Okay so I have finally watched and am caught up with Dollhouse, Joss Whedon's highly anticipated but ultimately underwhelming to the critics show. I went into not expecting that much to be honest. Based on the lukewarm response that started coming in months before the show even had aired and all of the reshoots and such I was pretty much ready to write it off. But I actually enjoyed it very much although I had issues with the first episode and its not a perfect show but overall I am really looking forward to Friday's new episode. So I'll just write down some thoughts I'm having about the show.
I love that Olivia Williams is on this show.
First of all I really dig the concept of the show even if it presents some issues such as the idea of the protagonist being essentially nobody. I love the setting of the Dollhouse. Its really stunning production design. Where they sleep and do yoga and such. Its a very calming futuristic but not really at all sort of atmosphere. Something that the show does in the second and third episodes that I really think makes it stand out a bit is that it goes in directions you do not expect. Something like the Dollhouse is obviously going to bring out a lot of psychos and even with the background checks there are going to be some mistakes. So I like how they have explored that a bit.
I also love the way that hey have constructed the concept. The zombified way that the Actives act when they are not on an engagement gives the show a creepy feel during those parts. They are essentially children. I like how the Actives imprints are done through a composite of different personalities. They have really done a goo job with having the high concept make sense and making it plausible within the show.
There are also a lot of subplots going on here that I feel have a lot of potential. All of this stuff with Alpha, Echo being special, Echo's past as Caroline, where they are going with Sierra's character, VIctor, Boyd's skepticism, Ballard, the Attic and stuff like that. All of these I feel have potential and they have gotten more interesting as they have gone on.
Problems I have with the show. I have my doubts about Eliza Dushku's talent. I like her and I think she does a good job so far but I am usually aware that she is acting. I wish that Whedon hd cast an unknown because I think the show would have been a bit different and actually better if they had cast someone we did not know as opposed to someone who is good but has little range and uses the same mannerisms.
Also the show has little of the Joss Whedon humor I have come to know and love. I have nothing wrong with a darker tone but Whedon is hailed for being able to mix the drama with his unique sense of humor. The only humor that comes from the show is from the character of Topher...who I HATE. I hate hate hate hate hate this guy. Its like someone trying to copy Joss Whedon humor as opposed to it actually being that. Not only do I hate the character but its mostly the actor. I hate this guy. He is so annoying, I hate his face, I hate his line delivery. Ugh. He is a big detractor.
It is also hard to watch a show without having much of a stock in the main character because she is different every week. But its not as much of a problem as it is for other people.
"Ghost"
Grade: C+
This episode was a weak start for the show not because of the way the concept was introduced, that was actually good but I thought the negotiator plot was a really weak first story to kick off the entire series. I liked what they did with having one of the personalities that had been imprinted in her having had previous sexual abuse and having her come face to face with her abuser again. But other than that it was pretty standard and sort of uninspired. I was always aware that Dushku was acting and I really want her to be able to pull this off. I think she is trying but I don't know I really still hold on to my theory that the show would be better with an unknown as Echo.
"The Target"
Grade: B
This was the best episode of the three. It went in directions I did not expect, it had a focus. The focus being Boyd and Echo's relationship and his introduction to the Dollhouse and to being her handler. The direction that Echo's engagement went in was at times brutal and pretty scary. I do not really like Ballard's neighbor either. I do not think she's a very good actress and I do not like that they expect us to care about her after like 2 minutes of setup with her character that she likes him. Also we learned a bit more about Alpha. Something I am worried about is the apparent casting of Alan Tudyk as Alpha. Alan Tudyk a.k.a the comic relief of "Firefly" and of everything he is in. I hope they can pull this off. Someone I really like is the AMy Acker character, the Dollhouse physician. I wish she was a regular as opposed to being listed as a guest star. Because I really like her.
"Stage Fright"
Grade: B-
This one had a really great start and I loved where it went with Rayna having a sort of death wish because I did not expect that. But then I did not feel that they could back it up with any sort of plausibility and then I thought the climax of the episode was a bit ludicrous frankly. So I thought it started out with some promise but did not end up being what it wanted to be. I thought the guy they cast as the psycho fan was perfect because he creeped me the hell out. Eliza Dushku has a great voice which I am assuming is hers because it sounds like her. I'm a little confused as to why Dollhouse assigned Sierra the job if being number 1 fan. It could not have been for double protection because she was not equipped to do anything when she was taken and I do not see who would hire her to hae a number 1 fan. It seemed like they just wanted to give her something to do. I also have to say that I think Tahmoh Penikett is doing a good job here carrying his own storyline as Ballard. He is distinctly different from his Helo character on Battlestar Galactica and its so cool seeing him on his show and with such an important role. And what the hell was with that faicla exchange between Echo and Sierra at the end? They made it unclae about whether or not it was important because it was so subtle but I found it really interesting.
Despite all of my complaints and the fact that this cast no "Firefly" ensemble and even though Buffy takes the second season to get going there is no sign of it touching that even at its best with Buffy at its worst I'd go so far to say, I'm still hopeful that the series will pick up which I hear it does. But even with all of this I am really enjoying it honestly and I hope that the show can make it through the 13 episodes without being cancelled. This show will not last. Not with a network that has so many slots being taken by American Idol and with programming that only goes two hours a night and with Fringe and Lie to Me being hits, they need to get rid of any waste they can and since Dollhouse is not doing great in the ratings and with Whedon's history with the network with Firefly I'm prepared to have the show unfortunately taken away from me all too soon. So even itf its not amazing, I need to cherish the new Whedon we have because it will soon be gone.
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