Did I Fall Asleep? I'm afraid not...it's really over.

Warning: This is fairly spoilery if you haven't seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly/Serenity or the series finale of Dollhouse. 

Dichen Lachman, Tahmoh Penikett, Fran Kranz, Olivia Williams, Harry Lennix, Enver Gjokaj
Eliza Dushku

It can definitely be argued that Joss Whedon tells pretty much the same stories with each of his projects, or at the very least, revisits the same themes while messing with the way he tells the story. This is not a complaint. I love how he does it.

For this blog I'm just going to focus on the main one;  Female empowerment out of victimization. Buffy is strong but only because the first slayer was violated by a group of male high priests with demon energy, Cordelia is also imbued with demon energy, and yes she does so willingly, but later we learn that she was tricked, in the same series Winifred Burkle becomes the embodiment of an ancient and long forgotten god only through being made a sacrifice to that very god, and River Tam is tampered with to the point that all that is done to her by the Alliance Government brings out her genius and super powers and perhaps ultimately the end.

And then of course there is Caroline who through the manipulations of the Rossum Corporation and the Dollhouse becomes Echo, a high powered Matrix like hero but embodying the opposite of Neo's cluelessness.

All of these women rise from the ashes of thinly veiled metaphors for rape.

In the early part of the first season of Dollhouse many women, including fans of Joss Whedon's work complained that the show seemed to glorify the exploitation of women. This was nonsense. If you know anything about Joss Whedon you know that he is more of a feminist than my mother, who was a vice president of a local chapter of NOW for several years.

When it comes to Joss, you have to stick around for the long view. I learned this in Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Joss had Buffy meet the infamous Dracula in the season premier. That episode ended with the sudden and seemingly shark jumping introduction of Buffy's younger sister. When I saw this I was furious, not only was the actor who played Dracula abysmally bad, but the introduction of a sister out of nowhere?!!!

What.The.Fuck. (a)


BUT, I learned quickly, there's always a longer story, and a few episodes later we learn that the sister's existence has a purpose and that while badly acted, the character of Dracula introduces aspects of Buffy's being that we do not fully understand until the Seventh Season and that echo the warnings that came to us in the finale of Season Four. Further, a few years later as I introduced my daughter through the series on DVD, I saw how the coming of Dawn was foretold in the end of the Third Season, by none other than Faith (played by the ever hot, Eliza Dushku) in a shared dream with Buffy.

I am being wordy here because it brings up how the Fox Network has now twice failed the fans by their nearly militant refusal to appreciate good storytelling. Even if it happens to be a similar story to the last time.

They did it with Firefly, and they did it again with Dollhouse. And in the same way that Warner Brothers screwed Angel at the last minute, Fox left the Dollhouse crew precious little time to wrap up their story in a completely emotionally satisfying way.

And yet, like the ending of Angel, the Whedon crew managed to pretty much pull a small rabbit out of their hat. A small one, but a rabbit nonetheless. A lesser crew would have had Sierra waking up, walking to the bathroom seemingly disoriented only to find her loving husband Victor in the shower..it was all just a bad dream....except Victor is a Replicant....and isn't that Bob Newhart's wife in the bed? (ok, that last one was an awesome finale actually).

I just finished watching the Dollhouse finale, "Epitaph Two" and I am indeed sad and a bit teary eyed. To be sure, the impact of E2 is best appreciated if you've seen "Epitaph One", and if Fox were worth half a dog turd they might have screened that episode last week before showing this one. But that's asking the impossible.

Earlier today I was chatting with @2MuchPerfection who had seen the Dollhouse finale already. She is also a fan of Buffy though never liked Angel (I still think she's cool though) Her words "Joss is so predictable. Someone sacrifices, someone you don't want to die is killed and the world is alright again....not that I didn't like it. I can just see it coming"

She was right, but because Fox gave Dollhouse 5 episodes to wrap things up, I find it easy to forgive that certain parts of Whedon's formula are repeated so blatantly. And the unwanted death happens so fast and so without closure, that it still has impact.

As I watched tonight's episode I mourned for the stories we will never see. Alpha's struggle and eventual redemption (not unlike Spike's at the end of Buffy. Topher's sacrifice as well had echoes of Spike and even a touch of Wesley), the continual attempts that Paul makes to reach Echo/Caroline. The adventures that Meg, the girl Caroline and Zone as they make their way from Los Angeles to "Neuropolis" (Tucson, where I was born, by the way, just for the fun of knowing it), what does Dominic do and what is his journey after he is set free from The Attic, how long does Echo suffer through headaches before she makes peace. So many journeys so many variations on the story that could have been explored if the Powers That Be just let Joss be Joss and just.let.him.tell.the.fucking.story.

Parts of this finale were disappointing, but only because so much had to be covered in so little time. For me it was emotional and sad and the very last moment broke my heart. How even more heartbreaking if we had had time to learn more about Caroline/Echo's loneliness and isolation (again, themes embodied by Buffy, Angel and Malcolm Reynolds before her).

I loved this show from the start. I didn't need time to warm up. There were dips here and there, but I knew Joss was leading us somewhere somewhat new. (I will blog in detail soon, episode by episode.)

But his messages are the same. We can be stronger for our suffering, we should stop tampering with ourselves unnaturally to make ourselves better, and saving the world always, ALWAYS requires sacrifice.

Also...we like love adore lust after hot chicks with super powers.

(a) just a side not in the form of a footnote, Garry Marshall, producer of the show Happy Days, from whence the phrase "jumped the shark" was created, likes to boast about how high the ratings were for the episode where Fonzie, in a bathing suit and leather jacket, does the water ski jump over the shark, earned that show the highest ratings ever. But what he fails to understand, and I admire Mr. Marshall, is that even though it got high ratings, it was still the beginning of that show's spiral into utter stupidity

Rhymes with Beer (Yuengling, please)

Perhaps its a cliche, and I've made my feelings clear about the way we wear this day on our sleeves, which I don't care for. But it doesn't seem right to let the day go by without commentary of some kind.

I've been thinking a bit about how we've behaved since that day 8 years ago. The craziness recently; Glenn Batshit Beck's 9/12 Initiative that links to TeaBaggers and other hypocritical nonsense with what I think are the wrong lessons.

All of it, I think, stems from Fear. Whenever I watch Dick Cheney, I not only see a man who is fear mongering, but who is also mongered by fear.

Right or Left we are all Americans, all scarred and all fearful. But what happened to us is not what makes us. Its how we hold to what we stand for afterwards that shows us for ourselves.

Fear is what makes us open the old wounds every year. Fear is what makes us small and keeps us from taking action. Fear is what causes the invasion of the wrong country and missing the ball entirely. Fear is what makes us go on and on about future attacks instead of remembering what we stand for and how we can make this world safer, truly safer. Fear makes us vengeful.

But we can't overcome national fears if we don't overcome our own. And so, geek that I am, I offer two thoughts on fear. One from my favorite book, Dune by Frank Herbert, the other from one of my favorite shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

From Dune; the Litany of Fear, spoken by warriors of all kinds.

"I must not fear
Fear is the mind-killer
Fear is the little death
That brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will allow it to pass over me
And through me.
When it is past I will turn the inner eye
To see its path.
Where the fear was, there will be nothing.
Only I will remain"

From an episode of Buffy. Halloween when Gaknar the fear demon is revealed. He is 4 inches tall.
Xander: (playfully)Who's the little fear demon. Who's the little fear demon?"
Giles: Xander, don't do that.
Xander: (suddenly worried) Why, will it anger him?
Giles: No, because it's tacky.

In pace requiescat.

My encounter with the Master

Several years ago I was dating fairly heavily. Nothing to write home about, but I was learning to enjoy the process for its own sake and even when dates did not lead to more, I was having a good time.

One early summer I met someone and we hit it off very well. She was very much my type and had a certain wit about her that charmed the hell out of me. The feeling was quite mutual right away and I thought there might be something here to look forward to after a long time of loneliness and (quite honestly) sexual frustration.

Such was not the case. As is common in NYC dating circles, things can turn on a dime. Without going into detail, a slew of plans were suddenly called off and it was all done with no real explanation or logic. It left me in a very sour mood for a week. Not that things ended, mostly because I had felt misled and taken for a ride.

A few days later I had my weekly visit with my daughter in Queens and had a lovely time with her. We had dinner and watched an episode of Buffy I think. I had spent the last couple of years acquainting her with Buffy and Angel, or possibly Firefly.

It was then time to head home, a fairly involved trip that required a couple of train changes.

This was a nightmare. Once my night with my daughter was done I was back to my foul mood and the sluggish train system was no help. At one point I waited for a particular train for 45 minutes. Then it hit me that I was being a complete idiot and could get out of that station, walk 5 blocks and get on another train without it costing me an additional cent.

So now, I was also pissed off at myself as well as the girl and the universe.

Stomping up Seventh Avenue over to Broadway, I began to pass an old diner that had been there for decades and in my mood managed to feel grateful that it was still there. One of my few old haunts that hadn't been demolished or swallowed up by the Yuppie onslaught of the last 20 years.

And there, sitting outside in the corner of the outdoor section of said diner, sat Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, Angel, Firefly etc.. He was with someone, an older man, I imagined they were discussing post production details of Serenity which was due in a few months.

I stood stock still a few feet from him. Total fanboy geekdom took over.

I've met and known many famous people. Including Charleton Heston and several other greats. This was the first and thus far only time I was spellbound.

I had been a fan of Whedon's for years. I admired his play with words, his storytelling and his perspective. And there he was in the flesh.

Finally I spoke and offered my hand, not expecting him to return the favor or thinking that he even should. I'm a stranger after all. I told him that I was a great fan of his work and admired him and had been turning my daughter on to his work from the time she was 11 and that she was now enjoying Firefly on DVD and it was the first time she liked anything that had anything to do with spaceships.

He was extremely gracious and kind and I can't even tell you how many times he said thank you. Then I got my shit together and remembered that I was a straight man in my early 40s and had to stop being such a girl. I thanked him for letting me talk with him and wished him a good night. Nodded to his friend and thanked him too and then walked on.

When I was a block away I called my daughter. "Guess what just happened to me"

Non chalant "I have no idea"

".............................I JUST MET JOSS WHEDON"



Suddenly Screaming "ReALYY!!!!!????"

And then I told her what happened.

I forgot about the woman, the subway and my crappy life and ended up walking for another 30 blocks before finally getting on the subway home, grinning the whole time.

Echoes of a River being Buffed by Angelic Evil Leagues

WARNING: There are spoilers here if you have not seen all of Joss Whedon's TV ouvre.

I had a few free moments and decided to finally take advantage of my roommate's wide screen TV and popped in Serenity for a few minutes. The movie begins with a flashback dream and then moves into a scene where River, the 17 year old psychic is being manipulated with some sort of device injected through her forehead into her brain.

Immediately I thought of Dollhouse and the Mind Wiping device which of course led me to think about Joss Whedon's recurring themes of female empowerment, family, sexuality and language.

But for Angel, all of Joss Whedon's shows feature young women who mostly through involuntary means are given extraordinary abilities of one kind or another. I take that back, even in Angel, Cordelia is granted certain abilities and made half demon in order to accommodate those abilities.

Buffy, the chosen one. Selected from an array of 16 year old girls from around the world to fight vampires and demons alone. Towards the end of the series we learn that Slayers were created by ancient medicine men in Africa embueing the chosen young female with demon strength. The rape allegory is not lost here. Buffy eventually finds a way to harness that very energy and transform its ability to empower potential slayers all over the world.

Cordelia, see above.

River (Firefly), essentially lured by The Alliance into a phone school and experimented on to enhance her abilities, those abilities later lead to a potential downfall of the Alliance. The series was not allowed to run its full course, but by suggestion in the movie "Serenity" I get the idea that that was the direction of the story.

Echo (Dollhouse), coerced to become an "Active" with abilities that can be altered for any mission. Like River, her abilities may be developing in a way that will ironically take down the Dollhouse organization.

In all of Whedon's series we get to know a disparate group of individuals who become close and dependent upon eachother through extraordinary circumstances, which leads to Joss' recurring theme of there's the family you are born with and the family you find yourself in. Joss always seems to express a preference for the latter. Paging Dr. Freud.

This is not a criticism, just an observation. God knows I love Whedon's storytelling and all prolific TV writers end up revisiting ideas and concepts all the time. I've mentioned I am a fan of Fringe and I know at some point we will learn of Olivia's complicated relationship with her father, a theme that runs through all of JJ Abrams' series. (Whedon has this two for Buffy and Angel but far less prominently)

I was raised by a feminist through the 60s and 70s. My mother was part of Consciousness Raising Groups, all sorts of therapy, etc and down to being a regional VP for the National Organization for Women.

I think that's why I've always found Joss Whedon's shows so resonant for me. Also I tend to relate to the characters of Xander and Wash deeply. (Hell I even took the Facebook test of which Firefly character are you and I came up Wash. I should have known). Female empowerment has always seemed important to me. I think as I've gotten older I've come to understand too that the empowered women are, the more empowered men are. I can get into what that all means to me another time.

I write all this to say why it is that I love Dollhouse. That is comes back to the themes I always love in Whedon's work. Also, as I've said, Eliza Dushku is the guiltiest pleasuriest guilty pleasure I have. Why else would I have posted that hot picture of her the other day.

Tomorrow, when I have time, I'm going to post more links about Dollhouse and a podcast I listen to weekly where they have a Dollhouse store through Amazon that will enable us to continue to do what we can to make sure FOX understands that there's money in it for them to keep the show going.

I leave you Joss' immortal words. "Always be yourself...unless you suck"