Dollhouse (TV Series) The Target (2009) User Reviews

So much better than the pilot!

[teleiap · 8/10 · 22 February 2009]

I loved Buffy, I sorta like Angel, I love Dr. Horrible, and I just recently watched Firefly after failing to get into Serentiy twice. So I've been waiting for Dollhouse to premiere for what seems like forever.

Unlike the pilot, which was somewhat convoluted (with all the necessary exposition and everything), this episode flew by! After "Ghost" I was a little worried about this new show, but that worry's gone now.

The main story was interesting; Echo's responses in particular were interesting. The writing was good... I was hooked. Humor was the only thing missing, but I heard that it'll enter into the series a little later.

I'm definitely giving Joss the full 7 episodes. Not only has he earned it, but this episode made me want to see more.

Echo is a Hard Target

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 29 September 2017]

In this episode Echo is hired to be the perfect companion for a wealthy man, Richard Connell, who wants a woman who can keep up with him on a rugged weekend away in the wilderness. The will go white water rafting; climb a cliff and hunt a deer for dinner before having a night of passion… then he tells her that she has a five minute head start before he starts hunting her! Her handler, Boyd, is having problems of his own when his partner is killed and he is captured by an assistant of Connell who is determined that the hunt goes ahead without any interference. Intertwined with this story we see flashbacks to Boyd's arrival at the Dollhouse in the aftermath of a massacre. Alpha, one of the actives ran amok and killed many people, both other actives and Dollhouse employees… we see that he deliberately spared Echo. We also see that FBI Agent Ballard is convinced that Dollhouse was involved in the events we saw in the previous episode; he also receives a picture of Echo which is labelled 'Caroline'.

This was a gripping episode with a good central story as well as an interesting look at what happened in the past. The introduction of Alpha as a probable series long nemesis was well handled and surprisingly bloody. I liked how these flashbacks also served to show us how the handlers and their actives are bonded. The main story was exciting and even though it was obvious that Echo would ultimately prevail there were some tense moments. The plot reminded me of John Woo's 'Hard Target', the arrowheads Connell uses seemed like a nod to that film… I know the idea of a hunter wanting to go after people is certainly much older. These scenes providers with hints that Echo may be retaining certain memories that are assumed to have been deleted which was rather intriguing I look forward to seeing how it plays out in further episodes. Eliza Dushku puts in a really good performance making Echo's outdoor skills seem entirely believable. Matt Keeslar is suitable menacing as Connell; at one moment loving the next he is utterly psychotic. Overall this was an exciting episode with a solid central story as well as strong hints at longer term plot arcs.

"Four brothers. None of them Democrats"

[gridoon2024 · 7/10 · 3 October 2010]

A slightly lesser follow-up to the show's pilot, in my opinion, but still engaging. The main problem with it is that all the subplots (background info on the mysterious Alpha's rampage and Boyd's initiation into the Dollhouse, plus Paul Ballard's ongoing investigation) are more interesting than the main plot: when you've seen 5 human hunting stories, you've pretty much seen them all. However, even that part is partly redeemed by a couple of twists (the phony "sheriff", the connection of the psycho hunter to Echo's past, etc.), as well as the suggestion that Echo's memories from other personalities aren't wiped out quite as thoroughly as the others think. Eliza Dushku looks particularly fit in this episode, and gets to deliver what is possibly the show's first classic line so far (see my one-line summary), though there have been some other great pieces of dialogue as well. *** out of 4.

MUCH better!

[Joxerlives · 8/10 · 27 December 2011]

The good; Lots of it, exciting story and some great background. This may be the pivotal ep of Dollhouse as it's the first to suggest Echo is really moving beyond her programming and Alpha is set up as this big bad bogeyman.

The bad; ?

Best line; Boyd (handing Echo a gun)" Know how to use that?" Echo (handling it confidently) "4 brothers, none democrats" Very cheeky for trendy lefty Joss

Packing heat; Echo with a S&W 9mm. Boyd has exchanged his automatic for a .357 revolver perhaps in keeping with his backstory as an ex-cop.

Kinky dinky; Echo and her client/trick play 'The naughty Girl Scout' together.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 2

How'd they get away with that? Echo being hunted is horrible but nothing compared to Alpha slaughtering everyone in the pool! Amazing how much blood they got away with.

This weeks fantasy; Echo is a fun loving outdoor girl and a sweet girl who loves fat guys (a 'chubby chaser'?) in flashback

Total number personalities; 2 for Echo making a total of; 8 Sierra; 2 Victor; 1

Total dolls;3 Echo, Sierra and Victor

Topher is a bit geeky; He asks for a gun but no one trusts him with one

Subverting the Hollywood cliché Hello Mellie, proving that women of a fuller figure can be attractive on US TV (like Tara). Her real first name is Miracle? Were her parents hippies? Speaking of which in the flashback Echo is hired to be the girlfriend for an obese man as you would expect dolls to be but we never see him.

Kills; Boyd's driver and the Ranger killed. Sierra; 2 kills Echo kills the psycho; 1

Dolls injured; Echo and Boyd badly injured

Capt subtext Topher expresses 'Big, big man love' for Boyd and describes his eyes as 'dreamy'. Boyd is protective of the actives from the start and Topher tells him it's all about trust.

Know the face? 4th Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd was Badger in Firefly (and the 2nd BSG star for Jane Espenson to bring with her)

Guantanamo; Boyd tortures the fake Forest Ranger to save Echo (Jack Bauer/Dick Cheney would be proud)

Reminds me off; Joss basically reuses this storyline from the 3rd season Buffy ep Homecoming, it's derived from the famous short story 'The Most Dangerous Game' which in turn inspired real life serial killer Robert Hansen who hunted and murdered over twenty people after kidnapping them, releasing them into the Alaskan wilderness and giving them a head start. Also reminiscent of ED's horror movie Wrong Turn. Addy uses the term Tabula Rusa which was the name of a 6th season ep of Buffy.

Questions and observations; Got to admit when Dominic walks away from Echo at the end I thought she just gave him a 'screw you' gesture. It wasn't until I rewatched that I realised she gives him the psycho's 'shoulder to the wheel' action. Is the drug in the canteen the catalyst for Echo's specialness or was there something before? I think if they'd have kept stories at this level Dollhouse would have been much more successful than it was.

8/10 MUCH BETTER

For every target there's a source.

[igoatabase · 7/10 · 21 February 2009]

I was a bit disappointed by the Ghost episode, the pilot, so I wasn't expecting anything from this one. However watching Ghost Whisperer I learned that the first episode isn't always the best. That's why I've decided to watch a few episodes before making up my mind about this new show. Moreover it's not everyday that Joss Whedon launches a new production and that Eliza Dushka stars in it. I really liked her as Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer because she was so dark and disturbed. Moreover Joss also created Firefly so it's hard not to dive in such a great talent pool.

My problem with the Ghost was that Echo's story reminded me of My Own Worst Enemy and as I quickly gave up on Christian Slater's new show, the association was really bad and I hadn't much hope. However in Buffy every episode was different and more important the show was strong on character development. Xander, Willow and all the others quickly grew stronger on us. It's exactly what happened while I watched The Target as Echo was running in the woods, beautiful and scared, and that flashbacks were revealing her past to us. I have to admit there's nothing really original about it but it was quite well done. Of course there're a few clichés like the young scientists playing Dr. Frankenstein and thinking it's just a game. He probably feels like the Pupper Master (Robert A. Heinlein) and I hope he has a dark side, like Oz in Buffy for example. An other character I'm not really fond of is the cop. It's like hearing the same bell ringing over and over. He's the only one to believe the Dollhouse exists and his life revolves around him. He's so obsessed by it that he even refused the girl next door invitation. For a Garfield's fan it's specially shocking. How can you resist lasagne ? Now as for the story I was quite pleased. First the hunting party reminded me of the Spanish film "El Rey de la montaña". And even if it's not the first time we have seen a babe chased by a psychopath in the wild, the script was so well written that watching Echo survival instinct take over was really intense. That's what so great with Eliza Dushku. She's both an angel and a daemon. And it seems Echo was designed for her. It's like if Joss Whedon found the perfect match to the character he created. In fact I don't know their story but I'm pretty sure had Eliza in mind the whole design process. The other good thing was that I was expecting something to go wrong but definitely not that way. It's only when they began to hunt with a bow that I suspected the guy to be a little disturbed. But then it quickly switched to a love scene so I was confused. Then everything happened so fast that I completely forgot it was a fiction. I became the rocks on which Echo ran, the trees she used to hide and the ants erasing her trail to prevent the predator from catching his prey. I think the climax was reached during the dialog with her protector. Reversing the roles was a really smart idea because it implies a lot of things about the Dollhouse and its occupants. The last scene was correct but something was missing. For example a third character could have been used to balance the fight, like in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". It also ended too abruptly and I wish the hunter becoming the prey twist would have lasted a little longer. However the fight was well choreographed and Eliza's acting was quite good. It really felt like Echo was a wild beast when she ran towards the guy for a final blow. It shew us the ambivalence of her character, the porcelain doll and the deadly weapon.

Are the dolls as empty as their masters would like them to be ? Does erasing the mind memory prevent the body from recording events ? What's the connection between Echo and her protector ? Where's the Dollhouse ? Who's really pulling the strings ? There're so many questions I would like to answer right now that it really shows how interesting the show got with just one episode. So I can't wait to watch the others because I'm sure new characters will be introduced, we'll also learn more about Echo and her character will grow even stronger on us. Moreover I really believe the writers won't disappoint us and Joss Whedon probably tried to avoid fillers at all cost considering his philosophy. This episode was a brilliant example as there were actually two stories told but clearly connected.

Ridiculous

[skay_baltimore · 2/10 · 25 June 2022]

This episode just flat out sucked. It was bad up until the 40 minute mark or so, but then it really imploded. I'll watch another episode or two because I like the lead actress, but if it doesn't get on track I'm done.