"Epitaph One" is the 13th episode of the first season of the American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
Dollhouse
A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy home made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North America ...
''. The episode originally aired on the Season Pass on demand service from SingTel mio TV in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
on June 17, 2009 and later became available on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on July 28, 2009. It is also the first episode of the series to feature
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
, an actress with whom
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
has worked a number of times prior to ''Dollhouse''.
The episode was not aired in the USA due to different contractual obligations with the
Fox Network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
(the television broadcaster) and
20th Century Fox Television (the production company). 20th Century Fox needed thirteen episodes for the first season's DVD release and to sell to foreign markets, and having paid for but then scrapped the unaired original pilot episode, Fox only contracted the subsequent twelve episodes, but not the thirteenth. While Fox did renew the show for a second season, they never broadcast "Epitaph One." Due to Fox's decision not to air "Epitaph One," 20th Century Fox opted to promote the episode as a special incentive to buy the DVD and Blu-ray set releases of the ''Dollhouse''
's first season, in which the episode, and the original unaired pilot, are both included. In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
the episode aired on the UK
Sci Fi Channel
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
on August 11, 2009.
The episode is set in 2019 in a post-apocalyptic state and utilized flashbacks within the episode to hint at the future the show may or may not take in later seasons. (Season Two confirmed that it did.) Joss Whedon screened the episode during the ''Dollhouse'' panel at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International and said the show would continue to feature scenes set in the future, that several of the characters introduced in this episode (including Felicia Day's character) would appear in episodes of the second season, and that the second season would follow the general continuity laid out in the episode, while reminding the audience that the episode is based on memories that may or may not be accurate.
A sequel, "
Epitaph Two: Return" was aired on January 29, 2010.
Plot
In 2019, Mag (
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
), Zone (
Zack Ward
Zacharias Ward (born August 31, 1970) is a Canadian actor.
Early life
Ward was born on August 31, 1970, in Toronto, Ontario, the son of actress Pam Hyatt.
Career
He is best known for his character Dave Scovil (Titus's stoner half-brother) on the ...
), Griff (
Chris William Martin
Christopher William Martin (born January 17, 1975), also known as Corky Martin or Chris Martin, is a Canadian actor.Glen Schaefer, "Felicity's hair-raiser: Vancouver actor Chris Martin's job was to stir the pot and divert attention from star Keri ...
), Lynn (
Janina Gavankar
Janina Zione Gavankar (; born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician. She is trained as a pianist, vocalist, orchestral percussionist and majored in theatre at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her roles include Shiva on ''The ...
), a child named Iris (
Adair Tishler
Adair Rae Tishler (born October 3, 1996) is an American former child actress, model, voice actress, and singer, who has appeared in television shows such as '' Charmed'' and '' House'' and in movies such as ''Within'' and '' An American Girl: C ...
) and her wiped father (Warren Sweeney) get into the sewers and find a hole into the Dollhouse. Here the group restore power and find the chair. Attached is a tablet with a simplified interface and a number of sets of recorded memories. The father is placed into the chair and is given several sets of memories, one at a time. Through this method, events leading to the current apocalyptic state of the world are revealed. The group quickly realizes that the Dollhouse is the origin of the imprinting technology. The first set of memories shows Topher's introduction to the Dollhouse with DeWitt and Dominic, and his creation of a new imprinting system that used a different approach to the technology, leading to the development of the chair found in this episode. The old technology used analog cables, which took two hours to upload into an active. Topher brags
that he can do it faster using waves instead, and laughs off Dominic's warnings that such an upgrade could easily go out of control.
Lynn takes Iris to use the bathroom, but is distracted by the possibility of having her first hot shower in a year. She is killed by an unseen figure. A memory is shown with Echo in the chair, being imprinted for a client. Paul Ballard is now her handler. When Ballard and Echo are alone in the elevator she discusses her ability to maintain her own personality in parallel with her imprint but laments the terrible headaches this process gives her. Meanwhile, Iris finds Lynn's body and her screams bring the group to investigate. They all retreat to the chair room.
In a flashback, Boyd is preparing to leave the Dollhouse, collecting weapons, clothes, and food. He believes that he has placed Echo in danger and does not wish to place Dr. Saunders, with whom he is now romantically involved, in the same position. She gives him medicine and bandages, indicating that he has been recently injured. Before he leaves, he promises to return for her. This scene is later expanded upon and further explained in the season 2 episode,
"Getting Closer".
The survivors decide to give Iris what they call a "birthmark" — a tattoo on her back that allows people to distinguish actuals from imprinted people. Dr. Saunders suddenly appears on the Dollhouse's main floor; but it seems that she has regressed to her doll persona, "Whiskey". The survivors surround her, weapons aimed, accuse her of killing Lynn, and are about to execute her when she says she can lead them to "Safe Haven," a rumored place away from imprinting and "tech." Whiskey states that the memories in the tablet would lead them there.
In another imprinted memory Victor, who has been imprinted with Mr. Ambrose, a high-ranking executive in the Rossum Corporation, informs DeWitt and Topher that the company is going to begin selling the bodies of the actives for "a lump nine-figure sum." Select clients will have immortality, similar to that discussed in the episode "Haunted." Topher is visibly upset but says nothing. DeWitt is shocked and protests about the legality of such a procedure, but Ambrose informs DeWitt that it will be legal in a year, as everyone in a position of authority is either a client or "one of ours." When DeWitt threatens to reclaim Victor's body, Mr. Ambrose tells her that she can opt out, but that he is currently in ten other dolls talking to ten other Dollhouse administrators, and that Rossum will know if they choose not to cooperate.
Back in 2019, Iris kills Griff, then frames her father, still in the chair, by shoving the gun in his hand and screaming to attract attention. While Zone takes the father to the bathroom and executes him, Whiskey imprints herself with another set of memories: Mr. Dominic retrieved from the Attic by DeWitt and Topher; by this time, much of the general population had already been imprinted, beginning the apocalyptic events leading to the current situation. Dominic gloats about how he was right about them losing control, but DeWitt asks him to join them. They have a way to fight back: Caroline is now immune to imprinting.
Whiskey is given another memory in which Victor and Sierra are seen with their original personalities back. Victor shows Sierra hidden hard drive wedges with copies of everyone, while also showing that Sierra is the one who began the ideas of tattoos to be placed in order to remember who they really are. She also mentions for Victor to be careful when he leaves to go to the surface, stating "Don't forget what happened to November" (something that is explained in the season 2 episode
"The Hollow Men").
The survivors find the wedges and decide to imprint Whiskey with Caroline's personality. With the loss of Griff, Zone decides that it's time for Iris to have a gun to protect herself. Before long, Iris turns her gun on them revealing that she is an imprint. She does not know how she ended up in a child's body but she is going to take Mag's, and Zone's usefulness is at an end. When she fires her gun at Zone, she finds that it is unloaded, and after a brief struggle Zone puts her into the chair and they activate the chair, overwriting Iris's personality. Zone explains that he figured out that Iris was not who she claimed she was when he executed her so-called father: he had a tattoo but it did not match Iris's surname.
In the memory set in Iris's imprint, the Dollhouse has isolated itself. The actives have all been given their original personalities back. Topher, now mentally unstable, explains to DeWitt that a phone call could be made, and anyone who picked up the phone would be imprinted (similar to the way Echo was wiped in "Gray Hour"). This would create an instant army of people programmed to kill everyone who isn't imprinted. Topher realizes that this is happening because of the technology he made possible: imprinting people with waves rather than the slower, analog method. The guilty realization of the part he has played in causing armageddon has driven him mad. DeWitt tries to comfort him but they are interrupted when a series of crashes is heard from elsewhere in the Dollhouse, which turns out to be someone trying to break through a block wall sealing off the entrance to the complex. The residents take up arms and prepare to defend themselves as the wall comes down, revealing Caroline and Paul, who have
returned to take the actives to a compound, which is a place where they will be safe from imprinting, thanks to Alpha. Caroline requests that Topher make a copy of her personality to help others find the way there in case she's killed or another group of people finds the Dollhouse. Saunders explains that Topher no longer enters the imprinting room, but she volunteers to make the copy herself. As preparations to leave the Dollhouse are underway, DeWitt notes that Echo has returned to save the actives, but asks what her plans are for the former Dollhouse administrative staff. Caroline cocks her pistol and the memory ends.
In 2019, Caroline is imprinted into Iris's body. She quickly agrees to take them to the compound she mentioned in the memories, which is called Safe Haven. An explosion erupts from a device that the survivors left in the shaft that leads into the Dollhouse. The noise tells them that the imprinted butchers have reached the Dollhouse and that the group must leave immediately. Mag implores Whiskey to come with them but she says she must wait, as she is waiting for 'someone' (something that is explained in the season 2 episode
"The Hollow Men"). Caroline, Zone, and Mag shoot their way across the Dollhouse to the elevator shaft and start climbing; once they're inside the shaft, Whiskey activates a gas system rendering the imprinted butchers unconscious. With the survivors safe, Whiskey sits down on the balcony, her fate left unknown.
Mag, Caroline, and Zone climb the shaft and arrive in DeWitt's old office. Through the broken window they see Los Angeles in ruins. A large collage of photos is assembled on the wall under the words "To Remember." Photos of Whiskey, Victor, Sierra, November, and Caroline are amongst them. Caroline picks her photo off the wall, saying she hopes she'll find herself alive; then she puts the photo back. The group then climb out the window onto a ladder and the episode ends.
Writing
Joss Whedon had conceived many ideas for the episode, but turned the reins for writing it over to his brother Jed Whedon and sister-in-law Maurissa Tancharoen, who work together as a writing duo. Some of Joss's initial ideas for the episode include the concept of "actuals" tattooing their real names on their backs in the post-apocalyptic future.
One of the biggest challenges with writing the episode was the slang, which they felt needed to sound like it could genuinely exist in ten years' time. This was fun for Whedon and Tancharoen to write, and they enjoyed finding the balance between interesting words which would also be understandable to the viewer; for example, in the future of 2019, the word "bars" itself has come to mean "signal".
[
By setting the episode in the distant future, the writers were able to give us an idea of the series' direction (and closure in the face of possible cancellation) through the device of flashforwards into the show's future; these flashforwards are not seen in the actual core narrative of the episode, but rather through flashbacks in the 2019 setting in the form of character memories. This gives future writers room to move towards these storylines in various directions while allowing new ideas to come through and lead the show in other creative directions.][ Joss Whedon has also stated that the use of memories as the medium through which future events allows the audience and future writing teams to question the reliability and accuracy of some of what has been seen. This means there is room for future writers to ignore or change things seen in flashforwards to suit the needs of future storylines, actor commitments, etc.]
One facet of the flashforwards was to make their revelations ambiguous. For example, a scene with Boyd Boyd may refer to:
Places Canada
* Boyd Conservation Area, a conservation area located northwest of Toronto, Ontario
* Boyd Lake (disambiguation)
United States
* Boyd County (disambiguation)
* Boyd, Indiana
* Boyd, Iowa
* Boyd, Kansas
* B ...
(Harry Lennix
Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film ''The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and as Boyd Langton in the science-fiction series ''Dollh ...
) and Dr. Saunders (Amy Acker
Amy Louise Acker (born December 5, 1976) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Winifred Burkle and Illyria on the supernatural drama series ''Angel'' (2001–2004), as Kelly Peyton on the action drama series ''Alias'' (2005 ...
) could be interpreted as either alluding to a new romantic relationship or merely a more developed friendship. The two writers chose to affect a similar ambiguity in the friendship between Adelle (Olivia Williams
Olivia Haigh Williams (born 26 July 1968) is a British actress who has appeared in British and American films and television.
After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years followed by three years at the Royal Shakesp ...
) and Topher (Fran Kranz
Francis Elliott Kranz (born July 13, 1981) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his portrayal of Topher Brink in the science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse''. He had prominent roles in the films ''The Cabin in the Woods'' an ...
). Other ambiguities include the fate of Sierra/Priya (Dichen Lachman
Dichen Lachman (; born 22 February 1982) is an Australian actress. She earned recognition starring as Katya Kinski in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (2005–2007) and as Sierra in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse'' (2009†...
); seen in flashbacks alongside Victor's real identity (Enver Gjokaj
Enver Leif Gjokaj ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as Victor in the science fiction television series ''Dollhouse'' and as Daniel Sousa in '' Agent Carter'', a role he later reprised ...
), but not in later scenes. Whedon and Tancharoen feel this could imply she was the one to start the resistance movement.[
The writers came up with some of the themes for the episode while writing episode ten, "Haunted", alongside former '' Buffy''/'']Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...
''/'' Firefly'' writer Jane Espenson
Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer.
Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared a ...
. In that episode, a character was able to solve her own murder using the Dollhouse's technology. When Whedon and Tancharoen thought about the implications of this, they added a few lines to the script for "Haunted" which resonate with "Epitaph One". In an "Epitaph One" flashforward, Clive Ambrose (in Victor's body) now offers the Dolls' bodies for upgrades to their richest clients, offering immortality and physical perfection.[
Whedon and Tancharoen enjoyed many of the developments the episode let them seed for future characters, such as Topher's mental breakdown. However, some were more subtle. They stated in the commentary that in the scene with ]Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
(Tahmoh Penikett
Tahmoh Penikett (; ; born May 20, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Karl "Helo" Agathon on SyFy's 2004 television series ''Battlestar Galactica''. He has appeared in TV series ''Supernatural'', '' Dollhouse'', the Showcase time ...
) and Echo
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...
(Eliza Dushku
Eliza Patricia Dushku (; born December 30, 1980) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Faith in the supernatural drama series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998–2003) and its spin-off series ''Angel'' (2000–2003). She als ...
), Paul will, in upcoming episodes become Echo's "handler" (the role formerly belonging to Boyd). Another is peeling back more "layers" of the DeWitt character, who becomes protective over Victor's body because she is in love with him; in this instance, the line "That body belongs to another soul" becomes the first time DeWitt speaks of the Actives as people with real souls. Director David Solomon David Solomon may refer to:
* David Solomon (artist) (born 1976), American artist and painter
* David Solomon (TV producer), American television director and producer
* David Solomon (writer), Australian educator, scholar and writer
* David Solom ...
placed Paul and Victor together in the background of a scene between Caroline (Dushku) and Saunders, which implies that the two develop a friendship. Priya's surname is also revealed, which was contributed by actress Dichen Lachman.
Whedon and Tancharoen were happy with "Tsetsang".[
The ending scenes of the episode raised some questions. For example, ]Whiskey
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ...
(Acker) is seen gassing a room full of butchers. However, Whedon feels that perhaps she is just putting them to sleep and will clean up and continue protecting the Dollhouse as always. If this is the case, it raises the interesting possibility that all the events of the episode have happened before or will again. The final fates of the main cast are also left ambiguous; Caroline puts a gun to DeWitt's head in a future flashforward, and a board is marked "To Remember" featuring pictures of Echo, Sierra, Victor and November
November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, the fourth and last of four months to have a length of 30 days and the fifth and last of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. No ...
(Miracle Laurie
Miracle Laurie (born August 1, 1981) is an American actress, best known for portraying Mellie on the Joss Whedon drama ''Dollhouse''.
Career
Laurie started towards a professional acting career at Orange Coast College, where she was part of the ...
, who does not appear in the episode). This could have several meanings: to remember one's real identity, to remember the fallen, or (were the show canceled) to remember the show; the actors and the crew's pictures composed the board.[
]
Production
Joss Whedon had wanted someone not conventionally strong for the part of Mag, who he felt should be a regular girl who the audience could see thrown into an impossible situation and not a battle-hardened or tough woman. Writers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen selected Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
, who they use in "pretty much everything" because of her girl next door
The girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in romantic stories. She is so named because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a mutual friendship that later often ...
quality. Over the casting of Adair Tishler
Adair Rae Tishler (born October 3, 1996) is an American former child actress, model, voice actress, and singer, who has appeared in television shows such as '' Charmed'' and '' House'' and in movies such as ''Within'' and '' An American Girl: C ...
, Tancharoen "geeked out", having been a fan of her role in ''Heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
'' as Molly Walker
This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes'', the ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes.
Main characters
Character duration
In its inaugural season, ''Heroes'' featured an ensemble cast ...
. Tancharoen's bridesmaid played a pregnant woman in the Dollhouse, and the crew along with their families and friends' pictures were used to make up the board marked "To Remember" in the episode's closing scene.[
Due to the time and budget concerns, the episode was filmed concurrently with the twelfth, "Omega", and had to use the crew from '' 24'' as well as its director of photography, Rodney Charters and feature the series' cast minimally.] This meant, for example, the Dollhouse sets had to be redressed for "post-apocalyptic" scenes and then stripped back down again for contemporary ones in "Omega". Actors' schedules, the filming of "Omega" and child acting laws meant that Reed Diamond
Reed Edward Diamond (born July 20, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for the roles of Det. Mike Kellerman on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', Jason Pillar in season 8 of '' 24'', and recurring character Laurence Dominic on ''Dollhouse' ...
(Dominic
Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Domini ...
), Eliza Dushku and Adair Tishler had to complete their filming in a single day; the scene with Dominic and DeWitt was the first shot. In
the case of Tishler, all her shooting had to be completed in a few short hours.
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
has said that "Epitaph One" was filmed and produced on a significantly smaller budget than was used to produce the previous episodes. Feeling that the episode still turned out creatively strong, he screened the episode to executives at Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
after the first season was completed as proof positive he could create the show without spending a lot of money. This, coupled with the show's strong performance numbers on DVR and the Internet and the hope that the show could sell well on DVD with the inclusion of this episode, prompted the network to renew ''Dollhouse'' for a second season in the fall.
"Epitaph One" was also written to serve as a satisfying series closer to the loyal audience members should ''Dollhouse'' not receive a second season renewal. In one sense, the challenge for the writers was to give a sense of closure to the series as a whole whilst also setting things up for potential future seasons.[ Since the show did get renewed, however, the producers planned to use several elements (including the flashforwards in time and ]Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
's character, Mag) from the episode during the show's second season. Scenes featuring Mag, Zone and Caroline-in-the-body-of-Iris were filmed for the second season premiere, " Vows", but cut because the episode was "long and crowded with information". This material, as well as newly filmed scenes with the characters, appeared in the series finale, "Epitaph Two: Return".
Due to budget concerns, a real "pop" song could not be used in the ending montage of the episode but writers Whedon and Tancharoen thought it would be necessary.[ To accommodate this, Tancharoen wrote and performed a song titled "]Remains
Remains or The Remains may refer to:
Music
*The Remains (band), a 1960s American rock band
*The Ramainz, originally The Remains, a Ramones tribute band
Albums
* ''Remains'' (Alkaline Trio album), 2007
* ''Remains'' (Annihilator album), 1997
* ' ...
," which can be heard in the background during the episode's final scenes. However, they wanted the song to not be too close lyrically to the content of the episode so as not to distract viewers with the realisation it was made specifically for the episode. The composed lyrics were thematically relevant, but not overly specific to the context. Whedon and Tancharoen were happy with the results, which they felt sounded a genuine
piece of contemporary music.[ "Remains" was released as a single on both ]Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
and iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on July 9, 2009.
Release
Despite advertising that the episode would have its debut at Comic Con
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at co ...
2009 on July 24, 2009, the episode had its real premiere on the Season Pass on demand service from SingTel mio TV in Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
on June 17, 2009. The episode was first broadcast in Sweden on July 26, 2009. When aired in Australia, the episode was retitled 'The Future Project'.
The episode is present on the DVD and Blu-ray season sets released on July 28, 2009 and is currently available on Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
, and PSN.
Reception
Reviews
Eric Goldman from IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
said the episode, "In a word: Unusual." He notes that only after twelve episodes they are approaching this show from a new angle, and "it's a rather effective, offbeat tactic Whedon and this episode's writers, Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon, are taking here. The episode is certainly fueled by the persistent 'What the hell is going on?' question raised by dropping us into the middle of such a different situation." Myles McNutt from his blog on cultural-learnings.com stated that the episode, "isn’t perfect, but in its stylistic flair (it’s really well shot, amongst other things) and its tantalizing images of the past (but, for us, the future) it makes me more hyped for Dollhouse’s return than for the return of any other show this fall." Emily VanDerWerff from HitFix said that the episode "suggests far more than it shows, and that makes it all the better" and goes on to say, "they create the sense of something epic that we're only seeing the tip of, that there is a bulk and a weight to this show that could outdo anything else Whedon has done."
Sales
"Epitaph One" was released on both Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
and iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on August 11, 2009. It was reported by Robert Seidman, that "Epitaph One" had reached number one on iTunes Top TV Download List on August 16, 2009. "Epitaph One" would then go on to take top spot in the sci-fi genre in 2009.
Awards
In April 2010, it was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...
References
External links
*
{{Dollhouse
2009 American television episodes
Fiction set in 2019
Dollhouse (TV series) episodes
Post-apocalyptic television episodes