So when I heard that Joss Whedon was 1) doing another show with 2) Eliza Dushku, I was beside my geeky self.
Afterall, part of the fun of watching Buffy on TV was seeing the interesting dynamic between Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Faith (Eliza Dusku). Besides, Eliza Dushku rocks.
So I found me a DVD copy of “Dollhouse” season 1 and it lay on my bed untouched while I re-watched Season 7 of Buffy (Geeky, much?).
When I was finished with that I popped the DVD into my laptop and have been addicted since.
What can I say? It’s an awesome show.
It looks like a more mature Joss Whedon at the helm – but mark my words, he hasn’t lost his touch for irony, wit, humor and loads of that nuanced, sensitive storytelling combined with a riveting plot, a giant government conspiracy, a massive evil corporation, mysterious characters with checkered pasts, morally ambivalent (probably delusional) villains, and at the center of it all, an ever-growing stronger (uber)hero, Echo (Eliza Dushku) who is slowly resisting the imprints and evolving and regaining her will.
The story is about a giant, advanced tech, secret corporation, the Dollhouse, which has discovered, through its (annoying) tech guy, Topher Brink (Fran Kranz) that they can, much like computers, program humans: wipe away their whole identity, personality, past, and upload different personalities – personalities which are pimped to the highest, richest bidders in politics and business. Headed by Adele DeWitt (Olivia Williams), the Dollhouse is run like a top-secret, underground, regimented, peaceful Eden, with its “dolls” living like clueless, serene zombies until an “engagement” takes them outside into the real world. What happens though is that while Topher believes his systems and methods are full-proof, and that the “dolls” will never cause problems, such as old, original personalities re-asserting themselves, dolls going berserk, residual personalities coagulating into one doll and creating composite, suicidal dolls. The rise of “Alpha” (interesting name that – can it be more obvious?) who goes on a rampage and almost succeeds in killing everyone, makes the Dollhouse’s existence a bit more fragile but guarded. However, Echo has shown signs of evolution: while she is still responsive to the “treatments” (the mindwipes Dollhouse does to its dolls to erase previous personalities), Echo as Echo can and does think for herself, and as a different personality, consistently shows creativity, innovation against all odds, a mind of her own, an instinct for survival and of saving other people, and exhibits memories of her previous original life, and of past personalities downloaded on her.
The story isn’t anything unfamiliar: Atom Egoyan’s “Dark City” was premised on the idea of a dying alien race which kidnaps human beings to understand what makes humans “human”. They do this by getting all the memories of the humans and mixing them up, injecting them in each human, hoping doing so would help them survive more. One of the subjects evolves and begins resisting the experiments and defeats the aliens (still one of my all-time favorite movies). “The 13th Floor” was premised on mind-trips as well, as is “Existenz”, “The Matrix” trilogy, “Gattaca”, “Surrogates”, “Neuromancer”, and many others besides. At the same time, it reminds me of “Being John Malkovich” as well – in that at times, the show goes to the metaphysical level and asks interesting questions about humanity. And it also calls to mind “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” – the idea that you can erase someone’s memories, but you can’t erase that person’s essence…or the person’s destiny and proclivities. The show actually even reminds me of a better, cooler, more well-written version of James Cameron’s now-defunct “Dark Angel” (and other TV shows with similar storylines, like “Mutant X”): superhuman hero, evil organization, scary, villain, good story.
And yet, while the premise is familiar, Joss Whedon still succeeds in making it his, making it original and creative. Ultimately what makes this series interesting, and worth watching,and worth investing money on is the fact that it is a thought-provoking meditation on self, identity, personality, identity, consciousness, the subconscious, essence, existence, soul, spirit, self-determination, free will, choice, reality, freedom.
And in the end, this is what makes this series worth it:
Because at the core of it is an exploration, finally, of what makes us human.
Buffy studies 101: Bidet of evil vs. Buffy (The best of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 7)
February 9, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 7, is the last season of, possibly, the best fantasy show ever on television.
In this season, the first, the original, the most ancient and most dangerous of evils, “The First”, declares war on Buffy, Faith and all the potential slayers that ever existed and will exist in the world. This comes about because Buffy has upset the balance by having come back from the dead. The First is thus killing off all potential slayers, and is out for Buffy and Faith’s blood. The first has taken up residence in Sunnydale’s Hellmouth, and has recruited the best and brightest of evils, among them, all the villains Buffy has ever encountered and battled, the Turok-Han (the ancient vampires), an army of devoted eye-less, tongueless minions and demons. AS Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) races against time to
1. Season 7: the season of closures – the best thing about this show and this season is the fact that Joss Whedon et. al. has never let down its fans. Every loose end ever untied in this show is tied, every character in need of a closure confronted and dealt with. Hence Buffy deals with Angel, Spike, her watcher, the first slayer, her friends (and the fact that she has a propensity for trying to kill each and everyone of ‘em), her death/s, her power and her ultimate destiny and what it means for the world. Willow deals with Tara’s death, and her attraction to potential slayer Kennedy. Xander and Anya deal with their failed relationship. Faith deals with Buffy and their (almost homoerotic – I just had to say it!) relationship. Giles deals with Buffy, Buffy with Dawn, Buffy with her past life and her future.
2. Kennedy – Yeah, the pierced tongue is sexy, but I am a staunch Tara fan, so. ‘Nuff said.
3. The First - Because obviously the harder the evil to fight, the cooler the story.
4. Anya – Because she was a vengeance demon with a conscience. Because she thought making spells with Willow was sexy (the look on Willow’s face? Priceless). Because if she’s not having sex, nobody else should. Because she is not afraid to use other people as shields to protect herself (at least Andrew anyway).
5. We finally get some girl-on-girl action - Better late than never, is what I say. Even though it was in the third to the last episode.
6. The fascinating dynamic of the Scooby gang – I am still amazed at the evolving complexity of the gang, the consistent inconsistencies, how everyone can be so loyal to Buffy at one point, and betray her by ousting her as the defunct leader of the army of potential slayers. I liked the complex, tender relationship that Buffy finds with and develops with Spike, even though they both know Buffy does not love Spike. I like how Anya and Xander develop the same kind of relationship as well.
7. Faith is back! Yay! – Because Faith is awesome.
8. Best use of word ever – “Bidet”. As in “bidet of evil”. The only other thing that comes close is “tumescence”. Nuff said.
9. Blink and you’ll miss Ashanti and a whole slew of familiar Hollywood faces -
Yep, Joss Whedon et.al. were not stingy with the guests. This was a spectacular season for guest stars. I’m surprised Tara didn’t make a cameo. IN fact, she was the only one who did not show up – as all the people who have ever appeared in this show – from Angel, to Joyce, to Glory, to Adam, to the Mayor and the Principal, have all appeared. Then again, I didn’t see Cordelia or Oz, so, that evens it out.
9. The spectacular finale! The Action! The metaphors! The symbolisms!- Buffy proves to the worthy general of this army of slayers. She brilliantly orchestrates the activation of all potential slayers through a spell Willow makes, making every potential a full-blown slayer. And of course action-wise, this season does not disappoint. Blink and you’ll miss the subtle metaphor of having one slayer every generation as planned by ancient male shamans, to that of the control of female sexuality by males (contraception, female genital mutilation, the reproductive health debates ). Awesome, no? Makes Buffy’s decision to give every potential slayer power all the more sweet and powerful.
The message is none too powerful: you have the power and take control of your destiny. This is feminism at its best, made all the more awesome by the fact that it was helmed by a male creator (Whedon) and that it succeeded in its message without having any stupid, preposterous, pointless PSA (like those things in The L-Word).
IN other words: Buffy is the best show evah!
Now must go back to reading John Burdett’s “Bangkok 8″. Awesome book!
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Tagged: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, fantasy shows, vampire shows