Showing posts with label Dollhouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dollhouse. Show all posts
Friday, October 02, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
UHF
Now that the first week of new tv has passed, I'll share my thoughts on some of it.
Last night I find myself watching the start of The Amazing Race (a reality show that Adj put me on, and I put Denise on) live as it was recording (LIVE? What was I thinking? In this land of DVRs I never watch live tv anymore). I figured it'd be a nice cap to the night and I could be in bed at nine for my 4am shift. Then 9pm rolls around and the show's still going. Why, oh why did I miss that the season premiere was two hours? As I mentioned in my previous post, OCD qualities require I finish (I would have literally tossed and turned in bed longer than one more hour if I'd gone to bed vowing to watch the rest tomorrow) and so I was up 'til 10 watching tv instead. Anyway. So far the gay brothers entertain me most (especially as they are so very flaming and think they aren't, which plays into a strategy of theirs I can't wait to see play out or backfire), so I'm pushing for them, but the father/son duo with the pink haired son are a close second.
House. Just wow, I didn't think this show could get more boring to me and this Houseified mock up of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest so totally proved me wrong. It was nice to see Franka Potente in any role again. The second time in a week something made me really want to watch Lola Rennt (aka Run Lola Run) again (oddly, not so much that first Bourne movie).
Blink and you'll miss it, but Ray Park is now on Heroes as one of this season's potential villains and in that rare beast for him--a speaking role! I enjoyed his martial artist, dervish style speedster (duh, my speedster weakness shows, I know) just enough to make me think that Heroes is trying to convince me it can be good again. I'm not quite holding my breath yet. This is the first time I've liked every new character to be introduced, even if the old cast grow more and more stale (kill some of them off for real already).
Dollhouse is by far the biggest favorite of my returning shows thus far. I continue to love the way it so effortlessly delves into the grayest areas of morality: this time out with Ballard cashing in his morals about the Dollhouse in order to use the Dollhouse to his own needs, and Langton wanting to establish a romantic relationship with Whiskey, knowing she is just another Active. But more than anything else, what I really loved in the premiere is the interplay between Whiskey and Topher, and how this interplay began to seriously explore questions of existentialism that perhaps only this show ever can. I'm left with so much more thoughts on questions of identity construction and the existence of soul after watching this episode, and I am appreciative. People who gave up on this show 3-4 episodes in and declare it Whedon's worst really are idiots at a fundamental level and I'm not afraid of insulting them so. My only gripes--that Echo's own moments of self-awareness weren't as poignant as Whiskey's, and My Darling Wesley's fake English accent has gone missing now that he's playing a U.S. Senator (shut up, logic plays nothing into this last point).
Survivor: Samoa, and it's repeat strategic oustings of the better, "dangerous" cast members is proving more compelling to me than this show has since before the addition of silly things like Exile Island and hidden immunity idols. That Russell character is definitely one of those love-to-hate players and is driving the show in ways I haven't seen since Richard Hatch.
Fringe. I'm having more difficulty jumping back into loving this. It's a process. More Pacey and less blond chick. And much much more Walter. Denise and I were both commenting on how much more we prefer the "monster of the week" style episodes over the "mythology" episodes--just like X-Files. This led me to wishing Duchovny and Anderson someday make a guest appearance as rival FBI agents to our regular cast, as a tongue-in-cheek homage.
New shows that haven't lost me after the first episode: Community, Modern Family and Cougar Town (Cougar really surprises me; I gave it a shot only due to its being created by Bill Lawrence, you know the guy who created my favorite American comedy, Scrubs, but I really expected my dislike of Courtney Cox' post-Friends work, including her time on Scrubs, had me expecting I would probably hate this. Instead, of the three comedies listed here, it's the one I like the absolute best). I also have definitely fallen in love with Flash Forward already and want much more, even if its gimmick seems impossible to sustain multi-seasonally, like Prisonbreak. New shows that have lost me after episode one: (sorry Ian Somerhader), The Vampire DiariesEastwick, and. . .something else, but it had to have been so dull I really can't grasp at its title at the moment.
What shows am I missing? And who else is antsy for the start of the V remake?
I think Dollhouse and Flash Forward are going to do a lot of work, good work, at distracting me from waiting 'til February for the beginning of the last season of Lost.
Last night I find myself watching the start of The Amazing Race (a reality show that Adj put me on, and I put Denise on) live as it was recording (LIVE? What was I thinking? In this land of DVRs I never watch live tv anymore). I figured it'd be a nice cap to the night and I could be in bed at nine for my 4am shift. Then 9pm rolls around and the show's still going. Why, oh why did I miss that the season premiere was two hours? As I mentioned in my previous post, OCD qualities require I finish (I would have literally tossed and turned in bed longer than one more hour if I'd gone to bed vowing to watch the rest tomorrow) and so I was up 'til 10 watching tv instead. Anyway. So far the gay brothers entertain me most (especially as they are so very flaming and think they aren't, which plays into a strategy of theirs I can't wait to see play out or backfire), so I'm pushing for them, but the father/son duo with the pink haired son are a close second.
House. Just wow, I didn't think this show could get more boring to me and this Houseified mock up of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest so totally proved me wrong. It was nice to see Franka Potente in any role again. The second time in a week something made me really want to watch Lola Rennt (aka Run Lola Run) again (oddly, not so much that first Bourne movie).
Blink and you'll miss it, but Ray Park is now on Heroes as one of this season's potential villains and in that rare beast for him--a speaking role! I enjoyed his martial artist, dervish style speedster (duh, my speedster weakness shows, I know) just enough to make me think that Heroes is trying to convince me it can be good again. I'm not quite holding my breath yet. This is the first time I've liked every new character to be introduced, even if the old cast grow more and more stale (kill some of them off for real already).
Dollhouse is by far the biggest favorite of my returning shows thus far. I continue to love the way it so effortlessly delves into the grayest areas of morality: this time out with Ballard cashing in his morals about the Dollhouse in order to use the Dollhouse to his own needs, and Langton wanting to establish a romantic relationship with Whiskey, knowing she is just another Active. But more than anything else, what I really loved in the premiere is the interplay between Whiskey and Topher, and how this interplay began to seriously explore questions of existentialism that perhaps only this show ever can. I'm left with so much more thoughts on questions of identity construction and the existence of soul after watching this episode, and I am appreciative. People who gave up on this show 3-4 episodes in and declare it Whedon's worst really are idiots at a fundamental level and I'm not afraid of insulting them so. My only gripes--that Echo's own moments of self-awareness weren't as poignant as Whiskey's, and My Darling Wesley's fake English accent has gone missing now that he's playing a U.S. Senator (shut up, logic plays nothing into this last point).
Survivor: Samoa, and it's repeat strategic oustings of the better, "dangerous" cast members is proving more compelling to me than this show has since before the addition of silly things like Exile Island and hidden immunity idols. That Russell character is definitely one of those love-to-hate players and is driving the show in ways I haven't seen since Richard Hatch.
Fringe. I'm having more difficulty jumping back into loving this. It's a process. More Pacey and less blond chick. And much much more Walter. Denise and I were both commenting on how much more we prefer the "monster of the week" style episodes over the "mythology" episodes--just like X-Files. This led me to wishing Duchovny and Anderson someday make a guest appearance as rival FBI agents to our regular cast, as a tongue-in-cheek homage.
New shows that haven't lost me after the first episode: Community, Modern Family and Cougar Town (Cougar really surprises me; I gave it a shot only due to its being created by Bill Lawrence, you know the guy who created my favorite American comedy, Scrubs, but I really expected my dislike of Courtney Cox' post-Friends work, including her time on Scrubs, had me expecting I would probably hate this. Instead, of the three comedies listed here, it's the one I like the absolute best). I also have definitely fallen in love with Flash Forward already and want much more, even if its gimmick seems impossible to sustain multi-seasonally, like Prisonbreak. New shows that have lost me after episode one: (sorry Ian Somerhader), The Vampire DiariesEastwick, and. . .something else, but it had to have been so dull I really can't grasp at its title at the moment.
What shows am I missing? And who else is antsy for the start of the V remake?
I think Dollhouse and Flash Forward are going to do a lot of work, good work, at distracting me from waiting 'til February for the beginning of the last season of Lost.
Friday, May 15, 2009
I Called It.
Dollhouse is getting renewed for a second season. There is a Santa Claus. I am very happy about this. But enough giddy-ness, this post is called "I Called It" and that requires a good amount of pat-myself-on-the-back bragging so here goes:
Amy Acker's character, Dr. Saunders was a Doll: I called it (sure, I also wanted her to be Alpha, but ALL of my reasoning for her being a Doll proved out).
On Fringe, Pacey was really Mirror Universe Pacey: I called it.
Lost--John Locke's been dead all season and is still in-the-box: I called it.
More Lost--Juliet dies: Called it (knew she was headlining the V remake next year, which meant she would likely be toast).
Faraday's a Widmore: Called it.
Jack and Kate are royal douches: I didn't call that; those facts have always pretty much just been universal truths.
Setting off the bomb just sends them back to the future: you'll see in a year, I called that too.
I don't think it's just me, and sure I do have a history for calling it (Professor X is the traitor who kills Professor X in Bishop's future--I called that, ask Micah; Ed Norton is Tyler Durden during the first thirty seconds of Fight Club), I just think that a lot of this season's big twists were a bit too over-telegraphed to truly end up being surprises.
Amy Acker's character, Dr. Saunders was a Doll: I called it (sure, I also wanted her to be Alpha, but ALL of my reasoning for her being a Doll proved out).
On Fringe, Pacey was really Mirror Universe Pacey: I called it.
Lost--John Locke's been dead all season and is still in-the-box: I called it.
More Lost--Juliet dies: Called it (knew she was headlining the V remake next year, which meant she would likely be toast).
Faraday's a Widmore: Called it.
Jack and Kate are royal douches: I didn't call that; those facts have always pretty much just been universal truths.
Setting off the bomb just sends them back to the future: you'll see in a year, I called that too.
I don't think it's just me, and sure I do have a history for calling it (Professor X is the traitor who kills Professor X in Bishop's future--I called that, ask Micah; Ed Norton is Tyler Durden during the first thirty seconds of Fight Club), I just think that a lot of this season's big twists were a bit too over-telegraphed to truly end up being surprises.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Dollhouse is the Most Intellectually Complex Show on Primetime Television
There, I said it.
I'm about to be lambasted by friends for this, especially those who are fans of Whedon's previous tv series, but I'm coming to the point where I think Dollhouse is his most ambitious show, and his best-crafted. This is where I duck Ian's flamethrower.
I don't even want to address the louder, less reasonable cross-section of feminists who haven't even really watched the show and have condemned it as an extreme objectification of women, but of course I have to. First they obviously aren't truly familiar with anything previously created by Joss Whedon and his stable of writers--as I challenge anyone to provide an example of a female character of theirs who isn't strong, capable, competent. . .who isn't either equal or superior to all of her male counterparts. These people have been providing us with powerful, intelligent, strong women to watch, enjoy and respect for years. To say that this show is just the masturbatory fantasy of every basement-dwelling socially awkward male out there is both a disservice to the show and its creators, but a clear indicator that someone really hasn't been watching the show.
The one thing this show doesn't do is hit its viewer over the head with a message. It doesn't shine a light on how skeezy someone is to pay for a programmable playtoy for the weekend; it doesn't spend all of itstime questioning whether it's appropriate to use a technology just because we have the ability to use it (though both instances do occur in the show, neither are dwelled upon to the point of preachiness). If there's a moral to take away from the show, part of its perfection is that we each have to come into it on our own, navigating the many layers of ethics and morality the show has put forth to come into our own understanding of what this show has to say about our society, about our humanity.
For me, the greatest joy in this show is the debate it brings me, internally and externally with fellow viewers (most particularly Denise). I think the show completely turns the idea of good and evil completely on its head--as I don't believe there's a single character in this show who could fit the definition of a good guy. There are no saints here, only varying degrees of sin, of immorality and amorality, of ethical complexity. Again, I welcome someone trying to proveto me otherwise, because from where I stand there are no good-guys on Dollhouse, only varying degress of better guys. I think the ethical discussion this show demands is the most intriguing, makes this show the most complex of Whedon's to date, and is perhaps destined to be its very downfall. Too many of us want our entertainment simple and to the point and absolutely brain dead. For every Arrested Development and Veronica Mars that falls, ten Big Bang Theories, Two and a Half Men and Tyra shows rise.
I'm about to be lambasted by friends for this, especially those who are fans of Whedon's previous tv series, but I'm coming to the point where I think Dollhouse is his most ambitious show, and his best-crafted. This is where I duck Ian's flamethrower.
I don't even want to address the louder, less reasonable cross-section of feminists who haven't even really watched the show and have condemned it as an extreme objectification of women, but of course I have to. First they obviously aren't truly familiar with anything previously created by Joss Whedon and his stable of writers--as I challenge anyone to provide an example of a female character of theirs who isn't strong, capable, competent. . .who isn't either equal or superior to all of her male counterparts. These people have been providing us with powerful, intelligent, strong women to watch, enjoy and respect for years. To say that this show is just the masturbatory fantasy of every basement-dwelling socially awkward male out there is both a disservice to the show and its creators, but a clear indicator that someone really hasn't been watching the show.
The one thing this show doesn't do is hit its viewer over the head with a message. It doesn't shine a light on how skeezy someone is to pay for a programmable playtoy for the weekend; it doesn't spend all of itstime questioning whether it's appropriate to use a technology just because we have the ability to use it (though both instances do occur in the show, neither are dwelled upon to the point of preachiness). If there's a moral to take away from the show, part of its perfection is that we each have to come into it on our own, navigating the many layers of ethics and morality the show has put forth to come into our own understanding of what this show has to say about our society, about our humanity.
For me, the greatest joy in this show is the debate it brings me, internally and externally with fellow viewers (most particularly Denise). I think the show completely turns the idea of good and evil completely on its head--as I don't believe there's a single character in this show who could fit the definition of a good guy. There are no saints here, only varying degrees of sin, of immorality and amorality, of ethical complexity. Again, I welcome someone trying to proveto me otherwise, because from where I stand there are no good-guys on Dollhouse, only varying degress of better guys. I think the ethical discussion this show demands is the most intriguing, makes this show the most complex of Whedon's to date, and is perhaps destined to be its very downfall. Too many of us want our entertainment simple and to the point and absolutely brain dead. For every Arrested Development and Veronica Mars that falls, ten Big Bang Theories, Two and a Half Men and Tyra shows rise.
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