Dollhouse: Needs (Episode 8)

Fox was idiotic to demand five stand alone episodes up front. They should have started with Episode Six. But I said that last week. Spoilers over the jump.

Warning: this is all stream of conscious and not too thought out.

It started off with a bang with that dream sequence of Ballard's. I really liked that. Good psychology writing. Dealing with his hero issues vis-a-vis Echo and his attraction, his guilt perhaps over Mellie knowing that she expects him to dump her for Echo if he ever has the chance and probably being right AND (most importantly) working out in his mind the problem of how they knew to go after Mellie and knew he had talked to her about the case.

This episode did nothing to make me like the Mellie character more - her doll-like character is really not all that different from her real life character. Or maybe (as I keep thinking) it's a problem with the acting. And as far as plot goes, I wondered why Ballard didn't notice that she'd given birth when he saw her naked. (And I wondered who she was that she could afford such a HUGE headstone for a child. But of course I always wondered on Buffy how amazing it was that in Sunnydale they managed to have headstones carved and in place on the day of the funeral. But I digress ...) I'm more and more enamored by Victor though.

The episode had a lot of good psychology and insight into characters especially DeWitt's character and the Doctor's character. When I realized that although the Doctor had looked helpful to Echo early in the episode but wasn't really helping and had in fact designed the experiment to take away their "glitches", a thought crossed my mind. "Appearances are deceiving on this show." And I wondered if the fact that the doctor's face is scarred is supposed to tie into that thought. Because I've wondered the entire season why those scars are really necessary. They are a reminder of the damage that Alpha can do to Dollhouse but - she could have plastic surgery and she has chosen not to. For a while I thought it was a cover for her - always a reminder to the people who run Dollhouse that she's on their side and has literally taken one for the team. Which gives her cover for being the mole. But the end of this episode makes me doubt that. She is one of them. In any case Amy Acker has so far been my favorite in the mgmt position actors on this show.

On the other hand, did the Doctor come up with the whole plan? Topher was backing up everything at the beginning of the episode - so Echo's attack on the equipment did nothing. They lost nothing. Was that just a happy coincidence? Or did he and DeWitt know what the "better idea" was going to be?

And ... "I'm not your friend in here Echo" ... did that mean the Doctor was her friend somewhere else? I had a sense when Echo first saw the doctor and asked her what happened to her face that she might have known her before the scars.

Finally, I feel like I'm supposed to be rooting for Caroline but I don't really like her. Going back in was stupid. I have a hard time rooting for people who do stupid things. I also didn't like Sierra that much as a real person. This is going to come out sounding worse than I mean, but I thought that her character was a perfect candidate for abuse. In the sense that abusers abuse people who allow it. And look at how Whedon has created this character - she is the victim of rape by her handler but she also was put into the Dollhouse by a man she turned down who now hires her out. I should feel outraged. I am outraged. On the other hand - I still don't like her that much and I want her to be more assertive. The most assertive she was, was her instinct to run. She was passive when confronting Nolan and it was Victor who punched him. And I realize that this was a truly creative way to write this because so many women who are abused get no real sympathy (people are outraged but not necessarily sympathetic) because the women ARE passively annoying. I worked with a woman who was murdered by her husband (who then shot himself). She was very nice. She was also a total doormat. She didn't deserve death. Her death was outrageous. But I would be deceiving myself if I thought that if time were reversed I would feel differently about her and not think to myself - why the hell did you let yourself get involved with this manipulative bastard? Knowing that someone was treated wrongly and that the perpetrator should be brought to justice does not mean you will necessarily have sympathy for the victim. It's one reason why it's hard to convict for rape. Most people aren't able to separate justice from sympathy.

The whole "appearances are deceiving" thing also made me think about Ibsen's play "A Doll's House" in which appearances are deceiving. Ibsen also ponders the meaning of "freedom" in that play and Whedon seems to be doing that also. Especially with this episode where we are told that some of the dolls have chosen to do this to be free of memories they can't handle. For the first time I wondered if there is any link in Whedon's mind with Ibsen and what he is trying to do here.

I have to admit, though, when the episode was over I felt let down. If the dolls really are now "clean" and are starting over blank next week - what was the point of watching all these episodes.

Poets and Poetry

Over at Harriet, Cathy Halley posted the following:

In response to Travis's last post, Iain says: "I'd be very interested in a poll that asked people what stereotypes they associate with poetry and poets."

So would we. So let's ask that question far and wide:

What stereotypes do you associate with poetry and poets?

Stereotypes. Well, poet stereotypes abound. Sensitive and moody top the list. Poor. (Definitely poor.) Impractical. Now that I think about it there are really a lot of negative stereotypes of poets. But when I think of one of my favorite living poets, Billy Collins, he just seems like a regular guy who happens to write poetry.

Concerning Poetry itself, I find hard to think of stereotypes because I dismiss them too easily. Difficult to understand. (It isn't really). Only meant for highly educated people (how do you think illiterate societies passed on stories - they made poems of them). Lots of rhymes. (not)

In any event, as part of National Poetry Month make it a point to be nice to a poet this month.

The National Poetry Month Pastime

In honor of National Poetry Month and next week's start of a new season of our National Pastime, I thought I'd post something appropriate to both.  

Baseball and Writing
by Marianne Moore

Fanaticism? No. Writing is exciting
and baseball is like writing.
You can never tell with either
how it will go
or what you will do;
generating excitement -
a fever in the victim -
pitcher, catcher, fielder, batter.
Victim in what category?
Owlman watching from the press box?
To whom does it apply?
Who is excited? Might it be I?

It's a pitcher's battle all the way - a duel -
a catcher's, as, with cruel
puma paw, Elston Howard lumbers lightly
back to plate. (His spring
de-winged a bat swing.)
They have that killer instinct;
yet Elston - whose catching
arm has hurt them all with the bat -
when questioned, says, unenviously,
"I'm very satisfied. We won."
Shorn of the batting crown, says, "We";
robbed by a technicality.

When three players on a side play three positions
and modify conditions,
the massive run need not be everything.
"Going, going . . . " Is
it? Roger Maris
has it, running fast. You will
never see a finer catch. Well . . .
"Mickey, leaping like the devil" - why
gild it, although deer sounds better -
snares what was speeding towards its treetop nest,
one-handing the souvenir-to-be
meant to be caught by you or me.

Assign Yogi Berra to Cape Canaveral;
he could handle any missile.
He is no feather. "Strike! . . . Strike two!"
Fouled back. A blur.
It's gone. You would infer
that the bat had eyes.
He put the wood to that one.
Praised, Skowron says, "Thanks, Mel.
I think I helped a little bit."
All business, each, and modesty.
Blanchard, Richardson, Kubek, Boyer.
In that galaxy of nine, say which
won the pennant? Each. It was he.

Those two magnificent saves from the knee-throws
by Boyer, finesses in twos -
like Whitey's three kinds of pitch and pre-
diagnosis
with pick-off psychosis.
Pitching is a large subject.
Your arm, too true at first, can learn to
catch your corners - even trouble
Mickey Mantle. ("Grazed a Yankee!
My baby pitcher, Montejo!"
With some pedagogy,
you'll be tough, premature prodigy.)

They crowd him and curve him and aim for the knees. Trying
indeed! The secret implying:
"I can stand here, bat held steady."
One may suit him;
none has hit him.
Imponderables smite him.
Muscle kinks, infections, spike wounds
require food, rest, respite from ruffians. (Drat it!
Celebrity costs privacy!)
Cow's milk, "tiger's milk," soy milk, carrot juice,
brewer's yeast (high-potency -
concentrates presage victory

sped by Luis Arroyo, Hector Lopez-
deadly in a pinch. And "Yes,
it's work; I want you to bear down,
but enjoy it
while you're doing it."
Mr. Houk and Mr. Sain,
if you have a rummage sale,
don't sell Roland Sheldon or Tom Tresh.
Studded with stars in belt and crown,
the Stadium is an adastrium.
O flashing Orion,
your stars are muscled like the lion.

Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan

I haven't posted much lately about books I've been reading. But that's not because I'm not reading. On the contrary, I'm flying through books.

At the suggestion of andif, I've been reading Laura Lippman's series of mystery novels that feature Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan. I love a good mystery series and this, so far, has been a really good series. I've read Baltimore Blues, Charm City, Butcher's Hill, In Big Trouble, The Sugar House and In a Strange City. I'm working on The Last Place right now.

Like I said, I love mystery novels. But I don't usually talk about them. Sometimes one of my reading groups picks one to read and there really isn't a whole lot to say after everyone decides whether or not the ending was surprising. A series is another matter because then there is often (but not always) an underlying story that builds the characters and can be a topic for discussion. But most reading groups don't commit to a whole series.

I thought I'd take a break from reading and talk a bit about why I'm enjoying this series. First, she hasn't annoyed me with erroneous lawyer detail. Yes, there is the obligatory lawyer, but he has only a small part in the series. He is important to Tess because he is a rowing coach as much as for his legal connections. Lippman spends very little time ever talking about him practicing law - which is a good thing. That means I'm not distracted by erroneous or unlikely lawyer details, as I often am in these types of series. And what she does talk about she either gets right or it's close enough to right that it isn't a distraction for me. For instance, one of the clever things about this series, is the reason there is an obligatory lawyer in the first place: to give Tess a confidential relationship with her clients. That's a really good reason and it's believable. Lippman doesn't quite get it right (or, she got it right once but then stopped getting it right), but that doesn't really matter because she has the overall idea right.

The other thing she's done right is give really good descriptions of Baltimore that paint a picture but don't go into so much detail that it is distracting. I like a mystery series that makes me feel part of a city: the London of Lord Peter Wimsey; the Rome of Marcus Didius Falco; the Edinburgh of John Rebus. Often when an author sets a story in a "second" city there is either too much description or too little. If there isn't enough description there is no sense of place. But too much detailed description (and this is usually the case) makes the reader feel like a visitor instead of a resident.

So far in my reading only one book was set outside the Baltimore area: In Big Trouble. So far, it has been my least favorite of the series, but not because of the descriptions of San Antonio. She does a good job with those. No, the problem for me was that Tess ended up solving the mystery in Texas the same way she would have done it in Baltimore, which was completely unrealistic. Lippman has done a great job of giving Tess a network in Baltimore with lots of contacts that can help her solve cases: newspaper contacts from her previous job, legal contracts, contacts within the police force and especially family and friend contacts that are very believable. Tess comes from a low profile politically connected family in Baltimore; not the glamorous political connections but the working class, bureaucracy connections (I'm waiting to see if she ever uses her mother's connections at the NSA). She also has a good friend that comes from money and that provides her with entry into circles that would otherwise be closed to her.

But in Texas she has no real contacts and yet... everyone opens up to her. I found it especially unbelievable that a homicide detective would sit there and share speculation about the case with a total stranger who has just found the dead body. This is one of my pet peeves about many mysteries I read. The detective just has to show up and everyone opens up. I was glad when Lippman moved Tess back to Baltimore.

I particularly liked Butcher's Hill, which had a couple of really good plot twists that were unexpected but not so much of a stretch that I found them unbelievable. And I liked In a Strange City which had a wealth of interesting tidbits about Baltimorean Edger Allen Poe. So far, the plots aren't formulaic and Tess grows and learns as the series goes along. In the current book I'm reading, The Last Place, she has been forced to go to anger management classes and it will be interesting to see how she comes out of those. (This one also involves a serial killer and is giving me the creeps.)

I'll be sorry when I get to the end of this series.

Left Bank Books - New Downtown Store

During these hard economic times it is always good to celebrate good things that happen.  One of the good things that has happened here in St. Louis is the opening of a new downtown location for Left Bank Books, an independent bookstore that, up until now, has had only one location in the city's Central West End.

In this economy many bookstores are closing.  But the "powers that be" are really trying to attract businesses downtown and they felt that a local bookstore would be a plus. So, rumor says, they worked hard to get Left Bank to open a branch downtown, not far from Washington Avenue and the loft district with its residential flavor. 

Although the store has actually been opened for a number of weeks, the "Grand Opening" was a couple of weekends ago and I went down for the Friday night festivities.  The event was a talk and book signing by author Mike Lux who is on tour promoting  his book The Progressive Revolution.  A good crowd showed up to hear him and during the Q&A they asked a lot of really good questions.

The downtown store is very different from the West End Store.  The West End store, situated on a busy corner, looks like an old fashioned book store with dark wood shelves.  The high ceilings don't make it any less crowded with books and people. Personally, I always get a little claustrophobic in it.  The downtown location is much more modern, with plate glass windows looking out onto the streets and the HVAC system and other structural elements exposed.  It has a lot of room, which I liked.

Here's the only photo that I thought to take that night, it isn't the greatest but it will give you an idea of what it looks like:

Author Mike Lux acknowledges Mo. Secretary of State and Senate Candidate Robin Carnahan (in the red jacket) during his talk. 

I hope they can make a go of it.  Rumor says that part of luring them downtown was giving them a really good deal on rent.  I hope that's true.  And I hope the people who live and work downtown stop by often and BUY BOOKS. 

Nikki at Puddn'head Books in Webster Groves sent out an e-mail last week extolling the St. Louis community's ability to support local independent bookstores.  That made me reorganize my links over on the side and provide a category for local independent bookstores.  Where they have a blog I've linked to the blog.  So, if you are local check out the links and then go check out the stores. We are fortunate to have some good ones - let's keep it that way.

Twitter Lit

Too busy to read a novel?  Try a short story.  Too busy to read a short story?  Try Twitter.  Seriously.  According to the Globe and Mail, some fiction writers have discovered Twitter and are writing Twitter fiction.  Yes, fiction limited to 140 characters.  I can see the SAT question now:  As poetry is to Haiku, short story is to:  (a) Twitter, (b) the novel, (c) graphic novels or (d) newspapers.

Take Canadian writer Arjun Basu:

Given the 140-character limit, Basu manages to evoke a surprising range of moods in his micro-stories. Some are wry: "The lawn reminds me of my fourth wife; feral but sort of beautiful. The grass needs cutting, my son says. Oh, it needs more than that, I say" (Basu occasionally squeezes out an extra character by dropping the final period). Many hint at loss: "They argued the merits of Roxy Music until they realized they were both old. All our tunes are commercials for unglamorous things, Joe said." And some are sheer fun: "The kid says yay I don't have to do anything today. The dad says why not? The kid says my teacher said so. She said it's the idles of March."

Here, read him yourself at twitter.com/arjunbasu.  I liked this one:

He stepped into the shower to wash the day away. And then the phone rang. He got out, tracking water. And smashed the phone against the wall