Episode Discussion 1.03 "Stage Fright" - Aired 2/27/09 (FOX-USA)

[Kean]

I just finished watching it and I have to say...that was wicked awesome! (I'm gonna go with the Southie theme😉)

Ok there are a few things

*Victor...I was waiting for this to happen since there were cast pictures of him as a Doll. I didn't think it was supposed to be a big reveal.

*My fears last week appear unfounded...this was totally its own show and I loved it! Although it did have some Bodyguard elements (even the kidnapper looked like the creepy guy from Bodyguard) but to be honest I think they added a little something to it.

*How cute was Boyd? Panicing over whether Echo would miss her cue or forget her lines...I love little touches like that.

*Jordan being from Southie...wicked pissa😀 Her accent could have been alot thicker I think, especially with Eliza being from Boston herself but it was still fun. Little things like how she said "Just fah the fun of it" had me beaming like a fool! Ok so I'm hellah missing Boston but so what! 😛

This is definitely an episode I can see myself watching repeatedly and how catchy is that song Freedom?

---------- Post added at 01:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:09 AM ----------

Oh also, I think my theory that Amy(my mind has gone blank and I can't remember her charatcers name!🙁) was a Doll gained more credence after her converstaion with Boyd at the end.

 

[Lyri]

Like Kean, just finished watching it. The first two eps really disappointed me, and I was disappointed in myself for not liking it. My boyfriend and I had decided that this weeks ep was gonna be the deciding factor for us. If we weren't hooked by ep 3, we were gonna give up.

He hasn't watched it yet, but I have to say....I am HOOKED! I loved this ep, I loved Echo's character, I loved the reveal of Victor being a Doll, despite already knowing that he was from the promos, and the ending? Oh, my God, the last scene has left me itching for next week's ep.

 

[TabulaRasa]

I don't read spoilers actually! That is my assumption. I know a lot better than to come around here and post a spoiler without blacking it out! 😉 But I apologize for not making that more clear.

but for me Spoilers = BAD!

 

[Lou]

I'm right there with you, Tabby.

In fact, considering people's opinions, it almost makes it seem MORE likely that she's a doll. Victor was surprising, but this girl is SO creepy and with everyone saying they don't think she is because it would be "overkill", it seems to be the perfect time to slam us with she IS...while we're not expecting it because it would be "too predictable".

Did that make ANY sense?

Either way, it seems like she'd be MUCH easier for the Dollhouse to plant AND they seem to have lots of info on Paul, much more than Victor could have given them. They have to be getting info from SOMEWHERE!

Back on the wild theories road, I think it would be funny if as the dolls (Echo, maybe Sierra) become more aware, that Mellie (is that her name? I thought he called her that last week) decided she was too "in love" with Paul to help the Dollhouse anymore and instead helped him find Echo. Then I would just giggle.

 

[Revolver]

But the point is we are expecting it. That's what everyone has been saying, so I don't think it makes it less predictable just after the Victor reveal. It just makes it far less interesting. In fact, I'm fully expecting her to be a doll at this point despite how ultra-lame that would be. The only reason I think they might not go there is because Joss doesn't tend to go the easy route. He's creative enough that he can come up with something better. I don't know what, because I'm actually not a genius. Maybe having Ballard suspect her as a doll, and perhaps even hurt her due to his suspicions while meanwhile the audience knows Victor is the real doll in Agent Ballard's circle? Just an idea. Not a great one, but again: not a professional writer. Joss is.

 

[WhiteHat]

I think the "who's a doll" thing is gonna wear thin really fast (and it may have already). It's a little too Invasion of the Body Snatchers to me, IMHO.

 

[definition of insane]

If the neighbour is a doll, then I'm still standing by my thought that she's there for surveillance and to be a diversion from his task at hand. Otherwise she's just a creepy girl who sits at home all day and waits for her FBI neighbour to get home.

Did anyone else actually think that it's possible that Victor got his imprint refreshed (and then, eventually sending Ballard to the warehouse) is due to the new information that she may have provided them (seeing Caroline's picture on Ballard in The Target)? I'm still saying that the Borodeens (or however you spell the Russian family that Victor/Lubov works for) are the responsible for trying to put Ballard in the fish cooler, however before the imprint, Lubov was determined to not let anyone see the connection between the 2 of them...and he doesn't seem high enough of the food chain to have thugs at his disposal.

 

[Bluebird]

I loved the story, even if I thought it was a bit silly at first. I sooo didn't expect to see Victor in the Dollhouse. That was a cool surprise.

I can definitely see this as a show I can get obsessed over. 😀

---------- Post added at 06:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:27 PM ----------

GrrrRruff agrees: silly at first? come on.. the end was just so cheesy!

Yeh, it was pretty cheesy. But overall, I enjoyed it. And I can't really think why. 😛 It wasn't so much the story of Echo and Reyna, but all the other crazy stuff happening with Victor and the creepy neighbour and whatnot. 😀

 

[anyatara]

I watched this episode yesterday, and I loved it. 🙂 To begin with, I was really confused, and found it a little slow but as it went on it was a really great episode. 😀
I really loved how she changed the mission and stuff, clever. 🙂
Was that really Eliza singing? 'Cause if so, she has a really beautiful voice.

 

[AndrewCrossett]

I think Boyd is a Doll... and Topher is a Doll, and Adelle is a Doll... they're ALL dolls. In fact there are thousands of Dollhouses, and almost everyone in the world is a Doll, except for the puppet-masters who control everything. (Some of whom might be Cylons... or are they?)

There. I just gave away the season 5 finale.

 

[TabulaRasa]

I think that it's neat there are these dolls popping up everywhere. It shows placement around the...hmm..not globe but I guess city. That's neat to me. We have all these 'actives' set into motion for different reasons. The more than pops up, the more characters we have to go on and more stories in each episode can be told. I'm thinking, cool beans!

 

[fly on the wall]

I'm re-watching the episode now...and I dunno, it got me thinking that maybe Paul Ballard knows that Viktor is a Doll.

He's giving SO much attention and spending so much time on this person who repeatedly gives him no information. Sure, it might just be because of the trafficking girls thing...but, being in the FBI, couldn't Ballard track someone more worthwhile? A higher-up, someone to answer his questions with more than "I don't know" and "maybe"? It was the scene on the balcony between the two of them that got me questioning...well, how clueless is Ballard? Does he know more than we think he does?

Viktor: You've got no leads. Anything you think you had led you to me, and I'm a dead end.
Ballard: You don't know what I got.

Of course, he could be bluffing there. But what if he's not? What if he's trying to, I dunno, trigger something in Viktor by asking for his help with the Dollhouse? And maybe he's pretending to be more clueless than he is because he knows if the Dollhouse figures out that he's onto them..really onto them..they'll get rid of Viktor and he'll be back to square one.

Just a thought.

 

[TabulaRasa]

I'm re-watching the episode now...and I dunno, it got me thinking that maybe Paul Ballard knows that Viktor is a Doll.

He's giving SO much attention and spending so much time on this person who repeatedly gives him no information. Sure, it might just be because of the trafficking girls thing...but, being in the FBI, couldn't Ballard track someone more worthwhile? A higher-up, someone to answer his questions with more than "I don't know" and "maybe"? It was the scene on the balcony between the two of them that got me questioning...well, how clueless is Ballard? Does he know more than we think he does?

Viktor: You've got no leads. Anything you think you had led you to me, and I'm a dead end.
Ballard: You don't know what I got.

Of course, he could be bluffing there. But what if he's not? What if he's trying to, I dunno, trigger something in Viktor by asking for his help with the Dollhouse? And maybe he's pretending to be more clueless than he is because he knows if the Dollhouse figures out that he's onto them..really onto them..they'll get rid of Viktor and he'll be back to square one.

Just a thought.

I'm pretty sure Paul does know he's a doll. Something he said in the first episode at the bar/club

 

[fly on the wall]

I see somebody tried to explain that one to you, but let me take a crack at it with more detail. I think there may be some stuff you missed on first viewing of the episode.

Topher and Saunders are discussing Echo being put into danger. Topher says "not to stress. We're sending backup anyway". Sierra walks in for the imprint.

Perhaps Sierra wasn't there to protect Rayna. Perhaps the "extreme situation" which would put her into play wasn't danger to Rayna, but danger to Echo.

But why put a second doll in danger to protect the first? Echo is referred to as the Dollhouse's best active (well since Alpha, anyway). Sierra on the other hand may be expendable. Boyd asks Sierra's handler what happened to the old Sierra. He replies "She did her job".

After Sierra is kidnapped Adelle and Dominic are discussing it...

Adelle:
Ah...she drew his focus away from Rayna. Well, that was a good call.

(Adelle half-smiles. Dominic quick-nods in acknowledgment of the compliment.)

Sierra was kind of a decoy, and may have had the secondary mission of protecting Echo, if Echo was in danger. If the second part is also true, Echo never was in danger, so we never saw that part of the Audra imprint activate.

Another thing to consider is the bit where Topher explains the division of mission and parameters. In Sierra's case we might see her mission as simply being Rayna's biggest fan (the expendable decoy to draw fire). The parameters might be, should Echo be in physical danger activate action-girl.

On the re-watch, realized you're completely right. I missed that little "good call" line from Adelle the first time around. 🙂

 

[November]

I finally got round to watching this ep. I didn't like it as much as the other two, I found it pretty boring, with the others I wanted to watch them again but with this one on the second viewing I kept getting distracted by other things and not paying much attention. Jordan seemed like a very typical Eliza character so I was a bit disappointed about that as I like seeing her in different roles. The singer thing was twisty with the trying to get herself killed thing, I didn't expect that until Jordan found the red letters.

I agree that Sierra's "protection" instincts didn't kick in as Echo wasn't really in danger, like N4H I think already said. It was funny hearing Sierras aussie accent, she sounded more like Sandy from Grease than Katya in Neighbours. All sweet like. She hasn't really had too many lines while in the blank state, but I wonder if she will keep her accent or try sounding american?

The Victor thing.. well I wondered about that before. I still don't get how he had all the girls all over him if he was a doll unless he has been in that persona for a long time and really worked his way up thru the underworld as that person. Or if Ballard knows he is a doll then making him say "Dollhouse" over and over again in the first ep was to try and trigger a memory like the programed trust response thing. Now Ballard either knows that they are programmed really well or he has no idea that Victor is a doll.

I duno about the neighbour. Yeah she is creepy but I don't think she is another doll. Maybe she is being paid to keep an eye on him without knowing why and like fell in love with him from there or something lol. I did like finding out a bit more about everything. Boyd and Saunders are cute together 😛 And the motion from Echo at the end to Sierra, Im not really sure what to think about that yet.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

The Victor thing.. well I wondered about that before. I still don't get how he had all the girls all over him if he was a doll unless he has been in that persona for a long time and really worked his way up thru the underworld as that person.

I would theorize that they simply grabbed Victor off the street and made him a doll. They implant personalities, there is no saying that they simply did not re-plant the Victor personality with a few added quirks. I dont think he has been a doll that long. was it episode two that they said they knew how to neutralize the FBI? that would be spoon-feeding him any information for his snitch.


as I learned yesterday the italics mean internal thought, in the even no one else was aware of this

 

[Cohen]

This may have been mentioned before, and if so, feel free to shoot me in the foot. But was that the Hyperion Hotel exterior that Agent Whats-His-Name went in before getting the crap beated out of him?

 

[saturn5]

Dollhouse ep by ep; STAGE FRIGHT

STAGE FRIGHT

The good;
Not much. Ballard is one tough nut to take on the Russian mobsters. If you never watched the ep 'Echo' then Victor's true identity is a heck of shock

The bad;
Such a weak story, you wonder if Joss had to take a week off sick? Must also have been hugely expensive?

Best line;
Rayna (of Echo); "Did they grow you in a lab?"
and
Echo; "Bitch, you can fire me but don't ever think you can take me!"

Packing heat;
Echo takes the villain's Walther PPK

Kinky dinky;
Rock chick ED and scantily clad Rayna is stunning. Rayna's manager apparently uses twins (male or female?) from the Dollhouse to relieve tension (better than valium?). Topher likes the idea of Rayna and Echo getting romantic

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost;
Echo; 2

How'd they get away with that?
The diva is so blatantly Beyonce it's a wonder she didn't sue?

This weeks fantasy;
Bodyguard and backing singer for Echo, No1 fan for Sierra.

Total number personalitites; 1 each for Echo and Sierra
Echo; 9
Sierra; 3
Victor; 1

Total dolls;3
Echo, Sierra and Victor

Addy is a bit British;
Faced with another British actor her accent goes into overdrive

Topher is a bit geeky;
Keen to know the inside scoop on the gorgeous music superstar

Subverting the Hollywood cliche
The successful Hollywood diva is actually suicidal

Bondage;
Sierra tied up; 1

Knocked out

Kills;
Sierra; 2 kills
Echo; 1

Dolls injured;
Sierra roughed up

Capt subtext

Happy hookers

Know the face? Jim Piddock who plays Rayna's manager was memorable as the Valet in The Trial episode of Angel (also a screenwriter now).
5th Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock

Guantanamo;
Rayna's manager slaps her but possibly she deserves it? Echo then knocks her senseless with a chair and uses her as bait to trap the assassin.

Fanfic;
Plenty where Rayna and Echo do get romantic.

Missing scenes

Reminds me off;
The assassin's crutches scene reminiscent of Day of the Jackal. No1 fan is how Mark Chapman described himself to Stephen King at a booksigning before later shooting John Lennon, a story which inspired Misery

Questions and observations;
Does ED do her own singing? If she does it's a pity she missed Once More with Feeling on Buffy. In lots of little ways Echo seems to be breaking her programming and her kinship with Sierra becomes apparent. Why does the Dollhouse seem to use Victor to set Ballard up yet has Mellie trying to get the inside scoop on him?

Marks out of 10; 5/10, actually enjoyed this more when rewatching than I thought I would

 

[MinwaraYana]

Very weak episode. The only good parts are when they sing. Well, when the psycho tells Sierra to sing, that's the most interesting scene.

And yes, Eliza did sing it herself. I wish she's in OMWF too. Your friend is really stunning, BuffyHead. 🙂

6/10 for me.

 

[Tasha]

She is stunning (A) and a good dancer!
Not the best episode, it was okay.. nothing great happens, except from Eliza singing. She has such a nice voice.