This month has been really exciting on Dollhouse, as the plot races along at full bore toward what will undoubtedly be an epic conclusion. In the leadup to the series finale-which I have to say, we really should be grateful to Fox for letting the season run its course in spite of the awful ratings-things have gotten really exciting. The entire season has been really good, but in the most recent six episodes especially, the development of characters and plot has reached the proverbial “fever pitch”. The evolution of Echo into-dare I say it-a REAL character-has been both gripping and surprising in many ways. Similarly, the development of Victor and Sierra-about whom I couldn’t have given less of a damn for most of season one-have rapidly become my favorites.

Wha I’ve been especially impressed by is the quality of performances we’ve seen from Enver Gjokaj (sic?)-Victor-in particular. That guy is frickin’ AMAZING, easily slipping between various personalities with complete believability. His spot-on portrayal of the Topher Brink character was beyond brilliance-it was as if the actual actor (I forget his name, and since I’m writing from my iPhone I won’t bother with the research) had somehow slipped into Victor’s skin. I truly hope to see him in another series soon.

So, lots of questions remain: how will the return of Caroline to her own body affect Echo? Will they-and how will they-bring Rossum down? And perhaps just as importantly, if they do manage to stop Rossum’s nefarious plans, how will they explain that in the context of Epitaph One, set another decade in the future?

On most of these points I have no clue, but on the last one I was struck with an idea while watching the second of last night’s two episodes. The faux future we saw while Echo, Sierra and Victor were trapped in the attic, stuck inside the Dollhouse technology’s creator’s mind, bore an awfully strong resemblance to the future in Epitaph One. Now, this could be simple: after all, one post-apocalyptic future looks pretty much the same as the next-or it could be that Epitaph One’s characters were, in fact, simply current era dolls who’d been sent to the attic. I can’t decide if that would be a cop-out of a development or not. What do you think?

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By now, you may have read that Joss Whedon’s most recent show, Doll House, has been cancelled, though with a bit more ceremony and respect than most cancelled shows ever get. Unlike said other shows, Doll House will be allowed to complete its second season as planned, with every single episode airing, in order, as promised. I’ve got to give Fox props for trying-they’ve given the show almost every opportunity to succeed, with the one exception being that it’s been stuck in television’s worst time slot since the day it launched. I can’t help but wonder if perhaps a Sunday night slot might have yielded better results.

The immediate trend I’ve noticed on the topic has been one of blame, and specifically, blame for Fox. I have yet to see many people blame the show’s writers, who I think carry a significant burden of blame, nor the show’s audience, who certainly deserves blame a-plenty. A lot of things happened to conspire against Doll House, not the least of which was DH itself. The concept is, without a doubt, effing brilliant. The problem is that during the first season, the show’s primary characters-the Actives-were completely and utterly unrelatable. From the first episode to the sixth, it was very difficult to care about any of the characters. Yes, there was some good action, and yes, we got to look at some nice boobies in tight or revealing outfits, but those things alone do not make a show interesting. Well, at least not interesting enough to watch religiously.

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I’m just going to admit it right now: I am lazy and forgetful about certain things. One of those things involves giveaways, and this is one that I meant to do waaaaaay back during E3 of this year. Sadly, I suck, and I tucked these snazzy little cards into a backpack pocket and promptly forgot about them. However, you’re in luck: they’re still valid!

So what I’ve got are three copies of Battlefield 1943, which is a digital download. I have two copies for Playstation 3 and one copy for Xbox 360. The way this will work is simple: In the comments, tell us what your three favorite nerdy shows are and a sentence or two about why you watch them. We’ll sift through the comments and choose from those who make their case with the most…I dunno, I want to say “elegance,” but on the other hand, maybe “humor” would be a better criterion. In any case, get commenting and we’ll select the three luck winners on Halloween!

I might as well just admit it: I wasn’t really impressed with the first episode of Doll House. Although the premise is quite interesting, I felt like there was a little too much emphasis on cheesy action. Dear Mr. Whedon, please never do another motorcyle chase again. They’re boring and dumb. For the most part, if Evil Knievel isn’t involved, I really couldn’t care less about motorcycles, and in fact I think they detract from the show. But I digress. Before I go too far in, I’ll add this note: Episode 2 was much better than the first, so I think there’s still plenty of hope for the series.

If you haven’t tuned in yet, Doll House is the latest Sci Fi series from cult icon Joss Whedon, who’s behind two of the greatest Sci-fi (and let’s face it, fantasy) television series of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. He’s also the man behind the excellent (and prompty cancelled) series Firefly, which was inarguably the most “Sci” of his “Sci fi” series. The premise of Doll House is in some ways much more low key than any of Whedon’s previous works. Buffy and Angel were filled with vampires, demons and evil lawyers; Firefly had cowboys on space ships; but Doll House is conspicuously devoid of the more fantastical trappings into which its creator has historically tapped for his metaphors. Now, that’s not to say that DH doesn’t have a fantastical premise, it certainly does. But though the premise is extraordinary, everything surrounding it is amazing in how ordinary it in fact is.

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