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It was bound to happen sooner or later. The script for the pilot of the highly anticipated Joss Whedon/Eliza Dushku series, "Dollhouse," has landed in the hands of people such as E! Online's Kristen Dos Santos and Televisionary Jace, who both report that the script and potential series exceeds all expectations.

"I am still trying to catch my breath," said Jace in a relatively spoiler-less review of the script. "While I had extremely high expectations for 'Dollhouse' (I always trust in the Joss), I was worried that, after all of the hype and hoopla, it wouldn't quite live up to my preconceived notions about the project. I am happy to say that not only were those expectations matched but they were exceeded."

The pilot episode is called "Echo," which is the name of the show?s central character played by Dushku. Echo, according to Fox's official description "is a young woman who is literally everybody's fantasy. She is one of a group of men and women called 'Actives' who can be imprinted with personality packages, including memories, skills, language ? even muscle memory ? for different assignments. The assignments can be romantic, adventurous, outlandish, uplifting, sexual and/or very illegal. When not imprinted with a personality package, Echo and the others are basically mind-wiped, living like children in a futuristic dorm/lab dubbed the Dollhouse, with no memory of their assignments ? or of much else.

"The show revolves around Echo's burgeoning self-awareness, and her desire to know who she was before, a desire that begins to seep into her various imprinted personalities and puts her in danger both in the field and in the closely monitored confines of the Dollhouse."


 According to Jace, among the themes in the show are the development of Identity, self-determination, and free will. It delves into issues of morality and mortality and asks hard questions about the ethical ramifications of science and technology.


Many people wonder if Echo will simply be vampire slayer Faith in a different setting. Word is that Echo will not only not be Faith, but has about 48 different faces to show the world. Whedon has created a challenging character for Dushku. The set-up of the show allows her play a variety of personalities and moods in a single episode. In the pilot episode alone, Echo assumes at least five identities.

Echo, has her mind wiped by a computer genius named Topher after every assignment, so she can't remember anything she's done, who she is, or who she's been. She, unlike the other Actives, is struggling with self-awareness, as she begins remembering things from her previous "engagements" that she shouldn't. There are things that her "captors" don't want her to remember.



As can be expected with a work by Whedon, there is much more to "Dollhouse" than meets the eye. It is populated with morally gray characters "engaged in one of the most sickening and intriguing displays of human trafficking ever devised" according to Jace.

Tahmoh Penikett's FBI agent Paul Ballard, who may serve as a love interest for Echo, is obsessed with opening up the Dollhouse, but he may have more in common with the Dolls than he knows.



Olivia Williams, will play Adelle Dewitt, "a Frigidaire administratrix whose rare brushes with human empathy and compassion are enough to make you suspect she might just be a good guy after all" according to Dos Santos.



 Still yet to be cast, Dr. Claire Saunders, will have visible facial scars from a razor-blade attack in her past.

There's also an unexplained back story (referred to as Alpha) that will likely be revealed over time if Fox doesn't rip our hearts out and cancel the show. Also the power structure within the Dollhouse is a fluctuating, living thing unto itself.

As with Whedon's other series, it's difficult to pigeonhole it into one genre. It's an action-adventure yarn. It's science-fiction. It's a mystery. It's a statement on the human condition. It's likely to be like nothing we've ever seen before.

"Dollhouse" is slated to premiere this fall on Fox.

Feeling a little horrific? Get your daily dose of horror news straight from The Doll, Rabid Doll that is at www.RabidDoll.com.

Hear Michael Hinman on SyFy Radio every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, and Sundays at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT at www.BlogTalkRadio.com/SyFyRadio.