Rossum Corporation--the Big Bad?

Rossum's Universal Robots

This play was first produced in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1921. Karel Capek wrote this early science fiction drama that featured android-like robots, whose parts were biologically grown and then assembled into servants for humankind. Used and mistreated by "true" humans, these robots eventually rebelled and killed their creators. In the end, the robots seem to be evolving into true inheritors of the mantle of humanity. Karel Capek actually coined the term robot. All of us owe him a nod of recognition for that. For further information, a good starting point is the article R.U.R.

The Rossum Corporation, a pharmaceutical giant with little regard for human life or ethics of any kind, is a striking parallel to R.U.R. Our Dolls are growing towards true self-awareness and have the capability to vastly outdo ordinary humans in almost any endeavor. Used and abused, almost like cattle, the Actives could well one day turn on humanity as a whole, deciding that they are the superior life form and true inheritors of the world. It is possible that Alpha has already started down that path, the alpha Doll marching into that frightening new future.

Please add further parallels below as future episodes air.

Episode: all, but especially, the target	Parallels: book, transformation america by kathy o'brian
Episode: all	Parallels: manchurian candidate
Episode: all	Parallels: bourne identity
Episode: Needs, Eps. 1.8 When Echo, Sierra and Victor awaken in the Dollhouse with most of their original personalities and memories intact, Echo leads the charge to free the Actives from their apparent captivity and escape the Dollhouse forever.	Parallels: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003); Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) Terminator 3: Skynet becomes self-aware and takes over all computers and weaponry with the aid of a Terminatrix, nearly wiping out all mankind with nuclear strikes. The technology was created and designed (including SkyNet) to serve mankind, not attempt to destroy it. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes: Ape servants rise against their cruel human masters, led by an intelligent ape named Caesar. (Caesar was the son of Cornelius and Zira who had traveled to present time from the future where Apes dominated Humans.)

Episode: The Target, Eps. 1.2 *Echo is imprinted to be the female counterpart to an avid outdoorsman and quickly learns how the hunter becomes the hunted during her wilderness adventure.*	Parallels: Book: The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell (1924) , adapted to film by same name starring Fay Wray, Joel McCrea, Leslie Banks (1932) ; Movie: Surviving the Game starring Ice-T, Rutger Hauer, Charles S. Dutton and Gary Busey, 1994. Movie: Wrong Turn starring Eliza Dushku, Desmond Harrington (2003). Television: Star Trek: Voyager The Killing Game, eps. 4.18 and 4.19 (1998); Star Trek: DS9 Captive Pursuit Eps. 1.6; Buffy The Vampire Slayer Homecoming eps.3.5 (1998); The Outer Limits eps. 4.2 (1998).
Episode: all, someone is ALWAYS watching, controlling, and pretending to be a friend/protector, but are instead a user for their own selfish gain. History is re-written and events are covered up for the masses who cannot handle the truth. All are equal, but some are more equal than others.	Parallels: Books: 1984, Animal Farm both by George Orwell.
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X-Ray94941	Latest page update: made by X-Ray94941 , Jun 24 2009, 12:48 AM EDT (about this update About This Update Edited by X-Ray94941 57 words added view changes - complete history)
	Keyword tags: Karel Capek Rossum RUR More Info: links to this page

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Dollbait

The Target parallels

May 19 2009, 6:29 PM EDT by runa27

Thread started: Apr 18 2009, 3:50 PM EDT Watch

I decided to make the parallels to The Target episode when other members expressed some er, icky factors with it. I personally don't have any icky factors with it so who better to do it but someone that doesn't? Needs is fascinating. It may not have hit the nail exactly on the head thinking of T3 and a Planet of the Apes sequel. But I saw some parallels with them to the episode. There is plenty of room on there to other parallels of the Dollhouse...

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RE: The Target parallels
By: runa27, May 19 2009, 6:29 PM EDT

"As far as The Target, I keep in mind she was imprinted to please Richard and found herself on the run from him. If i place myself in that situation, imprinted to to be a companion for a woman on an outdoor excursion, just had sex with her, and then she picks up a bow loaded and gave me 5 minutes to run, I'd probably be confused enough in my head to do a number of boo boos. Being really thirsty I'd take a rink in that confused state, not even thinking about someone tainting it. There would be desperation moves and would be worse after being drugged AND imprinted and on the run for my life.
And...to me the funny thing here is....I did the parallels just to do it, was fun. I thought I was leaving notes in that section and found it also is sent into the discussion board lol...but all is good. We all have our thoughts on the different eps. and it's what makes the wiki interesting. It would be really really boring here if we all thought alike on everything. "

Agreed. Particularly on the water thing. I mean, how the hell was she supposed to know he'd drugged it, exactly? It was a frickin ranger's station! She was going for help, she didn't expect it to be a trap... I don't think in her state or even just her situation, I would have done any differently. With all that running, and with her obviously having sweat a lot (you can SEE the sweat all over her for goodness sakes!), staying hydrated would be important in order to keep from passing out or overheating. Maybe I (and the friend I showed the episode to) just didn't think it was weird because we live in heat-and-humidity-drenched Florida, so we're used to taking such precautions when it comes to being outside and sweating, even when we're NOT running for our lives. :P

And to be frank, canteen water would be cleaner and safer than river water, as well, she wouldn't be so far out into the open. All things considered, it was perfectly logical.

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WillowWannabe

Proust and Echo

Apr 7 2009, 1:19 AM EDT by eri_quin

Thread started: Apr 7 2009, 12:55 AM EDT Watch

Proust's monumental In Search of Lost Time has a great many parallels to Dollhouse. Proust's book is based on the premise that a person is a collection of memories--without those memories, there is no person. Proust explores the mind's memories, and what triggers memories, in his huge autobiography. His rambling searches are a great deal like Echo's mind, since there is always a possibility that pictures or items could trigger Caroline (like it did in the university episode). The greatest parallel, though, is the sense that in neither Proust nor Dollhouse do you get the sense that you can ever remember everything, or that you can ever truly find who you are.