Sing-Along with Dr. Horrible’s Book!

Dr. Horrible co-writer Maurissa Tancharoen talks about the new book about the making of the cult webseries, and her acting role in Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

US, April 9, 2011

Created while most TV series were shut down during the Hollywood apocalypse known as the 2007-2008 Writers’ Strike, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog has turned into a true cult sensation. Directed by Joss Whedon, the webseries, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day, has seen its fandom grow in the years since its debut, complete with t-shirts, soundtracks and comic books – And now there is even a book to commemorate it. The just-released Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog Book takes a loving, comprehensive look back at the making of the webseries, including a round-table discussion between the writers, the complete script, the sheet music, a ton of photos and much more.

One of those writers is Maurissa Tancharoen, who co-wrote Dr. Horrible with her husband, Jed Whedon, and his brothers, Joss Whedon and Zack Whedon. Dr. Horrible fans will also remember Tancharoen as one of the Captain Hammer groupies in the series. With the release of the book, I asked Tancharoen — who currently writes for Spartacus, alongside Jed — a few questions about Dr. Horrible, via email. I also asked a couple of questions about Mortal Kombat: Legacy, the new webseries her brother, Kevin Tancharoen, has directed, and which Maurissa is acting in.

Interview: ‘Dr. Horrible’ Co-Writer Maurissa Tancharoen on “Breaking” the Help Nathan Buy Firefly Movement and Reviving ‘Dollhouse’

By: Natalie Zutter

Last week we shared seven behind-the-scenes tidbits from the Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog companion guide, which featured memories and photos from the cast and crew. Now we’ve got an exclusive interview with Maurissa Tancharoen, writer, actress, and singer, who has been welcomed into the Whedon clan both personally and professionally — she co-wrote Dr. Horrible in 2008 and married writing partner Jed Whedon (Joss‘ brother) in 2009.

Since the musical’s unprecedented success, she’s worked on Drop Dead Diva and Dollhouse, and is currently writing for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. She’s also appeared on Dr. Horrible co-star Felicia Day‘s webseries The Guild. Crushable spoke with Tancharoen about her geek past and future, including her favorite TV show growing up, responding to the misguided Help Nathan Buy Firefly movement, and upcoming musical projects.

Did you consider yourself a geek growing up? If so, what kinds of fandoms were you involved in?

I considered myself a small Asian girl who was terrible at sports.  So yes?  But I was overjoyed when Dance became part of the PE curriculum during my sophomore year in high school.  I could finally prove I was coordinated.  Growing up, I was a huge syndicated-television fan.  I watched endless hours of I Love Lucy (I had clothing, lunchboxes plural, magnets, figurines, and would walk around saying “Luuuuuucyyyy…”), The Three Stooges, Gilligan’s Island, Fantasy Island, and Three’s Company.

How did Joss approach you to work on Dr. Horrible?

The character, Dr. Horrible, a supervillain who is basically villainy-challenged, was an idea Joss had been toying around with for a bit.  He originally envisioned it as a podcast until he saw the brilliant hilarity that Jed, Zack and I (along with our friend, Nick Towne) posted on the youtube.  I like to call it “the youtube”.  This brilliant hilarity I’m speaking of was one of the countless strike videos that bombarded the internet during the Writer’s Guild Strike a few years ago.  But OUR strike video was a gem. And Joss knows when he needs to grab a hold of something so precious. Covet it, and crush it with love, and then snort it.  That’s just how he lives.  So what was the question?

From looking at your IMDb page, it appears that Dr. Horrible was your first songwriting credit. How, then, did you approach the songwriting process; and was it more exciting, or nerve-wracking?

During my singing group days, I wrote a few songs.  Are these songs I want you to hear?  A resounding NO.  And over the years, Jed and I have written a lot of songs together.  I guess you could say our relationship started in music.  I guess you could also say barf.  But he is the musical genius and I am his sidekick.  I’m usually like, “What if it goes something like this?”  And he says, “Shut up.”  And then I’ll suggest, “Or maybe la la la?”  And he says, “Go to your room.”  That’s basically our process.  It’s totally fun!

an we expect any musical projects from you in the future, either as a lyricist or singer?

Yes.  We’re actually working on a few little somethings right now…

It’s great to see that you pop up in videos like The Guild‘s “Do You Want to Date My Avatar” and the Legend of Neil episode “Les Neilerables”, as well as the Dollhouse series finale. It seems that in addition to being a collaborator with Felicia Day, the members of The Guild, and others, you’re also friends. Can you talk about that group dynamic?

I love being friends with the people I work with.  It makes the job even better.  I admire and respect Felicia and all those folks tremendously, so to be able to collaborate creatively with them and just plain hang out?  It’s awesome.  It’s rare to come across people you genuinely connect with, especially in this business, so I’m grateful.

It was your tweet that effectively ended the Help Nathan Buy Firefly movement right as it seemed like it might get out of control. What was your reaction when you first heard about it? And have you received any negative messages from fans for what they may see as “spoiling their fun”?

Oh man… Yes, I guess I broke Help Nathan Buy Firefly.  I did not intend to. Honestly, I knew nothing about the movement until my twitter feed and facebook email were suddenly filled with questions about it.  I looked into it and thought I was echoing what Nathan Fillion and Jane Espenson had tweeted before me.  But apparently my tone came across as abrasive.  That whole event was… not my favorite experience.  There were many cruel things posted about me and when someone said “Kill the messenger!” I was shocked to say the least.  We all were.  When Joss found out about it, his response was, “Who to the what now?!”  He was going to say something on my behalf but I thought we should just let it be.  Damage done, moving on.

What was your experience like in writing the Dollhouse one-shot comic—was it similar or vastly different from writing for the show?

It’s a blast.  We’re able to continue our love for the Dollhouse story and reveal more about the Epitaphs timeline [the first-season and series finales] without being limited to production restraints.  It’s a win-win.

Original Interview at Crushable

Act I
Act II
Act III

“Remains” by Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon was first featured in the thirteenth episode of Dollhouse Season one, titled “Epitaph One.” This video features Dollhouse actor Fran Kranz and Maurissa Tancharoen herself. This video was directed by Anton King.

Created and written by Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, Joss Whedon and Zack Whedon, music by Joss Whedon and Jed Whedon.

Featuring Jon Lachlan Stewart, Shane Snow, Christina Hardie, Steven Greenfield, Jaclyn Rae, Anna Kuman, Kirk Smith, and Samantha Currie. Directed by Steven Greenfield, choreography by Shane Snow, and musical direction by Steven Greenfield.

Broadway West and Relephant Theatre present Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog from September 10 – 19, 2010 at the Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova Street, Vancouver. Tickets are available online.

Fortunately, Tiger Woods' wife didn't see that episode...

The Rossum Corporation is back. Or to be precise: They finally arrived in the story for the first time, not counting “Epitaph One”, which only had Rossum in the background of all the stories. But since we know that the Rossum Corporation will be the big bad of Echo and the other dolls, we finally have something of a beginning story arc here.
In addition, the episode gives us another new character, performed by one of the hottest science-fiction chicks, since robots were said to destroy and rule the world, and the return of another one, which I didn’t really like.
So, it is time for the season story arc to begin and shine – I just didn’t see much I liked in this episode, which made it a bit … blah and “I don’t care.”

What’s it about?

At those hearings, you will hear a most innocent word. A word that will take on a new and grim meaning. A word that will become synonymous with human trafficking, prostitution and unconscionable abuse of Neural Technology. Directly traceable back to the Rossum Corporation. That word is “Dollhouse.”

Senator Daniel Perrin (Alexis Denisof) is on a mission to expose the secrets of the Dollhouse with the help of former Dollhouse active Madeline (Miracle Laurie), and Echo is sent to put an end to his plan. Adelle (Olivia Williams) realizes that someone is trying to eliminate the L.A branch and is using Daniel Perrin to do so. Meanwhile, Paul (Tahmoh Penikett) makes contact with Madeline and attempts to derail the senator’s plans.
But all plans go AWOL, when Daniel Perrin is revealed to be a fabrication of the Dollhouse and gets kidnapped together with Echo (Eliza Dushku) to the branch in Washington, D.C., meeting Bennett Halverson (Summer Glau), the genius programmer of the D.C. Dollhouse, who has a connection to Caroline…

What I liked

• SUMMER GLAU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• The series is starting to transform into a serial. Hell yeah.
• Again, the focus of the episode was taken from Echo and given to Daniel and Cindy Perrin (Stacey Scowley). The writers should have done that during the first season to get more attention from the viewers and critics.
• I like evil woman with guns in their hands, and that’s why I liked the scene with Cindy taking a shot at Echo, and Echo jumping behind the car. I single framed that scene, and Eliza Dushku’s stunt woman looked hot in these short pants, when she jumped on and over the car.
• “You just woke up a lot of people and they all think you’re a bitch.” Har har.
• Did I mention … SUMMER GLAU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It seems hilarious, how she appears in the third FOX series, which was canceled on a Friday night, LOL.

What I disliked

• Though it was surprising that Daniel was the doll and Cindy his handler, everything what came after the twist was kinda lame. Especially Echo driving the car with Daniel sitting on the passenger seat. There was much more in this scene, but the writers only managed to give us and the characters some flashes from their previous engagements. Apart from the fact that I am asking myself, how Daniel can have flashes about the press conference he did – did Cindy deleted that from his brain? Why would she do that, when Daniel is always Daniel? By the way, something I have to mention: During the car scenes, I completely forgot that Eliza Dushku and Alexis Denisof had scenes together in Buffy and Angel… That is how I am into Dollhouse at the moment.
• “I’m your white knight” – “I’m your beautiful damsel” Grrrr, like all the “connection” wipes or bonds (I don’t know how they are called, or I forgot it), this couldn’t be more ruining my brain cells. That sounds so awkward and awful.
• Maurissa Tancharoen: I think she should stay with singing songs for TV shows (or writing for them), instead of cameo appearing in those. She played active Kilo for one scene, and it was a ridiculous scene… But I still love her.
• Bennett Halverson. I love Summer Glau, no questions here, but her character was introduced in a very awkward way. I read that Joss Whedon gave Bennett some River-isms from Firefly, and since I didn’t see Firefly so far, I don’t really know what to make of er character. She is interesting, but her introduction was way too awkward. I almost saw a lot of Cameron in her, instead of somebody else…

Daniel and his secret weapon Madeline

It was the first scene of the episode and I don’t really know what to say about that little twist. Daniel wants to “bomb” the Rossum Corporation and uses Madeline as a secret weapon for this. It is nice to see Miracle Laurie back, but I have a few problems: It looks like that the writers try every move to hold her in the series, and I don’t really like Madeline as … herself. As November she was at least a bit interesting, but her own character is kinda boring and completely uninteresting. The press conference scene didn’t bother me at all, and I kinda wish for her to die quickly (or at least giving her a new personality, which means: back to the Dollhouse).

The conspiracy story

TV shows always have the problem to entertain me with their conspiracy stories. And since 24, they even fail to deliver an interesting conspiracy, which should carry most part of the series. Here in Dollhouse we have the Rossum Corporation playing every move they possibly could think of, and I don’t even know who is playing who. At the moment, I am feeling a bit lost here, since the writers had to deliver the Rossum conspiracy that early in this season, when there wasn’t even a mention of it during the first season (excluding “Epitaph One”). On one hand, it goes way too fast, on the other hand, the writers don’t really clear up all the sides, conspirators and who is actually the enemy we have already seen. I could think of Benett being a villain in this show, but her introduction was too awkward to think that. And Echo/Caroline seems to be in the middle of the whole conspiracy by accident. I just hope the writers did clear the fronts during the next few episodes, before the series finale hits me.

The results: 7,5 out of 10 Rivers alias Camerons alias Bennetts.

Expectations for the next episode(s)

I already mentioned a few above: The conspiracy should be developing, before it gets boring and I hope the engagements of the week are gone now, since there is not much space for a filler episode. I hope that the upcoming Topher/Bennett clash will satisfy me; I hope that Echo becomes Caroline very soon; and I hope that the writers didn’t forget the other characters. Sierra and Victor seem kinda lost in this story (they didn’t even appear in this episode), since it involves Echo and the Dollhouse and not the other actives…

THIS is ... Aaaaa - merican Idol.

One series arc interesting unaired pilot, one acceptable series introducing pilot episode, one surprisingly series arc themed second episode. And now this episode is reminding us, how FOX wanted the series to be: simple, uncomplicated, procedural-like. Or was this really Joss Whedon’s plan to survive through the first episodes, especially after the unaired pilot? And why am I talking so much about the unaired pilot?

“I gotta be happy. I gotta be grateful. I gotta be rebellious, but just enough to give me cred, so people know I’m not a factory girl. But I am. I don’t exist. I’m not a real person. I’m everybody’s fantasy. God help me if I try not to be. I know you weren’t grown in a lab, but I was. Been singing for my supper since when and for when and for everybody else! God put this voice in me and forgot to make it mine. I don’t feel it. I don’t feel anything. For a long while. But I know he’s out there. The Reaper. Any minute now, boom. Freedom. There’s your rush. There’s your joy. I can hear. I can hear myself.”

It is a total “Engagement of the Week” episode in almost every minute. Probably ten seconds were about Alpha, a few minutes belonged to Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett), until his story got suddenly cut in the middle of the episode, but the rest was just about Echo (Eliza Dushku) playing a background singer and friend for music superstar Rayna (Jaime Lee Kirchner) with a fan, who wants to kill her. Her management in form of Biz (Jim Piddock) went to the Dollhouse and specifically requested a bodyguard in disguise slash girlfriend for Rayna, because she is a bitch on the outside and can’t deal with real bodyguards. Echo steps in, auditions for a part as a background singer, befriends with Rayna and has to deal with Rayna’s number one fan(s) very soon…
The story couldn’t be more boring and I couldn’t be more tired to write about it, because the episode brought absolutely nothing, except lots of filler stories for the episodes four to eleven. Not even one bit of story development was in here, if you exclude the very last scene, which is questionable, but didn’t bring anything after all.

So, why was anything regarding the series plot put aside for this episode? Just to write an episode for Eliza Dushku, so she can sing a song in an episode, like we are in a musical? If Joss Whedon wanted Dushku in a musical, he could have written her character into Buffy’s “Once More With Feeling”, and even though Echo’s audition was part of the story in this episode, I had the feeling the producers just wanted to let Dushku sing in here. Because, seriously, the rest of the episode was meh, blah and absolutely forgettable.
But I have a much more bigger problem with this episode, and therefore with the series: The series plot is there to have various dolls for the engagements, but Adelle (Olivia Williams) seems to send always Echo out into the business, not even thinking about putting one of the other dolls into the engagement. Oh yeah, this is an Eliza Dushku series, so we have to see her all the time, forget the other characters.
Okay, this IS a Dushku show, but maybe Joss Whedon would have been better on, when he wrote more for the other characters around Echo.
At least Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon managed to write an almost-complex character with Rayna – I was wondering, why Rayna is so much of a character, even though she is only appearing in this episode, while the rest of the Dollhouse cast can’t really shine with great characters.
And they managed to write in Sierra (Dichen Lachman) as back-up for the story, which is a good start to include the other characters of the Dollhouse more into the story. Sure, Dichen Lachman didn’t really have much screentime in here, but she did a good job as Rayna’s number one fan, and I liked the “teenager in love with a superstar” look, even though it was over the top. Letting Sierra smile as if Santa Clause is giving away Ferraris, and together with the glasses, she looked secretary-like hot, like Echo in the pilot episode.

The side plots of the episode were partly interesting, but with the possibility of giving other characters a few more seconds of screentime, the episode could have been better. I loved the moment between Boyd (Harry Lennix) and Claire (Amy Acker) at the beginning of the episode. I loved that Lubov (Enver Gjokaj) had a bit more screentime in here, and as a (probable) little Russian gangster he is somewhat between funny, hilarious and a cool character. The fact that he was revealed as Victor was a nice surprise, when I saw it for the first time, but it had to come, because otherwise he would be pretty useless as a main character.
At least the writers put Ballard being shot back into the series, after they had it in the unaired pilot. But the scene, where he got shot was interesting on one side, but ridiculous on the other side. Interesting, because Ballard could kick some serious ass; but hilarious, because he did it with a bullet in his chest. Ballard reminded me of jack Bauer in here, when he had a knife in his throat and chose to use it to kill a Russian with it. I had to laugh, when Ballard showed balls, I couldn’t buy it. But it still looked very cool.
Nevertheless I had another problem with this story in this episode. Ballard got shot in the middle of the episode, and with that scene his story suddenly was over. After that we saw him only in the hospital again, in a short scene. It looks a bit awkward when you spend some time in a story, and it is over all of a sudden, before the main story plot begins with its thrill.

Average episode with an average engagement of the week, but an interesting guest character. When the writers could just write more interesting stories.

6/10

Tomorrow: Echo has one … no, wait, two problems. Locked in with some dangerous guys and a phone call with a serious aftermath – “Gray Hour”.

Before you continue reading, if you haven’t seen the last episode and don’t want any spoilers, stop reading now!

Okay, first thought… I knew he was going to kill Paul. I don’t remember exactly when I thought “Paul will die when the end comes” but it was before the last episode. With Joss’s track record of killing of happy relationships, there was no way I was going to believe that he’d ever actually let Echo and Paul be together. Echo was too distant, Paul wanted the person that was just Echo and not everyone else inside her head. And in the end, neither could happen. And don’t tell me that they get a happy ending because Paul ends up inside her head. Because that isn’t the same.  What happens when someone else comes a long who could fall in love with her and yet she has her ex inside her head!

I really wanted to see what might have happened with Alpha and Echo. And I’m very sad that the show was canceled before we were able to see more of Alpha. I think if I have any problems with the final episode, it comes from the fact that Alpha was suddenly friendly and we don’t really know why. Yes Echo didn’t go crazy, but Alpha did. Did he go through rehab or something to make him nicer? I also was surprised that he went out to be “wiped” as it were with everyone else. Because in season one we learn that the person who Alpha originally was, was a potential serial killer. So why, when he is now a better person, would he want to be wiped? I would have loved to have him stay in the Dollhouse with Echo and the others to see what would happen between the two of them.

I was very sad with Topher’s end. But again, Joss has a habit of killing characters off. And I suppose that in reality, bad things happen in times of war. And he really never would be the same. I do have to say that Fran Kanz was amazing. He played brilliant and then insane so well. I cried more about his death than Paul’s. Maybe because I kept hoping there was some way he could be saved.

I was interested to see how the relationship between Victor and Sierra would play out. Overall, I was mostly happy with it. Though of course even if they had a somewhat happy ending, their relationship could not be called perfect. I was sad that little T was not able to know his father for so long.

I thought the Tech-heads were interesting. Curious how that came about. Was geekily excited to see Maurissa Tancharoen. She played a very awesome Tech-head!! The Tech heads were something I wish more time could have been spent. How did they do that? Are they protected from being imprinted? Things like that.

Overall, it did seem very rushed. But then I think Joss and the writers did the best they could do with the time they were given. I think had the show been able to last a couple more seasons, it would have been an amazing show. Especially if the writers had been given the chance to build up the story lines. I would have loved to see more about Rossum, seen what happened with Alpha, more on Topher, more on Paul, Adelle… everything! It was such a brilliant show that was not given enough of a chance. I wish that it could have been on the CW or even SciFi channel. I think it would have had a much longer life. I hate that FOX doesn’t give shows a chance. If it isn’t a hit right away, it’s gone. And of course them putting it on Friday nights didn’t help either. I would have been interested to see how it would have done after or before a show like Fringe.

Thanks Joss for giving us another brilliant show. But next time, please, please don’t sign with Fox. Find a network willing to give you the chance you deserve! You give us such amazing shows, it isn’t right that they keep getting canceled.

So, you don’t know me, but, well, I’ve seen you around a few times. In fact, Maurissa, you and I were both wearing the same Urban Outfitters top at the Guild and Dollhouse Comic-Con panels this year, which was a little embarrassing because you looked much cuter in it than me, but then I decided to take it as a sign that we both have excellent taste. Maybe we could go shopping together sometime! If you’re not busy, that is.

Because that’s the thing. You guys have been busy since co-writing and cameoing in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog, most notably working on the second season of Dollhouse as staff writers. Some people — uncool people who don’t respect your talent, let’s be clear — might think you got that gig because of, um, family connections. However, the episodes you’ve written, including the Felicia Day-starring Epitaph One, have been standouts of the series and will hopefully ensure future work down the line.

But now that Dollhouse has been canceled and, in theory, you have some extra time on your hands — um, maybe you could make some more YouTube videos?

I know that it’s been a few years since you two seriously played around with making short-form content and posting it as user nervouscircus. But your involvement with online video predated most of those in Hollywood — sure, you made your own (hilarious) video about the 2007-2008 WGA strike, co-starring older brother Zack Whedon, but prior to that you produced four episodes of the Apartment 4B series, which, shot very simply with your computer’s webcam, was a fun, low-fi collaboration that showcased both your acting and writing skills. I wish that the first episode was still available, but the goofiness of the Halloween special makes up for it.

Even when you abandoned a quasi-scripted format, though, you were still really interesting — your 2008 New Year’s message shouldn’t have been as funny as it was, but the last line gave it a punch. And it takes a special kind of talent to make getting wasted and making up songs about food entertaining — yet you not only did it, but it’s your most viewed video.

You haven’t completely abandoned your YouTube account, I’m glad to say — in fact, your most recent video, last November’s Another Food Song, was how I discovered your account. And the funny little a capella tune is a great expression of both your comedic and musical talents — inspiring me to be selfish, and want more from you.

Because if you’re not writing Dollhouse, and you’re not making us laugh on YouTube, then what are you doing? If the answer is “polishing up the script and songs for Dr. Horrible 2″ of course, all is forgiven.

Lots of love,
Liz

So, you don’t know me, but, well, I’ve seen you around a few times. In fact, Maurissa, you and I were both wearing the same Urban Outfitters top at the Guild and Dollhouse Comic-Con panels this year, which was a little embarrassing because you looked much cuter in it than me, but then I decided to take it as a sign that we both have excellent taste. Maybe we could go shopping together sometime! If you’re not busy, that is.

Because that’s the thing. You guys have been busy since co-writing and cameoing in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog, most notably working on the second season of Dollhouse as staff writers. Some people — uncool people who don’t respect your talent, let’s be clear — might think you got that gig because of, um, family connections. However, the episodes you’ve written, including the Felicia Day-starring Epitaph One, have been standouts of the series and will hopefully ensure future work down the line.

But now that Dollhouse has been canceled and, in theory, you have some extra time on your hands — um, maybe you could make some more YouTube videos?

I know that it’s been a few years since you two seriously played around with making short-form content and posting it as user nervouscircus. But your involvement with online video predated most of those in Hollywood — sure, you made your own (hilarious) video about the 2007-2008 WGA strike, co-starring older brother Zack Whedon, but prior to that you produced four episodes of the Apartment 4B series, which, shot very simply with your computer’s webcam, was a fun, low-fi collaboration that showcased both your acting and writing skills. I wish that the first episode was still available, but the goofiness of the Halloween special makes up for it.

Even when you abandoned a quasi-scripted format, though, you were still really interesting — your 2008 New Year’s message shouldn’t have been as funny as it was, but the last line gave it a punch. And it takes a special kind of talent to make getting wasted and making up songs about food entertaining — yet you not only did it, but it’s your most viewed video.

You haven’t completely abandoned your YouTube account, I’m glad to say — in fact, your most recent video, last November’s Another Food Song, was how I discovered your account. And the funny little a capella tune is a great expression of both your comedic and musical talents — inspiring me to be selfish, and want more from you.

Because if you’re not writing Dollhouse, and you’re not making us laugh on YouTube, then what are you doing? If the answer is “polishing up the script and songs for Dr. Horrible 2″ of course, all is forgiven.

Lots of love,
Liz

DOLLHOUSE:  2.05 “The Public Eye”
DOLLHOUSE:  2.06 “The Left Hand”

I’m going to assume that most of you watched these two back to back, like I did, and treat them as a unit — ’cause if I try too hard to pick apart what happened in the each half, I’ll probably confuse us all. So!  Deep breath.

Espionage.  I love complex plots, and I love twists, and this one’s a doozy.  Rossum’s plan seems to be to get Senator Perrin in place, get him to investigate Rossum and the Dollhouse, then clear Rossum of all charges, having gained the reputation and high profile status that in future will make him able to push legislation that will favor Rossum — possibly even able to make a bid for the presidency.  Eek.

And despite the best efforts of a whole bunch of people, I think that’s generally what we saw.  By denouncing Madeleine Costley as a mental patient and the Dollhouse as a conspiracy of Rossum’s competitors, Perrin becomes the clever investigator who figured things out and Rossum is seen as the victim of slander.  Wow.

The peek into Rossum and Dollhouse’s internal politicking is fascinating and a little bit intoxicating with the wide open spaces of what we don’t know:  goals, protocols, past relationships.  It becomes very clear that there are some serious trust issues within the organization.  If Rossum’s Mr. Harding had trusted Adelle with even a portion of the truth, she and the rest of the LA Dolhouse would have left well enough alone.  If she had not clashed with Mr. Harding in “Belonging” over Sierra, Adelle might have trusted him and left well enough alone.  I love how such a self-contained episode as “Belonging” sets off a big chain of events here.

The effect is to create a tussle between the LA Dollhouse and the Washington, D.C. Dollhouse — the latter still trusts Rossum, the former doesn’t (at least at the moment, and snippets of “Epitaph One” suggest that this trend will continue).  The rivalry between the Houses and the immediate antagonism between Adelle and her D.C. counterpart makes me wonder how much of that is corporate culture and how much might be the result of past dealings between the two.

As usual, Echo and Ballard are wild cards.  By the end Ballard is entirely AWOL, and Echo’s statement about her bad guys being less bad than Daniel Perrin’s bad guys is as close as she comes to loyalty.  After a lot of running around, we leave her wandering the streets of D.C. without her GPS chip.  So Adelle thinks Echo can practically handle herself?  That went well.  As we well know, Sierra and Madeleine are not the only dolls Adelle has a soft spot for.

[More dolls and geniuses after the jump!]

It turns out that Madeleine was the one sending info to Senator Perrin, despite her insisting to Paul and Adelle back in “Instinct” that she was pleased with what the Dollhouse had done for her.  Madeleine could easily have a whole psychological drama to herself — we see bits of it here, but it’s like looking through the windows into a house we don’t get to go into.  But all the same, weren’t she and Ballard just a little bit heartbreaking?

I had not imagined that either Perrin might be a doll, so I enjoyed the speculation about Cindy followed by the more exquisite twist that Cindy is the handler and Daniel is the doll.  Not just a doll, either, but a modified version of himself.  But even though his name and his basic history haven’t been messed with (um, much), he still faces the same sort of identity crisis that Echo and Claire Saunders have.  At this point, it doesn’t look like any of them want their original selves back at the expense of giving up their current selves.  (And yet how unnerving to know that your very personality was created by mere mortals.)  For his part, when Daniel snaps out of assassin mode it was my impression that — self-aware and knowing about the Dollhouse — he chose to go back to the Senate committee and lie about Rossum, the Dollhouse, and Madeleine.  (I may be confused on that point.  These episodes deserve a re-watch.)

Summer Glau is fabulous as the brilliant but detatched Bennett Halverson.  The differences between her lab and Topher’s are distinct enough to pique interest and offer a tiny bit of insight into her personality.  Damn you, Joss!  However are you going to explore all the fascinating characters you’ve created in only seven more episodes?

“The Left Hand” of the title is most obviously referencing Bennett’s dead left arm — crushed by a massive piece of rock in a mysterious incident involving a Caroline who seemed a little colder and more desperate than we’ve seen Caroline before. But it also brings to mind the phrase about being someone’s “right hand.”  What might it mean if you were someone’s left hand?  In the Latin, it might suggest a “sinister” relationship, so to speak — goodness knows this show’s full of those, and this episode especially so.  (Apologies to the lefties.  But you know, probably better than I, how left-handedness has been regarded in some times and places, and all that sort of thing.)

Regardless, Bennett seems to have plenty of ways to compensate for the loss of an arm, from her twitchy assistant to her nifty one-handed keyboard.  But her encounter with Echo also makes me wonder if the loss has made her just a little bit sadistic.  Or at least she doesn’t seem to have any qualms about retribution.  There was a throwaway line suggesting that she is referred to as “god” within the D.C. House, which I found interesting for a House in which the actives are named for Greek gods.  Interesting, too, for a place where (based on her musings while torturing Echo), even the concept of spirituality has been stripped away from the actives.  But despite being human, the Dollhouse programmers do become like gods to the actives, creating them and destroying them again.  A monstrous kind of god, as my favorite promotion from WhyIWatch.com points out.

Watching Bennett and Topher’s mutual admiration society is a joy, from her “I’ve always wanted to meet his tech” to his glee that this beautiful genius is the Bennett Halverson.  I loved the way he jumped to the possibility that she might be an injured active, like Claire Saunders, and I loved the depth of character added by her confusion — not understanding why he would suggest such a thing because she doesn’t see her own beauty.  (Maybe the guys from The Big Bang Theory can help her with that, haha.)  I loved watching their joy in finding someone else who speaks the same language.  “What else would you call it?” she says of Topher’s disruptor, even though he had worried that it wasn’t the best name (“Is that too Star Trek?  TOS?”).

I might say that putting Bennett and Topher is like having two Tophers around except that we saw  what literally having two Tophers around is like!  Oh my God.  Enver Gjokaj practically became Fran Kranz.  It was fabulous, second only to Enver as Kiki, I think.  Not surprisingly, Topher becomes irked at having a second copy of himself around — reminded me of the duplicator storylines in Calvin and Hobbes, among other things.

I thought it was sweet that Maurissa Tancharoen got to come play in the ‘House as Kilo.  Topher geeking out over how she actually weighs one kilo was cute, too.

Next week’s another double-header — what do you think we’ll find out?  What will Echo do with her freedom?  Will Adelle have to answer for her actions?  What’s Ballard up to, and what will happen to Madeleine while she’s in Bennett’s clutches?  Is this where the hushed “Remember what happened to November?” in “Epitaph One” comes from?  Uh-oh…

Lyrics:

Burn down my home
My memory’s hardened in the brightest chrome
Good times escape
While every mistake seems to be caught on tape

I will go rolling fast
Arms out in the rain
Feel momentum building to lift
Off ground like an airplane
Love ties you down to the pain
A billion eyes are watching fossilized
They see what remains
Remains

Gave up this town
What waste are we left with when it’s boiled down
Shine light on me
Your image reflected is all you’ll ever see

I will go rolling fast
Arms out in the rain
Feel momentum building to lift
Off ground like an airplane
Love ties you down to the pain
A billion eyes are watching fossilized
They see what remains
Remains

Again.

And again.

You trace it back to a crowd surrounding a pinball machine. They are riveted, cheering. Your eyes follow theirs and as they settle, even you’re transfixed. A girl is pinned down to the machine, and three guys are taking turns raping her. Everyone is at a standstill.

Until Oct. 24, that scenario was fictional, a scene from the Jodie Foster-movie, “The Accused.”

Then, a 15-year-old girl was gang raped for more than two hours at Richmond High School while as many as 20 people stood by. No one called 911. So far, six arrests have been made, according to a USA Today article.

“Are you making a statement about rape leading to dehumanization and depersonalization for everyone, not just the actual victim?”

It is unclear if the bystanders will be prosecuted. A California law makes it illegal to witness a crime and not report it, but that only applies to victims who are 14 years old or younger.

That law needs to be revisited and the bystanders should be prosecuted. Some onlookers allegedly cheered and recorded the rape on their cell phones. In that case, they could be charged as accomplices to the crime, according to a Christian Science Monitor article.

Seated: A doll, Sierra (Dichen Lachman), gets a new persona in a scene from FOX's show, "Dollhouse." Photo: TV Week website

“Dollhouse,” a show on FOX, poses questions about sex trafficking and rape. It’s about an organization which enlists people (aka dolls) to do whatever the clients want.

The dollhouse wipes the memories of the dolls and imprints them with new personalities each time. These imprints can range from negotiators to mothers, but most of the time, the clients want romantic engagements, to put it mildly.

In the episode, “Belonging,” we find out how Sierra, a doll, ended up at the agency. As it turns out, a man who was obsessed with her had her committed and repeatedly requested her for “romantic engagements.” In a move so clearly disguised as rape, even the heads of the dollhouse are disgusted.

Meanwhile, the “Epitaph One” episode fast-forwarded to an apocalyptic future, when everyone is in danger of having their personalities erased. Blogger Charlie Jane Anders interviewed Maurissa Tancharoen, the co-writer of both episodes.

One of Anders’ questions: ”Are you making a statement about rape leading to dehumanization and depersonalization for everyone, not just the actual victim?”

Tancharoen’s answer? Yes.

Rape claims more lives than just the sexually assaulted. The organized criminals on “Dollhouse” lent out people for sex, which led to powerful consequences. Everyone in the world was at risk of losing their personalities and by default, themselves, their essence, their souls.

The United Nations dubbed the Democratic Republic of Congo “the rape capital of the world,” according to a New York Times article.

“The dehumanizing nature of sexual violence doesn’t just harm a single individual or a single family or even a single village or a single group, it shreds the fabric that weaves us together as human beings,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“Dollhouse” is a fictional show, but that doesn’t make it any less a reflection of current events. In addition to the gang rape in Richmond, Calif., rape is used as a weapon of war in countries such as Rwanda, according to a Reuters article.

The United Nations dubbed the Democratic Republic of Congo “the rape capital of the world,” according to a New York Times article. In Guinea, the murder and rape of protesters on Sept. 28 was allegedly “premeditated,” according to a BBC News article.

“In too many places and too many ways, the oppression of women stands as a stark reminder of how difficult it is to realize people’s full human potential,” Clinton said.

Furthermore, rapes and acts of terrorism may be connected.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Photo: Fanpix website

“If you look at where we are fighting terrorism, there is a connection to groups that are making a stand against modernity, and that is most evident in their treatment of women. …

“It’s a projection of the insecurity and the disorientation that a lot of these terrorists and their sympathizers feel about a fast-changing world, where they turn on television sets and see programs with women behaving in ways they can’t even imagine.

“The idea that young women in their own societies would pursue an independent future is deeply threatening to their cultural values,” Clinton said.

It’s easy to categorize rape as a women’s issue, but men are raped, too. Even if only one gender could be raped, everyone would still be affected. In certain cases, rape stems from gender inequality and fuels wars and terrorism. We are all victims here, but we don’t have to be.

A scream escapes the next room.

Again.

And again.

You trace it back to a crowd surrounding a pinball machine. They are riveted, cheering. Your eyes follow theirs and as they settle, even you’re transfixed. A girl is pinned down to the machine, and three guys are taking turns raping her.

You call 911.

It all ends.

It all begins.

DOLLHOUSE: 2.04 “Belonging”

I knew this would be a big, Sierra-centric episode. And while I thought that every big episode needed to be written by the Joss man himself, this one was actually written by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen of Dr. Horrible fame. And I must say, I loved it.

Character development alone set this episode above the rest. What made it that much more effective was that it wasn’t Echo we were discovering more about. It wasn’t Ballard (in fact, he wasn’t even in the episode). It was Sierra. It was Topher. It was even Boyd.

I think Topher is the “it” character of the season. After knowing his ultimate future in “Epitaph One,” he’s certainly been the character I’ve been most interested in this season. And here’s an episode that first introduces us to the inner workings of him.

Adelle was right. Topher has no morals. The dolls are his playthings and as long as they stay in good shape, he’s happy. We’ve never considered that he’s cared about any of them–we haven’t even thought that he really felt like he was helping any of them. It’s all just been fun and a cool job. That’s it.

So discovering that he felt that he was helping Sierra, well, that was new. Now, looking at the excitement in his eyes, you knew that part of it was due to the fact that he’d have a challenge: wiping clean a broken brain. But in the end, he thought he was helping.

Something in him told him that he needed to continue to help Sierra. Which is why he gave her Priya’s wipe.

Now, you knew as she entered the house that something bad would happen. Either Nolan would die or something so severe would happen to Sierra that Topher would be affected. Either way, Sierra would be sent back to the Dollhouse (possibly, to heal from her bloody wounds), and Nolan would be out of the picture (in prison or death).

And what happened? Priya killed Nolan. It was interesting to see that Boyd was the one to save the day, but despite all that, it was Topher I was watching. It wasn’t just that he was stuck in a terrible situation, dissecting a body to disintegrate and hide. Piece by piece, he was seeing what his actions caused. It was horrifying.

I think this was really an episode that sets the stage for his ultimate downfall. I wonder what it would have been like to see this episode having not seen “Epitaph One.” Would I have noticed how his character is changing? Would it have been that much more heartbreaking and destructive?

While sure, there were some weaker moments in this episode (say, Echo’s characterization, even though, yes, it moved plot), it certainly was a strong one overall in my eye. I can only hope it keeps the viewers’ attention until December 4, when the show returns with new episodes.

“Dollhouse” Season 1
a review by Darby O’Gill

What if you could do anything, be anyone, and nothing you did ever had any consequence? Take one part Quantum Leap, one part Charlie’s Angels, add a truck load of Joss Whedon’s imagination, and you’ve got one hell of a show. If you missed the first season of Dollhouse, you’re in luck because the DVD is out now, and it’s time for you to play catch up. A few of my friends tuned out after episode three, but as I told them, you really need to hang in there till episode six. Episodes one through five are basically stand-alone episodes, to please the network I would imagine, but episode six is a real game changer and is truly where the series shows it’s full potential.

In Dollhouse we follow Echo, played by Eliza Dushku, a seemingly unwilling Active in the Dollhouse, an underground organization that for the right price will program human beings to fit your every need or desire. Actives have had their brains wiped, and are imprinted with new personalities, and abilities, that allow them to become anyone or anything to achieve their objective. What illegal underground organization would be complete, with out an obsessed F.B.I. agent determined to bring them down? Agent Paul Ballard, played by Tahmoh Penikett, finds himself filling that role, and the deeper he digs the more entwined he seems to get. When we first get to the Dollhouse, an Active, codename Alpha, has gone rogue, and in the process has left a trail of bodies in his wake. For some unknown reason Echo was spared. But, that’s not the only unique thing about Echo. She also seems to be retaining, or recalling memories while in her wiped doll state, raising the question, can you ever truly clean a slate?

This show is a dream on so many different levels. For one, it’s an actor’s dream, because they can be a doctor, a lover, a spy, an assassin, or maybe just someone there to help someone that can’t help them self. In episode four, Eliza Dushku and Dichen Lachman play the same character, when Echo and Sierra get imprinted with the same imprint.  Two actors playing the same character, with the same traits and speech pattern at the same time! This is what truly makes this show unique. The cast is amazing! The amount of talent on this show, in front of and behind the camera, truly boggles the mind. The other thing about this show is that it raises smart and intelligent questions dealing with morality. Whether it be slavery, human trafficking, or just basic human rights, Dollhouse once again enforces the belief that mankind will always exploit and abuse any and all technologies they discover. I think the part I liked the most about re-watching season one, was knowing all the twists and turns, and being able to see things I might have missed the first time around. I’ll say it once again; Dollhouse is an amazing television series! Don’t believe me? Well, why don’t you get the DVD, and tune-in to Dollhouse season two this year, and see for yourself? Feel free to thank me later.

Rating:

DVD Special Features:

• 3 Audio Commentaries on Selected Episodes

Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku do a commentary track for “Ghost,” where they talk about the show’s shoe budget, and while Eliza’s strawberries maybe loud, Joss’ tummy commentary is louder.

Joss Whedon does a commentary track for “Man on the Street,” and talks about the importance of the turning point in this episode.

Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen do a commentary track for the infamous unaired 13^th episode “Epitaph One.”

I would have liked a few more commentaries on some more key episodes, but three is better than none.

• “Epitaph One” Never-Before-Seen 13^th Episode

The infamous unaired 13^th episode stars Felecia Day and Zack Ward, and takes place in 2019. I would suggest not watching this episode if you want to be surprised by the upcoming relationships and events of the Dollhouse series. It doesn’t tell you the hows and whys, but it does show you things they hope to do with the series. Could be a spoiler for some; you’ve been warned.

• Original Unaired Pilot “Echo”

This is the pilot episode that Joss pulled the plug on and thus decided to take a three week hiatus to rethink the show opener. I for one am glad he did. The episode moves too fast and gives away way too much. But, it wasn’t a complete loss, because they ended up cutting it up and sprinkling bits and pieces here and there throughout the season.

• Deleted Scences

• Making Dollhouse Featurette

A behind the scenes look at the making of Dollhouse

• Coming Home Featurette

The Cast & Crew share their stories and memories of working on other Joss Whedon shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

• Finding Echo Featurette

A look at Eliza Dushku’s important role as producer and star, and how she and Joss developed the idea for the show.

• Designing the Perfect Dollhouse Featurette

Joss Whedon takes us on a tour of the soundstage that houses the Dollhouse.

• A Private Engagement Featurette

The Cast & Crew talk about what their ideal doll would be.

DVD Special Features Rating: