Dollhouse

SPOILER WARNING!!! This post spoils Joss Whedons Dollhouse.

What would it be like if human body was like computer, brains hard disk and personality operating system? What would happen if you could upload new operating system from distance? First question was asked in Dollhouse. We didn't get good answer for second because Dollhouse was cancelled after two seasons.

Dollhouse is place where young and beautiful people are programmed according wishes of customer. Most times it is high class escort service where you can select body and personality that is uploaded to body. Yes. New technology is used for sex. Sometimes dolls are used for real work when someone needs special skill set and personality. When dolls are not working they are in child like state in dollhouse. Dolls have made contract with dollhouse and they are given their original personality after contract is over. Dollhouse works underground and only selected few are chosen to be customers.

This kind of service have lot of ethical and moral problems. Not to mention technical problems. Everything doesn't go as planned and customers have different kinds of reasons to use service. Series discusses these things quite well. But because series was cancelled after two seasons it didn't get to other uses for this technology. Or philosophical questions like what is the person same person after real personality is uploaded after contract is over than person that made contract in first place. Series just assumes that personality is software or operating system that can be saved to disk and then be uploaded to body. Answer to that question would be very important for me if I ever had change to use this kind of technology. I wouldn't want my personality to die to make copy of my personality to live.

In world of Dollhouse there are many people who don't think this kind of thing. They use this technology to gain immortality. They just upload their personality to another body or in some cases many other bodies at same time. Now answer to that philosophical question comes quite interesting. There is also moral problem in this. Why others should die to give immortality to someone else in their body?

With bonus episodes of both seasons we see where this technology leads to. When uploading can be done from distance this technology is turned in to weapon. You could turn other people your slaves or turn half of your enemies into raging mad men who attack other half of your enemies. When both sides have this technology, the end can only be total disaster. End of Dollhouse world is zombie apocalypse where zombies don't even have to bite you. You can be turned into zombie from distance and there is little you can do about it.

Joss Whedons Firefly is legendary for its much too early cancellation. This is another similar series for same man. In this we could at least see more of it before cancellation.