Joss Whedon fans are notoriously dedicated and passionate; I can certainly appreciate and relate to such fervor as an active member of the online Lost community. So I would like to state that although I love the genre and watch many similar shows, I have never been a Buffy, Firefly or Serenity person (but I LOVED Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog!). To be honest…Lost, Fringe, Heroes and The X-Files occupy most of the sci-fi space in my wheelhouse. Regardless of my lack of Whedon experience, however, I have been anxiously anticipating the arrival of Dollhouse based on the original description of the series alone.
Before I begin and for what it’s worth – I tend to avoid spoilers and news about any show I watch or would like to; for that reason, I was able to absorb and enjoy the first episode of Dollhouse without distraction or any real information about the cast, script, etc. My goal is to provide initial thoughts and perspective rather than a detailed analysis or full episode recap with potential spoilers.
To sum up Dollhouse in one (run-on) sentence: it is centered around a mysterious organization which funds and oversees a controversial lab and living facility (the Dollhouse) where recruited members receive “treatments” (memories are wiped clean) and are then imprinted with new personalities for each new “engagement” (mission). As a fan of vague, nefarious syndicates (The Dharma Initiative, SD-6 and Massive Dynamic come to mind), I was hooked almost immediately. Almost.
The first few minutes of Dollhouse were not as intriguing and seamless as I would have liked. Obviously the version of the first episode that I was given the opportunity to view is not final, but I did not find the opening sequence to be the best choice of scenes to introduce Echo (Eliza Dushku, who plays the lead character).
And to be perfectly frank, although she rocks the shortest mini-dress that I’ve ever seen with great success, Dushku and co-star Dichen Lachman need to eat a sandwich or three. The only reason it garners a mention is that I find it rather distracting; I’d much prefer to notice one’s acting abilities than her collar or hip bones. I have the same issue with Rose Byrne on Damages. Perhaps it is that I prefer my she-spies more along the lines of Sydney Bristow (a nice balance of athleticism, emotion and intellect).
That being said…after ten minutes, I was riveted. As I am apt to do with Lost, a long list of questions started forming as the episode and intensity progressed; who funds the organization? If the Dollhouse project is top secret, how do potential clients make contact? How and where does the company recruit?
The only eye-roll inducing moment was a co-ed shower scene, reminiscent of the infamous Ally McBeal mixed gender bathroom. Did FOX decide that we were ready for such a concept again? I recently reviewed an in-depth interview with Joss Whedon for The Write Environment, and he did not strike me as the kind of show runner and writer who would write and include a scene simply to be gratuitous.
I have no doubt that my initial issues with Dollhouse will be resolved quickly. I love the concept and supporting cast, look forward to further character development and have no doubt that there will be improvement in the execution of what looks to be a very addictive mythology.
In my eyes, the series is TiVO Season Pass-worthy and I will be tuning in for the duration.
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Thanks for the review Jo! I too am not a historical Whedon fan, but I did recently become a fan of Firefly on DVD. And Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog…well, I can’t say enough good things about that so we’ll just leave it at…Genius. But short of that, I’ve never followed Whedon specifically. I’ve had high hopes for this show and after reading your review I have a feeling that I’ll probably have a similar reaction after seeing it. I can’t wait!! So many shows coming up that I can’t wait for!!
Nice to finally get a review of this. I figured ole Joss-boy was gonna be stingy and keep the good to himself. I’ve been a pretty big fan of Whedon’s in the past, but I have to say I don’t have high expectations for this show. Be it Fox or Whedon’s fear of Fox, I think this show could end up being an even faster failure than Firefly. Its a shame too. When’s Joss gonna learn that he needs to channel his talents through a cable station. That’s where all the best drama’s go to play.
Thanks for the preview/review Jopinionated.
Thanks for the review Jo! I too am not a historical Whedon fan, but I did recently become a fan of Firefly on DVD. And Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog…well, I can't say enough good things about that so we'll just leave it at…Genius. But short of that, I've never followed Whedon specifically. I've had high hopes for this show and after reading your review I have a feeling that I'll probably have a similar reaction after seeing it. I can't wait!! So many shows coming up that I can't wait for!!
Nice to finally get a review of this. I figured ole Joss-boy was gonna be stingy and keep the good to himself. I've been a pretty big fan of Whedon's in the past, but I have to say I don't have high expectations for this show. Be it Fox or Whedon's fear of Fox, I think this show could end up being an even faster failure than Firefly. Its a shame too. When's Joss gonna learn that he needs to channel his talents through a cable station. That's where all the best drama's go to play.
Thanks for the preview/review Jopinionated.
Is it just me, or does this seem awfully similar to the failed Christian Slater vehicle My Own Worst Enemy? Memories wiped clean? Check! New identities? Check! The only thing that seems to be missing is something going very wrong with the process and the personalities become aware of each other. I am interested enough to give it a try, but it better blow me away pretty quickly or I will lose interest.
I am also depressed to hear Eliza Dushku now needs a sandwich. She was the curvy, kick-ass one on Buffy, or maybe standing next to Sarah Michelle Gellar and Emma Caulfield makes everyone look curvy.
Oh, I have seen every Joss Whedon series/movie, and he is exactly the type of writer to add scenes that are purely gratuitous. See almost every scene with poor Xander Harris after about the second season of Buffy for examples, they are everywhere. It is like he totally lost any feel for the character, and rather than write him off, they gave him little to nothing of use to do. He was so likable in the beginning too!
This is literally the first review of any kind I have seen for Dollhouse, thank you so much for finally putting my tortured little brain to rest!
Is it just me, or does this seem awfully similar to the failed Christian Slater vehicle My Own Worst Enemy? Memories wiped clean? Check! New identities? Check! The only thing that seems to be missing is something going very wrong with the process and the personalities become aware of each other. I am interested enough to give it a try, but it better blow me away pretty quickly or I will lose interest.
I am also depressed to hear Eliza Dushku now needs a sandwich. She was the curvy, kick-ass one on Buffy, or maybe standing next to Sarah Michelle Gellar and Emma Caulfield makes everyone look curvy.
Oh, I have seen every Joss Whedon series/movie, and he is exactly the type of writer to add scenes that are purely gratuitous. See almost every scene with poor Xander Harris after about the second season of Buffy for examples, they are everywhere. It is like he totally lost any feel for the character, and rather than write him off, they gave him little to nothing of use to do. He was so likable in the beginning too!
This is literally the first review of any kind I have seen for Dollhouse, thank you so much for finally putting my tortured little brain to rest!
I have been waiting for this premiere forever. I have been following it in the news, though, and this helped temper what I read. I’m looking forward to the actual thing now. Thanks.
I have been waiting for this premiere forever. I have been following it in the news, though, and this helped temper what I read. I'm looking forward to the actual thing now. Thanks.
“Obviously the version of the first episode that I was given the opportunity to view is not final.”
How sure about that are you? Ghost is the second pilot, and I thought it would have well and truly complete for a premiere soon.
Anyway – Fantastic review, Jo! I’m really looking forward to it.
Hey Jamie.
Press screener versions of premiere’s, like this one, are often slightly unfinished. Sometimes there are special effects elements, or big reveals left out of them, and they are often cut before the absolute final version is ready for TV. I’d guess that was Jo saw was probably 90 to 95% complete though. There’s usually only very minor changes at this point.
Thanks for an informative, objective and completely non-spoilery review. I’m a Whedon aficionado, so I have very high hopes for Dollhouse – when I find myself struggling with its premise, I try to remember that I was dismissive of Firefly, too, and that wound up being one of my favorite TV series of all time.
But..But…The end of Serenity killed me!
Not just you :)
Do you mean the end of the TV series, or the end of the Serenity movie? Because I deeply adored the series and did *not* like the movie. I pretend the latter never happened. :)
"Obviously the version of the first episode that I was given the opportunity to view is not final."
How sure about that are you? Ghost is the second pilot, and I thought it would have well and truly complete for a premiere soon.
Anyway – Fantastic review, Jo! I'm really looking forward to it.
Hey Jamie.
Press screener versions of premiere's, like this one, are often slightly unfinished. Sometimes there are special effects elements, or big reveals left out of them, and they are often cut before the absolute final version is ready for TV. I'd guess that was Jo saw was probably 90 to 95% complete though. There's usually only very minor changes at this point.
Whee! Joss is back! Finally, an awesome creator is back on the small screen! Take that, Shonda Rhimes!
Thanks for an informative, objective and completely non-spoilery review. I'm a Whedon aficionado, so I have very high hopes for Dollhouse – when I find myself struggling with its premise, I try to remember that I was dismissive of Firefly, too, and that wound up being one of my favorite TV series of all time.
But..But…The end of Serenity killed me!
Not just you :)
Do you mean the end of the TV series, or the end of the Serenity movie? Because I deeply adored the series and did *not* like the movie. I pretend the latter never happened. :)
Whee! Joss is back! Finally, an awesome creator is back on the small screen! Take that, Shonda Rhimes!
Hi all, I just came across this great article about the Dollhouse, which starts this Friday night on FOX. Whedon atlks a lot about his longtime fans and how they may either love or hate this show. Anyways, take a gander :http://www.canada.com/entertainment/television/Welcome+Dollhouse/1249180/story.html
Damn these links! I will try again (my computer has been taken over by Skynet, and it is starting to really tick me off ;)
http://www.canada.com/entertainment/television/We…
(pleaseworkpleasework)
O/ O/
Take that, SKYNET ;)
Hi all, I just came across this great article about the Dollhouse, which starts this Friday night on FOX. Whedon atlks a lot about his longtime fans and how they may either love or hate this show. Anyways, take a gander :http://www.canada.com/entertainment/television/Welcome+Dollhouse/1249180/story.html
O/ O/
Take that, SKYNET ;)
Damn these links! I will try again (my computer has been taken over by Skynet, and it is starting to really tick me off ;)
http://www.canada.com/entertainment/television/We…
(pleaseworkpleasework)