emlogomain.jpg

Main
Facebook
Tumblr
News/ Updates
DVD Reviews
DVD Reviews 2017 to 2024
Blu-ray Reviews
2024 BLu-ray and 4K UHD Reviews
2023 Blu-ray and 4K UHD Reviews
2022 Blu-ray and 4K UHD reviews
Blu-ray Reviews 2021
Movie Reviews
Movie Reviews 2019 to 2024
TV
Interviews
Movie Review: DUNE PART TWO
Blu-ray Review: THE MOON
Blu-ray Review: DIVINITY
Blu-ray Review: APOCALYPSE TETRALOGY
Bluray Review: THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
DVD Review: INTO THE ABYSS
Blu-ray Review: THE EXPENABLES 4
4K Blu-ray Review: THE CREATOR
4K Blu-ray Revew: TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.
Blu-ray Review: FOG CITY
4K BR Review: OPPENHEIMER
Blu-ray Review: BLUE BEETLE
Movie Review: THE MARVELS
Blu-ray Review: TALK TO ME
4K Blu-ray Review: SCREAM 3 steelbook
Blu-ray Review: THE CRIMSON RIVERS 2
4K bluray review: THE BLOB 4K steelbook
Blu-ray Review: ON THE SILVER GLOBE
Blu-ray Review- BABYLON 5: THE ROAD HOME
Blu-ray Review: GOD IS A BULLET
Blu-ray Review: SKY PIRATES
Blu-ray Review: SISU
Blu-ray Review- HOLLYWOOD DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES
Movie Review: COLONIALS
4K Blu-ray Review: NIGHTBREED
Movie Review- MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- DEAD RECKONING PART ONE
Blu-ray Review: STONE COLD
Blu-ray Review: ONE RANGER
Blu-rayReview: THE FLASH
blu-ray Review: MAD HEIDI
4K Blu-ray Review: THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE
4K Blu-ray Review: DRAGONSLAYER steelbook
4K Blu-ray Review: STREETS OF FIRE
Blu-ray Review: A MAN CALLED OTTO
Blu-ray Review: THE CRIMSON RIVERS
4K Blu-ray Review: THE ITALIAN JOB (1969)
4K Blu-ray Review: EVENT HORIZON
4K Blu-ray Review: CLOVERFIELD steelbook
4K Blu-ray Review: ACCION MUTANE
4K Blu-ray Review: WINGS OF DESIRE steelbook
Blu-ray Review- DOCTOR WHO: THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN
Blu-ray Review: SAMPO
Movie Review- AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Bluray Review: HALLOWEEN ENDS
4K Blu-ray review: HIGHLANGER Director's Cut steelbook
4K BR Review- STTMP The Complete Adventure
Blu-ray Review: MOONAGE DAYDREAM
Blu-ray Review: NO ESCAPE
Blu-ray Review: GINGER SNAPS TRILOGY
Blu-ray Review: I'M DANGEROUS TONIGHT
Blu-ray Review: THE INVITATION
Movie Review: HALLOWEEN ENDS
Movie Review: HELLRAISER (2022)
Blu-ray Review: AFTER BLUE
DVD Review: DEUS
Blu-ray Review: WOLF HOUND
Movie Review: PREY (2022)
Blu-ray Review: CRIMES OF THE FUTURE
Movie Review- THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER
Blu-ray Review: THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT
Blu-ray Review: FIRESTARTER (2022)
Movie Review- TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Movie Review- JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION
4K UHD review: LIFEFORCE
Blu-ray Review- WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE
Blu-ray Review: BELLE
DVD Review: THE KING'S DAUGHTER
Blu-ray review: PROJECT GEMINI
Movie Review: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Blu-ray Review: SETTLERS
Movie Review: THE NORTHMAN
Blu-ray Review: HOUSE OF GUCCI
Blu-ray Review- GHOSTBUSTERS AFERLIFE
Blu-ray Review: LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
Blu-ray 4K Review- RESIDENT EVIL: WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY
Movie Review- SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Blu-ray Review: RAGING FIRE
Movie Review: THE MARIX RESURRECTIONS
4K Blu-ray Review: NO TIME TO DIE
DVD Review: THE FLOOD
Blu-ray Review: DOCTOR WHO Season 24
Blu-ray Review: CANDYMAN (2021)
Blu-ray Review- DOCTOR WHO: EVIL OF THE DALEKS (import)
Movie Review: DUNE Part One
Blu-ray review: ELVIRA'S HAUNTED HILLS
Blu-ray Review: THE COLONY (2021)
Movie Review: ETERNALS
Movie Review: NO TIME TO DIE
Movie Review: HALLOWEEN KILLS
Blu-ray Review: THE GREEN KNIGHT
Blu-ray Review: FAST VENGEANCE
4K Blu-ray Review: BLACK WIDOW
Blu-ray Review: F9 THE FAST SAGA
Blu-ray Review: DOCTOR WHO Season 8 (1971)
4K Blu-ray Review: PROSPECT
Blu-ray Review: SPARE PARTS
blu-ray Review: SIBERIA (2021)
Blu-ray Review: DOORS (2021)
Blu-ray Review: THE UNHEALER
Blu-ray Review: VOYAGERS
Blu-ray Review: TIMELINE (import)
Blu-ray review: KING KONG (1976)
4K UHD Blu-ray review: PERDITA DURANGO
Blu-ray Review: PYSCHO GOREMAN
DVD Review: SKY SHARKS
DVD Review: WILLY'S WONDERLAND
Blu-ray Review: EVENT HORIZON Collector's Edition
Blu-ray Review: SPUTNIK
Blu-ray Review: PUMP UP THE VOLUME
Blu-ray Review: MONSTER HUNTER
Blu-ray Review: SOUTHLAND TALES
Blu-ray Review: SHADOW IN THE CLOUD
Blu-ray Review: SPACEWALKER
Blu-ray review: THE IPCRESS FILE
DVD Review: STRANDED ON MARS
Blu-ray Review: TENET
DVD Review: SKYLINES
Blu-ray Review: POSSESSOR UNCUT
Blu-ray review: FLASH GORDON
Movie Review: TENET
PHOTOGRAPHY

Joss Whedon’s DOLLHOUSE Season One

DVD Review by David Blackwell

 

DETAILS:   641 minutes, unaired pilot, unaired episode, three audio commentaries, deleted scenes, five featurettes

VIDEO:  1.78:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)

AUDIO:  English 5.1 Dolby Surround

Subtitles:  English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

 

STUDIO:  20th Century Fox Television/ Mutant Enemy/ FOX/ 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE:  7-28-2009

 

DISC 1-  GHOST/ THE TARGET/ STAGE FRIGHT/ GRAY HOUR

DISC 2-  TRUE BELIEVER/ MAN ON THE STREET/ ECHOES/ NEEDS

DISC 3-  A SPY IN THE HOUSE OF LOVE/ HAUNTED/ BRIAR ROSE/ OMEGA

DISC 4-  EPITAPH ONE (unaired episode)/ ECHO (original unaired pilot)/ deleted scenes/ five featurettes

DOLLHOUSE came about because Eliza Dushku wanted Joss Whedon to create a series for her.   She bought him lunch and he came up with an idea within two hours.  DOLLHOUSE is the series at first I didn’t care about.  I tuned out quick only to come back to check it out again at the end of season one which had a very strong two part season finale.  Now the whole first season is on DVD and I sat down to watch every single episode to find a very multi-layered and well-written series.  I do think the original pilot (ECHO) is better than the second pilot (GHOST).  Maybe it is due to the fact I love diving into the mythology right away.  Then the episode that never aired at the end of season one, EPITAPH ONE, is one of the better episodes as it gives shows where everything could be leading to about 10 years into the future.

 

DOLLHOUSE follows the adventures of an Active named Echo and the people who run and live at the Dollhouse.  Echo was Caroline, but Caroline signed away her body for five years to become anyone that any person needs.  At the end of each mission or engagement (as the Dollhouse calls them), her mind is wiped and a new imprint is loaded before each engagement.  Echo can be your girlfriend, a backup signer, a neogiator, and more.  Hot on the trail is an FBI Agent looking to find and expose the Dollhouse.   The head of the Dollhouse knows, she tries to throw him off and keep an eye on him.   Some episodes of DOLLHOUSE deal with the mythology of the place and the history of the place.   The people who work there fear an active called Alpha who escaped after killing some people and scarring Dr. Saunders (Amy Acker) .  Alpha has his sights set on Echo and he is making himself known to the Dollhouse again.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Three audio commentaries were recorded for the set-

GHOST with Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku

MAN ON THE STREET with Joss Whedon

EPITAPH ONE with Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (Whedon)

The audio commentary for EPITAPH ONE reveals how quick the shoot was and that it was a guerilla shoot.

 

Thirty minutes of deleted scenes feature small bits from various episodes and new scenes shot for the original pilot (and never used) in addition to more of a role for November and Sierra in OMEGA.

 

Five featurettes round out the extras for disc four-

MAKING DOLLHOUSE goes behind the genesis of the series, shooting the original pilot, throwing it out to shoot a new pilot, casting, and how EPITAPH ONE came about.

FINDING ECHO- Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon talk about Echo, the series, and Dushku’s involvement in the show as a producer (and how Echo allows Dushku to play different roles).

COMING HOME- a look at the cast and crew of DOLLHOUSE who worked on previous TV shows with Joss Whedon

DESIGNING THE PERFECT DOLLHOUSE- Joss Whedon gives a  tour of the Dollhouse set as he explains the production design.

A PRIVATE ENGAGEMENT- cast and crew reveal what skills they would have imprinted, how they wouldn’t want to be a doll, and joke around that Joss Whedon is a doll/ Active.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  DOLLHOUSE is a series I’m glad I gave a second chance on.  The DVD set has solid behind-the-scenes featurettes and two fantastic unaired episodes.

 

This DVD review is (c)8-4-2009 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.   No dolls were interviewed for the writing of this review and the writer doesn’t know where the Dollhouse is.  Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com