Dollhouse: Wake Up

On Friday, the final episode of Dollhouse aired, and unfortunately, I wasn't as blown away as I could have been. I understand that the writers rushed to wrap up the stories and condensed a few years of stories into a couple episodes, but for whatever reason, the acting and writing were not up to par. Therefore, I must give it my lowest rating yet: seven thumbs up... Sorry, Simpsons reference. Anyway, I'll get back to "Epitaph Two: The Return" in a moment. First, a brief look at where the series has gone since I went all radio silent.

Things went to hell for a while, with Keith Carradine's Harding taking over the L.A. Dollhouse after the debacle in D.C. that ended with Echo escaping. During that time, she became fully self-aware, and she and Ballard prepared to return to L.A. to free Victor, Sierra, and the other dolls. Topher, under pressure from Harding, figured out how to make a device that could remotely wipe and imprint anyone, even people without "Active architecture." Alpha returned and caused trouble (including leaving Ballard brain-dead, requiring Topher to turn Ballard into a doll of himself). Victor's contract expired, he and Sierra declared their love for each other, only for them and Echo to wind up in the Attic. Let me just say that while the entire concept of the Attic was pretty creepy, the saran wrap over their bodies unsettled me to no end. We also got to see Dominic again, which was great. And then we learned the identity of the head of Rossum: Boyd Langdon. Now I have to go back through the series to see if there are any subtle hints to his true identity. The penultimate episode was very thrilling, as well as heartbreaking (November had been recaptured in D.C. and her original personality was lost, so they put Mellie back in her... then Paul told her that she was an imprint). Although the characters thought they had saved the day, the episode ended in 2020, where we last left Mag, Zone, and mini-Caroline.

So "Epitaph Two." The story wasn't amazing, in my opinion, but I'm letting it slide a bit because of the circumstances. Regarding the characters, they are obviously in very different places than they were in 2010. For the most part, we got hints as to why they are the way they are now, but, obviously, it would have been so much greater to actually see them evolve. Speaking of evolving, Alpha is good now. Echo alluded to him switching sides in "Epitaph One" (although I thought her statement, coupled with her tone, was ambiguous and could have implied that Alpha did not intend to help), and in this episode, she said that he had evolved. But that was it. Nothing explaining how he was able to get control over himself the way Echo did. It was fun seeing him on our side, but it was like seeing Spike from Season 2 of Buffy, then, without warning, five episodes later seeing Spike from Season 7/Season 5 of Buffy/Angel.

My other big complaint with the ending was that things turned out relatively happily. Yes, I am a sadist when it comes to fictional characters, but I was fine with the happy ending of Buffy because they earned it and it fit with the story (as dark as the show could be, and as many shades of gray they added, Buffy's characters were Whedon's closest to traditional "heroes" and "villains"). The technology on Dollhouse was the problem, and, rather easily, the technology provided the answer. I have no idea how I would have ended the show, but allowing everyone to regain their original personalities without consequence (Victor and Sierra were able to avoid consequences by staying underground) and very little sacrifice (Ballard died, but was kind of reborn, and Topher sacrificed himself, but he was barely himself anymore anyway) didn't seem right to me. Once again, though, I acknowledge that the writers were working under a impossible situation.

Unfortunately, I can't give the acting and writing the same pass. Most of the regulars' acting was fine, but the two guest stars playing Harding and Ambrose (in new bodies; one of them was Eliza Dushku's brother) were painful to watch. And the writing for the entire first act (which was the only act the included Harding and Ambrose) was pretty bad. Eliza Dushku is not an amazing actress, but I like her more than many critics, but she had a hard time selling the "kick-ass" dialogue she was given in these scenes, and that is usually what she excels at. Oh well, the episode was still good. Much better than the back-up singer or blind girl episodes from Season 1. I'm probably just bitter that the show is over.

Up next: Social construction...

The Legend of Neil: Half-Way Through Season 2

We are about halfway through the second "season" of The Legend of Neil, and while it is still hilarious, it seems to me to be somewhat different than last year. Most of the humor is still based on The Legend of Zelda, but to me, the episodes are less about pointing out the cliches and foibles of Hyrule, but to applying Zelda to the real world, other webseries cliches, and pop culture. The third episode was a musical and the fourth episode both referenced Cheers and made fun of American drinking culture. Both of these episodes were absolutely hilarious, and I am in no way upset about the humor of the series, but it just seems different.

I think the episode that was closest in spirit to the first season was the second episode, which made fun of the strange gambling games in the Zelda games (sadly, that was also my least favorite episode). The episode saw Link/Neil attempting to earn money by playing a shady game with little skill involved. Many of such games within the Zelda series involve some skill, but are also based on blind luck. The episode also brought real-world cliches (crooked street gambling) into the world and gave a Hylian spin on them. The episode was certainly funny, but it was not as good as the other stuff this year.

I still love this series, but it seems like most of the super-Zelda-specific material was used up in Season 1. The series still uses Zelda as a backdrop and source of humor, but it has greatly expanded its scope. This is probably a good thing because how long could they keep having Link/Neil going through Levels before it got repetitive?

Remember, you can check out The Legend of Neil here every other Monday (with 9/21 being the next release date).

Up next: Free flow...

Dollhouse: Actuals

So something came up. My curiosity was piqued, and I had to watch "Epitaph One". It turns out that FOX is going beyond shooting itself in the foot by not airing this, because not only will the events of the episode matter in the upcoming season, but it is a damn good episode. It mostly takes place in 2019, but we see a series of "memories" (which may or may not be accurate) of the Dollhouse's later (and early) days. One scene features Echo and Ballard working together, and shows us that Echo's time as Omega left some strange side effects. But the rest of the episode is dedicated to showing how the technology that makes the Dollhouse possible could (and in the continuity of the show, does) destroy the world.

In "Man on the Street", each act begins with someone discussing the existence and potential of imprinting people. The last interviewee states that the human race will end because of this technology because if we can erase who we are, there will be no way to be ourselves. In the future of Dollhouse, that is exactly what has happened. It started with Rossum deciding that the dolls would become permanent slaves in order to allow their clients to upgrade themselves by permanently placing themselves in an active's body. If a client doesn't like the way they look, or doesn't want to be allergic to shellfish, they can upload their mind into a better body. And when that body dies, they can put themselves in a new one. Suddenly, the episode "Haunted" takes on all new meaning. Will this stagnate the human race? Will anyone new ever be born? Or will people be raised like animals to be made into vessels for the wealthy if the person is attractive?

One of my favorite aspects of the episode was the tragedy of Topher Brink; here is a man who wanted to change the world, and he succeeded in ways he never imagined. Topher wasn't the most moral of people; he not only was ok with the idea of the Dollhouse, but he relished the ability to improve it. He made the technology better, faster, and more accessible. And then, all his ideas were corrupted and used to turn any broadcasting device into an imprint chair (kind of like in "Gray Hour"; you see, Joss knew what he was doing back at the beginning of the season when everyone was complaining about the episodic nature of the show). The knowledge that he gave world governments the power to turn people into killing machines through telephones eventually drove him insane.

Also, the scenes with Whiskey were beyond creepy, which, to me, means that I loved them. Amy Acker is a seriously underappreciated actress (Enver Gjokaj also is showing promise because he seemlessly becomes a new character every week), and her portrayal of a mind-wiped but still somewhat aware doll very well. I could have done without the speech from Felicia Day and Caroline-in-the-kid at the end, but I am super-psyched to see where things go from here. Oh, and I was very happy to see Laurence Dominic again; I knew he'd find his way out of the attic somehow.

Up next: Down the rabbit hole...

The Legend of Neil: Back and Forth

The first three episodes of the "first season" of The Legend of Neil are incredibly hilarious. The next three were also amazing, but, in my opinion, weren't as great as the front half. However, I still waited for the next "season" expecting more greatness. The first episode of "Season 2", which can be found below, was just released and it looks like we are in for another season of laughs.

Legend of Neil, Episode 7

I'm happy to see Felicia Day back as the fairy, though I hope they are able to keep her fresh (she was pretty one-note when introduced, and I'm not sure if they ever meant to bring her back). It also looks like they have a bigger budget. The one thing I wasn't so enthusiastic about was the scene of Neil's day before getting sucked into Hyrule. I feel that the theme song did an adequate enough job explaining things, and unless Neil has to fight the demons of his life (which would add a new dimension to the web series, which, until now, has mainly been about bizarre humor), the scene seems superfluous.

Up next (barring any other updates while I'm in Prague): Back to the galaxy far, far away...

The Legend of Neil: Link to the Game

I wish that I could say that my love for The Legend of Zelda game series is what brought me to this web series. But it wasn't. I learned that Felicia Day had a role in it, and I watched the third episode first, since that is the one where she is most prominently featured (so far). You may have noticed that I've been talking a lot about her lately; there seems to be a kind of web series community out there, and she is one of the focal points (The Legend of Neil was created by Sandeep Parikh, who worked with Day on The Guild, as well as working with her and Jeff Lewis AKA Vork in an LA improv troupe). I even went back and added her name as a tag on posts about media containing her (except for Buffy, since she had such a minor role in the final season). As I said in the last post, she should be more famous than she is, since it is clear that she can write and act (and is a definite cutie). But she was the initial draw to this. What I found was more than I could have ever imagined.

The Legend of Neil is a parody done right; it knows its source material backwards and forwards because, in spite of ample material that can be made fun of, the creators of the parody love the source (leading to my coining of the term parotribute in a recent post). It is clear that Parikh and Tony Janning have played a little too much Zelda (if such a thing exists), and they know Hyrule and its foibles like the back of their left hands (Link is left-handed for those of you who aren't Zelda players). This strategy is what makes the works of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright so incredible, as well as the flash videos by Matt Gardner:



Gardner has obviously read the comics that contain the stories he satirizes, and he also has knowledge of overall comic book cliches, such as the "comic book death". But this post is about The Legend of Neil, so let's get back to that. The story is about Neil, a Zelda fanatic who made the drunken choice to asphyxiate himself with a Nintendo controller while masturbating to a fairy in the original NES game. He lost consciousness and woke up in Hyrule, where everyone believes him to be Link. He is forced to don the green clothes of the Hylian hero if he hopes to return home to our world. But along the way, he has to fight enemies, save Princess Zelda and deal with crotchety old men.

So far, the series has poked fun at the fact that Link uses hearts dropped from enemies to heal himself (they used to be in a dead monster's body!), weird old men seem to have answers to questions Link hasn't asked yet, master works of swordsmanship tend to be free, there are few ethnicities in the game (I think in recent years, we meet the occasional black person, but for the most part, there are white people and Arabic-esque people, who tend to be villains) and the fact that Link is nearly genetically predisposed to use a sword (unfortunately, Neil is not).

This is by far the most mature series of the three that I am writing about. And by mature, I mean intended for mature audiences. There is a lot of profanity (which is another way it pokes fun at Zelda; no one in Hyrule, not even the insanely evil Ganon, or the surly ranch hand in Ocarina of Time, has a foul mouth), sexual references (just look at the origin story) and violence. Of course, these references to anatomy and sex are priceless coming from the mouths of elves, bearded old wise men and a sex-obsessed fairy (Felicia Day's role, which certainly a departure from pretty much every other role I've seen her in).

Once again, I will put up the website (I'm not sure which of these is the actual website, so I will list its location on Effinfunny and Atom, though I'm beginning to think that the Effinfunny site may be its home). I am also posting the first episode so that you can get your first taste of it if you have yet to check it out:

Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | More Video Clips

Just a heads up; as I am writing this post, the videos seem to be down, so if the embeded video isn't working when you click on it, try it again in a few hours or so.

Up next: Two breakout series...

The Guild: Real Life Quests

I honestly don't know why Felicia Day isn't a bigger star than she is; I kind of see her as an American Simon Pegg (Simone Pegg?), and if all were right with the world, she'd have her own Spaced-type show by now (this is more of an Arrested Development reference than a dig at the McG-produced American version of Spaced). The Guild certainly has some similarities with the incredible British show; both are about the mundane aspects of real life and follow twentysomething underachievers as they try to use fantasy to "improve" reality.

The Guild was the brainchild of Day after she became a bit of a World of Warcraft junkie. It was originally going to be a sitcom, but it ended up as a webseries since it could target the niche audience it was intended for and not be concerned with ratings (the show is financed by donations, and as soon as the donation link is reestablished on the site, found here, I will be making sure that there will be episodes beyond the upcoming Season 2). Day incorporated some of herself into lead character Cyd Sherman, such as the fact that both Day and Cyd were child prodigy violinists, and one of the main ideas behind the series is that, contrary to popular belief, not all gamers are overweight dudes who live in their mothers' basements. In fact, there is no overweight male to be found on The Guild (there is a plus-sized woman, but she is the mother).

The first season takes place over the course of three or four days. We are introduced to the Knights of Good, a World of Warcraft guild composed of a bunch of unemployed internet and video game addicts. Day's Cyd (avatar name of Codex) is a somewhat depressed young woman who was recently "dumped" by her therapist and lost her most recent boyfriend when she caught him cheating on her (she lost another one when he, along with Cyd's father, "turned gay"). Her craving for a real social support system is what causes the guild to meet in person for the first time. Zaboo is a weird and obsessive "Hinjew" who tracks down Codex after her accidental use of too many ;) emoticons leads him to believe that his romantic feelings for Codex, whom he had never met, are mutual (this just goes to prove that the internet just can't convey emotion properly ;)). Vork is the fearless leader of the Knights of Good fearlessly while in the World, but is a timid, middle-aged, unemployed, penny-pinching man in the world. Clara (both the real name and avatar name) is an inattentive mother who spends more time online than with her kids (some of the best visual humor in The Guild comes from seeing how her kids deal with the neglect). Tinkerballa (avatar name and real name... as far as we know) is the group's hot Asian who is cynical and in constant need of virtual stimulation (she rarely is seen without her DS). And Bladezz is the guild's "retarded cousin" (in the words of Clara) who embarrasses the group by yelling profanity on the server's message board, but is retained due to his great skills as a rogue.

Though there are a fair number of scenes showing the Knights of Good engaging in raids and quests, we never actually see any in-game footage. This series is about the real lives of these characters, which are full of video game references. They apply World of Warcraft ideas and slang to everyday situations; this is most evident in the "boss fight" finale, but there are other examples, such as when Zaboo gives Codex a bouquet of blue flowers that he made because he bought her character blue flowers in the game, or Bladezz referring to everyone as n00bs. When Codex tries to arrange the guild's first real-world meeting, Tinkerballa refuses to go until Codex bribes her... with game gold. And Codex, who begins each episode with a monologue into her video blog (these segments further prove that Day has great comic timing), at one point mentions that life is so much easier to measure in experience points than in real life lessons.

I have never touched World of Warcraft myself, or any other MMORPG (though if the Firefly one is ever released, I may have to give that one a whirl; however, I am a fan of games, like Zelda, Chrono Trigger and a few of the Final Fantasy games), and I failed Internet Slang 101, so a few of the jokes are lost on me. Still, this is an incredibly funny series that will be enjoyable to anyone who has even a basic knowledge of the internet and video games. In fact, it has been so successful that Day has been commissioned to write a new Warcraft-based series that will serve, in her words, as the reverse of The Guild. This one will take place completely in-game, and will have fantasy characters dealing with mundane situations. I can already see Kreggenmoor the Destroyer worrying about his upcoming date ($100 in internet money to anyone who knows what that's a reference to... and another $10 in internet money to the person who knows what internet money is a reference to).

If you've never seen the show, here is the first episode to get you started:



Also, here is an interesting interview with Day and Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo) talking about the show:



Up next: Legen - wait for it - dary...

Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog: The Dream Is Realized

Joss Whedon has once again done the impossible, and it has made him mighty (Firefly reference!). In the midst of a strike that was based on the idea that internet content was a way to take money away from the writers, Whedon wrote a made-for-the-internet miniseries that not only made money, but was incredibly successful (the site crashed the first day, and the series immediately became one of the most downloaded items on iTunes).

Telling the story of a low-rent supervillain's rise to power, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog looks at the nature of heroism and accepting society the way it is. In my last post about it, Act III hadn't yet been released, and I expected another incredibly funny denouement (for a full look at my prediction for the final act, read said post). After watching Dr. Horrible complain about how society is broken, and see Penny express the same beliefs, but also believe in a ray of hope, I expected to see the status quo upheld. Instead, Dr. Horrible finally succeeded in defeating Captain Hammer (sort of) and gaining entrance into the Evil League of Evil, but it came with a price (just like everything in the Whedonverse).

After two incredible acts, there was some debate over the third act. Some people said that it was just as strong as the first two (and maybe even the strongest of the three). Others claimed that it was a departure in theme and suffered from "women in refrigerator syndrome". When I first saw it, I didn't dislike it, but I was certainly taken aback, since there was a strong swing from comedy into tragedy. But as I thought about it some more, I found that I liked it more and more. The second act remains my favorite, both due to it having the best songs and best jokes, but Act III certainly has its place in the story of the bad doctor.

In a sense, Horrible's actions continue to uphold the status quo, since his actions begin to lose reason. In Acts I and II, he did what he did to protest the fucked up nature of our society. He had an angry passion. But by the end, he was a cog in the evil machine, and it is only a matter of time before he meets his new nemesis (or Captain Hammer gets out of therapy). On the other hand, I noticed a few similarities between Horrible and the Joker from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (Whedon, Nolan and Alan Ball need to team up to do some sort of uber-movie). They both decry the status quo (my brother and I have pretty much done the "Then everybody loses their minds" quote to death). They talk about how life is filled with lies and look at how tragedy has been normalized. But Dr. Horrible isn't a soulless psychopath (at least not in the first two acts) and the Joker probably doesn't care about fixing things (though Horrible may not either). Still, this is an pretty interesting connection.

Interestingly enough, I had a similar conversation with a girl about the nature of society, where I played Horrible's role, stating pessimism that things will get better anytime soon, whereas she agreed that something is wrong, but expressed hope. It was kind of scary that the biggest difference between us and the Billy/Penny laundromat scene was that I worked up the courage to ask her out.

Whedon knocked another one out of the park, but, as always, this would be nothing without the actors. Neil Patrick Harris is an incredible singer, and Day and Fillion are no slouches themselves. They looked like they had a blast, judging from the footage from Comic Con (I am including this not because it goes in depth into the making of Dr. Horrible, but because it is so damn funny, and it shows that the actors are very comfortable together:


Felicia Day Twitters from hacksaway on Vimeo.

To be perfectly honest, when I first saw this video, I had no idea that Twitter was a kind of instant messaging/blogging service. I thought it was some sort of slang from Alabama that had to do with... I don't know what I thought it had to do with.

Fortunately, we have been promised more Dr. Horrible in some medium, and I believe that it can't get here fast enough. You can watch the series here. There will be a DVD release soon.

Up next: Living in the World...

Comic-Con: Dr. Horrible, LOST and Heroes Updates

Sorry to interrupt the flow of Christopher Nolan posts, but I stumbled across some very interesting updates from the currently occurring Comic-Con '08. Special thanks goes out to Ain't It Cool News for these stories.

First up is LOST. As much as I love this series (it wasn't #3 for nothing, after all), I have criticized the producers for promising certain things and then not delivering. We have been promised an explanation for the 4-toed statue ever since the middle of Season 3, and despite assurances that it would occur during Season 4, it still hasn't happened. But now, it appears we finally have the beginnings of an explanation. I won't give out details, since not everyone will want to be spoiled (I got a little more information than I would have preferred for both LOST and Heroes), but I will post the links below. Attendees were also treated to a new video with the Chinese DHARMA scientist of the many names. This one may be the most revealing of all, and I would link it here, but it has been removed from YouTube. Lame.

As for Heroes, there are plenty of (invisible) details for the third season that I started to look at, believing them to be merely hints. But I abruptly stopped once I realized that they were much more spoilericious than I thought they'd be. But the news that really caught my eye is the inclusion of a "lost episode" on the Season 2 DVD set. The end of Season 2 was changed due to the writers' strike, and upon learning what the original ending was, I became even more incensed, since it was far superior to what happened (and I'm bitter that one of my favorite characters may have been killed). This episode, which was filmed before the strike (and may or may not be fully produced) took place in the original continuity. This alone may cause me to buy the Season 2 DVD, since I am intrigued, though I think the final decider will be the quality of Season 3... I still can't believe how bad aspects of Season 2 were.

Finally, Joss Whedon has confirmed that there will be more Dr. Horrible coming! Speaking of which, I will probably do a post about the impact of Dr. Horrible on the internet, as well as looking another web series starring Felicia Day.

LOST Article

Heroes Article

Update: Ok, the video seems to be back up, so I will embed a link. Hopefully, it will stay up.



Up next: Na na na na na na Bat-Nolan!

Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog: Preparing For The End

So far, two Acts of Joss Whedon's internet series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog have been released, and they are terrific. I wouldn't have expected anything less from Whedon. You can go here to see the show for free until Sunday, July 20th. After that, you'll have to download them from iTunes or buy the DVD (don't know when that will be out).

But the purpose of this post is to throw out my theories for how it will all end. The final act will be posted tonight, and I am very excited to see how everything will end. To sum things up, Dr. Horrible is a supervillain who has become disenchanted with society accepting the status quo. Captain Hammer is a jackass superhero (Horrible refers to him as a corporate tool) who exists to maintain it. Dr. Horrible is trying to change the world (and get into the Evil League of Evil), while Captain Hammer strives to keep it the same. Meanwhile, they both are interested in a young woman named Penny, who wants to make the world a better place by changing it a little at a time.

Dr. Horrible ended the last Act by vowing to kill Captain Hammer in order to prove to the Evil League of Evil that he is worthy of admission and prevent Hammer from taking Penny. I think that, true to the theme of the series, the status quo will be maintained. Dr. Horrible will be defeated by Captain Hammer again. But, maintaining the status quo means that the new homeless shelter Captain Hammer promised Penny won't get built after all, which will disillusion her with the hero. I'm not sure if she and Horrible will end up together, but if they do, I think that they will resolve to make the world a better place together, and without the aid of heroes like Captain Hammer.

Also, I don't know if Bad Horse, the leader of the Evil League of Evil will show up. He probably would work better as an unseen character due to limited budget and the fact that our imaginations could probably do a better job of picturing him, but if he does show up, he must be played by Joss Whedon. And if Whedon does play him, he must do the dance of evil (Angel fans will get that joke). So tune in tonight for what will be a very thrilling conclusion. Same Horrible time, same Horrible place!

Up next: Back to the list...

Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog: In The Beginning

Short post, but just wanted to let everyone know that the first trailer to Joss Whedon's summer online series Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog is up at http://io9.com/397104/the-searing-laugh-of-joss-whedons-dr-horrible?autoplay=true. Or, view it right here:



Nathan Fillion (Captain Reynolds in Firefly and Serenity) plays the goofy "hero", Neil Patrick Harris (Barney [not the purple one] in How I Met Your Mother) is the everyman "villain", and Velicia Day (Vi the Potential Vampire Slayer in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will be Harris' potential love interest.

It's gonna be awesome.

Up next: Back to Pixar...