Uninhabited Spaces

Many sci-fi geeks are rejoicing to have a Joss Whedon ("Buffy", "Angel", & "Firefly") show back on television. In this case Mr. Whedon has cast former vampire slayer Faith (Eliza Dukshu) as Echo, an "active" within an organization called The Dollhouse. Her real identity, Caroline, has been wiped from her memory so she can be programmed to fulfil clients' various needs. The Dollhouse rents out the actives (or "dolls") at what appears to be extremely high prices to play a variety of roles. To date we have seen the dolls be sexual fantasies, assassins, thieves, and other sundry things. Clearly, those with a great deal of money (i.e. the rich and powerful) don't ever hire a doll to go and read to their grandparents. One gets the sense that wealth and immorality are tightly woven in the Whedonverse. So this is what the show "Dollhouse" is all about on the surface. Being Whedon, the show is wonderfully layered with more ...

John Hughes, the writer and director of the definitive teen movies of the 1980s, passed away today at age 59. Hughes' movies helped to define an entire genre of movies. Wow... "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", "Home Alone", "Vacation", and "Uncle Buck"...I have such a rush of nostalgia just thinking of these great films. Thank you, sir, for the movies of my teenaged years; the movies that made high school just a little bit more fun and memorable.