Dollhouse has promise

Joss Whedon, the genre-splicing pop culture messiah behind such works of genius as Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, just launched a new series on the FOX network. The first episode of the show, called Dollhouse, aired last week to mixed reviews and less than stellar ratings. As I’m confident that the show could develop into something good, I thought that I’d post something here, encouraging people to start tuning in Friday evenings at 9:00… Anyway, I was getting ready to write something, when it occurred to me that my friend Patti Claydon was much more eloquent than I am on all things Whedon. So, I asked her for her thoughts. And, the following is her response.

I really wanted to love Dollhouse, the brainchild of the critically acclaimed and cult worshipped Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly). I was excited by the intriguing, and more than a little creepy, premise. Rich people hire a morally-corrupt corporation to create an “active” or “doll” for them. The actives are imprinted with unique personalities, skills, and attitudes for their “engagements” or missions, and when the missions are over, the imprints are wiped clean. This idea is a lot darker than any Whedon has worked with before, normally he starts with an impossibly cheesy supposition such as a petite teenage girl killing vampires, a vampire with a soul, or cowboy pirates in space. I understood this show would be different, less snarky, less funny. And I was even pleasantly surprised to find some Whedonistic sarcasm bleeding into the show (a kidnapper named Mr. Sunshine).

I was also aware that the pilot episode that aired last Friday had been retooled heavily after network (FOX) interference. So I cringed through all the overwritten and hamfisted dialogue. Seriously, the first line of the show was “Nothing is what it appears to be.” (Really? On TV?) And I winced while the FBI agent assigned to the Dollhouse case awkwardly explained why a rich person would bother paying millions of dollars to buy a doll—because rich people never stop wanting, “wishing for something more extreme, something more specific, something more perfect.” (Wow. Overwrought much?) And I felt slightly sick as the show spliced entirely superfluous shots of the FBI agent, named Paul Ballard, kickboxing (shirtless, for the eye candy) throughout this scene to show us—while they were already telling us (remember to dumb the show down to a 7th grade level for all the idiots out there)—that Ballard is fighting to keep the Dollhouse case. 

And, I’m sorry to say, I hooted very loudly at every plot hole. The biggest being: why would a rich dude who desperately wanted to get his kidnapped child back alive and unharmed go to the Dollhouse for a doll imprinted with hostage negotiation skills? When, you know, he could just hire an actual hostage negotiator? Especially since he proceeds to mistrust the doll and her skills immediately. I’m on board with the idea that a rich guy would want to buy a three-day weekend with a beautiful doll that “loves” to race motorcycles, dance in micro-mini dresses, and have kinky sex. That may be a combination difficult to find in the real world. A hostage negotiator? Yeah, not so much.

In the end though, I’m firmly on board to watch more episodes. I thought Eliza Dushku, as the doll named Echo, turned in a surprisingly solid acting performance and I’m intrigued by the little bits of back story we got on her character. Apparently, Caroline (Echo’s real name) was an idealistic college grad who wanted to change the world and instead ended up in some sort of trouble that sent her to the absolution that only the Dollhouse and a complete mindwipe could provide. Her doll programming seems to be cracking slightly as well—she flashed on a real memory, not a programmed memory, during one of her assignments.

I’m interested in seeing more of the other dolls in action. We were introduced briefly to another female doll named Sierra, who kicked some serious kidnapper ass. I’m already half in love with Echo’s “handler,” an ex-cop named Boyd, who’s saddled with a moral code that seems vastly out of whack with the immoral Dollhouse executives. I like the typical Whedonesque mad scientist character (Topher) who quotes Hamlet and feels zero remorse for what he’s doing. And despite the problems in this episode, I want to see more of the FBI story. I suspect the Russian mob and the human trafficking they are investigating really play a key role in Echo’s story.

But the last few moments of the show were decidedly the best. They set up an ongoing mystery surrounding a male doll named Alpha (yes, they’re using the military phonetic alphabet, I’m waiting on pins and needles to meet the dolls named Hotel and Uniform) who’s apparently gone rogue. We see him sitting naked in a dark room watching Caroline’s yearbook video while packaging up a photo of Caroline for FBI agent Ballard. Oh, and also? Surrounded by two brutally shot up corpses. While sitting in the dark naked.

Okay, I’m hooked.

I wish I had the money to bring Patti on full-time. I think it would be cool to have a MM.com pop culture reporter.

As for Dollhouse, I agree completely with Patti. There were huge holes, but there was also a lot of promise. And that’s why, having suffered through the cancellation of Firefly, I’m asking you to watch the first episode online, and tune in on Friday night… The universe needs good TV.