Gray Hour
From Dollhouse Wiki
| Gray Hour | |
| Season 1, Episode 4 | |
 | |
| Air date | March 6, 2009 (US) June 9, 2009 (UK) June 30, 2009 (AUS) |
| Written by | Elizabeth Craft & Sarah Fain |
| Directed by | Rod Hardy |
| Production no. | 1APK02 |
| Dollhouse Episode Guide | |
| Previous "Stage Fright" | Next "True Believer" |
"Gray Hour" is the fourth episode of Dollhouse. It was written by show-runners Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, and directed by Rod Hardy. It aired on March 6th, 2009.
Contents |
[edit] Premise
Echo’s stint as a midwife doesn’t prove as laborious as when she becomes an expert safe-cracker, Taffy. During the engagement - a heist targeting a piece of the Parthenon - Echo gets wiped remotely and locked into the vault she and her group were stealing from. Adelle DeWitt tries to help her, by imprinting Sierra with Taffy, but Echo has to escape on her own. Meanwhile, Agent Ballard gives Lubov an ultimatum, and Adelle ups the security clearance of Topher, since he guessed (probably rightly) that Alpha - presumed dead by the Dollhouse staff - was behind the remote wipe in the vault.
[edit] Engagements
| Active | Client | Alias | Personality | Mission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Echo | Unknown | Unknown | Midwife | Baby delivery |
| Atalo Diakos | Taffy | Safecracker | Theft of priceless art piece. | |
| Sierra | In-House | Help Echo escape. | ||
| Victor | In-House | Lubov | Russian mafia informant | Misleading Paul Ballard. |
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main Cast
- Eliza Dushku as Echo / Taffy
- Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton
- Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard
- Fran Kranz as Topher Brink
- Enver Gjokaj as Victor / Lubov
- Dichen Lachman as Sierra / Taffy
- and Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt
[edit] Recurring Roles
[edit] Guest Stars
- Mark Ivanir as Cyril
- Anson Mount as Vitas
- Toby Leonard Moore as Walton
- Kevin Will as Gerry
- Sarah McElligott as Nancy
- Andrew Bowen as Scott
- Tony Amendola as Atalo Diakos
[edit] Background Information
[edit] Production
"Gray Hour" was the third episode produced, with production going from August 18th 2008 to September 4th. After "Gray Hour" production went into a hiatus to focus on future scripts.
[edit] Reception
First reviews of the episode said it "worked very well as a stand-alone and you could clearly see how the ongoing storyline was going to play second fiddle to the Personality Of the Week strands" and that "there is a lot of stuff going on and while the balance amongst elements is good, the sheer volume of information is staggering".[1]
[edit] Cast & Crew
Mark Ivanir, a guest star playing Cyril on this episode, said that "the premise of the episode is exciting, I think it was very well written."[2]
[edit] Critics
- " It was a decent if not great episode that furthered the mystery behind the nature of the Dollhouse and Alpha. "
- " I’d place “Gray Hour” alongside “The Target” as an example of how the show’s twisty plotting and nutty backstory helps overcome some unstable foundations. If nothing else, “Gray Hour” was packed with enough mysteries and surprises to keep viewers on their toes "
- " I doubt "The Gray Hour" will be considered the best episode of the show's run once we have 100 other Dollhouse episodes to compare it to. But it's good fun, and well worth checking out "
- " Dollhouse still has no moral centre. It’s too grey for any humour or drama to get viewers involved. But it remains full of intriguing possibilities and they are carrying the show right now. "
[edit] Ratings
"Gray Hour" reached 3.572 million viewers, a 2.2/4 Rating/Share, a 1.51/5 Rating/Share in the 18-49 demographic and a 1.7/5 Rating/Share in the 25-54 demographic. 68.18% of the audience was in the 18-49 demographic. The episode was watched by 3.017 million viewers Live, 3.582 million viewers Live+SD and 4.625 million viewers Live+7. Including 7 days of DVR viewing showed an increase from 1.51 to 2.11 in the demo (a jump by 39.7%). Overall "Gray Hour" had 1.608 million DVR viewers. 34.8% of all viewings of "Gray Hour" happened via DVR, that's the third greatest percentage of DVR viewing for broadcast TV shows of that week.
The quarter-hour breakdown:
| Time Period | Rating/Share | Rating/Share (18-49) |
|---|---|---|
| 9:01 PM-9:15 PM | 2.2/4 | 1.5/5 |
| 9:15 PM-9:30 PM | 2.2/4 | 1.5/5 |
| 9:30 PM-9:45 PM | 2.2/4 | 1.5/5 |
| 9:45 PM-10:00 PM | 2.2/4 | 1.5/5 |
[edit] Trivia
- Topher refers to Stephen King's 'Carrie' with the line "That could lead to a coma state, or it could turn her into Carrie at the prom."
[edit] Music
- 'Treat Em Well' by The Sylvias' plays while Echo is a midwife.
- 'All Over Me' by Lara D. plays while Echo is playing escort.
- The episode closes on Sia's cover of The Pretenders' "I Go to Sleep" as Echo swims and showers.
[edit] Promotional Photos
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
[edit] Notes & references
- ↑ Huntley (2008-10-17). Dollhouse: The Sound Of A Million Squees. forums.televisionwithoutpity.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-17.
- ↑ Blessing, Ian (2008-10-15). Meet Dollhouse's Cyril, Mark Ivanir. dollrific.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-16.
[edit] External links
- "Gray Hour" at the Official Dollhouse Wiki
- "Gray Hour" at TV.com
- "Gray Hour" at IMDb
