Anthony and Priya are SHOT TO DEATH!!!!!

But this is all a loop of Echo's nightmares... And it's about to start again.

Creating a New Ken Doll...

At the Dollhouse, Topher tells Adele that despite all that he has done for Paul, the only thing he can think of is building Active Architecture to save Ballard, but that his brain might not take the tech. Adele says do it since they need a new Victor, if Ballard doesn't survive the new mapping of his brain. I think they will awaken a monster.

Topher finds Boyd napping in the lab. Boyd asks what's The Attic about and Topher says that it contains experimenting and torture. The brain is kept in a fear state to test it's limits. In other words, a Never Ending nightmare. Freddy Krueger would be in awe.

Topher notices that 15% of Ballard's brain is still functional, but that is not enough to do a successful overhaul of his brain. Ivy suggests an "underhaul", but before she can go into any detail, she is called to see Adele. When Ivy returns, Topher explains to her the significance of her suggestion and how it might work, but he notices that she is not responding and is slick ignoring him. When he asks what did Adele say, Ivy only replies, "Don't talk to me." Snap!!!

Topher meets with Adele to see what's up with Ivy and Adele discloses that she only told Ivy to prepare to take over Topher's position. Topher exclaims that he didn't do anything wrong, besides help get Adele her job back. Adele only reminds Topher of his insolence with Nolan Kinnard, Sierra/Priya's psychotic rapist, and that she needs to know if Topher will be a team player or not. If not then it might not end well for Mr. Brink.

Next Adele attempts to eat Boyd's soul, she presses his buttons about mentioning Echo and he loses his resolve and says Adele took Echo away from him. Adele then declares that Boyd is owned by Rossum and that little tidbit leaves him with three options: do his job with a tune in his voice, go to the Attic, or die. Time is running out, Mr. Langdon. Make your choice.

Topher finds Boyd drinking and they discuss what they have to take away from Paul Ballard in order to save him. Topher mentions taking away Ballard's anger, but Boyd says that's all that Paul will have. Topher then surmises that Adele is taking them on a one way ticket to Hell.

Finally, Topher, Ivy and Boyd witness the rebirth of "Ballard", who Topher says will not take the procedure well.

He was right.

Ballard awakes to pain and when he talks, only a mishmash of words come out, none of them discernible. Topher says that is to be expected for the first couple of minutes. When Ballard starts speaking coherently, he is beyond pissed when he finds out that not only is he a Doll now, but that Adele has put Echo, "Victor", and "Sierra" in the Attic. Told yall they made a monster.

Ballard takes a gun and heads for Adele's office only to meet Adele pointing a gun at him. He tells her that he is not afraid to die to take her down. Adele coolly says that she doesn't want to die. Tough luck says Ballard and he asks if Adele has any last words after cocking the gun to fire.

To Be Continued...

The Attic

In Echo's dream, she realizes that fear is what's causing her to loop. Without anger and fear, she watches Anthony and Priya die. She is about to turn somewhere else, but a shadowy figure heads her way. So Echo takes a ladder up that leads to the center of the Dollhouse through a bonsai tree, which is covered in snow. Echo sees images from different Imprints (including a little girl, the serial killer, and two old people). Echo realizes that it's not real, but the tall, black, hulking figure that starts to kick her ass. The thing is swift and fast and can disappear at the blink of an eye. Echo might have met her match. But before she can fight it, Echo runs into Laurence Dominic (special guest star Reed Diamond), Adele's ex right hand man and the guy who was sent to the Attic in season one. Echo thinks that Dominic is trying to kill her, since he was gunning for her demise when he was in the Dollhouse, but Dominic is actually trying to save her. The Thing attacks again and they manage to scare it away. Dominic calls the thing Arcane, which Dominic claims to have been chasing since he learned to control his fear, which is what Arcane is drawn to. OK, let me try to explain clearer: Dominic knows how to jump from one Attic captive's nightmare (brain) to another and is trying to capture Arcane from killing Attic captives. Arcane feeds on the worst fears of Attic captives and it is what gives him his strength. Hopefully, I got that cleared for you. Anyway, Echo says that she needs to find Anthony and Priya, who Dominic thinks that Arcane is after next since they are pretty much newbies.

Turns out that Dominic is right. After Anthony and Priya make love in Priya's dream she is attacked by the corpse of Nolan Kinnard (guest star Vincent Ventresca). Anthony is in the midst of war and when he comes across a guy he must take out, it turns out that he is fighting himself (guest star Demir Gjokaj). In both scenarios, Anthony and Priya lose which is drawing Arcane closer to them. When Echo runs to find them, she ends up being split up from Dominic and ends up in a Japanese restaurant where an Asian man, named Matsu (guest star Tzi Ma), is eating. After being cryptic, Matsu tells Echo that the reason he is there is because he came across a weakness within a Japan Dollhouse and by him knowing that weakness, he himself is now the weakness and Rossum had to send him to the Attic. This let's Echo know that the Attic is a collective for ALL the Dollhouses mentally and is not relegated to each house. Arcane shows up and starts slicing and dicing people. Matsu says he has to stay and enjoy himself, which later turns out to be literally. Echo notices that Matsu's legs are gone and when she runs into Dominic they find them being served in the kitchen. But Arcane has gotten to Matsu and kills him, which leaves Echo and Dominic stuck in Matsu's brain. But they got to eat the man's legs to get out. Disgusting!

The two then save Anthony/Victor from having his head sliced off by Arcane. They inform Anthony of their situation and they decide to try to capture and kill Arcane, but they have to save Priya first. While Priya realizes that Nolan is a figment of her mind, Arcane steps in for the kill. This is when the group attacks and captures Arcane and they all fall through a new Fear: Arcane's.

But Arcane isn't "Arcane". He is a nerdy guy named Clyde Randolph (guest star Adam Godly) and his worst nightmare is the "shape of things to come" aka "Epitaph One", where all hell has broken loose. Clyde explains that he did what he did to end the suffering of the people and take down Rossum mainframe, which is in fact EVERYONE in the attic.

This is where things get HIGHLY COMPLICATED!

When the group threatens to kill Clyde for his crimes, he tells them that if they do that there will be no one to stop Rossum and destroy their mainframe. Clyde explains that all of the captives in the Attic are connected as CPU units, which Rossum is using them as storage devices with the fear adrenaline as a power source. Clyde thought if he killed everyone then he would, in effect, take down Rossum.

The group is nearly killed by a group of savages and they run for safety. This is where we find out how Rossum came into fruition. Clyde is one of the two original founders of Rossum. He and his other partner created the first Imprint, by imprinting someone without the aspirations of Clyde and they used him as a drone. The partner got the drone to betray Clyde and that's how Clyde ended up in the Attic, which was 1993. The problem is that Clyde can't remember who the identity of his partner since they erased it from his memory, but there is one woman who does. That woman? Caroline. The new problem? Echo doesn't have that set of memories. But what Echo does have is an escape plan. She then stands up as a barrage of bullets come through their hideout and intentionally gets hit. Echo has to really live her nightmare and disengage from the system and revive herself, save Anthony and Priya, and escape the Attic like she attempted at the beginning of the episode. Clyde and Dominic decide to stay behind and help free more minds, but Clyde says that Echo's plan should work. Echo flatlines into the real world and wakes up to go after the others. In the Attic world, Anthony stabs Priya in time for Echo to revive her. Then Anthony walks outside and lets the savages take him and he too is revived (albeit offscreen).

The WTF Moment of The Night/Week!

Echo stands talking to someone about how she got the information they need to take down Rossum. The person in question?

ADELE!!!!!! Who tells Echo, generously, "Thank you!"

WHAT?!?!??!

Then we get a flashback to the end of the last hour with Adele telling Echo that she will be sent to the Attic. But there is more as Adele tells Echo that she needs for Echo to go into the Attic and retrieve Rossum's secrets, which Adele felt would be stashed in the last place anyone would dare to look. Adele also tells Echo to come back in one piece.

Then we are brought to the present with Adele rallying her soldiers which include Echo, Priya, Anthony, Topher, Boyd, Ivy, and Paul Ballard. Adele vows to take down Rossum and feels that they are ready. But Echo says that they are short one important soldier/piece of the puzzle: Caroline. Echo thinks it's about time for the two of them to finally meet.

Credits.

Blink.

My mind is totally frakked...

Imprinted Thoughts

- So the last few minutes of this hour left me looking for my brain and jaw all at once. What the hell just happened? So why was Adele calling Boyd, Ivy, and Topher into her office to have them quake in their boots if they were going to  be on her side? One could say that she cryptically  wanted to be sure that Topher wouldn't falter if Harding or Ambrose pressed him harder. For Boyd, she wanted no more secrets and from Ivy, well it's about time that Ivy got in on some action. But is it me or does anyone think that Ivy might be a casualty in this upcoming war? It was just an about face and it took several viewings to make sure that I hadn't missed anything that could explain the plot twist. But as much as it threw me off, it was a damn good one.

- Arcane and The Attic was/is the equivalent to Freddy Krueger and the dreamscape he stalks his victims on. If you die in either, you die for real and the way the group captured Arcane was reminiscent of Nancy's final battle with Freddy in the original Nightmare film, where she pulls him out of her dreams. The crazy thing is that while all of the techo jargon was hard to follow, it kind of made sense. Again, great writing all around!

- The episode had some Buffy-esque moments, such as when Echo was explaining her past images to Dominic. I could almost see Sarah Michelle Gellar playing Echo in that scene. Am I wrong for that?

- All is all, there is a lot of moments that I could be writing about all night, but I want to know what do you think. Did FOX shoot themselves in the foot? The ratings and iTunes downloads for Dollhouse have rose since the show has been back from hiatus and after the announcement of its cancellation. Does that say anything to anyone?

I will see you guys in the new year. Happy Holidays!!!!

Dollhouse 2.10 "The Attic" Recap

The first hour of FOX's final double episodes of Dollhouse was what most fans have been asking for: an Enver Gjokaj/Victor centric episode. But we also got more info on the mythology of the Dollhouse and Rossum, plus my obsession, which is "Epitaph One". And is it just me? Or does anyone else wonders if FOX feels like they shot themselves in the foot by canceling Dollhouse? Because each new episode is kicking ass and taking names... And the next hour, "The Attic", made feel as if MY mind had been wiped and printed with a new personality. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start with "Stop Loss"...

The Set Up

Ms. Lonely Hearts, aka Adele, is having a final romp with Victor as her suitor Roger. He spoils the mood by saying that he is in love with someone else, which is not a good thing on so many levels for Adele, namely because Roger/Victor is quickly becoming aware ala Echo. Adele berates Roger/Victor and tells him that he is a Doll, who is about to end his contract the next day. Roger/Victor states that he doesn't think Adele would stoop so low to hire a Doll to suit her needs. She cries at this.

Topher and Boyd look at Ballard's brain after Alpha scrubbed him clean. Topher explains that Alpha did some serious damage, which could leave Ballard in a vegetable state for Eh-VER. Adele then bursts in the lab and demands to know who is in on the joke of Imprinting Victor with thoughts of another woman on her final engagement with him. Topher doesn't have a clue on what she is talking about, but it quickly dawns on him that Adele is Ms. Lonely Hearts. Ivy doesn't know either since Roger/Victor came back early from the engagement. Topher reports that the Imprint Adele ordered for Victor was within the perimeters so the program wasn't manipulated. This is when Victor wakes up from his "treatment" and asks for Sierra. Bingo!

Topher tells Adele that its nothing but the Dolls "grouping" and that it can be cured when Victor leaves. But Adele doesn't think that's the basic problem and explains that Actives who don't follow their orders are bad for business. She also tells Topher to keep his mouth shut about Ms. Lonely Hearts.

Echo goes to visit Paul with her illicit swipe card, but Boyd tells her that Adele is itching to find something to put Echo back in isolation. Plus, he tells her about Victor's departure the next day. Echo doesn't like that all the people who she has grown to love is leaving. Wonder how she would have managed in college? Anyway, Boyd offers to give Adele another go and we know how that went.

After Adele gives Boyd a resounding "NO!" on Echo seeing Paul, she explains that it is all Echo's fault for the L.A. Dollhouse's latest unfortunate events. She wants to see what makes Echo tick, which Boyd explains that Echo is now a person like him and Adele and shouldn't be treated like a lab rat. But there is a more pressing issue: Adele can't face giving Victor/Anthony his walking papers, so she assigns Boyd to do the deed.

Victor and Sierra have breakfast and it is an adorable interaction between the two for those with fluffy hearts. But Victor is called for his treatment and after he tells Sierra he will see her later, Echo secretly tells him that he will never see Sierra again and that he needs to say goodbye. The advice goes over Victor's head and he childishly waves goodbye to Sierra.

After Victor is wiped and restored with Anthony, he goes through the motions of a Doll that has been discharged from duty: diagnostic tests, personal belonging pick ups, and a debriefing from Boyd. Anthony is then dropped off in the middle of Los Angeles to start his life anew.

But someone is already following him and taking pictures. So that can't be good...

Readjusting...

While Anthony sits in his new decked out suite with no clue or sense of direction on what to do next, back at the Dollhouse Echo explains to Sierra that "Victor" is not coming back. Sierra senses Echo's disappointment in this, but tells Echo that Victor is not ready to be alone. This is apparent when Anthony thinks he sees Sierra at a club he decided to go to. When he returned home later that night, Anthony can't sleep on his bed, but finds a suitable replacement with the tub/floor of the shower.

It is reminiscent of his pod at the Dollhouse, which match cuts to Sierra and the other Dolls going to bed for the night. Everyone besides Echo that is, who is immediately up and at em when the coast is clear. She goes to see Paul, but when she swipes into the room, she finds it empty.

Echo takes the elevator to Adele's office to find Adele one or two glasses short of being drunk. Echo asks Adele what's the deal, but Adele only tells Echo that Ballard is being treated with the utmost care. The two go toe to toe with each other on the status of Echo's ability. Echo states that she is ready to kick ass and has no trouble taking down Adele if need be. She also tells Adele that playing for both teams has lasted it's course and now it's time to pick a side and stick with it.

Meanwhile, a group of highly trained soldiers break into Anthony's apartment and take him down, but our boy gave a fair and decent fight, but it seems as if the soldiers were in sync with their movements. Hmmm....

Re-enlisted...

As Anthony is being driven away and bagged and tagged, Topher views Anthony's vital scans from the Dollhouse and smells something afoul. Boyd enlists Echo into seeing what the problem is and they find Anthony's hotel suite empty. We also learn that Echo doesn't have to think too hard about accessing an Imprint anymore and can just pretty much blink her eye to gain one. Boyd sums up that whoever snatched Anthony was from Rossum, given that they knew how to deactivate Anthony's tech and what not.

We then see Anthony being surrounded by soldiers in a dark room with a light shining on Anthony's face. One of the soldiers calls out Anthony's full name and rank and reveals himself and the others to be old Army mates of Anthony's. The US Army listed all the soldiers as "broken" and sent them away for five years and then Rossum got a hold of them and turned them into Borgs soldiers with one mind collective and one purpose: eliminate the target. Anthony says simply, "Where do I sign up?" He is then taken into a room where a chip is embedded into his neck, which links him into the soldiers' collective.

Back at the Dollhouse, Echo and Boyd find out that Victor/Anthony's file was accessed by someone within the Rossum Company three months prior and after Echo cracks into the system, they find out that Victor/Anthony was selected to be a part of the military branch of Rossum called Project: Mind Whisper, because the Active Architecture allows for the soldiers to be linked in mind, body, and damn near soul. Boyd goes to telll Adele and she is so sloshed now that there isn't a chance of getting any semblance of coherence from her. Boyd then goes to Topher, who breaks it down that if Victor/Anthony isn't extracted now, then his individual identity will cease to exist.

Echo asks Topher and Ivy to load her with all military personas from the basic grunt to the highest physicist. But Echo needs one more weapon: Priya.

They bring Priya back to help Anthony remember who he is. Priya is not happy about being awakened AND remembering what happened during her last engagement, but she's down for the cause. Echo and Priya drive out to the Rossum compound where they are captured to gain access into the base. At the Dollhouse, Topher informs Boyd that Echo's signal is lost and prays that Adele doesn't wake up and finds out what's going down.

Echo enters and starts kicking ass all across the board. Priya sits back and watches, but Anthony approaches and holds a gun to her stomach, saying that Anthony is gone. She pleads with him and calls out for Victor. The voices in Anthony's head want Anthony to kill the women, but he eventually remembers and states that Priya helps him remember. Echo asks where is the exit and Anthony gives them directions and is knocked out by Echo, because all of the soldiers would be heading to that location. Echo gives Priya a gun and tells her to watch Anthony while she goes to find a way to corrupt the group think mind collective.

At the Dollhouse, Adele, who is past frat boy drunk, is awakened by the phone. It's Harding telling her to do her damn job. She immediately goes to Boyd and demands to know why has he disrespected her authority. Boyd stands his ground and tells Adele that she needs to step up to the plate before it's too late. Adele later goes to take a shower with the Dolls to wash away the shame and drunkenness from her body.

Anthony comes to and recuses Priya from being shot. He tells her that his connection to the hive is an advantage cause he knows their every move. Anthony then starts up small talk with Priya as they hold off the soldiers, saying that it helps keep the collective thoughts at bay. Echo makes it to the Infirmary and ejects a chip within herself. This girl is really dedicated to the cause! She eventually gets the soldiers to drop their weapons and to let them leave, but not before one of Victor's buddies is taken down after helping them escape.

Return

Echo, Priya, and Anthony drive away from the compound. Priya and Anthony remember enough of each other as Sierra and Victor that they are comfortable with each other. Echo notices this and stops the car to tell them to leave so that they can be free, because if they come back to the Dollhouse then they will be wiped. While Echo tells them to get rid of their GPS systems and to look her up, the trio is zapped by a Remote Wiper and they all collapse.

Adele, in a shot that makes her look like every female villain known to man combined, has Boyd taken away so she won't have any interference with her plans for Echo. She tells Echo, who is strapped down in a chair with cords in her body, that since Echo is raising hell in many ways than one, that there is only one place for her...

THE ATTIC!!!!

DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!!!!!

Adele gives the orders to Ivy and Topher to do the same with Victor and Sierra. Echo is zapped to all hell and it looks beyond painful and something that I think no one will ever be able to describe. The set up for the Attic looks disgusting, creepy, and downright wrong... But that's just the tip of the iceberg...

Read on for The Attic recap...

Dollhouse 2.09 "Stop Loss" Recap

Dollhouse will be coming to an end in January, but Fox will be airing a two-hour episode on December 18th and has released promo photos and a synopsis.  Check them out below.

VICTOR’S PAST IS REVEALED AND ECHO IS TRAPPED IN HER WORST NIGHTMARE ON AN ALL-NEW “DOLLHOUSE” FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, ON FOX

As his contract with the Dollhouse expires, Victor is released back into the world, where his military past threatens his future with Sierra. Meanwhile, Echo is deemed too dangerous and is sent into her worst nightmare in the all-new “Stop-Loss/The Attic” episode of DOLLHOUSE airing Friday, Dec. 18 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (DOL-209/210) (TV-14 D, L, V)

Cast: Eliza Dushku as Echo; Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard; Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt; Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton; Fran Kranz as Topher Brink; Enver Gjokaj as Victor; Dichen Lachman as Sierra

Guest Cast: Liza Lapira as Ivy; Michael Kin as Hagan; Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic; Vincent Ventresca as Nolan Kinnard; Adam Godley as Clyde Randolph; Tzi Ma as Matsu; Keir Thirus as Myers

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DOLLHOUSE: Echo (Eliza Dushku, R) helps Sierra (Dichen Lachman, L) understand that Victor has left the Dollhouse in the "Stop-Loss/The Attic" episode of DOLLHOUSE airing Friday, Dec. 18 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. �2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Carin Baer/FOX

Email: clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow: twitter.com/clarissa373

Photos - Dollhouse 2.09 and 2.10

The second hour of this past Friday's Dollhouse two parter, "A Love Supreme", featured the return of an old foe, which could also be their last appearance before the series finale in January. The episode is a game changer in some sense, and it might be a precursor to everything in "Epitaph One" NOT coming true.

The Set Up

A guy sits beside his mobile home lamenting on loving something that's not real, i.e. a Doll. He is talking to someone who we don't see until it is too late for the cowboy. The guy's friend? It's ALPHA (guest star Alan Tudyk), who doesn't hesitate to give the poor sap a slit throat.

Back at the Dollhouse, Echo is in solitary confinement and is being questioned by a doctor, who is none other than Victor. Where is Enver Gjokaj's Emmy? Enquiring minds not only need to know, but demands for it to happen! Adele asks the Doctor Victor if he has found anything to prove that Echo remembered any Imprints for the past three months while gone, which he replies no. Ballard has had enough and wants the torture to stop, but Adele ignores him. She does pull Doctor Victor out of the room and the two of them leave. Boyd warns Ballard to stop showing emotion when it comes to Echo in front of Adele. It only proves that something is up.

Adele gets berated by Doctor Victor, who sums her up by saying that she is jealous of Echo because Echo can be a whore and a virgin, while Adele has to settle for one of the two. Adele orders Topher, who is enjoying the exchange, to wipe Victor and send him on his way. When the task is done, Adele asks Topher what does he think, and he agree with the good "doctor". Echo's fine. Adele asks for proof in the scans Topher pulled and he says they were clean, too.

But they weren't as he exclaims excitedly to Boyd and Ballard, who tell Topher everything that had happened to Echo. He is surprised and in awe that Echo has become something they have never imagined could happen. Later, Ballard is told by Adele that since Echo is "fine" then she can be put back on the circuit, starting that day. She has a repeat Engagement with some guy has Echo to be his sister in law, which is sick, but tame to other things the Dollhouse have agreed to in the past. Ballard insists that Echo is not ready due to the headaches, which Adele cooly ignores.

Before they leave for the Engagement, Echo shows Topher how she can summon past Imprints at the drop of a hat. Topher is amazed and floored. On their way to Engagement, Ballard tells Echo that he hates being her pimp, and Echo says she does too, but that the guy she dealing with is fine. Then she "turns on" the Imprint. They reach the house, but Echo finds the dead body of the client, who has been dead for days. Then they realize that there is note left for Echo. From Alpha.

All The Boys (And Girls) Love Echo

Adele feels that since Alpha is after Echo again that she could have been his accomplice, which would explain her three month absence. Boyd, Ballard, and everyone else knows otherwise, but Adele still wants Echo back in solitary confinement until Alpha is captured. Later, Ballard and Boyd pool over all of Echo's past romantic Engagements, all who have turned up dead in violent deaths in the past months. They try to find out who is next on the list. Meanwhile, Sierra returns the house as a dame from the mid 40s, who reveals a message from Alpha.

Adele takes precautions to have ALL the Actives rewiped to make sure that Alpha hasn't programmed any of them. Boyd and Ballard takes  clue from Sierra which said, "The next lover ages well". The two men deduce that it has to be Matt, the guy from the pilot episode who checks out Echo for his birthday each year. The two men rush to the location of the Engagement with a SWAT Team and find Matt strapped with explosives to a chair and Alpha holding the trigger. Alpha toys with everyone saying that all of the past men and women who "loved" Echo were only using her and they pretty much have to pay. He then tosses the trigger and leaps out the way as do Ballard, Boyd, and the SWAT team (possibly Dollhouse). But Matt, unfortunately, is blown to bits.

Later back at the Dollhouse, Boyd and Ballard deduce the last "Echo lover" standing is Joel Myner (guest star Patton Oswalt) the guy who put his dead wife Rebecca's personality in Echo last season. But he has disappeared on a retreat. Ballard goes and retrieves Joel, with the help of Echo as "Rebecca", even though Joel is engaged to someone else. When they get back to the Dollhouse, Adele gets in Boyd and Ballard's asses for disrespecting her. She then orders for Echo to be put back in confinement.

Topher gives Joel a tour of the lab when Joel laments that he thought Rebecca's personality would be wiped when he stopped using their services, but then he remembers that no program ever dies. Hmm... Then Topher calms him down, by saying security on Alpha has improved. While Adele talks to someone on the phone, she hears something behind her and Alpha has found his ass back into the Dollhouse. This mofo is crafty!!!!

Night of the Living Dolls

Adele is scared out of her mind, but she keeps her resolve. He tells Adele that he doesn't want Echo and that he will take anything he wants without a hitch. But he only wanted to show her something. He shows her some pictures that we can't see and Adele only says are "intriguing." He then asks her how many Dolls are in the Dollhouse and he then takes her to the living area. When they get there Boyd and Ballard spot them and go to intercept, but Alpha has a plan up his sleeve. He takes out a device and presses the button, which sends a wave of static that makes the Dolls attack their Handlers. Some of the Dolls even kill the Handlers. While Boyd and other Handlers try to fight the Dolls off, Alpha sneaks away and leaves Adele defenseless. She then runs and barricades herself into Whiskey's/Dr. Saunders' old office. Meanwhile, Echo receives the waves, but it only tells her that Alpha is in the building. She proceeds to break out.

Topher has just wiped Victor, but is knocked out cold by ole Vic then Alpha enters the room. Ballard makes his way to the lab, awakens and sends Topher on his way. Ballard then enters the Wipe Room, where Alpha has Joel in the wipe chair. But Alpha only says, "Bait and switch", which is when Victor injects Ballard with a sedative. Alpha wanted Ballard all along!!!!

Tainted "Love"

After tying Ballard down into the Wipe Chair, Alpha reveals his obsession. It turns out that Alpha is pissed that Echo found genuine love out Ballard and not him. When Ballard denies this, Alpha shows Ballard the pics he took of Ballard and Echo while they were staying together in Texas. He had been trailing them the entire time. He then says that none of the Imprints faces are on Echo's face and what she is experiencing is genuine, and so is Ballard. He then proceeds to copy (or wipe) Ballard's brain. When it is over, Ballard looks pretty much dead. Alpha then downloads something into his head.

Meanwhile, Echo finds her way to Adele and saves her, revealing her secret in the process. She and Adele escape and meet up with Boyd, Topher and Joel and they all run to the bed chambers and lock themselves in. Here it is revealed that Alpha Imprinted Sierra with a virus, thus infecting the Wipe Chair, and when Adele ordered all of the Actives to be rewiped, they unknowingly Imprinted all the Actives with a signal to take over the Dollhouse. Joel reveals that Alpha wanted Ballard and that he was only a decoy, Echo freaks and declares that she has to save Ballard. Topher then remembers the Remote Wipe Device, which Echo says is a better idea than harming the Dolls since they are innocent people in all of this.

She makes it to the Wipe Room, where Alpha has finished a download. Echo sees Ballard's lifeless body on the floor and she engages in kicking Alpha's ass. But he proves to be an even match and the two fight their way down three levels until Echo is ready to give the final blow, but then Ballard's voice comes out of Alpha's mouth! Shell shocked, Echo realizes that Alpha downloaded Ballard's personality and it nearly kills Echo. "Ballard" asks Echo if she trusts him then she will kill "him" now. But Echo can't and Alpha takes control and eventually escapes.

Topher and Boyd mind wipe each Active until they come to Echo holding Ballard's brain dead body.

Conclusion

Joel tells Echo that he has to go and that he isn't scared about Alpha. Echo then turns on Rebecca, but Joel says that he has moved on from that, but he is thankful that she keeps the memory alive. She then relays the message to a comatose Ballard, while Adele watches afar, her facial expression calculating.

Credits.

Imprinted Thoughts...

- WHEW!!!! Talk about catching up!!! Again I am sorry about the late ass recaps. I got caught up with so much on the 4th of December that my mind was fried to try to tackle anything that revolved thinking. So sorry again, people!

- So Echo can pull Imprints at the blink of an eye. Does anyone else feel that this should have been introduced during the first season? I feel that from the last four episodes, Dollhouse had potential to go on, but no one had the patience to follow through or the stomach to look society dead in it's eye. It's sad that people would rather watch an episode of Jersey Shore and have the audacity to call Dollhouse lame. But on that same token, I can see why people would want to turn away. These last four episodesare bleak, and utterly depressing when it comes to the concept of free will. Nobody really wins, when corporate heads are in control. But this brings me right back to the beginning of the circle, which is that we tend to turn our heads away from the truth or something that requires for us to think outside the box...

- Enver Gjokaj, Fran Kranz, Olivia Williams and Dichen Lachman ALL need to be picked up after this show for another gig. Like ASAP!!! And Emmys all around please?

- Is this the last we have seen of Alpha? God, I hope not.

- "Epitaph One". Ballard could have come out of his coma before the events of "Epitaph One", but I don't know. The groundwork is being laid for the future that we saw in that episode to come into fruition, but while we were told by Joss that the memories in play during "Epitaph One" may or may not be accurate, there are a lot of things that happened during the last four episodes that fall into the latter of Joss's statement.

1) Dr. Saunders and Boyd's romantic relationship. Again, it is ten years before the events of Epitaph One, but why in hell would Saunders/Whiskey come back to the Dollhouse if she left on her own? The staff or Rossum from what I know have not tried looking for her, so unless they got some code to have her come back to the Dollhouse, I don't see how or why she would return.

2) The Dubai House. Harding and Ambrose were ready to send some, if not, all of the Actives to the Dubai house. By episode end, Adele proved that she could be a bitch and took back control of the L.A. Dollhouse, which is a sharp contrast to the caring and motherly figure she took over Topher in Epitaph One. Also, when she handed the schematics of Topher's device to Harding, she didn't give a damn about legal implications then, so why would she care when Ambrose declared that they would sale the bodies of the Dolls to high bidding clients who want to achieve immortality?

3) In contrast to the previous two points, during the scene when Ambrose appears to Topher and Adele in Victor's body in "Epitaph One", Ambrose mentioned that they had people in position to pass the legislature, which shows that Perrin might have done some of Rossum's dirty work after all. In short, the future detailed in Dollhouse is frakking bleak and it seems that nobody really wins, which is not far from Joss's schtick of bleak endings.

So can't wait to see what you guys have to say I will hopefully see you this weekend.

Dollhouse 2.08 "A Love Supreme" Recap

I know that I said that certain previous episodes of Dollhouse were laying the foundation for "Epitaph One", but this past Friday's episode, "Meet Jane Doe", added the framework on top of that foundation and, I dare say, started to add in the insulation and airducts for the finished project. While Echo had her own storyline this week, the real action went down inside the Dollhouse as revelations, betrayals, and oh my freakin' God moments were in abundance and my head is still reeling!!!! To the recap!

The Set Up

Topher fills Ivy in on all the stuff that went down in Washington, D.C. and how Bennett has a less cooler office, he then declares that he will never trust another woman as long as he lives. Meanwhile, Boyd fills Adele in on Echo's whereabouts which could be anywhere besides D.C., due to Echo probably hitchhiking. Adele wants Ballard and Echo back in her peripheral, even it means finding Echo dead somewhere.

But Echo is actually in a small town in Texas, where she is ravaging garbage cans for food. Sad image seeing Eliza Dushku looking for food.

Echo wanders into a grocery store where she is pushed out by the owner for almost eating an orange without paying for it. He mentions sarcastically that money grows on trees and Echo spots the ATM and begs for it to spit out money. HA! But she then notices a Latina woman being harassed by the cashier for trying to buy food with food stamps (which boggles me, because what damn grocery store refuses food stamps?). The woman is then asked to leave the store and Echo feels sorry for her. So Echo steals some crackers and makes a run for it. She finds the woman outside and hand her the goods. The Sheriff shows up with a deputy and the two run for it. Galena, the Latina woman, is captured by the Sheriff, whose name is Rand. The deputy on the other hand gets his ass handed to him by Echo after he pulls a gun on her, triggering Echo memorizing her fighting skills. After this beatdown, Echo realizes something and walks off.

Wonder Woman

Three months later...

Echo is now Jane, a nurse who works at the local hospital. She agrees to take over for another nurse to look after the local jail inmates. When Jane/Echo gets to the jail, Sheriff Rand asks if he knows her. Jane/Echo says no. She is then let into the jail's infirmary, where she is reunited with Galena and the deputy she KO'd, who treats Galena like an inmate from Caged Heat. She asks the deputy if he speaks any Spanish and he says no. Jane/Echo then proceeds to speak Spanish to Galena, telling her that everything will be OK and to remember that she was the one who got her the food that day. She then notices that Galena's ribs are broken her and hasn't been tended to. Jane/Echo then proceeds to question the deputy who play stupid to the bruise. She slick takes a picture of Galena and then gives Galena some pills and instructs her to take one a day before she eats.

Jane/Echo returns to her house (huh?) and notices that someone is there. He attacks and Echo flips the guy, who is none other than Ballard. He gives her some pointers on counterattacking someone and Echo simply says that "A girl likes to be chased every now and then." HUH?!??!?!

Obviously these two have been in cahoots for awhile, but they are planning on busting Galena out of jail. Ballard asks Echo about how she accessed her personas, which Echo says came easy. But Echo wants to access muscle memory for the big bust the next day. She then tells Ballard that if they succeed in busting out Galena, then she is ready to go back inside the Dollhouse. Whoa!

Later over a candlelight dinner, Echo explains that she thinks that her ability to access her personas is due to Bennett's toying with her with Bennett's perception of Caroline, a perception that Echo didn't like. When Ballard declares that Caroline has been resourceful from the start (she tracked him down and demanded that he not take her back to DeWitt) and that DeWitt is Caroline's enemy, not Echo's. But Echo declares she is NOT Caroline and that's that. She declares that Ballard is her best friend, and he says that he wants to keep it that way. Echo doesn't care. She wants some sex. But Ballard has manners and morals and doesn't know who he would actually be doing the horizontal polka with. Echo declares that she is Echo and that she has ha everything under control. Then the two engage in a MONTAGE OF TRAINING!!!!

Back at the L.A. Dollhouse, Boyd is lighting into some guys ass about Echo's whereabouts, but we find out that he actually talking to Ballard about bringing Echo back safe and sound...and ready. He also mentions that Echo is getting smarter, but that means that her brain is slowly deteriorating. When Echo asks who was Ballard talking to, he fills her in on Boyd saying that he's ready when they are. WHAT WHAT WHAT!??!!??!

At the prison, Galena swallows her pill and while she is on her way to lunch, she collapses and has a seizure. The officers call in Sheriff Rand and Jane/Echo, who proceeds to give Galena instructions in Spanish on what's about to go down. Echo then injects Galena with a drug to make her appear dead. Echo then calls a time of death, but actually sets her watch to when Galena will wake up. Sheriff Rand doesn't need another dead inmate on his hands and wants Galena's medical files so he can tamper with the end results and wants Jane/Echo to dump the body. The deputy takes his sweet time getting Echo and Galena out the buildind and Galena wakes up and scares the crap out of the deputy. Sheriff Rand realizes something is up and he puts both of the women in a holding room. While there, Echo has a sharp pain in the head that causes her to repeat herself and collapse. Then Echo comes to and pulls an Imprint to get them out of the room. The women are then cornered and Echo pulls another Imprint and takes both men down. They make it to the door, but Deputy "DER DER DER" comes and tries to take out Echo. She beats his ass and escapes with Galena. Echo takes out another guy and takes a motorcycle after pulling another Imprint. The two women drive off.

Sheriff Rand and another deputy are about to trail them, but Ballard pulls up and flashes his FBI badge. He then proceeds to tell Sheriff Rand that he has dirt on how the prisoners are being treated in his care and if he comes after the women, then everyone in law enforcement will know about it.

Back at their hideout, Echo and Ballard see Galena off, who will now be known as Lisa from the fake ID that Echo made for her. Then when Echo and Ballard are alone, he tells her that was a test run, which Echo responds with a hot searing kiss. Ballard stops her and Echo begs for it, but Ballard asks which person is he talking to. Ballard so totally sucks here, because it is Echo, you idiot! I still get his dilemma, but come on! Boyd shows up and takes the two "home".

The Coldest Bitch On The Planet

There seems to be changes at the L.A. Dollhouse, one including that Harding (special guest star Keith Carradine) has either demoted Adele or just took over the L.A. Dollhouse altogether. He has Adele running errands and now he is asking her to set up an Arrangement for a sadistic wannabe Marquis de Sade. Adele vents to Boyd that they used to worry about the well being of their Actives and that they used to turn people away if they had the sadistic desires that the current client has. Boyd remarks that they always had put the Actives at risk and only lied to themselves about it. Upset, Adele comments that Boyd sounds like Harding and Boyd admonishes that he doesn't know if Adele is whiny because she can't take care of the Actives well-being or if she is whiny cause she no longer has any control. This hits Adele in the gut. I think I would go with Reason B, FTW!

Topher belittles Ivy again after they Imprint Sierra and Victor with personas of neurological scientists to help him with his latest invention. Adele drops by later for him to sign off on a new Arrangment and she wants to know what he is working on. Topher declares it top secret courtesy of Harding, who happens to show up. He plays with Adele like a puppy and we learn that Adele is a scientist as well to some extent. But Harding isn't interested in Adele, but he has high hopes for Topher's presentation that is coming up.

Adele later walks into a meeting with Ambrose, Harding and some Muslim men, who are going to oversee a new Dollhouse in Dubai, that might will replace the L.A. branch since Harding wants Adele to send their Dolls to the Dubai house. Later, Boyd declares that they need to take the house back, which Adele asks how. Boyd laments that the Adele he know wouldn't ask that type of question.

Topher reveals to all the Dollhouse employees the new Remote Wipe, from his earlier design of the Disrupter, which would work from a 50 feet radius. Harding is pleased, but notices that Victor and Sierra are "grouping". He tells Topher that it is common and that they deal with it by separating the Dolls by putting them in separate houses. No Vierra?!!?! The audacity!!!!!

Later Topher looks troubled as he brings Adele into his room/lair to reveal that he has tried to dumb down the tech he just revealed so that he can find out what the hell Rossum wanted to do with the tech after they got their hands on it. This is where the Epitaph One comes in...

Topher says that Harding has him working on one tech, while Bennett was working on another. With each house working on their own type of device to build a whole. The end result? A Remote Wiping Device that can wipe the minds of ANYONE, not just Actives. But the horrifying thing is that Topher found out how it can be done and made schematics that he has kept hidden. Adele tells him to make sure Harding never sees it.

But later Topher comes back to his room to find the schematics gone and he freaks out. Who took it? Ivy? A Doll? Harding?

Adele.

Yea I wanted to smack the bitch, too. She gives the schematics to Harding, who thinks it was all to regain her stature in the L.A. Dollhouse. She says that she wants to be on the winning team and since Rossum has the upper hand, she wants in on it. Later, Topher asks what the hell was Adele's problem for giving Rossum the most dangerous technology ever created. Adele turns it all on Topher saying that he was the one who built it and he was also interested in the tech as well. Topher declares that he trusted Adele, who says that was the dumbest move he ever made. Then Topher gives the line of the night to Adele, "You are the coldest bitch on the planet!"

Adele then smacks the crap out of him and tells him that he is pretty much now her bitch and that he better love it as a much as a crack fiend loves his/her pipe. So the face of the villain has been revealed and she is sexy bitch! She declares that she runs the L.A. Dollhouse and no one will challenge her again.

Enter Echo, Ballard and Boyd.

Let the games begin...

Conclusion?

Boyd says that Ballard found Echo and was nursing her to health. Echo plays her role as a Doll and Ballard says she had headaches and needs to be treated. But Adele says to see how much more Echo can take and to put her in isolation. When the three men look at Adele as if she is Medusa its self, Adele remarks that they all know that Echo is special and that they need to see how far she can go. Adele then tells Echo that's it's good to have her back.

End of the first hour.

Is your nose bleeding yet? Or are you depressed that The End of the World is near? I am more on the latter...

Continue to read the recap for "A Love Supreme" here.

Dollhouse 2.07 "Meet Jane Doe" Recap

The Set Up

The second half of the December two hour Dollhouse Event started where we left off with Bennett (guest star Summer Glau) screwing with Echo/Caroline's brain. Bennett then Imprints a memory of Bennett's into Echo's peripheral for her to remember again and again what Caroline supposedly did to her. Echo screams as the memories are Implanted.

Mission: Possible, Just Seductively Persuasive

Meanwhile, Perrin (guest star Alexis Denisof) pleads with Cindy (guest star Stacey Scowley) to not wipe him again, but Cindy doesn't listen and instead vents how much she hates being Perrin's wife and that she can't stand his touch as well as everything in between.

Adele and Topher are on their way to the D.C. Dollhouse to pick up Echo and Topher is excited, while Adele feels as if she is watching over an eight-year old. Their mission is to get a map of Perrin's brain so they can do what they have do back in L.A. When they get there, they meet up with Stewart Lipman (special guest star Ray Wise), the head of the D.C. Dollhouse and Adele's equal. He doesn't want to give Echo back immediately, because she got involved in top mission and there are certain "protocols" to be followed before she can be released. Adele demands that Topher gets to see Echo to make sure she isn't damaged. Lipman accepts, but wonders who is over the L.A. Dollhouse while they are there. Topher declares they have the best man on the job.

That best man? Topher/Victor

Topher 2.0/Victor whines to Boyd about being afraid that he will not be sufficient enough to complete the task at hand, which is to upload Perrin's brain map from the D.C. office through a link Topher will set up. Topher 2.0 also thinks that Bennett is too smart for his own good and thinks that Topher will melt in her hands. Boyd tells Topher 2.0 to calm down and just wait for Topher 1.0 to call. Enver Gjokaj hit this performance out of the frakking ballpark and he deserves some type of award. I would be heavily shocked if he doesn't get picked up for some show next season.

Bennett gets a call that Topher is on his way to the Imprint Room, which sends Bennett into prep and crimp mode as she adjusts her hair, clothes and demeanor to welcome Topher. She also injects Echo with a sedative before meeting Topher at the elevator. He doesn't realize that he is talking to Bennett when he asks to speak to the woman. The exchange between them is so weird and awkward, which I guess is what geek attraction entails. When Topher finds out that Bennett is Bennett he praises her and then bluntly asks what happened to her arm. She tells him that is is dead from the shoulder down. They babble and fawn over each other some more and you can't help but to smile at geek love. When Topher asks for Echo, Bennett says she won't get her since Echo interfered with a big Rossum project, but she lets him see her anyway.

Lipman berates Adele for coming for something she can't have and that she is pretty naive if she thinks that Harding will back her in anything. Adele then resorts to the seduction of a praying mantis and gets Lipman to release Echo in exchange for her releasing his balls. Literally.

In the lab, Bennett mentions the Disrupter by name, which throws Topher off, because he never told her its name. Topher then tries to use the thing on Bennett, because he felt that Bennett was like Whiskey/Dr. Saunders. Lipman calls Bennett to release Echo and while she does that Topher makes the connection to the L.A. Dollhouse and has Topher 2.0/Victor to link the two Dollhouse computers together. He then raves to "himself" about how "fine" Bennett is. Wow...

Project Runaway

Perrin awakes and tries to get Echo to snap out of her catatonic state, but Echo is experiencing what happened to Bennett, which includes Bennett being trapped under a slab of marble, begging someone to not leave her. Perrin takes Echo and walks out the room. All this is seen by Bennett, who says, "Goodbye, Caroline" before ramming her head into a monitor! CRAZY!

Bennett stumbles back into the lab and tells Topher that Echo smashed her head into the monitor and that she took Perrin. Topher calls the upper heads.

On the streets of L.A., Echo and Perrin walk the streets. Echo holds her arms as if she has some memories left from Bennett's Imprint. She reveals that Caroline left Bennett to die for the sake of a mission. Echo also lets Perrin know that they have GPS tags in the back of their necks and that they need to cut them out. They stop at a restaurant and do just that.

At the hearing for the testimony, Cindy and an aide prepare Madeline for her testimony. Cindy gets the call about the escape from Lipman and she and her men are dispatched to the restaurant. Cindy finds the two GPS devices and knows that they have a serious task on their hands.

Operation: Kill Echo

Lipman and Adele get news from Topher and Bennett, the new Bobbsey Twins, that they can find Echo and Perrin and single them out with Topher's disrupter. Topher only needs Perrin's brain map to complete the project. Lipman gives Topher the access and the L.A. Dollhouse is in like flint!

Topher marvels over Bennett's work when it comes to Perrin's brain model and Topher's model of Echo's brain pales in comparison. But when they get to work, neither one of them realizes that they are double crossing each other. Topher does his task, but Bennett sends a hidden assassin message to Perrin's brain.

Meanwhile at the Perrin compound, Perrin had a flashback to when he 'met' Cindy. She coaxes Perrin to run for Senator. The conversation makes you wonder if he was a Doll then or before, because he remembers all of the stuff he did that could tarnish him in an election. When he comes to, Perrin and Echo discuss their previous lives and Perrin says that they created someone who can bring Rossum and the Dollhouse down. He then declares that he has to make it to the hearing so that he can expose Rossum for what they really are.

Back at the D.C. lab, Topher and Bennett press the Disrupter, which sends Perrin into agonizing pain.Topher realizes that something is up, but it's too late for Echo as Perrin starts bashing her head into the garage door. Echo manages to break free, but Perrin is hot on her trail like a terminator. Bennett might be a robot after all...

Topher gets info from Topher 2.0/Victor that Perrin has been programmed as a sleeper agent and needs to be stopped. Bennett is upset that Topher hacked into her system, and she goes into a tangent on why Caroline must die, which includes leaving her and being a bad person. Topher begs for Bennett to shut down Perrin, but she says it's for the best. Then Topher knocks her ass out for not complying. And it hurt. Now its down to Topher and Topher 2.0/Victor to save the day.

Cindy and her goons show up at the compound. Echo tries to hide from Perrin, but he finds her and the two fight. She gets away and one of the goons find Perrin, who snaps the goons neck. Echo runs into Cindy, who knocks her out and posts a goon to watch her. Cindy then proceeds to find Perrin. She talks to him as if he is a damn dummy and says that she didn't mean any of the stuff she said before and that she wants to take him him and all that jazz. Perrin falters for a blink of an eye and then he proceeds to choke the life out of Cindy. Back at the labs, the two Tophers manage to shut Perrin down, but it is to late. Echo takes out the goon watching her and goes after Perrin, but finds him crying over Cindy's lifeless body. He says he killed her, but Echo claims that they killed her and that they have to go and make the hearing.

The WTF Moments of the Night

Perrin makes it to the hearing, but he's distraught and Madeline can sense it. Perrin then proceeds the hearing by saying that 1) Cindy's dead, 2) The Rossum Corporation is a target by lower undermining corporations who sent Perrin on a goose chase and when he found out, they killed Cindy by planting a car bomb, 3) Madeline is delusional and crazy and finally...

"THERE IS NO DOLLHOUSE!"

WHAT. THE. F***??!?!?!?!?!?

He leaves Madeline to dry and then the "FBI" comes for Madeline, but they are really Rossum goons.

Back at the L.A. Dollhouse, Adele finds out that Bennett must have rigged Perrin's brain patterns to follow through with the plans for world domination and that they are building a President. Think of the horror that can bring! Adele and Boyd continue their search for Ballard and Echo, but writes Madeline off as a lost cause.

At the D.C. Dollhouse, Bennett has Madeline strapped up to the Wipe Chair with the funny looking thing across her eyes, the same contraption that Echo had at the beginning of the episode. She tells Bennett that it isn't fair what happened to her and that she understands what it means to be alone and that no one should experience that. She then proceeds to zap Madeline.

Out in the streets of Washington, D.C., Echo wanders around free...but lost.

Wow...

Now onto the December 11th two parter! Read "Meet Jane Doe" here.

Dollhouse 2.06 "The Left Hand" Recap

Sorry for this super late recap. Let's get to it.

Dollhouse returned with a shocking revelation, metaphorically and literally. The stage is set for the inevitable "Epitaph One" to go down and members of the L.A. Dollhouse have to question who can they trust when the people they work for have turned on them.

The Set Up

Senator Daniel Perrin (guest star Alexis Denisof) prepares for a press conference that would destroy the Rossum Corporation and the Dollhouses. His wife Cindy (guest star Stacey Crowley) wishes him luck. Perrin enters the stage and gives his speech about how Dollhouse is not a myth and that he wants to put a face on the issue that is the Dollhouse. That face?

Madeline/"November" (guest star Miracle Laurie)

Whoa.

She makes her testimony about how Perrin showed her evidence and how she was disgusted with what she saw. She then declares that there are others like her who need to be saved.

Back at the LA Dollhouse, Matthew Harding (guest star Keith Carradine) grills Adele for letting Madeline go so early, but remembers the deal made with Paul Ballard, who is also in the room. Harding tells Adele that she is growing soft on Madeline and that her judgment is being called into question. Harding then tells the two that Madeline will be taken care of, which angers Ballard wants to know how.

Later, Ballard asks how bad is Madeline in trouble and Adele pretty much says severely. But she is remarks that Madeline is being used and she is being used against Adele, but the million dollar question is who is pulling the strings?

Boyd gives the group a history on Sen. Perrin, who belongs to a political dynasty. Echo walks in and comments that "November" (Madeline) looks sad and that they should help her. Then when Ballard tries to escort her out the room, Echo remarks that Cindy Perrin "isn't right". This prompts the group to listen closely to Sen. Perrin's words about how Cindy is "perfect" and that "they made her" just for him.

Hmm... Look who's hand been caught in the cookie jar...

The First Phase

After Ballard presents Adele with all the forged documents on Cindy Perrin, Adele concludes that not only is Cindy Perrin a Doll, she's a" sleeper", like Madeline was. Adele says that she might had been planted to take out Madeline and that Ballard needs to stop it. Boyd lets Ballard know that Cindy and Madeline are being holed up in a safehouse, while Perrin is downtown at a hotel room working on post press conference issues. Adele then shows Ballard the video of Madeline (as Mellie) taking out the Handler who was raping Dolls last year. Adele tells Ballard that she is just prepping him for what he will have to face is Cindy is activated.

Meanwhile at the safehouse, Madeline tells Cindy about how Ballard looked nice and kind the last time she was there. She then laments on killing someone. As Cindy calms her nerves, the phone rings and it's Perrin just checking in on them.

Topher comes up with a device that he calls a "Disrupter" that Ballard can use against Cindy. Bad thins is that if Madeline is in the vicinity, which is 50 feet, she will be affected as well, because she still has Doll Architecture in her brain. Like Ballard sums up, nobody ever leaves that place... Boyd pulls Echo for a treatment and she asks if she can help "November", which Boyd says she will be.

Perrin talks on the phone with someone, but then he passes out. When he comes to, he finds himself in bed naked with Echo, who is recording everything.

The Second Phase

Echo's imprint is Bree, a high class call girl, who is programmed to think that she had sex with Perrin and give him a message. The message? "Back Off." Perrin deduces that Rossum sent Echo and he takes him with her to the safe house. On the way there, he tries to tell "Bree" about how she is nothing but a sex slave and that she is not real. He finds out they the Dollhouses program the Dolls extensively. He tells "Bree" that Cindy can help her.

At the safehouse, Ballard gets clearance to get into the house without being detected. When he reaches Madeline, she freaks even when he says he's there to help her. She breaks free and calls for help. Cindy shows up and Ballard pulls out the Disrupter and uses it. Outside the house, Perrin pulls up with "Bree" and she collapses from the Disrupter's frequency, as does Madeline inside. But Cindy doesn't drop. Two guards tackle Ballard and Cindy takes the Disrupter and gives it a look over stating that it's new. Outside, while "Bree"/Echo recovers she notices that Perrin's nose is bleeding and that he, too, collapsed!

PERRIN IS THE DOLL!!!!

Back at the Dollhouse, Topher, Adele, and Boyd find this tidbit out and tries to warn Ballard. Adele surmises that Cindy is Perrin's Handler and that Harding made a senator, but that it doesn't make sense for them to sic him after the Dollhouse. They watch as Echo puts Perrin into the car and drives off with him.

Perrin tells "Bree" that he has to go back to the house for his wife, but "Bree" says no and that something is wrong with the both of them. Then "Bree"/Echo is hit with all the images of the Imprints that she used to be.  She comes to conclusion that Perrin was telling the truth and that she is not real.

Cindy sends Madeline to the airport with some of Perrin's men, while she grills Ballard for the LA Dollhouse's insolence. Ballard in turn tries to get answers out of her, but she has a plane to catch. She tells one of her goons to finish off Ballard and commands for the other goon to put the Disrupter in a bag that will get past airport security.

Perrin tries to calm down "Bree", but he realizes that he too is a Doll. He doesn't want to believe it. Back at the Dollhouse, Topher finds out that "Daniel Perrin" is actually Daniel Perrin. Let me clarify that "Huh!?!"

Daniel Perrin came from a political background, but was a Van Wilder type character at Yale, who was the black sheep of the family. "Daniel Perrin" is what someone wanted Perrin to be and they Imprinted his ambition to succeed rather than his whole personality. Makes sense? Good!

Boyd fills Adele and Topher in on the fact that Echo and Perrin stopped on the GPS system as well as the Retrieval Team Boyd sent to get them. They get a call from "Bree"/Echo who wants to know what's going on. Adele tells Echo she can help them, which Echo responds thought meant a treatment. Perrin gets on the phone and refuses a treatment. Adele tells Perrin the truth about everything, including that it was her who sent Echo to blackmail him. She wants to help him, but Cindy makes her way to Perrin and Echo's location. When Cindy tries to play wife, Daniel remembers being Imprinted. Cindy then pulls a gun on Echo and Cindy. She knocks out Echo, which triggers Super Echo who proceeds to beat the hell out of Cindy. After having to knock out Perrin for interfering, Echo manages to take down Cindy and she and Perrin runaway.

At the airport, Ballard catches up with Madeline, who demands to know what is it with her that Ballard is obsessed with. He tells her about "Mellie" and how he made a deal for the Dollhouse to let her go. He accidently calls her Mellie when asks her to not testify against the Dollhouse, because they are using her. But Madeline asks Ballard that since he freed her does she get to make mistakes? Then she asks him if she is really "free". Ballard gets it. I get it. I don't know if the audience really got it. But Ballard lets Madeline go.

As Echo and Perrin drive along the street, they are bombarded with waves from the Disrupter. Cindy has caught up with them and she proceeds to take them in.

Now Things Get REALLY WEIRD!!!!

Topher and Adele realizes that Echo and Perrin are gone. They try to call Ballard, who ignores their call. Boyd then asks Adel why would Rossum set them up. Adele explains that with Perrin under Rossum's thumb, they are powerful and can get Perrin to pass any law they want. Adele finishes with that they have to stop them so they won't become a scapegoat.

At the D.C. Dollhouse, we meet Bennett Halverson (special guest star Summer Glau). Bennett is the D.C. Dollhouse's version of Topher, but far, far, more eccentric in nature. She tells Grace, who is a maid or something, to mind her business and for Grace to clear way for the arrival of Perrin and Echo. Bennett also has a knack for a few spasms and is slightly handicapped with her left arm out of commission. I slick think she's a robot of sorts, but that would be too much like Terminator now would it?

In short, the bitch is creepy as hell.

It seems that the D.C. Dollhouse Dolls have Greek code names such as Hades and Aphrodite, but when Cindy arrives she gives Bennett the Disrupter that Topher created. Bennett reveals that she knows Topher and she "always wanted to meet his tech". She checks on Perrin who freaks and doesn't want to be wiped, but that's not the crazy thing.

Bennett approaches Echo and says, ""Caroline, you always promised you'd come back to me." Then she zaps Echo with the D.C. version of the Wipe Chair and that's it for the first hour of the December 4th two parter.

Read the recap for "The Left Hand" here.

Dollhouse 2.05 "The Public Eye" Recap

A new episode of Dollhouse will be airing on December 11th and FOX has released five sneak peeks for your viewing pleasure.  You can also view promo photos that I previously posted.

THE HOUSE FEARS ALPHA HAS RETURNED ON AN ALL-NEW “DOLLHOUSE”

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, ON FOX

Alan Tudyk (“Firefly”) and Patton Oswalt (“Ratatouille”) Guest-Star

In the aftermath of her entanglements at the D.C. Dollhouse, Echo finds herself out in the world struggling to keep her multiple personalities under control. Adelle finds her grip on the house challenged by Harding, and Boyd receives a mysterious phone call. Meanwhile, when Echo’s past romantic engagements are murdered, suspicion falls on Alpha, whose return leaves one member of the house permanently mind-wiped in the all-new “Meet Jane Doe (Part 1 of 2) / A Love Supreme (Part 2 of 2)” episode of DOLLHOUSE airing Friday, Dec. 11(8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (DOL-207/208) (TV-14 D, L, V)

Cast: Eliza Dushku as Echo; Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard; Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt; Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton; Fran Kranz as Topher Brink; Enver Gjokaj as Victor; Dichen Lachman as Sierra

Guest Cast: Keith Carradine as Matthew Harding; Liza Lapira as Ivy; Philip Casnoff as Clive Ambrose; Maurissa Tancharoen as Kilo; Glenn Morshower as Sheriff Rand; Ana Claudia Talancon as Galena; Jonathan Del Arco as Mr. Caviezel; Kevin Linehan as Deputy Merrick; Alan Tudyk as Alpha; Patton Oswalt as Joel Mynor; Brett Claywell as Matt; David Lee Smith as Clay Corman

Email: clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow: twitter.com/clarissa373

5 Sneak Peeks - Dollhouse 2.07 & 2.08

A lot of people are saying that Dollhouse is getting awesome now that it's been canceled, which is sad.  But isn't that Whedon's way?  Sometimes you gotta give the man some time to get into a grove, but once he does, it's glorious.

FOX has released promo photos for the two-hour episode that will be airing on December 11th, along with a short synopsis.  You can view both of them below.

THE HOUSE FEARS ALPHA HAS RETURNED ON AN ALL-NEW “DOLLHOUSE”

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, ON FOX

Alan Tudyk (“Firefly”) and Patton Oswalt (“Ratatouille”) Guest-Star

In the aftermath of her entanglements at the D.C. Dollhouse, Echo finds herself out in the world struggling to keep her multiple personalities under control. Adelle finds her grip on the house challenged by Harding, and Boyd receives a mysterious phone call. Meanwhile, when Echo’s past romantic engagements are murdered, suspicion falls on Alpha, whose return leaves one member of the house permanently mind-wiped in the all-new “Meet Jane Doe (Part 1 of 2) / A Love Supreme (Part 2 of 2)” episode of DOLLHOUSE airing Friday, Dec. 11(8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (DOL-207/208) (TV-14 D, L, V)

Cast: Eliza Dushku as Echo; Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard; Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt; Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton; Fran Kranz as Topher Brink; Enver Gjokaj as Victor; Dichen Lachman as Sierra

Guest Cast: Keith Carradine as Matthew Harding; Liza Lapira as Ivy; Philip Casnoff as Clive Ambrose; Maurissa Tancharoen as Kilo; Glenn Morshower as Sheriff Rand; Ana Claudia Talancon as Galena; Jonathan Del Arco as Mr. Caviezel; Kevin Linehan as Deputy Merrick; Alan Tudyk as Alpha; Patton Oswalt as Joel Mynor; Brett Claywell as Matt; David Lee Smith as Clay Corman

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DOLLHOUSE: Out in the world, Echo (Eliza Dushku, L) must adapt to her new life, which leads her to prison in the "Meet Jane Doe/A Love Supreme" episode of DOLLHOUSE airing Friday, Dec. 11 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Also pictured: guest star Glenn Morshower (R). ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Richard Foreman/FOX

Email: clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow: twitter.com/clarissa373

Photos - Dollhouse 2.07 & 2.08

Dollhouse finally returns from its Fox-imposed exile this week with a two-hour episode (check out the schedule for the remaining Dollhouse season 2 episodes).  Originally scheduled to air on November 6th, these episodes will now be airing on December 4th.  I've already posted the promo photos (for part 1 and part 2 of the episode) and now FOX has released three sneak peeks.

ECHO RACES TO STOP THE DOLLHOUSE’S SECRETS FROM BEING EXPOSED ON AN ALL-NEW “DOLLHOUSE” FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, ON FOX

Summer Glau, Alexis Denisof and Keith Carradine Guest-Star

Echo is sent to stop Senator Daniel Perrin (guest star Alexis Denisof) before he can expose the Dollhouse’s secrets, and Adelle and Topher travel to the Washington, D.C. Dollhouse to meet its genius programmer, Bennett Halverson (guest star Glau), a woman with a mysterious past connection to Echo. In the second hour, Echo and Bennett have a shocking meeting as Adelle goes head-to-head with the ruthless head of the Washington, D.C. Dollhouse (guest star Ray Wise). Meanwhile, Topher sees double when he involves Victor in his espionage, and Perrin finds a surprising witness to testify against the Rossum Corporation in the all-new “The Public Eye (Part 1 of 2) / The Left Hand (Part 2 of 2)” episode of DOLLHOUSE airing Friday, Dec. 4 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (DOL-205/206) (TV-14 D, L, S, V)

Cast: Eliza Dushku as Echo; Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard; Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt; Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton; Fran Kranz as Topher Brink; Enver Gjokaj as Victor; Dichen Lachman as Sierra

Guest Cast: Summer Glau as Bennett Halverson; Ray Wise as Stewart Lipman; Miracle Laurie as Madeline/November; Keith Carradine as Matthew Harding; Alexis Denisof as Senator Daniel Perrin; Stacey Scowley as Cindy Perrin; Nelson Franklin as Burt Styne; Maurissa Tancharoen as Kilo

Email: clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow: twitter.com/clarissa373

3 Sneak Peeks - Dollhouse 2.05 and 2.06

Earlier today we reported on the fact that Dollhouse had been canceled by Fox, but the network had committed to airing all 13 episodes for season 2.

io9 has posted the schedule for the remaining episodes:

Dec. 4 - 8:00PM-10:00PM ET/PT ( Episodes 5 & 6 )
Dec. 11 - 8:00PM-10:00PM ET/PT ( Episodes 7 & 8 )
Dec. 18 - 8:00PM-10:00PM ET/PT ( Episodes 9 & 10 )

Jan. 8 - 9:00PM-10:00PM ET/PT ( Episode 11 )
Jan. 15 - 9:00PM-10:00PM ET/PT ( Episode 12 )
Jan. 22 - 9:00PM-10:00PM ET/PT ( Episode 13 / Series Finale )

Joss Whedon also spoke to the Hollywood Reporter and gave his reaction to the news:

"Dollhouse" creator Joss Whedon on Wednesday shared his disappointment at Fox's decision to cancel the sci-fi thriller.

"I don't have a lot to say," Whedon wrote in a post on Whedonesque.com. "I'm extremely proud of the people I've worked with: my star (Eliza Dushku), my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you'll agree in the coming months. I'm grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again."

Whedon also addressed his plans. "I'm off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking," he wrote. "Possibly that relaxation thing I've read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you'll know what my next project is. But for now there's a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear."

"Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again," Whedon said in closing.

Email: clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow: twitter.com/clarissa373

Schedule for Remaining Dollhouse Episodes & Joss Whedon's Reaction

Poor Joss Whedon.  He just can't catch a break.  Fox recently annouced that Dollhouse was being pulled from its schedule during November sweeps and people were disappointed.  I suspect they'll be even more disappointed with the news that the network has officially canceled the show.

They are currently filming episode 11 of their 13 episode order,  and according to EW, Fox will likely air all 13 of the completed episodes before removing the show from the schedule.

UPDATE: While the Futon Critic originally posted that the show's second season had simply been capped at 13 episodes, they have now recanted and confirmed the cancellation.

Source: HR

UPDATED: Fox Cancels Dollhouse (Seriously Cancelled....For Reals)

DVD ratings for week 3 of the fall season (Oct 5 - 11) are in and Smallville and Dollhouse have reached the top spot yet again.  For week three Dollhouse received a little more than 40% increase (it actually hit 50% increase for its premiere episode) which is definitely good news for the beleagured show.  Although the boost doesn't do a whole lot in regard to the actual overall ratings, for a show like Dollhouse, its certainly going to help.

The week 3 top ten (except for 2 Monday night exceptions) features shows that all air on either Thursday or Friday nights.  Thursday night features some of the best shows of the week, making it difficult for some fans of shows that cross networks.  Friday nights have been branded with the timeslot of doom, with much lower than normal ratings for most networks.  But regardless of the actual gains in overall viewership, the DVR news is good because it shows that some fans of the show are doing whatever they can to enjoy their favorite shows, and it just might help remind Fox and The CW that while these shows are on a less than appealing night, they're still being followed.  The top 10 consists of:

1. Smallville - CW - 44% increase from DVR
2. Dollhouse - Fox - 40% increase from DVR
3. Fringe - Fox - 36% increase from DVR
4. Castle - ABC - 32% increase from DVR
5. Numb3rs - CBS - 31% increase from DVR
6. The Mentalist - CBS - 30% increase from DVR
7. FlashForward - ABC - 30% increase from DVR
8. Vampire Diaries - CW - 29% increase from DVR
9. Heroes - NBC - 29% increase from DVR
10. FlashForward SP - 10/9 - 29% increase from DVR

Fox has indicated that one of the main reasons Dollhouse has yet to be canceled yet is due to its successful DVR ratings.  But whether or not these DVR ratings will be enough to give us more Dollhouse, or any of these shows for that matter, will remain to be seen.

You can see the full ranking at TVbythenumbers.com.

Dollhouse Continues to Excel in DVR Ratings