Echoes

For the character, see Echo.

"Echoes" is the seventh episode of Dollhouse. It was written by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain and directed by James Contner. The episode aired on March 27th, 2009.

Production

"Echoes" was produced in November 2008.

Synopsis

Engagements

Active	Client	Alias	Personality	Mission
Sierra	Rossum Corporation	Dr. Gawas	Anesthesiologist	Investigate virus outbreak.
Victor		Tom Voran	NSA Agent
Echo	Matt	Alice	Innocent twenty-something	Dream date.

A deadly virus outbreak on a college campus sends Echo back to school where pieces of her past come into focus.

Reception

Critics

"This is the show we expected from Joss and Co."

―TV Guide Recap

"For everyone out there complaining that “Dollhouse” doesn’t bring the funny the way Whedon shows of old did, this one was for you."

―Zap2It Recap

"This was a terrific episode. (...) The series has improved tremendously and is starting to be a terrific piece of science fiction."

―TV Squad Recap

"An imperfect but very satisfying balance between goofy stoner(ish) comedy and shadowy corporate chicanery, tonight’s hour started answering some questions about the origins of Dollhouse and Echo’s involvement with it, while holding many of the characters in the sort of debilitating (though temporary) hocus-pocus that would happen often on Buffy and Angel."

―A.V. Club Recap

"This is not a great episode of television. But the details within it do increase the intrigue of the show."

―The TV Critic Review

Ratings

"Echoes" reached a 2.4/4 Rating/Share, a 1.42/4 Rating/Share in the 18-49 demographic and a 1.6/4 Rating/Share in the 25-54 demographic. 58.33% of the audience was in the 18-49 demographic. The episode was watched by 3.402 million viewers Live, 3.870 million viewers Live+SD and 4.821 million viewers Live+7. The episode averaged a 1.19 Rating in the 18-49 demographic Live, a 1.42 Live+SD and a 1.96 Live+7. Overall "Echoes" had 1.419 million DVR viewers. 29.4% of all viewings of "Echoes" happened via DVR.

"Echoes" reached the 69th rank of all primetime shows airing that week comparing Live+SD viewers (65th when comparing Live+7 viewers) and 64th rank comparing the Live+SD 18-49 demographic (56th when comparing the Live+7 demo).

Cast

Main Cast

• Eliza Dushku as Echo / Alice / Caroline Farrell
• Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton
• Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard
• Fran Kranz as Topher Brink
• Enver Gjokaj as Victor
• Dichen Lachman as Sierra
• and Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt

Recurring Roles

• Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic
• Miracle Laurie as November / Mellie

Guest Stars

• Brett Claywell as Matt Cargill
• Mechad Brooks as Sam Jennings
• Octavia Spencer as Professor Janack
• Josh Cooke as Leo Carpenter
• Philip Casnoff as Clive Ambrose
• Jenica Bergere as Penny
• Josh Fadem as Owen Johnston

Quotes

Adelle DeWitt: (under the influence of the drug) Indomitable... Ooh, I could eat that word! Or a crisp. (half-beat) Do we have crisps?

Trivia

• This the episode that introduces the Rossum Corporation. We also get to see Caroline Farrell for the first time since the opening of "Ghost". Mellie's designation is revealed to be "November".
• The building shown as the outside of the frat house where the affected people are being kept is the Associated Students building at San Jose State University. The two buildings in the background are MacQuarie (on the left) and Duncan (on the right).
• When Topher meets Clive Ambrose, he greets him by saying, "Third richest man in the country; nominated for a Nobel Prize..." According to Nobelprize.org, the names of the nominees cannot be revealed until 50 years later, so the only way that Topher would know this is through the Dollhouse's network of influential clients and other clandestine sources of information.
• The motorcycle that Echo rides in this episode is a Ducati 1098.
• Topher's "Listen to me, carefully. I've got a huge phalanx of machines that go ping." could be an allusion to the Monty Python film The Meaning of Life. In the first part, "The Miracle of Birth", there is a machine in the hospital which the doctors refer to as "the machine that goes ping".
• Topher also says "As long as we keep the place locked down and don't have any more X-factors, then here I come to save the day". "Here I come to save the day!" is a catchphrase used by the cartoon character Mighty Mouse, star of The Mighty Mouse Playhouse and other cartoon and comic book series.
• The Rossum Corporation, and the Rossum Building on campus, takes its name from Karel Èapek's 1931 science-fiction stage play R.U.R., later translated to English under the full title of Rossum's Universal Robots. The play introduced (and popularized) the term robot in reference to automatons. In the play, the robots are not purely mechanical systems, but rather organic creatures assembled in a factory, more resembling the current definition of "clone" than that of "robot".

Music

• During Caroline's flashback whilst telling her friends of Rossum "Portions For Foxes" by Rilo Kiley plays.
• "Fantaisie Impromptu in C-sharp minor, Op. 66" by Chopin is played by Boyd on the piano.
• "For Everything A Reason' by Carina Round plays as Mellie tells Ballard she is leaving.

Promotional Photos

External Links

• "Echoes" at the Official Dollhouse Wiki
• "Echoes" at tv.com
• "Echoes" at IMDb