Science fiction television in the 2000s was a strange beast. Influence x files in the 90s was undeniable, and the genre – previously known from series comparable to Star Trek AND V — began to capitalize on its prestige opportunities as JJ Abrams culturally rose Lost AND Bangs. It was buried beneath these groundbreaking science fiction endeavors Dollhousea short-lived and sometimes forgotten gem that combined the traditional network drama format with ambitious themes.
Created by Joss Whedon in 2009 in the aftermath Buffy the Vampire Slayer AND FireflyThe series tells the story of a secret facility often called the Dollhouse, where a select group of elite men and girls with erased memories live. At a hefty price, the facility hires these “active” players with specific personalities and skill sets to assist its demanding clients. After each mission, their memories are erased and so they return to blank canvases waiting for a new mission. The science is each intricately explained and heavily glossed over, with some precise details to create the illusion that this brain manipulation technology is smart and will exist today (should you don’t give it some thought too hard).
Buffy alum Eliza Dushku stars (and produces) as Echo, one of the most versatile and impressive dolls on the market. She is hired for a variety of purposes, including a hostage negotiator, a midwife, a heist leader, and a casual lover of an unforgettable weekend. Every mission she goes through, she completes with total commitment and knowledge (and there isn’t a clue on her part that she is just not the person she is pretending to be). Her neutral return after the mission is characterised by a childlike innocence, which makes all of it the more satisfying as viewers begin to see her gain personality and bite.
In the first season of the FOX series, Echo and a few of the other dolls begin to develop a few minor glitches: mostly in the form of interconnections. Echo makes friends with one other Sierra doll (Cutting off star Dichen Lachman), and later the two dolls begin to develop romantic feelings for one another. As the series goes on, Echo also begins to regain stray memories from her past life. The greater mystery is how these people ended up in the Dollhouse, especially Echo, who we learn in the show’s first scene was a young woman named Caroline who felt she had no alternative but to undergo a five-year a stay in the series Dollhouse.
Viewers aren’t the only ones wondering about Dollhouse. Although the facility goes to great lengths to take care of anonymity and avoid detection by federal agencies, a lone FBI agent (Tahmoh Penikett) is on the case, especially after he receives a tip about Echo/Caroline from a former rebel activist. In addition to Dushku’s solid performance, the supporting forged – including stellar performances from Fran Kranz, Amy Acker and Enver Gjokaj – helped make the series so memorable.
The show was a strange, inventive byproduct of 2000s network television. It plays like an episode Alias mixed with Black list (Harry Lennix z Black list he even acts as Echo’s devoted guardian). Although the series starts a bit slow, the sixth episode marks a strong and decisive change. It features a twist through the ages and begins to lean into the true integrated side of the sci-fi series, through entertaining and informative documentary-style interludes that specify some of the history surrounding Dollhouse, including the incontrovertible fact that the Los Angeles location is just one of over 20 houses around the world (which leaves the organization with unlimited political and financial connections).
It’s a perfect extension of the case-of-the-week formula that, in the late 2000s, overtook most prime-time criminal proceedings programming. But Dollhouse it suggested greater than just classic procedure, and with the advent of the second season, it began to ask heavy questions on existence and individuality. Although the series was ultimately canceled after lower than a yr on the air (during which era it had aired an impressive two seasons), it explored themes of identity, memory, and work-life connections that resonate today. In our current era of television where shows like Cutting off AND (*15*) World reigns supreme, it seems Dollhouse she was just a decade ahead in her seek for meaning in a technology-heavy world.
Credit : www.inverse.com