'Dollhouse': Hook ups, half-nakedness, hostility & humor... yeah, humor

For weeks, Joss Whedon fans have been told to have patience with "Dollhouse," that the show will start to pick up around episode six. So, is it true? Will the promise be fullfilled? KTV reporter Marisa Roffman has screened hours six and seven (the former airs this evening) and says, yeah pretty much...

"Dollhouse" does seem to be on the verge of finding its footing as these next two eps are easily the best of the series so far. What can you look forward to? A mix of jawdropping reveals, action (obviously) and a laugh or two (yep, Joss brings the funny). And you should know that even if you gave up on "Dollhouse" a few weeks ago, you can jump back in tonight and will still totally get what's going down.

So what is going down? This evening will be pretty Paul Ballard-centric. The FBI special agent (Tahmoh Penikett) kicks a lot of ass, gets psychoanalyzed by a dollhouse client, uncovers a lot of information and, oh yeah, meets Echo (Eliza Dushku) for the first time. Their first meeting, however, is not that fight scene that's been shown in the promos. Things are far more calm at first. But the intense altercation you may be waiting for does come shortly thereafter. Echo and Paul beat the crap out of each other tonight and there will be a surprising twist.

Other twists? Surprises? Turns?

A seemingly minorish character is not as innocent as he or she believes themselves to be and will get thrown into the main storyline in a major way.

Victor and Sierra will take a few steps forward in the romance department, but don't expect things to be easy, especially given the fact that they aren't supposed to have emotions. I mean, no romance on this show -- be it Victor/Sierra or Echo/Paul (yeah, that's right, I said Echo/Paul) -- will be simple.

"Alias" fans, remember the scene in season one when Vaughn showed Sydney how far SD-6 stretched? Paul Ballard will have a moment similar to that when he learns just how far the dollhouse reaches and how many of them there could be.

Oh, and did I mention that Paul will be half naked for portions of the next two eps? Yes, Tahmoh Penikett spends a few scenes unclothed. Why? He's dealing with an injury and, um, you know, is also getting some sexy time.

Fans wanting to find out more about Boyd will have to wait, as there are no plans to dig deeper into his character this season, but he will get to be the knight in shining armor to a doll (not Echo) tonight.

Fans of Amy Acker, on the other hand, will be getting additional insight into Dr. Saunders pretty soon. According to Whedon, "I love that character, not just because it's Amy Acker, but because she wears misery and torture on her face literally. We will definitely learn how she came to this fabulous career. In the last few episodes, we get to turn the Acker up pretty hot and it's very exciting." 

As for how all the dolls came to their "fabulous" careers, we'll soon find out that at least one of them is not around because he or she chose to be. Actually, in next week's episode, we'll see what five of the dollhouse inhabitants were like before they began this fascinating work. But that doesn't mean we're flashing back to their lives pre-dollhouse. They are going to wake up in present day... with their old personalities. Yeah.

So will you be watching "Dollhouse" tonight?