Puppy Day minus 20

[stoutfellow]

The weather has turned chilly again - highs back in the 40s F - after almost a week of warmish days. Still, not bad for mid-February.

I watched the premiere of Dollhouse last night. I have to say that I find the premise repellent, and the only satisfying arc I could see for the show would be the downfall of the Dollhouse project - but can you do a series on that basis? (Sure, JMS had Babylon Five plotted out five years ahead, but Whedon doesn't have that kind of forethought - or, at least, hasn't shown it in his earlier series.) I may stick with it for another episode or two, but I doubt I'll do more than that.

My copy of Horizon arrived yesterday, and I finished it this afternoon. It's a good read; I don't think I'll rate the TSK series among Bujold's best - Barrayar, Memory, and The Curse of Chalion - but I enjoyed it, and the working-out of the plot is satisfying. (Whit's comment on froggy courtship still has me giggling.)

Kind of a dreary day, and I'm stuck inside doing laundry. (I'm still in long johns and robe, here at midafternoon....)

Comments

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

So far no one's liked the premiere of Dollhouse.

Colder here, too.

Love, C.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

I didn't think much of Dollhouse, either. I figured it was because I came to Joss Whedon by way of Firefly rather than Buffy, but maybe not?

And, yes, Horizon definitely had its moments, but I am not thrilled with the TSK universe to begin with. I hope Lois heads in other directions in the future.

[carbonelle.livejournal.com]

I "enjoyed" the premiere, for value of "enjoy" = "interested by" and "was caught up in the plot and wanted to find out what happened next" but I find it nearly impossible these days to watch "small children in horrible peril" with any great enjoyment per se.

That said, Alias worked quite well--and since we were given glimpses that Echo's programming may be misfiring--that could well be the storyline coming down the pike. The bigger and nastier the Dollhouse Corp, the more satisfying it will be when it falls.

[xinef.livejournal.com]

Not yet sure about Dollhouse. Not sold, but haven't written it off yet. Will watch until that decision is made one way or the other.

Re Lois's TSK series. I absolutely loved Beguilement. I don't think it is her best books, but certainly one of my personal favourites. Not sure yet how well it will age (yes, I do reread books, frequently!), time alone will tell. I liked the rest of the series, but none came up to my first reaction to Beguilement.

Dollhouse

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

I was so excited that a new Joss Whedon was going to be on. Alec and I really looked forward to the *premier*.

Your description of "repellent" for the premise is, I think, entirely accurate. I also found the first episode to be disjointed and difficult to follow, but not in a "makes me want to know more" way.

It strikes me that we are actually getting in this series a version of River's lab, down to the horrifying needles in the center of the forehead, personalities bent, and reality created and destroyed; even if the purpose is different, much of the two segments I've seen remind me greatly of the parts of Firefly where the labwork and its results were explored. I keep waiting for the Dollhouse manager to put on her blue gloves...

Last night's episode was, to me, even more repellent. I did watch it to the end, wanting to make sure that Echo got back to her regeneration chamber safely. The whole premise of a wealthy person being able to pay for a made-to-order doll, use it up, and then send it back when done playing with it is truly repugnant. And the revelation that the Dollhouse manager clearly understood that *extra danger* was involved, calling for a premium payment, made me sick. I will give it one more go; if there is no redeeming feature at all, I'll dedicate that hour to watching my Firefly DVDs.

Gah.