This week - on a Dollhouse episode Joss Whedon better hope earns better ratings than the show's opening two efforts - viewers will learn a lot more about the life of an Active.

For example, did you know that the Dolls can be remotely deactivated via telephone?

E! Online says this trait of the program will be featured on Friday night, and it will be bad news for Echo. Why?

Because the person that makes the call will be the mysterious former Active introduced last week as Alpha. Look for Alan Tudyk (Wash from Firefly, Pastor Veal from Arrested Development) to play this key role on the show.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.