Doing Time With Buffy And Eliza In The Past
My beloved, now deceased husband, Michael T, as I called him, walked on a treadmill every evening to keep his heart healthy. My dedicated husband would go downstairs into our family room, close the door and hop on his treadmill. He would queue up some TV shows he had saved throughout the week and watch as he walked to avoid getting bored and to stay motivated.
Now that probably doesn't sound unusual. Many people watch TV while they exercise. However, Michael was a man of very unusual entertainment tapes. He usually did not watch traditional American style TV. He watched shows about rugby in Europe or car racing in New Zealand. He was a fan of cricket matches, classical music and old movies from the 30s. When I happened into his room one day as he was finishing his walk I noticed he was watching Buffy, which I had never seen.
Buffy And Her Gang
I asked him what he was viewing and he told me he "adored Buffy and her gang". I literally was shocked since this was a man, who graduated from Harvard with a degree in math, who read Russian chess books (in Russian) for fun. If he was into Buffy, there was something amiss. I sat down and watched the rest of the episode with him, my first, and from that point on it became something we did together. I still have the tapes he made of all his favorite Buffy episodes before the show ended.
Tru Calling
The year before he died suddenly of a sudden heart attack (so much for all the exercise eh?) he got hooked on Eliza Dushku's Tru Calling. He had adored Eliza as Faith on BtVS but really loved her Tru Calling show and her ability to bring people back from the dead. I remember thinking when he died and I was leaving the hospital (in complete shock) where he was taken during his heart attack, that I wished I could call and have Tru Davies show up and "undo his death" like she did for so many people on her Tru Calling show.
I even laughed out loud at the craziness of wishing a TV character could pop in and reverse my husband's death. You do (well I did anyway) go to crazy places when you lose someone you love and Michael was truly the love of my life. Losing him was the worst thing I have ever gone through. Momentarily thinking Eliza as Tru, could save him, was just a way to uncork a little humor in a bad moment. I knew he would appreciate it and would have laughed with me about my thought. In an odd way, it made me appreciate Eliza's characters even more.
Yes, I do know that Eliza is just an actress playing the various roles on Buffy, Tru Calling and in her various films,but I really enjoy them. Maybe because of that special bond that I shared with my dear Michael, or maybe because she is a good actress, at least in my opinion.
Eliza Is Back In The Dollhouse
Imagine my happiness to hear Eliza is coming back to TV with another series known as The Dollhouse. As if I don't already watch enough television. Except those who know me would tell you I only watch with one eye and blog with the other. Yes, that is also true. But I do have time for a show with Eliza, even it if means ditching something else.
What could be even better than Eliza Dushku coming back? The show, Dollhouse, on Fox, is a Joss Whedon show. Joss is the creator of Buffy and the spin-off show, Angel. The idea Joss has for Dollhouse is to explore ideas about the identities humans create for ourself and the ways "we use and manipulate each other."
Eliza's True Identity?
My thought about Joss' comments? Cool. Sounds like the type of show Eliza and Joss would embrace. Apparently in the process of putting on different identities for paid clients, Eliza starts to search for her own true identity. Which sounds even better from the viewpoint of drama and sizzling episodes.
FOX Is Behind The New Show
FOX is behind Joss and Eliza to help give the show legs and the biggest concern by Dollhouse fans should be whether the show is given enough time to develop an audience. One of the main reasons the beloved vampire series, Moonlight, didn't make it was because the show didn't have enough time to win over a big enough audience. Hopefully FOX will be patient and allow Eliza and Joss time to dazzle prospective audiences.
Early reports from critics who watched the first three episodes indicates the show has tremendous potential and is intriguing because it allows blank human slates to be imprinted with any personality or set of skills a paying client needs. However, being a new show, it still has a few kinks.
Show's Premiere on February 13, 2009
Friday's (Feb. 13) premiere episode is the least compelling of the three first shows, according to some of the early watching critics. However, they give higher marks for the second and fourth episodes. Eliza plays the part of Caroline aka Echo and co-stars Olivia Williams who plays a cool Brit bu the name of Adelle DeWtt who runs the Dollhouse.
Another familiar face in Dollhouse is Tahmoh Penikett from Battlestar Galactica as FBI Agent Paul Ballard. Harry Lennis plays Eliza's handler as she goes through each new assignment and there is a boy-genius by the name of Topher (Fran Kranz). Supposedly the second episode which is a take off on "The Most Dangerous Game" is considered the best of the first four.
Bottom line? The show sounds like it offers the potential to become a very rich mystery/drama with swirls of dramedy. The cast holds tremendous promise and of course having Joss Whedon behind the scenes is a huge draw.
Set your Tivos for Eliza and Dollhouse for Friday the 13th and hopefully it will be a lucky day for all of us.Please follow us on Twitter at: https://Twitter.com/HairBoutique. I look forward to meeting new people from all walks of Twitter and learning from their Tweets.