Last week's Dollhouse was just ok. The ending was very important, but the story was boring/annoying. This week, however, was absolutely incredible. Although the overall story is moving forward relatively slowly (nowhere near the pace of the second half of last year), it is certainly moving, and this is the kind of engagement-of-the-week episode I can get behind. Echo's engagement to a literature professor (how does he have the money to rent a doll?) became intwined with Victor's imprint (not an engagement, though), both thematically and actually when something went horribly wrong.
Echo was imprinted with the mind of a ditzy college student who would be willing to sleep with her prof for a better grade. Turns out that the prof has always fantasized about this sort of thing, but either none of his students ever wanted to or he was too "ethical" to sleep with an actual student (I would have liked the show to have actually said that, and then have him justify making someone do it without them realizing it). Meanwhile, Victor gets imprinted with the mind of the nephew of one of Rossum's majority stockholders (the stockholder is played by Michael Hogan, who played Col. Tigh on Battlestar Galactica). The nephew is a whacked out killer with a serious aversion to women. Angry that his mother, sisters, and aunt would rather go on dates than play with him (he's in his 20's, by the way), he kidnaps women to fill these roles, drugs them up, and poses them like mannequins in a creepy outdoor croquet scene. One of his latest victims fought back, so he had to get a new woman to "play" his aunt, but he was hit by a car. In an effort to find the missing women, Topher, against his better judgment, imprinted Victor with the man's mind and had Ballard interrogate him. Unfortunately, he got out, and due to a mix-up, Victor's GPS chip was not in his body, so they had to track him down the hard way.
In addition to Echo's continuing mental degeneration, in which all of her imprints bleed together, the story took a somewhat significant step tonight when Topher attempted to do a remote wipe on Victor. Adelle knew it was possible because Alpha remote wiped Echo last year, but Topher was still reluctant. He partially succeeded, in that he was able to alter the actives' minds from the Dollhouse while the actives were in the field, but instead of wiping Victor, he switched Victor's serial killer with Echo's party girl. But as viewers of "Epitaph One" know, this will be significant, because Topher will eventually perfect remote wiping, setting the stage for the horrific future.
Speaking of a horrific future, cancellation talks are happening again. The ratings for the episode two weeks back were abysmal. Fortunately, the "Belle Chose" ratings were better, but the Save Our Show campaigns are starting up again, and even mainstream critics are joining in. FOX's attitude on this really upsets me, especially since they are doing things almost exactly the same as they did when Firefly was on the air (although they have shown enough faith to bring the show back for a second season). First of all, Dollhouse is on Friday nights. I love this show, but I've only watched it when it actually aired twice; the first time was "Omega" and the second time was "Belle Chose." Next, what do ratings really mean anymore, anyways? With Hulu.com, streaming episodes on FOX.com, TiVo, and illegal downloads, FOX can't possibly track the number of people who actually watch the show. Finally, I realized something when watching "Belle Chose" the other night: Just like Firefly, FOX is not advertising for Dollhouse at all (or at least, very minimally). I watch Glee most Wednesdays, but I missed it this week. While watching "Belle Chose," I saw a commercial for Glee, and it was then I realized that every week, when I watch Glee, I have never once seen a commercial for Dollhouse. Come on FOX.
I have found this website, which I like. Check it out, and PLEASE check out Dollhouse if you haven't already.
UPDATE
Up next: New Jersey state of mind...
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