Primordial Casuistry of a Delirious Maniac

A new blog...

A new beginning...

A new opportunity...

A whole new level of fail.

To start things off, I will post my review for the series premeire of a new science fiction show - Dollhouse. This is the most recent project of Joss Whedon, a writer who is famous for such sci-fi classics as 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', 'Angel' and 'Firefly', among others. I have seen none of these earlier programs, deciding to watch Dollhouse only because it provided a plot that I felt, held a lot of potential for exploration. So here is my review of the Dollhouse pilot.

Dollhouse 1.01 - Ghost

"There's nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

This was a pilot episode that set up the premise of the series quite well. We were introduced to most of the main characters, we were shown the concept of the 'Actives' and the Dollhouse and we saw Echo go on a mission to try and save a kidnapped girl. What the pilot established quite well is the potential for standalone episodes where individual missions were explored as well as hinting at possible storyline arcs, such as Paul Ballard's ongoing investigation into the Dollhouse as well as the possible arc with the Active 'Alpha'.

Something that intrigued me was the nature of existence within the Dollhouse. How are people recruited? (It was implied that they were criminals of some sort) What do they do in the Dollhouse? (I mean, surely the constant mindwipes and personality imprints would give them wondering why there were so many discontinuities in their life) What do they remember of their experiences? I certainly hope this is explored through Echo's perspective in later episodes. The cryptic final scene was ominously shot and it was an interesting cliffhanger open to much interpretation. Let's hope we get some answers next week.

The established characters are generally all interesting. I particularly liked the interaction between Boyd and Topher in this episode, while Amy Acker's and Tahmoh Penikett's respective characters also seem thought-provoking. I hope we get some interesting back stories for the main characters later in the season. The acting is generally quite strong, and the music and set complement the show very well. I especially like the theme of the opening credits.

The main theme that I got from this pilot was obviously the issue of identity and the morality between wiping someone's personality away completing and programming them to act with a combination of memories, mannerisms and personalities collected from other people. It's an interesting concept and provides a very flexible character for Eliza Dushku to portray week after week. I'm certainly intrigued by this show and will definitely be watching come the next episode.

Let's hope Dollhouse builds on this promising start,

3.5/5

From now on, I will occasionally update the blog with topical posts and hopefully I will continue to review Dollhouse. Please do comment on my posts (and answer the polls) and offer me suggestions on issues that you want me to address sometime. Any criticisms are welcomed. Please

Postly Poll #1 - Do you think that the proposed fee for using rival banks' ATM machines is unfair?

That's all for today,

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