new show review: Dollhouse
When you love Joss Whedon’s work as much as I do, it’s difficult to stay objective watching his latest offering. How can I separate my reaction to Dollhouse from my excitement that Joss is once again on TV? Only with great difficulty. But I shall attempt to contain my fanboy giddiness in favor of presenting a straight response only to the Dollhouse pilot.
Dollhouse promises a rich mythology all of its own, apropos of a Joss Whedon story. (Oops…) The show centers around some super-secret corporation that hires out “actives” to the ultra-wealthy, providing them custom-built personnel perfect for handling extreme situations (or, it seems, dates.) These agents literally get a new personality and skill set implanted in their brains, specially created for a mission, overwriting all previous memories.
But there are hints that the technology, the people, and the system behind everything are far from perfect. The Dollhouse is under FBI investigation, its staff question the morality of what they’re doing, and trailer for the season promises us a rogue agent. Some of the more interesting scenes in the show featured agents milling about in their blank state between missions, almost lacking in any personality at all.
In short, there are promises that we won’t only have pretty people and cool action, but also plenty of damage and consequence, exactly what one wants to see from a Joss Whe– uh… from a good pilot.
Production felt slick and together, as if we were in the middle of a series that had been on the air for a long time. You might not have distinguished it from production design on the later years of Angel. (I swear I’m trying, but the comparisons are hard not to make. At least I’m not drooling, right?) Many of the names in the credits will look familiar to Whedonverse fans, meaning there’s a team here ready to hit the ground running.
My main concern is casting. For Dollhouse to maintain as a series, we’ll need hundreds of characters from Eliza Dushku. She was perfect as Faith. But her performance here didn’t have all the notes needed to put Dollhouse‘s pilot on par with Buffy or Alias. I wouldn’t say Duskhu’s not up for it. But I will say she’ll need to grow as an actor. If there’s anyone who can make that happen, it’s Joss. I LOVE JOSS! GO, JOSS, GO! Welcome back to TV, buddy!
Awww, dammit…
Best aspect: Hints at the rich fabric yet to come. Particularly intriguing was Amy Acker’s subdued performance as a Dollhouse technician/doctor, her facial scars begging one to ask about the story behind them.
Worst aspect: The gratuitous titillation and obnoxious network packaging. It was all a bit much, and certainly proof that FOX is a bit out of touch with the programming they’re offering. (Please, please, FOX, don’t Firefly this show.) Dushku with Summer Glau reminding the camera that we’re in for Friday nights of ass-kicking hot girls insults the intelligence of the audience tuning in to these shows. (Never mind that ass-kicking hot girls IS half the reason that they… we… are tuned in. Just don’t insult us!)
Verdict: Foregone conclusion that I’ll watch every episode. The degree of difficulty here is ridiculously high, seemingly offering us characters with no consistency, by design. How do I root for a protagonist whose emotional stakes are not her own? But this is a writing team who knew the difficulties going in, so I’m betting we’re good. Even if they fail miserably, watching will be worth my time.
Odds of success: Joss Whedon has a built-in audience of hard-core devoteds. The Sci-Fi network (not to mention years of datelessness) have trained geeks that Friday night is their time for television. Battlestar Galactica is on its last episodes, leaving that Friday night crowd looking for a place to land, and that Dollhouse is smartly paired with Sarah Connor Chronicles. Meanwhile, FOX programming is now in the hands of Kevin Reilly, the same man who gave The Office and 30 Rock the time they needed to bloom over at NBC. Bare minimum and most likely, we have the makings of a cult hit.
jane on