The complete first season of the American sci-fi drama created by
Joss Whedon. Eliza Dushku stars as Echo, a young woman who is
part of a group of people known as 'Actives' or 'Dolls'. The
Dolls are people who have had their personalities wiped clean in
order to be imprinted with any number of new personas. They are
then hired out for particular jobs, which can be anything from
committing a crime to enacting a fantasy. Although the Dolls are
all volunteers who have agreed to work for a period of five
years, the organisation is highly illegal and under constant
threat from Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett), a federal agent who
is determined to expose the Dollhouse and bring it down. Episodes
comprise: 'Ghost', 'The Target', 'Stage Fright', 'Gray Hour',
'True Believer', 'Man On the Street', 'Echoes', 'Needs', ' in
the House of Love', 'Haunted', 'Briar House', 'Omega' and
'Epitaph One'.
From .co.uk
-----------
It’s fair to suggest that there are television series that
have sprung out of the blocks with more confidence and momentum
than Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. The latest show from the creator of
Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Firefly centres on Eliza Dushku as
Echo, a woman who has different personalities transed into
her depending on the mission she’s been hired for. It’s a
tremendous premise, and one laced with just the kind of threads
that Whedon has shown real skill at exploiting. But the first
half of the season is a muddle. It takes some time for the show
to settle down and find its feet, and the first couple of
episodes in particular are more disappointing than anything else.
But then Dollhouse suddenly finds its feet. And while it doesn’t
iron out all of the creases, once the show slips into gear, it
finally begins to realise some of the immense potential here.
What’s interesting too is that this first season DVD set includes
the terrific missing episode that was never broadcast when the
show debuted in the US.
A second season of Dollhouse is incoming, and given how soundly
all concerned recover their footing with season one, that’s
something to genuinely look forward to. This maiden season? It
has its problems, but when it finally hits top gear, it rewards
both your financial and time investment. --Jon Foster
Synopsis
--------
Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Firefly creator Joss Whedon
crafts this science-fiction-themed television series concerning a
highly-illegal, underground organization known as the Dollhouse
that caters to the wealthy, powerful, and connected by leasing
out 'Actives', people whose personalities have been wiped clean
so they can serve whatever purpose the client demands. Echo
(Eliza Dushku) is an 'Active'. She doesn't just perform the role
that she has been hired to play, but actually becomes it since
she knows no other life than the one she is living in the moment.
Actives can become whatever the client wants or needs - a lover,
a best friend, a corporate negotiator, or even an assassin. Echo
and fellow Actives such as Sierra (Dichen Lachman) receive their
assignments from Adelle Dewitt (Olivia Williams), one of the
leaders of the Dollhouse. Upon completion of her mission, Echo
always returns to the Dollhouse to have her thoughts, feelings,
experiences, and knowledge erased by genius programmer Topher
Brink (Fran Krantz) while her handler Boyd Langton (Hary Lennix)
supervises the process. But the powers that be have caught wind
of the Dollhouse, and with every tip he receives from Russian
informant Lubov (Enver Gjokaj) FBI Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh
Penikett) moves one step closer to the truth. But now, as Echo
stops forgetting and her memories gradually begin to return, she
becomes determined to solve the mystery of her secret-shrouded
past. Features the complete first series of the show.