The conclusion of last week’s reveal of Alpha as Firefly‘s Alan Tudyk led, this week, to the further revelation that Alpha was Carl William Craft, a violent convict who was one of the Dollhouse’s first actives, contracted by Adelle DeWitt from a prison. By accident, he got 48 personalities downloaded into him, and, as Topher phrased it, Alpha “snapped,” turning into a deadly carver. (There were numerous times here, I gotta say, when Fran Kranz as Topher delivered his sarcastic lines so caustically, I thought Joss Whedon and company were going to pull a switcheroo and have Topher be the series’ ultimate villain; didn’t you get that vibe a few times?)

This season conclusion had Alpha convincing an alternate-identitied Echo to run off with him, kidnapping an innocent woman, and pulling a Frankenstein homage by rigging up a home-made, zapping-electricity experimental device that would enable Alpha to do his own personality-implanting. Echo/Caroline had to overcome Alpha’s hold on her, and save herself.

The bottom-line theme for the season: Dollhouse was about identity, figuring your own out and dealing with it, because denying your identity or giving it up for someone else to define you, gets you in trouble.

The hour was full of Whedonesque lines (written, in this case, by director Tim Minear) such as, “I have 38 brains and not one of them thinks you can sign a contract to be a slave, especially now that we have a black President.” And Topher, speaking of souls: “We put ‘em in a jar with our fireflies.” Get it? Firefly? Sheesh. Less Whedonesque? References to Nietzsche, even when uttered by a freaky madman, and ex-FBI man Ballard making a passionate mini-speech about the sanctity of the soul. Frankly, I found the conclusion a bit of an anti-climax — that is, after the climax of a fine butt-kicking scene in which Echo thrashed Alpha in a fine, Buffy-ish fight scene.

But then, in part, I presume, to keep things open for a second season, Alpha had to escape. And Caroline went back to being Echo, more or less, in the Dollhouse, murmuring robotically, “Shall I go now?” My heart sank as the “dolls” once again sank into their little pod-beds. Even if, as they were sealed in tight for the night, Echo uttered the season’s final word — “Caroline,” demonstrating she remembers her true identity — I didn’t feel much forward momentum had been built for another season of Dollhouse-ing. I understand that Caroline’s contractual five years aren’t up, but…

I thought it was a bit of a let-down, overall. There were, of course, a number of good moments here, just as there were excellent moments throughout the season. (Favorite line this night: “The wrongness of this is so large.”)

So was this the kind of season-ender you wanted from Dollhouse? Do you want to see that tantalizingly unaired, DVD-promised episode, “Epitaph One,” for clues to what different directions Dollhouse might have taken? (Or might yet take?) Are you hoping Fox will renew it for a second season? (I actually am — I want to see Whedon and the gang go at this material again.) Or should those dolls just drift off to perpetual TV-sleep?

The Office really knows how to throw a party. After the past few weeks’ delightfully tense episodes guest-starring Idris Elba, things were back to normal at Dunder Mifflin last night — which is to say, they were eccentric and witty at the same time. Cafe Disco proved to be a fine idea of Michael’s, and the dance-off between Ed Helms’ Andy and Mindy Kaling’s Kelly was wonderful physical comedy totally in keeping with their characters. The Office even managed to wring fresh laughs from the Village People’s “YMCA”:

Normally I’m not a big fan of goofing on the oldies, but I agree with Pam in this case: I like cheesy.

How about you?

So Kiefer Sutherland is facing “minor assault charges” for allegedly headbutting a guy at a party. I have no inside knowledge of the incident, of course, but based on the details common in various reports, Sutherland, who may or may not have been drinking (no law against that), headbutted a guy he thought was either invading his space, or the space of Brooke Shields.

As attack weapons go, the headbutt can be both relatively harmless — even the fellow pressing charges waited a while before deciding to do so, and doesn’t look as though he’s severely damaged — and a lot safer for both parties than, say, fists or some sort of weapon.

Sure, you can do harm with a headbutt — I’ve had my eyes blackened after being on the receiving end of one — but, c’mon, let’s give Sutherland some credit: he may have been provoked; he did execute the move with an efficiency and precision that casts doubt on the notion that he was seriously wasted.

Sounds like he learned something while training to be 24‘s Jack Bauer, or maybe before that. I say, let the actor get on with being Jack Bauer and whoever else he wants to portray onscreen; he doesn’t need more on his criminal record.

Disagree? Agree?

Last night, the tingly, penultimate episode of Fringe for the season made a few sly references to one of its producers’ pet projects (that would be Star Trek), delivered by everyone’s favorite cult star, Clint Howard. But in an episode peppered with conspiracy theories, Stephen King as prescient science, and Frankenberry, these were just the least of the hour’s pleasures.

Things are really chugging along, as we learned more about the ZFT manifesto co-authored by Dr. William Bell (next-week guest-star Leonard Nimoy) and Walter. Olivia’s odious, chrome-dome boss (no, not Broyles, Harris) turned out to be a heinous villain. Blair Brown’s Nina was shot (drugged?) by two ski-masked men, Walter went off with a suddenly-chatty Observer, and Olivia started having hallucinations that suggested someone might be trying to “activate” her via the Cortexiphan emplanted in her by Walter and William Bell when she was a kid.

And did we already know that Massive Dynamic is the Defense Department’s “largest contractor”?

The other night on The Colbert Report, Colbert asked J.J. Abrams if he could get into Fringe now, without having an information chip implanted in his brain to enable him to catch up on its complexities. I say, maybe not if next week’s finale is your first visit, Stephen, but you should definitely start watching on Hulu.

Did you watch Fringe last night? Are you, as Walter might say, psyched for next week’s finale? All theories about what last night meant and what next week might resolve are most welcome. Thanks.

The folks who are releasing Jon & Kate Plus 8: Season 4, Vol. 1: The Wedding — a three-disc DVD set, out today — could not have predicted the way some of us would now be watching it. That is, for signs of strain on a marriage that’s recently been all over the media in the wake of alleged naughtiness by husband Jon Gosselin.

This DVD collects the first half of the season-four episodes, culminating in Jon and Kate’s 2008 “wedding renewal” ceremony in Hawaii. They reaffirm their wedding commitment (they married in 1999), and write their own vows. Kate’s words take on new resonance now. Addressing Jon, she promises to “be more respectful and more sensitive to your needs.”

This being Jon & Kate, cable TV’s most interesting reality soap opera, lots of little details tantalize. Kate mentions that when they first married, many of “our family members weren’t willing or able to come.” Not “willing”? We’ve heard hints of disapproval emanating from extended-family members before, but they’re never fully addressed.

As always, the sweet Gosselin children are little wonders to watch, so happily silly and spontaneous. (Of course, Kate has to interrupt the minister’s ceremony to, as she freely admits later, bark sternly at the little ones to behave. Hey, it’s her parenting style, right?)

Kate says on the DVD that she had to explain the “wedding renewal” to the youngest ones: “Not all moms and dads stay together… and we’ll always be together,” she says. Here’s hoping those kids have a happy parental pair in the future.

Did you watch these episodes when they first aired, or were you waiting for the DVD? Do you remember the “wedding renewal”? What do you think of Jon and Kate and the kids’ adventures?

For more on Jon & Kate:

Jon’s mystery woman speaks out

Jon Gosselin’s friends come to his defense

Even before Donald Trump parked his hair on the sofa of The View this morning, things were pretty hairy. Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Joy Behar got into a row over whether creationism should be taught in schools alongside the theory of evolution. (Guess who’s pro-creationism? And so, for the record, is Sherri Shepherd.) When Behar said that refusing the teach evolution in some schools amounted to “child abuse,” Hasselbeck went semi-ballistic. Joy: “I stand by my statement.” Elizabeth retorted, “I stand on your statement!” Huh??

(Speaking of school, Elizabeth also seems to lack certain reading fundamentals. While giving a plug to her boss Barbara Walters’ book Audition, just out in paperback, Hasselbeck said, “I opened The New York Times and was pleased to see this mention of the book.” She held up the newspaper for us to see. Um, that was an advertisement, Elizabeth: The Times made no “mention” of the book — it ran a paid ad.)

Anyhoo, Donald showed up with his bodyguard, Ivanka, and everybody made nice — too nice. After endless pleasant chatter, Trump was finally asked about the reason anyone wants to see him on a talk show: the Celebrity Apprentice explosion with Melissa Rivers’ firing.

“She thinks she’s Joan, and she’s not,” said Trump simply. That is, Melissa doesn’t have the talent her mom does. No revelation there. Then there was more polite chatter.

This had been promoted as Donald’s big return to The View after a three-year absence, with fireworks implied. Frankly, the opening Hot Topics were more sparky.

Did you watch? What do you think?