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[Raistlin]

Anyway, really liked the ep ... and like the potential in the series.

Some of the characters are starting to grow on me, though they certainly aren't grabbing me quite the way some of Whedon's previous characters have.

Still, some good action, character and plot development, and lines.



Not sure how I feel about the preview for next week. Though, I do expect some pretty good lines. No way Whedon's going to do a show about a pop star, and not rip into the culture

I also really enjoyed the brief of appearance of Mellie or "Lasagna girl"

Her last line was heartbreaking. "Lucky girl."

I suspect that won't be the last of her

 

[SolidSnakex]

Does anyone like Topher? I don't know if it's intentional or not, but he seems like the least likable character so far.

 

[Raistlin]

He seems a bit skeetchy to me.

That said, he does have the best lines.

 

[anaron]

I'm very curious about the character of Lubov and whether or not he's an Active. Same goes for Mellie.

 

[Basch]

Wow, what was that? :lol Didn't like the last episode too much. Liked the concept but felt nothing meaningful was done with it. This episode changed all of that. I mean... HOLY SHIT! Talk about a complete turn of events. This series for me started shaky at best and has evolved over the course of an hour into one of the most interesting shows on network television. Much much better. Keep it up.

...Topher. >_> ... <_< Yeah, not going over well as of now, but I'll give him another shot. I have a feeling the personality will grow on me.

 

[anaron]

Wow, what was that? :lol Didn't like the last episode too much. Liked the concept but felt nothing meaningful was done with it. This episode changed all of that. I mean... HOLY SHIT! Talk about a complete turn of events. This series for me started shaky at best and has evolved over the course of an hour into one of the most interesting shows on network television. Much much better. Keep it up.

...Topher. >_> ... <_< Yeah, not going over well as of now, but I'll give him another shot. I have a feeling the personality will grow on me.

I dunno, I rather like Topher and his snarky arrogance. :lol I just hope to see (which I'm absolutely sure we will) some depth to him considering his morals and perspective in general.

 

[Hours Left]

Much more enjoyable than last week. The characters resonated much more this episode and the premise/mood of the show is coming more towards the forefront.

Echo was much more intriguing in this episode and I thought Eliza did a good job bringing that out. Boyd and Ballard continue to be strong characters. Topher just grates.

I'd still like to see more Dolls, I missed Sierra.

 

[anaron]

Much more enjoyable than last week. The characters resonated much more this episode and the premise/mood of the show is coming more towards the forefront.

Echo was much more intriguing in this episode and I thought Eliza did a good job bringing that out. Boyd and Ballard continue to be strong characters. Topher just grates.

I'd still like to see more Dolls, I missed Sierra.

Yeah I did too. Hope we see a lot more of her next episode.

 

[polyh3dron]

Why's it in standard def? (DirecTV)

 

[dead souls]

Much better than the pilot, though most of Eliza's scenes were still kinda cringeworthy.

All the backstory stuff seems interesting but I'm not sure if I'll be able to put up with the lame 'A' plots just for the secondary characters.

 

[polyh3dron]

The pacific feed of Fox right now is in standard def.. I'm fucking pissed.

 

[polyh3dron]

Is everyone else in this thread on eastern time or something?

 

[Basch]

Is everyone else in this thread on eastern time or something?

Central, and watched it an hour and half later on my DVR. Had a couple friends over, so I didn't get to it right away.

 

[TheOMan]

Much MUCH better than the pilot. Wow. Really well done, looking forward to more now. Don't even know why I watched it again, I was gonna give up after last week's episode.

 

[h1nch]

I liked the pilot alright but I agree that the 2nd episode is much stronger.

 

[polyh3dron]

Much MUCH better than the pilot. Wow. Really well done, looking forward to more now. Don't even know why I watched it again, I was gonna give up after last week's episode.

Again, this proves that Fox should jet LEAVE JOSS THE FUCK ALONE AND NOT FUCK WITH HIS PILOTS.

 

[dead souls]

Oh come on, I agree that this was better than the pilot but anyone claiming it was great, or even good, is seriously overstating the quality of the episode.

Every single beat of the main plot was completely predictable. Stephen Deknight is capable of much better than a cheesy "The Most Dangerous Game" ripoff interspersed with scenes of Helo in his own production of "Count the Copshow Cliches".

 

[CygnusXS]

I think I actually enjoyed this episode less than the pilot. It felt a little uneven thematically, and it was full of clichés. Also, I couldn't buy robin hood's character. It was a terrible casting, the guy's acting was worse than Eliza's.

I don't know, I really want to like this show but it's grating on me. It's too... "network" television. This show would have been so much better on cable with a bigger budget and looser reins.

Edit: Damn it dead souls, why must you type faster than me.

 

[ZeoVGM]

Oh come on, I agree that this was better than the pilot but anyone claiming it was great, or even good, is seriously overstating the quality of the episode.

:lol Okay, we get it. You're going to be "the negative guy".

Calling it simply GOOD is overstating the quality? I hope you quit the thread after this episode, because that's as bad of hyperbole as you say it is when people say it's great.

But yeah, really really good episode. If the show hits its stride at episode 6, after the quality of this one? Hell yeah.

 

[Cornballer]

Good stuff tonight - I liked the episode. Some minor problems here and there, but overall I thought it was fun and it got me more interested in the characters. Boyd's definitely the best character so far. Anyone else think lasagna girl is a plant of some sort? I was also trying to figure out if Alpha orchestrated the whole deal tonight or if he just happened to be stalking Echo and came across the agent who was tied up and killed him.

 

[Struct09]

I enjoyed this week's episode much better than last week's. I see I'm not alone.

 

[faceless007]

Just started watching tonight's episode on the DVR. Is anyone else's HD feed cropped on all four sides? Mine for some reason has black borders all around. Fucking obnoxious.

 

[Memles]

Good stuff tonight - I liked the episode. Some minor problems here and there, but overall I thought it was fun and it got me more interested in the characters. Boyd's definitely the best character so far. Anyone else think lasagna girl is a plant of some sort? I was also trying to figure out if Alpha orchestrated the whole deal tonight or if he just happened to be stalking Echo and came across the agent who was tied up and killed him.

If so, it makes me wonder about the canteen: could whatever this poison was be some sort of concoction that is designed to dig into wiped out memories and bring them back to the surface in order to undermine the active's imprint? If Alpha was behind it all, that would make sense: I can't think of any normal poison that would have that effect.

I really like this episode: I don't know why they didn't put us in Boyd's shoes to begin with, as he is a far better avenue for understanding and relating to Echo and the actives than, well, Echo is. A lot of neat questions about how people relate to the actives (holding their hand vs. running into them and bitching them out when you know there's no consequences) and good introduction of Alpha.

I'm on board.

 

[CygnusXS]

I forgot to mention one scene that I absolutely did love, aside from the cliches. When Helo showed up at the kidnapping crimescene and confronted Lampkin. Great attention to continuity and Lampkin being awesome. Yes, please, give us more of that Joss. I'm still really looking forward to seeing what he can do with this concept.

Edited typos (that I noticed)

 

[Weapxn]

The lasagna girl was not a good actress. Eh.

And Topher, I want to like him. I know that he's the character I'd love in any other Whedon project. But I just don't. I think it's the actor.

Other than that, this episode was eons better than the premiere.

 

[faceless007]

Just finished watching. Definitely more compelling than last week, and the seeds they're planting for the Boyd/Echo relationship and the Alpha backstory have potential. But the Echo-on-the-run plot (I almost want to call it a subplot because so much of the episode was flashbacks) was by-the-numbers and predictable. It probably doesn't help that I happened to watch a cheesy exploitation film on Netflix with almost that exact premise a few months ago (macho hunter kidnaps attractive women for the sole purpose of releasing them into the wilderness and hunting them--except in the movie the victim was naked the whole time).

Whedon can do memorable villains with great dialogue; Firefly had Jubal Early, Saffron and Neska in only 14 episodes. This guy couldn't have been more boring and generic, like a CSI villain. The flashbacks and Echo/Boyd scenes were interesting despite the main plot.

So far, it looks like the main reason to tune in is to see the mythos of the Dollhouse and the Alpha mystery. The Imprint-of-the-Week has been dull, and next week's looks worse (a backup dancer for a pop star? WTF?).

Anyone else think the line "Four brothers. None of them Democrats." when Echo loaded the gun was really weird? Since Whedon is such a vocal liberal (though I don't know if he's actually a Democrat) that seemed a weird jab at anti-gun folks.

 

[anaron]

Just finished watching. Definitely more compelling than last week, and the seeds they're planting for the Boyd/Echo relationship and the Alpha backstory have potential. But the Echo-on-the-run plot (I almost want to call it a subplot because so much of the episode was flashbacks) was by-the-numbers and predictable. It probably doesn't help that I happened to watch a cheesy exploitation film on Netflix with almost that exact premise a few months ago (macho hunter kidnaps attractive women for the sole purpose of releasing them into the wilderness and hunting them--except in the movie the victim was naked the whole time).

Whedon can do memorable villains with great dialogue; Firefly had Jubal Early, Saffron and Neska in only 14 episodes. This guy couldn't have been more boring and generic, like a CSI villain. The flashbacks and Echo/Boyd scenes were interesting despite the main plot.

So far, it looks like the main reason to tune in is to see the mythos of the Dollhouse and the Alpha mystery. The Imprint-of-the-Week has been dull, and next week's looks worse (a backup dancer for a pop star? WTF?).

Anyone else think the line "Four brothers. None of them Democrats." when Echo loaded the gun was really weird? Since Whedon is such a vocal liberal (though I don't know if he's actually a Democrat) that seemed a weird jab at anti-gun folks.

But it wasn't a jab at anti-gun folks. It was a jab at pro-gun republicans.

 

[Bebpo]

Just as everyone is saying, waaaaay better than last week. Definitely interested in the show now.

I'm glad it didn't take 5 eps of nothing happening before things started going real wrong. Getting things moving by ep2 should help it not getting canceled.

 

[polyh3dron]

Just started watching tonight's episode on the DVR. Is anyone else's HD feed cropped on all four sides? Mine for some reason has black borders all around. Fucking obnoxious.

Yep.. they decided not to give us west coasters the HD feed.

 

[anaron]

Has anyone gone to the Echo Chamber? on the official website? Showcase of Echo's many identities but what really grabbed me was the haunting background music. It reminds me of Angel' yet also it's manages to be it's own thing. <3

 

[Zenith]

Now there's the Whedon I know and love.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

At least this one wasn't a complete mess unlike the first one.

 

[ivysaur12]

That was really good.

Does any one have a preview of the next ep? I watched it on Hulu, and I can't seem to find a preview on youtube.

 

[dead souls]

:lol Okay, we get it. You're going to be "the negative guy".

Calling it simply GOOD is overstating the quality? I hope you quit the thread after this episode, because that's as bad of hyperbole as you say it is when people say it's great.

But yeah, really really good episode. If the show hits its stride at episode 6, after the quality of this one? Hell yeah.

We'll have to agree to disagree because I don't see how anybody could possibly think this was really good. Better than the pilot, certainly, but not good. Recycled plot, horrible acting.

It's all moot anyway due to the fact that the ratings were down 15%. A 1.7 in the demo isn't going to keep the show on the air for very much longer.

 

[thestopsign]

We'll have to agree to disagree because I don't see how anybody could possibly think this was really good. Better than the pilot, certainly, but not good. Recycled plot, horrible acting.

Okay, we know your opinion and we have our own. Can you now leave us alone and let us enjoy the show? I hate it when the elitist pricks of GAF come off of their godly thrones and bash us for liking something that they don't deem worthy. You seem persistent about this, if you don't like the show, you don't have to watch it.

I'm okay if you say that you didn't really like the show, but don't go on and on about it.

 

[Geoff9920]

We'll have to agree to disagree because I don't see how anybody could possibly think this was really good. Better than the pilot, certainly, but not good. Recycled plot, horrible acting.

It's all moot anyway due to the fact that the ratings were down 15%. A 1.7 in the demo isn't going to keep the show on the air for very much longer.

:lol Dead souls, dude, you were calling for death of dollhouse since before the pilot aired. Hell, you said it in your very first post in this thread. We get it, give it a rest already. Besides, a shows ratings going down some after the pilot airs isn't exactly unexpected. You can't determine a pattern of where the ratings of the show are going to go by two episodes.

 

[thestopsign]

:lol Dead souls, dude, you were calling for death of dollhouse since before the pilot aired. Hell, you said it in your very first post in this thread. We get it, give it a rest already. Besides, a shows ratings going down some after the pilot airs isn't exactly unexpected. You can't determine a pattern of where the ratings of the show are going to go by two episodes.

Monorojo did. You guys probably wouldn't remember him/know him at all.

Spoiler

But I'm hoping someone in this thread does

Anyway, I agree with this man, so uh QFT.

 

[dead souls]

:lol Dead souls, dude, you were calling for death of dollhouse since before the pilot aired. Hell, you said it in your very first post in this thread. We get it, give it a rest already. Besides, a shows ratings going down some after the pilot airs isn't exactly unexpected. You can't determine a pattern of where the ratings of the show are going to go by two episodes.

I absolutely was not calling for the death of the show since my first post in the thread. I said I was skeptical of the Dushku's acting ability and doubted the show would get good ratings. It seems I was right on both counts.

*glances at shelf filled with Whedon dvds & comicbooks*

I'd like nothing more than for the show to be good. So far it simply isn't IMO.

As for the ratings they may stabilize at this point or they may keep going down but either way the future of the show is obviously in doubt. Fox can get similar numbers with reality programming or repeats of other shows so there is no positive way to spin the numbers.

 

[Geoff9920]

I absolutely was not calling for the death of the show since my first post in the thread. I said I was skeptical of the Dushku's acting ability and doubted the show would get good ratings. It seems I was right on both counts.

*glances at shelf filled with Whedon dvds & comicbooks*

I'd like nothing more than for the show to be good. So far it simply isn't IMO.

As for the ratings they may stabilize at this point or they may keep going down but either way the future of the show is obviously in doubt. Fox can get similar numbers with reality programming or repeats of other shows so there is no positive way to spin the numbers.

After this I'll let it go, but just to prove I'm not making things up...

Agreed. I'm a total Whedon fanboy, but while Eliza Dushku was passable as Faith, I don't think she has the acting chops to be the lead of a show.

I'm 99% sure that Fox is going to axe this and Terminator anyway, so I'm not going to get too attached to it.

Now maybe I misinterpreted your post, but that was your first post in this thread and was posted several days before the pilot even aired.

 

[anaron]

Some slightly good news: It's already number one on hulu.

 

[Ripclawe]

http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/02/ratings-second-dollhouse-episode-declines-.html

The numbers are disheartening, if not entirely surprising.

The second episodes of Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "Dollhouse" failed to improve on their premieres last week, even though Friday's biggest usual competitor from a numbers standpoint -- CBS' crime dramas -- aired repeats.

"Dollhouse" (4.2 million viewers, 1.7 preliminary adults 18-49 rating/7 share), fell 15% in the ratings. This is an almost-typical second-episode slip and placed second in its 9 p.m. hour, topped by "Supernanny" (5.2 million, 1.8/5).

At 8 p.m., "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (3.8 million, 1.3/5) was roughly steady, falling a tenth of a point from last week's midseason return to tie a repeat of "Wife Swap" to place second in the hour.

Given it's a Friday night, neither "Terminator" or "Dollhouse" pop out as a jarringly low rating on the grid. But Fox's shows are relatively expensive scripted dramas that typically require higher numbers than a competitor's repeats or newsmagazines such as "Dateline" and "20/20," regardless of what night they're on.

For those who haven't seen "Dollhouse," here's the entire second episode, which some fans say they enjoyed more than the first.

 

[Stoney Mason]

It was an alright episode. So far the problem for me is that while it is watchable it seems watchable on the level of something you would see on TNT or the USA network. Like Monk. Which I like but its because its of a relative level of quality. So far this show seems like a sci-fi Monk with her going on adventures of the week.

That perception will perhaps change once they get into deeper arcs but currently I'll say its not the next Serenity for example.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

This show is SO cheesy! :lol

Pretty good episode though, enjoyed it quite a bit.

 

[Paznos]

It was a pretty good episode, too bad it's probably going to get canceled and not having it in HD this week was strange.

 

[Escape Goat]

I enjoyed the episode. I still think theres not enough action but we'll see where this "compile" issue goes with Echo and Alpha.

 

[Ghost]

Much better than last week, story is preceding down a pretty predictable path though

 

[Raistlin]

As a guy who is named Christopher, I fucking hate - HATE - the name Topher!

smh



I do find the naming convention funny though, considering he basically is this show's Xander. Seems quite intentional.

 

[braimuge]

smh



I do find the naming convention funny though, considering he basically is this show's Xander. Seems quite intentional.

Reminds me, what does smh mean?

Like meh?

But with an S ?

 

[Raistlin]

I assumed it meant so much hate?

If not, I did it wrong

 

[anaron]

I feel like that would have made a better pilot than the actual pilot. It wasn't brilliant or anything, but it was solid and the flashbacks felt like more of an introduction to the setting and the characters than we got last time, which is bizarre. I didn't like The Most Dangerous Game bits, but the character interaction between Echo and Boyd was nice. Helo's storyline is kind of ridiculous; what, he calls some random guy in a club and harasses him and that's how he's going to investigate the dollhouse? :lol I must have missed something there.

Oh, and I really like the visual of the dolls (actives?) going to sleep. I hope for a little more visual flair on the show in coming weeks.

Yeah same here. Episode 5 is Tim Minear's so I'm sure it won't disappoint in that department.