Needs

From Dollhouse Wiki

Needs
Season 1, Episode 8

Air date	April 3, 2009 (US) July 7, 2009 (UK) July 28, 2009 (AUS)
Written by	Tracy Bellomo
Directed by	Felix Alcalá
Production no.	1APK08
Dollhouse Episode Guide
Previous "Echoes"	Next "A Spy in the House of Love"

"Needs" is the eighth episode of Dollhouse. It was written by Tracy Bellomo and directed by Felix Alcalá. It aired on April 3rd, 2009.

[edit] Premise

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When Echo, Sierra, November and Victor awaken in the Dollhouse with their original personalities, Echo leads the charge to free the Actives from their apparent captivity and escape the Dollhouse forever. Meanwhile, Ballard discovers the Dollhouse is closer than he thinks.

[edit] Engagements

**Engagements**
Active	Client	Alias	Personality	Mission

Echo	In-House	Caroline Farrell	Real personality	Find closure for Echo's old life.
Sierra	In-House	Priya Tsetsang	Real personality	Find closure for Sierra's old life.
Victor	In-House	Unknown	Real personality	Find closure for Victor's in-house romance.
November	In-House	Madeline Costley	Real personality	Find closure for November's old life.
Mike	In-House	Unknown	Real personality	Control subject
Tango	Unknown	Unknown	Sally Bowles from Cabaret	Unknown
Quebec	Unknown	Unknown	Soldier	Unknown

[edit] Cast

[edit] Main Cast

Eliza Dushku as Echo / 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 / Priya Tsetsang
and Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt

[edit] Recurring Roles

Amy Acker as Dr. Claire Saunders
Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic
Miracle Laurie as November / Mellie / Madeline Costley
Angel Desai as Sophie Alvarez
Vincent Ventresca as Nolan Kinnard

[edit] Guest Stars

[edit] Background Information

[edit] Reception

[edit] Cast & Crew

Joss Whedon said about the episode: ""Needs" was one of the first episodes that I ever dreamed up. It was one of the first episodes I pitched. Tracy Bellomo wrote such a beautiful script and [director] Felix Alcala just made a beautiful show. Gorgeous to look at and well-paced. Everyone was just firing on all cylinders. And it was like, "This is the kind of story we're trying to tell."^[1]

[edit] Critics

" [T]his is a very compelling episode – one I liked even more than "Man on the Street", thanks to the stronger characterizations. "

--IGN Recap

" This is a good episode, it’s an interesting, logical story. It has acting and writing to recommend it. But it still leaves me uncomfortable and without a bond to it. "

--The TV Critic Review

" All in all, this was a pretty great episode, even if it lost a little bit of its suspense after we realized this was all just Adelle's game. "

--io9 Recap

" Complete with lots of humor, intimate romance and twists and turns aplenty, "Needs" is another example of the potential "Dollhouse" has in its serialized form. "

--Airlock Alpha Recap

[edit] Ratings

"Needs" a 2.2/4 Rating/Share,a 1.46/5 Rating/Share in the 18-49 demographic and a 1.7/5 in the 25-54 demographic. The episode was watched by 2.865 million viewers Live, 3.436 million viewers Live+SD and 4.392 million viewers Live+7. The episode averaged a 1.17 Rating in the 18-49 demographic Live, a 1.46 Live+SD and a 1.96 Live+7. Overall "Needs" had 1.527 million DVR viewers. 34.8% of all viewings of "Needs" happened via DVR, that's the third greatest percentage of DVR viewing for broadcast TV shows of that week.

The half-hour breakdown showed 3.51 million viewers and 1.4/5 Rating/Share in the demo between 9:01 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and 3.46 million viewers and a 1.4/5 between 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.