I watched the premiere of Dollhouse online yesterday. I’m a fairly big Joss Whedon fan—I like Buffy, love Firefly, and never got into Angel, although you have to respect any TV show that turns their main characters into Muppets for an episode or two.
The premise here is that a secret organization pumps their agents full of memories and then sends them out to do their bidding. The agents are blank slates who can then be used for anything: Hostage negotiation, assassination, prostitution, etc.
I guess what Whedon was aiming for here was a kind of early Alias, anything-goes vibe. Part of the problem is that Eliza Dushku is no Jennifer Garner. She’s such a blank slate I can’t even believe she’s a blank slate. And I assume that the show is built on Dushku’s character, Echo (FRAUGHT WITH MEANING), eventually achieving some sort of self-realization, which means one thing: At some point, she’ll have to do some acting. This is going to be problematic.
The other problem here is the story just isn’t that compelling yet. I don’t know if the men who are controlling all the kick-ass Charlie’s Angels 2.0 women are supposed to eventually become good guys or what, but I find the whole let’s-program-a-beautiful-woman-to-do-whatever-we-want thing kind of repulsive. Unless there’s a mammoth, sweeping story that links everything and turns into a giant conspiracy thriller, it’s just not worth it. And Whedon isn’t great at giant sweeping stories. He’s better at characters, and at creating moments. And I don’t think that Dushku has the chops to pull it off, either.
Still: I could watch that woman get on and off a motorcycle all day long, so I’ll give it a couple episodes to grow on me.
I think the people who run the Dollhouse are supposed to be the bad guys, not the good guys.
I got burned thinking the premise of Buffy was stupid. I liked the movie, but how is that going to be a TV series.
I got burned thinking the premise of Firefly was stupid. Does he think he can recreate Star Trek?
I think the Dollhouse premise is fine, but not great. I am going to watch it every week till I lose faith.
(I love Dr. Horrible from the start.)
If your lead actress can’t out-act Jennifer Garner, then your show is in trouble. Jennifer Garner is not an actress. She’s a Ben-Affleck-baby-machine. For which she deserves awards. Bravo, uterus.
On another note, an ex of mine LOVED Eliza Dushku. He’d watch anything with her in it, no matter how terrible. I’m guessing he’s not the only person who feels that way, and therefore this show will enjoy a modicum of success.
I don’t why Joss Whedon keeps casting Eliza Dushku (ok, besides the fact that she’s insanely hot), she kills every show she headlines.
Since Firefly, I prefer to wait to see if a series lasts a season before I start watching it.
She was my least favorite part of “Buffy”. I don’t think he’s ever going to have another show that recaptures that magic.
It’s a slower start then a lot of his other shows, but he seems to be going for a more serious tone from the get-go, which sort of cuts down on the opportunity for funny dialogue, one of Whedon’s strengths. I’ll give it a chance through the first season, anyway.
Eliza Dusku is the reason I think Jessica Alba can act.
@4- Its people like you that keep these shows from lasting a full season.
(Actually, I have no idea how they measure ratings these days. If you watch TV in a way in which they could measure your ratings, then your policy is hurting good shows.)
Yeah, yeah, the first episode was fairly generic. But give it six episodes. Things will begin to work.
@6 I think that Whedon is going for a large overarc in a half-season.
I’m going to be really curious about Season 2, if there is one.
The first episode, while far from brilliant, at least held enough intrigue and promise as a first episode.
Also, was it just me, or did blank slate Echo tend to have a lot of movements and behaviors stolen from Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy?
Maybe I just WANT to like it too much (because I really do), but I quite enjoyed it. I thought the first episode did a really good job at explaining the premise without “corning the goose”, as they say (at least, as my mom says). The fact that the pilot worked well as a stand-alone episode is a good sign too, in my opinion. I thought the action scenes were pretty cool, and I really think the premise has a lot of potential if it gets the chance to play out.
I agree with your concerns about the Dushku Acting Deficit, but yeah: the hotness.
@3
You’re a modicum.
Dusku is mostly braless and in a tank top for the better part of 44 minutes. That is all.
The show is balls, as Paul more eloquently noted.
Also: Unintentional foie gras reference in my last comment. I think I win at SLOG.
Shocking that no mention was made in the review or these comments regarding the sexual violence on which the entire first episode of Dollhouse is premised. Hopefully the rest of the show won’t need to rely on that tired old crutch to create suspense. Time to move on, Hollywood.
@14: Good point, I hadn’t thought of that. It’s why I think Law and Order SVU is simultaneously pretty gross and completely boring.
@14 ~ you rule!
Big fan of Joss, but I didn’t like this. Still, I’ll give it a shot for the hotness. Amy Acker offering to give Eliza Dushku a massage? Nerd-gasm! Plus, Helo!
@14: I was really wierded out by that, and thought it was beneath Joss. Who, in my opinion, is generally pretty good at big sweeping stories– I mean, I refer to seasons of Buffy by whomever the Big Bad was that year.
Because I’m a sucker for anything that says Joss Whedon on it, I’ll keep watching Dollhouse, but I’d like to see more Joss Whedon TM dialogue in it. The downer seasons of Buffy were the worst (see 6, 7), and while those were still better than just about anything else on TV at the time, I don’t want a show that runs at that level of downer (that’s what BSG is for). So I guess what I’m saying is that I’d like to see this take a somewhat hopeful upswing soon. Which it should, as it’s been confirmed that Alan Tudyk will be doing a multi-ep arc and I LOVE ME SOME WASH!
What frustrates me with Dollhouse (although I’ll probably watch a few more eps to see if it gets better) is that all the Actives seemed to be women (unless I missed something, which is totally possible, since the premiere didn’t actually hold my attention all that well). If we’re going to be exploiting people for their beauty, why not men, too? There are plenty of hot young men I wouldn’t mind seeing wander around in yoga clothes, and if we’re going to be objectifying folks, why not be equal-opportunity jackasses about it?
Paul:
“…I find the whole let’s-program-a-beautiful-woman-to-do-whatever-we-want thing kind of repulsive. “
Congratulations; you’ve grasped part of the premise. Broaden your outrage to include men, and you have the show. Keep watching.
And I could watch Tahmoh fight that other hottie all day long, myself, so I’m in either way.
@19
You didn’t notice the “Starship Troopers meets Wolfram and Hart set” shower scene? They were plenty of men in the Dollhouse (pilot), but this is Fox, and America, so pretty half-naked men don’t get a lot of screen time.
I’m a huge Buffy/Firefly fan and was looking forward to Dollhouse, but I found that the pilot was a cliched pastiche of cop/spy shows. Also, the premise of the Dollhouse is completely illogical. As the FBI boss dude said, why wouldn’t a billionaire or whoever just hire the specialist that they need? Why would they pay out the yin yang for these Dollhouse people?
I’ve read that the show gets reworked after the third ep, so it will probs improve after that.
Besides, I’m watching solely because I want to lick every inch of Tahmoh Penikett. I’d hit that harder than the Titanic hit that iceberg.
@21, no, I totally missed that – must have been when I went to get popcorn or something. Good to know, though – I’ll play closer attention next week.
I agree with 20 – the general premise of the show (erasing personality/preprogrammed memories added) is interesting, but My Own Worst Enemy did it way better. Funny – you’d think NBC would’ve gone for the show that put the SVU salacious victimization of women version. But maybe that’s why MOWE got cancelled mid-season – too much story, not enough hot chicks wearing skimpy clothes while being programmed by shadowy others.
@20, 22: Tahmoh Penikett (aka Helo on BSG) will be at Comicon this year, April 4th and 5th at the Convention Center downtown. http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com
Yeah, there was at least one naked man in the Dollhouse. Realistically, most of their clientele would be filthy rich men with low morals. It makes sense that the Dolls are mainly women, as most of the missions would basically be high-class prostitution. It’s also implied that the typical Doll profile is a runaway or someone who wouldn’t be missed. Which ties back to the sexual exploitation issue.
@20, 22, 25: So…. we’re going to Comicon with a trank dart and a net for nefarious Tamoh purposes? I’m SO THERE. I’d hit that ’til my spine lights up.
Aislinn @ 25,
Oh noes!! I’m gonna be outta town!
HEEELLLOOOOOO—er—TAAHHMMOOOOHHHHH!
@22-I think the idea is that there’s a thrill in the guilt and risk that comes from hiring Dollhouse. You know another human being has been effectively erased so that you can have this idealized toy to play with for as long as your contract lasts who has no idea what you’ve payed to have done to them, and you know that if you’re ever found out your money isn’t going to save you. It’s the same reason some people order blowfish sushi even though there’s plenty of other tasty things on the menu, and the same reason the idea of Cleopatra dropping a priceless pearl into wine and then drinking it is seductive.
Jessica @ 27,
I’d hit that so hard, he’d have a vision of the Final Five.
This is a show about slavery identity individuality and human trafficking disguised as an action adventure show starring a hot chick.
I was disturbed by how dark the show was. Echo has, as Helo, er Paul Ballard states, has been basically murdered, and is being used as a human doll. That’s some pretty sick shit.
If we have to critique Dushku’s acting, I’d say she has nice clarity of intent and emotion that serves an action TV show well, but doesn’t understand enough about the technical aspects of acting to really pull off a role that changes week to week. She could use an acting coach, or maybe she’ll pick up some method and grow into the role.
I’m amazed to see not one comment (though I admit I’m on lunch break, so I skimmed some comments) about the fact that the show’s been so leaned on by Fox that, like with Firefly, the “first episode” was no the originally intended first episode.
I think once we get to the *true* Joss Whedon episodes (read: the episodes where he was actually able to do what he wished with his own show), that we will get a much better showing.
I loved Buffy from the get-go, but it took a second watching of Firefly to really make it come alive for me because of how Fox manipulated it. So this time, I want to wait and hope that their manipulations don’t kill this show as well before it manages to show what it can be. I think it has a fascinating premise–if its actually given a chance.
Eliza is a poor man’s Christina Ricci.
Whedon had a pretty good interview on Fresh Air last week: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story…
It does address the tension between his background as a feminist icon and the premise of the show. It also include a clip of him singing. And while I’m not about to put Dushku up on a dais with Kate Winslet any time soon, anyone who thinks season three’s Faith and the Mayor arc wasn’t the apex of Buffy’s run (and therefore one of the best years of a television show in the history of the medium), was not remotely paying attention.
Also, Christina Ricci is the poor man’s Christina Ricci.
How do people find Dollhouse? How can this company advertise? Is there some kind of billionaires-only Internet?
@36: I’m fairly certain there’s a billionaires-only everything.
“I find the whole let’s-program-a-beautiful-woman-to-do-whatever-we-want thing kind of repulsive. “
fapfapfapfapfapfapfapfap
Oh yeah, me too, really awful.
fap
While the premise is obviously far-fetched, the reason for these “actives” being preferable to other specialists is the fact that their memories can be erased.
Watched it, put it in the Maybe category.
Could get worse.
Could get better.
I found the show to be rather meh. I’ll keep watching it, probably, but I haven’t really been on board since it was announced. Eliza just doesn’t interest me as an actress, and everything from the set design to the editing screams “trying to hard” at me.
But the thing that most annoyed me during the premiere were those damn bumper ads with Eliza and Summer Glau about how “Fox-y” Friday nights have become. Those two together look like you could snap them like little twigs, not like action heroines. I want some meaty girls, not more of these tiny supermodel looking things. And this isn’t really a dig on the actresses, just on how they are constantly portrayed in this silly fetishized uber-tiny outfits on uber-tiny girls way. Enough, already.