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Can You Really Consent To Be A Doll? We Asked Maurissa Tancharoen
Rape Is One Tick Short Of Armageddon, On Dollhouse
San Francisco, 4:06 PM
Fri Dec 4
29 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/28/09
Let's hope it stays that way #dollhouse
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10/28/09
If it wasn't for my curiousity about their relative production costs and the underlying economic conditions that led to Fox keeping the lower rated show on the air (briefly, Fox own Dollhouse, it costs $650,000 (!) to $1.3m an episode and Fox's DVD division picked up a big chunk of Season 2's costs for Fox broadcasting), I would never have bought the DVD (S1 has only started showing here this week).
I'd never warmed to the Dushku (despite her being the best thing in Bring it On) primarily because she came across as being personally and professionally unhappy in Tru Calling (Not an insult. She just made me sad.)
But it would have been a mistake to miss it.
Despite (like everyone else), thinking "Damn, this thing is broken!", until 'Man on the Street' and Joss Whedon getting into his stride (alright, not exactly a stride, more like a hop, skip and a jump) I stuck with it, until it finally clicked.....
This is perhaps the most explicit example of an autobiographical allegory, ever to make it to broadcast TV.
Briefly (hah!):
Coming off quitting (with others) an off-Broadway production in early '06, amid allegations of abuse by its producer, a couple of unbroadcast pilots and a handful of so-so movies, in August '07, Dushku signed a seven year development contract with Fox Broadcasting and 20th Century Fox, under which they were supposed to develop projects tailor-made for her together and offer her existing pitches and scripts.
Two years later, after a four hour lunch, during which she layed out her situation to and "used her womanly wiles on" (her words) Joss Whedon, they come up with the idea of Dollhouse on the spot, pitch it to Fox, who accept and give them 2 (!) months to go into production.
It's about a politically active woman, who makes a series of terrible mistakes and then signs away her life, for five years (do the math), for the promise of protection and a lot of cash at the end, to the quasi-evil subsidiary (Rossum Corp. LA) of what turns out to be a wholly-evil megacorp (Rossum Corp. Centre) that seems to want to destroy the world.
All she has to do, is to have her personality erased, forget everything she knows and everything she believes in, be dressed as a manequin, to suit the trivial whims and transient desires, of those too rich to be tramelled by anything as ephemeral as practical consequence or moral boundary and be sent out into the world to be fucked over (literally and figuratively) by anyone her 'owners' let.
Despite herself, she can't do it.
It can't be done.
She's still in there.
Somewhere.
So is everbody, she's ever been, or wanted to be.
Caroline is Dushku.
Topher is Whedon.
Ballard is......
DeWitt is.....
Sierra is....
Alpha is...
It's fun.
In a horrific kind of a way.
Now that I understand, why Dollhouse is so broken. #dollhouse
10/28/09
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10/28/09
Has anyone ever seen the movie WIENERS that has Fran along with Zachary Levi and Kenan Thompson? Likely a train wreck, but seeing the cast, it'd be a great chemistry experiment... #dollhouse
10/28/09
10/27/09
I've been following Dollhouse since the start. I keep on because I see potential in it. I'd hate for it to collapse into nothing more than just another slashfic farm, something that it seems headed toward. #dollhouse
10/28/09
10/27/09
In that vein, I'd like to see some of the dolls outside the Echo/Sierra/Victor trio pop in once in a while rather than just walking around in the background. I mean we've got an entire alphabet, people! #dollhouse
10/27/09
Similarly, seemed like this season is really bad for the Dollhouse's business (lots of clients being killed by actives). You'd think they'd have to close shop from the bad word of mouth at some point.
I hope we get an explanation on why the Dollhouse worked fine (presumably) before but ever since Alpha, everyone seems to be having trouble keeping their imprints straight. #dollhouse
10/28/09
It's a 'Unique Selling Point', that can be used to:
Market total body replacement.
[First as an insurance option, then once the initial consumer resistance has been overcome, as an infinitely repeatable sales opportunity. Rich clients with untreatable personality disorders (would there be any other kind), would by definition (it's an ego thing) be initially resistant to dying and being imprinted on another body. But once they'd done it once, ......oh! the opportunities....)
Secure repeat 'engagement' business.
[If they know they can get killed, (and then come back), they'd keep coming back, again and again, for more and more, pushing the envelope of behaviour on the engagement until either they got killed or 'had' to kill the active in 'self-defense' ("You know you want it. Look how you're dressed."). All the while, having the opportunity to experience 'their experience', through a memory imprint (Reasonable charge. Repeat business. But the charge will rise. In line with the increasing 'richness' of 'their experience'.).]
Premium product marketing opportunities.
["We harvest you for your imprint before the engagement starts. But we can do it again, even after you've been killed (Five minutes 'til brain death? Unless of course, you take it in the head. Extra (no) 'risk'. Extra thrill.), so you can keep the experience (Extra charge). You will, of course, have the opportunity to experience any active's death (Huge. Extra charge), from their point of view as well (Huge. Huge. Extra charge.)."]
etc. etc. etc. ..........
We at the Rossum Corp. value our clients.
Your satisfaction is our goal.
Do come again.
*Rossum Corp. is an Equal Opportunities Employer. #dollhouse
10/27/09
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My theory is that they have given up trying to control this situation. They have tried repeated wipes to get rid of any feelings, they have tried the famous 'Satisfaction' exercise and all to no avail. Maybe they figure they'll just see where it goes?
I can see how it would be interesting for Topher as a scientist to see the love/instinct contrast at work, purely on that level I can see him not removing it. #dollhouse
10/27/09
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10/28/09
I think it's one of those things where they ignore it on purpose so they can make a big deal of it when it's resolved.
10/27/09
10/27/09
Anyways, when they were laying in the floor coffin together, it was during the dolls' freetime/recess. For all we know, when it really was bedtime they probably shooed Victor out of there.
10/27/09
1) Sierra and Victor were being in any way discrete, which in their Doll state is unlikely.
2)Boyd and/or Adelle watched on a monitor and told the guards to give them a moment alone.
But the scene as shown was just plain fan wankery. #dollhouse
10/27/09
Fan wank would have been like suddenly having Ballard start making googly eyes at Adelle for some reason...
10/27/09
The writer even says she's just giving the audience what it wants. That's wankery. #dollhouse
10/27/09
10/27/09
And even before I read this interview the moment didn't seem like much of a stretch to me or resonate as a 'wtf' moment since it's not random or implausible in the way fanwank usually is.
Besides the entire episode featured the higher ups purposely doing stuff they wouldn't/shouldn't according to house rules. We also already know they'll will eventually be pitted against the rest of the organization and that they're going to take a real moral stand for the dolls, so having them display even a seemingly random moment of leniency makes total sense with regards to plot development.
Anyways, it was just a 30 second parting shot to end the episode. For all we know Adelle could have walked in 5 seconds later and yelled at them or not. But if they're still holding hands the next episode and it's not addressed, the yea that would be a bit lazy, but I don't think it would really undermine the episode or what we have seen from the show so far.
10/27/09