That's pretty dashed good. It does look so good, as the ensemble is so good they should all be recognised.

(But could the names not match the pics? That was a bit confusing to start)

Coleberg | December 05, 15:29 CET

Would've been nice to have the names line up with faces, but that's exactly the kinda thing I was looking for. I was disappointed to see the credits for this 2nd season still be exclusively Dushku focused when the show's definitely grown outside that.

brad_schl | December 05, 15:30 CET

I don't think the act applies to fan videos.

Simon | December 05, 15:30 CET

I certainly think it should in this case. It's a fairly direct criticism of the official opening credits.

ETA: When just considering the wording of that cited law.

[ edited by the Groosalugg on 2009-12-06 00:49 ]

the Groosalugg | December 05, 15:46 CET

Well it's interesting, elements of the fandom seem to seem to believe that by placing excerpts from various Acts on their fan fics and videos that this somehow protects them . Whereas it doesn't. 20th Century Fox have C&D'ed fan fic sites before and got plenty of fan videos removed from YouTube.

Simon | December 05, 15:55 CET

Been waiting for someone to do this. SO much better.

Every time the actual credits come on I cringe. I realize it is explaining the premise through Echo but it just comes off once again as "The Eliza Dushku show!"

The show is an ensemble now full of of some great characters and incredibly talented actors. Put them in the credits.

Rhodey | December 05, 16:11 CET

Great edit job! And I agree, an abundance of Eliza was a bit cringe worthy especially when the supporting cast has knocked it out of the park more times than we can count.

Agree with brad that it would've been nice to see the names cue up with the actors as you see them but still, awesome job :)

miVi3k | December 05, 16:26 CET

That's a pretty incomplete fair use definition.

Septimus | December 05, 16:27 CET

There should be a longer opening, using "what You Don't Know's" first stanza and refrain with the words. That's enough time to get in pictures of everyone

impalergeneral | December 05, 16:37 CET

I laugh when people quote something like "Fair Use" for working with copyrighted material. Good job, anyway, but perfection would have had names match pictures.

impalergeneral, I agree. I took Joss' 50 second openings for granted. We got an entire song for Buffy, Angel and Firefly. With Dollhouse, the epic is yet to come. It'd be awesome if the full version plays in the series finale.

[ edited by Jayme on 2009-12-06 02:43 ]

Jaymii | December 05, 17:39 CET

I almost stopped watching Dollhouse after the first two episodes of Season Two. Not only were the episodes admittedly mediocre, but the opening credits thing bugged me out to no end. Look at the opening credits and the way the show is advertised (watch this show because we have naked Eliza Dushku!), a lot of the misconceptions of Dollhouse originate right there.

I think Eliza Dushku is doing a fine acting job on Dollhouse but she isn't, like the adverts/credits would seek to have us believe, carrying the show on her back or anything.

And let's face it, Dollhouse shares a night with Ghost Whisperer, which, let's admit it, is a better option for the audience that just wants to watch boobs.

ryy | December 05, 17:53 CET

Very, very nice. If only the credits were like this (though I would rather the names matched the faces). I adore Eliza, but it is an ensemble show, and I think the extra faces in the credits add interest.

ShanshuBugaboo | December 05, 18:48 CET

I've always thought it was weird they never added Sierra and Victor to the sleeping pod montage at the end.

I mean c'mon! How fantastic does it look closing with all three?! :P

[ edited by Rhodey on 2009-12-06 03:54 ]

Rhodey | December 05, 18:54 CET

I seriously dont get the huge outcry over the opening credits. . They have no bearing on the episodes what-so ever.

Would it be nice to see the others? Well yeah, but as long as the actors get the credit they deserve in the episodes themselves then the opening credits could be 30 seconds of grass growing for all I care.

Plus I think the credits fit the show. The different personalities that Dushku has played, it gets the point across, which it really wouldn't do if you just saw other people instead of other personalities.

Sometimes I wish that every show would go the LOST route and just flash the name of the show and be done with it.

TangoDH | December 05, 20:07 CET

I think it was a good effort and I enjoyed the watch.

[ edited by Madhatter on 2009-12-06 05:44 ]

Madhatter | December 05, 20:41 CET

I seriously dont get the huge outcry over the opening credits. . They have no bearing on the episodes what-so ever.

I don't know, maybe because we have to sit through every time we watch the show.

For me TV intro's are what help give shows it's own identity and build a certain familiarity with it. I can't imagine Mad Men, BSG or FNL without their's. Same goes for Buffy, Angel and Firefly. They're part of the show.

Rhodey | December 05, 21:46 CET

May have a point there, the "BtVS" theme was quite catchy.

Madhatter | December 05, 22:23 CET

My favourite is when they write, "No copyright infringement intended." Lol.

robfearon | December 05, 22:35 CET

I'm confused, what's this show about?

Sorry to disagree, but those credits would only appeal to fans (and not all fans) and they would be confusing to new viewers (and some old viewers). The actual season 2 credits give you a good idea of what the shows is about (and are much better).

Zoic_Fan | December 05, 22:47 CET

Besides the actor's names not matching the picture a really well-done fan effort. I think the people behind the official credits should take advice from this. In my opinion, this is roughly how the credits for Dollhouse should look, i.e. not concentrate purely on Eliza, but feature also the other talented actors, who constitute the show.

I don't think the actual credits give a good idea about what she show is about at all. That might apply to the first five episodes of Season 1, but since then, the show has, thankfully, become much more than just Eliza being a different person every week. There have even been some episodes that barely feature her (for example Belonging), not to mention that Echo certainly isn't this shows greatest strenght and the thing that people respond to the most. Yeah, I realize that she is supposed to be the main star, but why not also give (visual) credit to other people that surround her and help to make the show interesting and compelling?

Anuris | December 06, 08:46 CET

The trouble is if you do opening credits that try to convey everything that is in the show it comes across as a confusing mess to people unfamiliar with the show. The credits they use now are simple, to the point and give the basic premise of the show. Also even though the show has an excellent ensemble, Eliza (Echo) is still the main focus of the show (weather you like it not).

Zoic_Fan | December 06, 09:28 CET

The really great thing about Eliza-only credits: People who are annoyed by them... are being annoyed. And I'm sort of loving that, so describe this "cringing" for me. Is it an excruciating nails on chalkboard kind of feeling? I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda holding out hope for ulcer inducing distress here.

They could have gone with the full cast in the credits – and I wouldn't have had a problem with that, but the direction they went is also perfectly valid. No matter how often the phrase "ensemble show" is trotted out, to the last episode, Eliza will never be just another actress in the cast. It was her deal with Fox - the show doesn't exist without her. She plays the main character. She's a producer on the show. All of the complaining about it after the fact just strikes me as ungracious, but you know... the ulcers are there for the making.

BringItOn5x5 | December 06, 09:48 CET

Well, the thing is that opening credits don't necessarily need to explain what the show is about. Many times (if not most), they just introduce the cast, create a certain mood, audio-visually please the viewer etc. and don't explain anything. I was just saying that even if that was the most important criterion for judging of the credits, the credits of Dollhouse aren't completely successful at it.

Also, there is so much concern about the people who are not familiar with the show when in reality those people don't give a damn about it (which was clearly shown by the shows low and declining ratings). I know that in general, casual viewers are important and to a great part determine whether a show is successful or not, but maybe it would be better if Dollhouse put more effort to please the people who are already watching it than those who aren't. Maybe that way the show wouldn't have lost more than half of its original viewers and even with a niche, but stable and loyal, audience could manage to continue. But this is part of a bigger problem that started with Fox initially interfering in the show and continued with many consecutive mistakes done in its promotion...

As for Eliza, I have nothing against her, on the contrary, she may not be the next Meryl Streep, but I like her, I'm greatly thankful to her for bringing Joss back to TV and I look forward to her future projects. She is the main character and producer and deserves to be acknowledged as that, but why shouldn't the other actors, who to many viewers are the main attraction of the show, be also acknowledged? What is ungracious about wanting their faces to at least glimpse in the main credits? Eliza can get the most space, be shown first and even get her producer credit but why shouldn't the other actors be thrown to the mix as well? Isn't THAT ungracious to THEM? After all, what would Dollhouse be without them...?

[ edited by Anuris on 2009-12-06 19:47 ]

Anuris | December 06, 10:43 CET

As I say, I wouldn't have had a problem if the full cast had been in the credits. I might have even preferred that myself if they were better executed than what we have linked here, but ultimately, a decision was made by people unknown to me for reasons I'm not privy to and we got what we have. You can react to that and say, “I wish the others had been given more exposure” or you can lace your argument with barbs at Eliza and try to minimize her role and contribution, which... yes, is ungracious, not to mention downright ludicrous, because again... the show just doesn't exist without her.

BringItOn5x5 | December 06, 12:01 CET

Because they decided NOT to do it that way? That's the reason (wow, I wrote that BEFORE Bringiton5X5 posted.) The fact that they did the same style two years in a row when this complaint surfaced early in the series tells me Whedon, Dushku, or both wanted it this way. In truth, when we say "fans" want X anyway, we're specifically talking about vocal fans. The silent ones may not want that because they're not unhappy. I should know, I fall into that camp.

Truthfully, they could flash the word "Dollhouse" on the screen like SG:U and I'd actually be much happier. As much as I liked Buffy and Angel's openings, I always fast forwarded while watching because I didn't need to see the same thing 4 times in a row and I'm a marathon viewer.

Regarding the video itself, I agree with the criticism that it makes no sense to show the ensemble if you're not going to match up the names. It's a good fan effort, but if you're not a fan, you're confused. If your premise is "ensemble show", then explain who the ensemble is.

[ edited by azzers on 2009-12-06 21:08 ]

azzers | December 06, 12:03 CET

I just thought I'd throw it in that the first time I watched the Dollhouse opening (S1), I thought it was eerily similar to Battlestar Galactica's opening. Credits appearing randomly, some story told but mostly aesthetically pleasing.

Bones' first season also had odd titles over the wrong faces as well, IIRC.

Jaymii | December 06, 15:33 CET

Nicely done. You should look at her other work. Mad skills.

AngelDiva | December 06, 18:22 CET

I'm going to chime in to defend the show's S2 credits as well. I don't think the show is at its best as "The Eliza Show," nor is Echo my favourite character or Eliza my favourite actor (probably Adelle or Topher and Enver, FYI). But the credits capture the bittersweetness at the cnetre of Echo's journey from week to week, sitting alone, sad, unsettled, in the House, given a hundred different lives and then having them taken away, and returning to her pod. There are other ways to do the opening credits, some of which might be brilliant. But I think this way works, and this way, by focusing on the myriad of emotions with one specific character, doesn't really have room to move off and focus on the other characters, IMO.

WilliamTheB | December 06, 18:24 CET

I love the show - and as a professional critic of the series shouldn't weigh in on this: but I really love the fan push of making series two a more obviously ensemble title sequence. That's what it should be. The Eliza-centric titles just drive everyone in my house nuts, every week. Shouty nuts. Not happy nuts. Shouty nuts.

Anna Pickard | December 06, 23:48 CET

I don't know, maybe because we have to sit through every time we watch the show.
Well you dont have to look at them every time, I know that I don't. Sometimes I even mute it because the "la la"-ing through the music really gets on my nerves.

I for one like it better when shows just do a quick simple flash of the title, as I tend to enjoy shows that like to flip through genres. . Having some depressing opening (Like Buffy's "The Body") and then having some upbeat or cutesy theme song seems off.

TangoDH | December 07, 00:04 CET

I've seen some people saying the credits we have basically describe the show, this could be but I wanted to reference a friend who commented on them who knows nothing of Dollhouse. His logical thought process was Eliza Dushku is a special agent of some sort with a vast wardrobe and unique skill set and feels isolated and guilty over what she has done in her service.

In addition I don't believe you can wish people get ill and suffer discomfort and then accuse them of being ungracious. If you disagree with someones opinion just say so don't attack them personally or the admins might have something to say about it.

silent knight | December 07, 18:03 CET

My post was directed at comments made by several different posters, not any one individual. There were enough comments that were exercised/actively disgusted with the current credits, that I just gave them my blessing to drive themselves nuts over it. Shouty nuts even. Reap what you sow and sow, sow away, if that's how you feel. It's an open invitation.

There's a time to let people know that what they're saying – or how they're saying it – is being taken as offensive. We've both done that now, so fair enough. I'd also suggest though that you can disagree with someone's opinion without invoking the threat of admin action. Sometimes when we disagree strongly enough, we tend to lean into it a little heavier, no?

BringItOn5x5 | December 07, 22:58 CET