Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Third Season (Slim Set) (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)Season three: How can the cast of Buffy even hope to top the glorious second season? Well, for starters the very first episode is great. In "ANNE", still hurting from the events that occurred at the end of season 2, Buffy tries to forget her past and lives in another town working a waitress job until a girl recognizes her and asks for her help. Buffy realizes who and what she is and returns to Sunnydale, where the Scoobies have been filling in for the Slayer's absence. Then there is the addition of a new Slayer, Faith (Eliza Dukshu...remember her in True Lies? All grown up!!) who appears in Sunnydale as a powerful ally for the Buffy and the scoobies. This is short-lived though, as she soon becomes one of their greatest threats. The foreshadowing of plotlines in the second season become apparent as this season's villain is introduced...none other than the mayor of Sunnydale, who is attempting to ascend into a true/pure demon.
This season boasts many of the show's strongest episodes such as "The Wish", where Cordelia unknowingly makes a wish to a vengeance demon (Anyanka, who becomes the Anya we all love to laugh at later) and wishes that Buffy never came to Sunnydale. This episode is grand, as we see an alternate reality where Buffy left California and never stopped the Master from rising and as a result, he succeeded in opening the Hellmouth. Truly one of the better episodes. We also are given a taste of foreshadowing in later episodes...Buffy's sister Dawn (to come in season 5) is mentioned in a glimmer of dialogue that will remain meaningless until two years later (can you find the episode? Hint...listen to both Faith and Buffy talk in the later epsiodes). Faith is terrific as Buffy's nemesis, a Slayer just like her.Oh, did I mention Angel returns from a hell dimension as well?
The scoobies get their own star time as well. In "THE ZEPPO", Xander proves that he is more than just the weak part of the group, adept at getting them donuts and not much else. In "THE WISH" and "DOPPLEGANGLAND", we get to see a Vamp Willow...very interesting and two of the season's best episodes. This season also brings us more of the Watcher's Council, the mysterious group that Giles works for including Wesley, who later leaves to aid Angel and Cordelia in Los Angeles in the spin-off show Angel. And finally, we get to see the Scoobies graduate in a very typical Sunnydale fashion...with a huge battle. It was hard to top season two, but this season is more of Joss Whedon's masterpiece of television; let people and critics shun it...we all know great TV when we see it.

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All 22 classic episodes are available for the first time in this exclusive 6-disc collectorÂ's edition. From Â"Faith, Hope & Trick,Â" Â"Band CandyÂ" and Â"Bad GirlsÂ" to Â"Consequences,Â" Â"EnemiesÂ" and Â"Graduation Day, Part Two,Â" these Season Three episodes are a must for every true Buffy fan.

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Dollhouse: Season One (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)...this show is *actually* GOOD. What I mean is that Dollhouse is not good simply because Whedon fans worship at the shrine of Whedon and therefore cannot be trusted to tell you the real deal. In a lot of ways, it's a shame that this show was so hyped from the beginning, because it didn't get a chance to gradually develop a fanbase in its own right, but was instead touted as a show sustained merely by Whedon fans. While I admit to being a Whedon fan, which compelled me to watch it even through some shaky episodes, here's the scoop:
In the beginning of the show, what we learn is that a woman named Caroline (Eliza Dushku) has agreed (or was coerced) to download her personality into cyber storage, and some shady organization rents her body out to the highest bidder for various "engagements." We see that these engagements can involve sexual fantasy (hence the dubbing "cathouse" by the critics), or perhaps something that requires personality-combo platters in order to complete some sort of high risk, spy-type mission. A lot of negative reviews here refer to the first five episodes. And, yes, the first five establishing "mission of the week" episodes are surfacy and disconnected, but it's really the journey of the series arc (and character growth) that will ultimately make for some passionate tv. (And though these first five episodes were not the highlight of the season, there are some gems of ideas in there. For instance, one episode pays homage to Cornell's short story "The Most Dangerous Game", which is based on quite a chilling concept.)
Now that we've got the darned hype out of the way, let's talk about the show, as it evolves in Episode 6. (Incidentally, the theme of episode 6 is very similar to the unaired pilot episode on the dvd release, which was awesome, and epitomizes Joss's idea of the show - excellent). Now instead of just seeing the sexual fantasy episodes in terms of some hokey emporer's club cathouse (which, let's face it, is something that already exists out there for the kind of money these clients are paying), we start to see the NEEDS that these fantasies fulfill in the clients. And here's the thing: even though we do not approve of what they're doing, we start to sympathize with, and in some cases even begin to care about, these clients. And here is one place where we begin to see the brilliance and fascinating challenge that this show presents, and will continue to present, to its viewers (bring on Neuromancer!).
This is a show that lives and thrives in a very gray area - it's unclear who the heroes might or might not be, and this is shaping up to be a nuanced, character-driven ensemble show (with an extremely talented cast). At its heart, this is a show about the identity of "self" without memory. About science and ethics. About exposing our darkest human fantasies, and exploring the root of the needs that create them. The show is not just about the "dolls," but is also about the clients - WHY do they need a fake person to save them? And what could have possibly compelled these "dolls" to have given away their memories in the first place? And then there's the dollhouse itself...why does it exist? Who are these people that babysit and program the dolls - what's their story?
The extras on this dvd set are worth buying, especially the unaired thirteenth episode, "Epitaph One". Without giving too much away, it's a little like CLOVERFIELD meets THE MATRIX meets SERENITY, Dollhouse style. The commentaries are great - Joss has much to say about episode 6 and a very conspicuous not much to say about episode 1 ("oh, look, people are pretty, and I'm hungry right now"), which is exactly what you'd expect, especially given how amazing the unaired pilot episode was.
All in all, this show is a little bit ALIAS (except replace awesome disguises with personalities), a little bit BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (except replace "Cylon" with "doll"), a little bit LOST (except replace "island" with "dollhouse"), and a lot Whedon (exploring the essence of humanity and individual identity through grandiose metaphor). Assuming that the show is allowed to breathe and grow into its full potential, we're in for even more thought-provoking, heart-breaking, butt-kicking entertainment. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on the ride!
**Addition to review**
While the actors who were less well known (to me) on this show were all outstanding, here are some highlights:
Season 1:
Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Tru Calling)
Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica)
Amy Acker (Angel, Alias)
Other guest stars you may recognize from Firefly, Buffy, and Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog
Announced (by Fox press release) for Season 2:
Summer Glau (Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Alexis Denisof (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica)
Keith Kerridine (Dexter)

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From Joss Whedon comes a new groundbreaking show starring Eliza Dushku as Echo, an operative in an underground organization that provides hired personas for various missions.

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