Dollhouse: Don't Mess With Adele (2.7) - Review

I'm sad to say that after last week's double feature, my expectations for Dollhouse have gone way up making the first half hour of this episode hard to swallow. Despite "Meet Jane Doe" [almost] completely delivered with an excellent second half. The plot took some very interesting turns and made a lot of progress. Plus, and I cannot say this enough, Olivia Williams owned this episode.

Just to get the not so great out of the way first let's talk about Echo's storyline. With the exception of the gratuitous fighting scenes with Ballard and exceptional sexual tension between those two (or maybe I'm just a sucker for Tahmoh Penikett without his shirt on) this story was bone dry. We are already aware that Echo is able to sift through her different personalities and is developing a personality of her own, but I wish there was a more interesting way to communicate the progression of these trends without a weird jail break story line and cheesy special effects.

Now for the awesome:

It is absolutely to see the plot turning back to last season's unaired conclusion "Epitaph One". Last season's episode seemed like a dystopian projection. This season as we are beginning to see the development of this world changing technology, This episode felt like a real turning point bringing a darker tone to the rest of the series.

Olivia Williams, damn this woman can act. Without a word the physicality she brought forth as a powerless Adele communicated the demoralized state her character was in. I was feeling so terrible for this woman who is though lesser of the evils, still pretty evil. Williams then turns on a dime once Adele has her ammo, and reminds us what Adele on a mission looks like, shoulders back and her face glowing using her knowing eyes to stare a hole into her opponent.

I'm not sure if we're supposed to believe that she has completely betrayed her house, or that she genuinely wants to help but needs to regain her power. We were offered a glimpse into the fact that the new management was putting dolls into more dangerous engagements and Adele was powerless to stop this. I think this story line may have been more effective if more screen time was devoted to this issue. That is unless this was kept ambiguous on purpose.

It seems appropriate to note that the L.A. Dollhouse had turned into quite the boys club upon Adele's demotion. This short scene about the opening of the Dubai house was representative of the sort of company she had to fight with to gain her standing in the company.

Topher is a fantastic, hilarious genius, but is unfortunately all too trusting. It was completely in his character to believe the best of people, and really believe that Adele would be on his side. He seemed so utterly crushed when Adele had what she wanted from him and then made him disposable to him.

Fran Kranz's acting this episode was also certainly something to watch, I really appreciate his consistency with all the little ticks Topher has. It was really interesting to notice the subtle changes in Topher once he was put in a position of more power and authority. As much as he appreciates free reign and budget to experiment, the spotlight isn't his thing. And once again, I loved his continuing rambling use of words as he tries to express ideas larger than he is able to articulate.

The age old dilemma of scientific experimentation, technological innovation and its dangers which is an overriding theme of Dollhouse was visited quite directly in this episode. Topher is not malicious, he is curious and brilliant. He was simply trying to figure out what the evil people were trying to accomplish so he could know, and possibly prevent it. This is a typical dilemma of scientists throughout history, where honest curiosity and experimentation has led to massively dangerous weapons when taken out of their hands.

I have to comment on the use of the high angle camera in Topher's office when he reveals his plans to Adele. I interpreted this as a camera feed from Dollhouse security. This added an extra layer of suspense when Topher discovered his plans were missing, I thought that perhaps someone else had seen the security feed and stolen the plans. This made Adele's betrayal even more painful to watch. (Except that it was sort of delicious because Olivia Williams plays evil impeccably).

Other little things I loved:

A return to the Victor/Sierra relationship, I lost it when the congratulations turned into a full make out session.

Perhaps it's the eternal optimist in me, but I think that Adele really did have her house's best interests in mind, this girl has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. Do you think that Adele is going to remain on her fast track to Rossum's biggest bad guy, or will she use her power to save her house and her actives?

Will the world of the Dollhouse head into the dystopia of Epitaph One, or will the day be saved and by who?

Stay tuned for my review of "A Love Supreme", it'll be up as soon as the fan-girl in my head catches her breath.

Scrubs: "Our Role Models" (9.3) Have I seen this before? - Review

Now that the charm of the first week back has worn off, let's see what we're left with.

I'm really getting into the Drew character, he's nice to watch and I actually find myself wanting to know more about his past and where he's going to go from here. Cutting the Golden Boy story short really gave Drew a chance to show us depth early on, and I have faith that we're going to get there.

Meanwhile, Lucy (who I continue to adore) seems to be headed more in the direction of Elliott than J.D., really Lucy, Cole, again? I'm just waiting to hear an interior/exterior monologue about how her mother ruined any semblance of self confidence she might have had a chance at.

I really admire that she really perseveres, at least so far, and takes the initiative to make changes when a situation isn't working for her, example: dumping J.D. for Denise as a mentor when she wasn't getting what she needed.

I'm loving Denise this season, she's growing and maturing as a Doctor. Unlike most characters on Scrubs she has realized the extent to which her career path as a doctor will have an impact on her life. I appreciate that the writers have gone beyond her sex life to portray her as an independent woman. She took care of her student, her patient, and her patient's child without having to be seriously goaded into actually acting like an adult and doing her job. To me this makes her one of the most mature characters on the show, and the most together.

The story of Denise bonding with a patient and having to deal with the real consequences of this bonding when things go bad brings back a more somber side of Scrubs that we know well form past seasons that didn't appear in the premiere hour block. It's a good story, and good tone, but I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that I've seen this story from Scrubs before.

The things that I didn't like:

Cole - again. If he's going to be on my screen every week we need to make some progress with him beyond the one note legacy frat boy.

J.D - While last week I was simply confident that Scrubs would be fine without J.D. on board, after this week I'm convinced that his departure from a central role will actually benefit the show. And although I would still appreciate the occasional scene of J.D. goofing off with Turk, his jealousy of Drew and continued insecurities with Dr. Cox are becoming more than irritating.

When J.D. said to Turk, "I feel like I'm being replaced", it was clearly a self-referential comment about what is actually happening, but I just want it to hurry up and happen sooner.

Has Scrubs run out its story lines or do you think the writers will be able to pull out something new to spice up the new era of Scrubs?

Dollhouse: Going out in High Gear - Review

I've often noticed that shows that are either conceived as a fixed length (or mini-series) or shows that have an established end date tend to really ramp up the intensity.

After viewing "The Private Eye" and "The Left Hand" (episodes 2.5 & 2.6) it appears that Dollhouse has certainly caught the bug. I have been a dedicated Dollhouse fan throughout its run, but I will admit that it the overarching story hasn't always been the most captivating part of the show. The majority of episodes have been heavy in stand-alone engagement structure that begins and ends in the hour with little overall plot advancement.

If this first two-hour block is any indication of what Joss Whedon will be dishing out in Dollhouse's final episodes it seems like we will be treated to a more complex narrative structure involving all the different characters in a strongly motivated forward moving storyline that will actually be serving a means to an end.

The world of Rossum is opening up to us and we've only begun to understand the the extent off its reach and the L.A. Dollhouse's role within it. Personally, I can't wait to find out more, and am hoping that Enver Gjokaj and his constantly show stealing performance as Victor is at the center of it all.

The cancellation of Dollhouse hasn't all been bad news. A finite number of episodes can lead to top notch TV. At least FOX has agreed to air the entire season unlike the untimely fate of Whedon's previous project Firefly.

I think this FOX imposed end date will be worth it for the quality TV it will produce.

Do you think Dollhouse ending is a blessing in disguise or are you still reeling from the cancellation news?

This review has been featured on Sidereel.com: check it out!

Scrubs "Our First Day of School" & "Our Drunk Friend" - Review

I was delightfully surprised by the Scrubs premiere episodes tonight. I see the effort to incorporate the new cast members into the Scrubs world, with Lucy eventually I'm assuming becoming more and more central to the series as the old guard of J.D. and co. are slowly phased out.

It's nice to see Denise socializing with J.D and Turk, and continuing to be fleshed out as a character. I was glad to see her grow as a person letting others in, both in her relationships with her colleagues J.D. and Turk, and also with Drew. Her growth was just baby steps, which is appropriate, anything more would be unbelievable.

I really believe that this new format will work. Despite the overhaul in cast and setting, the show has retained its same successful components of quirky characters, fantasy sequences, interesting relationships balanced with actual story lines within the hospital.

Lucy seems like she will work well as the new J.D., and her surrounding med students, quirky Australian included, seem like they will be able to grow into a well rounded supporting cast. This of course will all be held together with the magic that is Dr. Cox and his tough love teaching.


Other little things I loved:
- The return of "Guy Love" as J.D. and Turk ran into each others arms.
- Reference to House when Dr. Cox assigns numbers to his med students
- Dr. Kelso with the WingMom
- J.D. and Turk singing in the bar... and Drew joining them

Things I didn't like:
- J.D. has continued to have such little character growth in 9 seasons. He is still incredibly needy and requires constant approval from his students, peers and most importantly, Dr. Cox.
- Cole... I don't know how long I can deal with this guy. Is he being set up to be the new Todd? I can see him actually being too much for the Todd to handle. He either needs to turn the dial down on his obnoxiousness or cut the screen time because really, I was watching his scenes through my fingers. In my opinion, his antics weren't funny.

Do you think the new format will be successful? Or do you miss the old Sacred Heart? What are your best/worst moments of the first two episodes?

This review has been featured on Sidereel.com: check it out!