Dollhouse Needs Time to Lay the Foundation
A shaky start begs the audience to have a little faith...
Joss Whedon is one of my favorite TV creators. He manages to make you laugh, inspire you, and rip your heart out all at the same time. When Buffy ended I actually forced myself to sit through Angel (despite a major dislike for David Boreanaz), and then immersed myself in the sci-fi space opera that was Firefly. It's a miraculous thing to be able to create entire universes filled with fully-fleshed out characters on television, and even more amazing when you can do so with strong and realistic female characters. But that's what Whedon does, and does better than any other writer/director out there. And it's exactly why I am unsure if I enjoy his new show, Dollhouse, after watching its premiere episode on Friday night.
First the premise: Echo, played by Whedonverse-alum Eliza Dushku, is a member of an illegal, underground group of "Actives" who are part of the "Dollhouse." Actives have their personalities wiped so that they can be imprinted with the memories and personality almagams that make them attractive for clients - those that rent the Actives for whatever specific task or desire they may have. After each assignment, Echo and her Active friends return to the Dollhouse where a team of handlers, scientists, and staff wipe her memory and she returns to the blank slate state, ready for another assignment. Here's the twist, Echo may not be quite the blank slate that everyone thinks she is.
In the pilot, Echo is placed in the role of hostage negotiator when a client's young daughter is kidnapped and ransomed. In the nerd-fantasy getup of sexy schoolteacher (pencil skirt and heels, librarian bun and glasses), she dominates the kidnappers into returning the girl, but then falls apart when her imprinted personality recognizes one of the men as someone who had abused her. Contrary to Dollhouse policy, and based on the demands of her handler Boyd (played by Harry Lennix), Echo is sent out to confront the man who abused the personality she's assumed and recover the girl. There's also a brief subplot about a FBI agent Paul Ballard (played by Tahmoh Penikett), who is trying to uncover the mysterious Dollhouse organization by taking on the Russian mob's human smuggling ring.
My initial reaction to the show was negative. But I wasn't sure if that was because of the lame Grindhouse-style promos that Fox put around the show, or because the whole thing felt a little devoid of the Joss-ness that I've been missing since Buffy destroyed the Hellmouth all those years ago. After sleeping on it, it's a little of both. Amid rumors that Fox demanded Whedon retool the pilot, and the fact they placed it on Friday nights at 9pm (aka the "there goes my social life" slot), something is lacking from Dollhouse. Instead of witty dialog and strong characters, we have doe-eyed Dushku walking around either vacant or as some sort of lame wind-up toy for a mostly male clientele. Instead of warmth, there's a certain clinical detachment in both the writing and direction.
I did enjoy that Amy Acker pops up as the heavily scarred Dr. Claire Saunders, and was tickled that the Dollhouse set looks an awful lot like the offices of Season 5 Angel's Wolfram & Hart. I also think that if Topher gets any more like Firefly's Wash or Buffy's Xander, that my head might explode. Talk about personality composites, the guy is practically an homage.
In the end, I want to believe. I know that most Whedon shows take time to get into precisely because they are written as these hugely complex, real universes. I'm willing to give Whedon the time he needs to create the thing I'm sure he's capable of. Let's just hope that Fox is too. While a healthy 4.7 million viewers turned out on Friday for the show (adding over a million to predecessor Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles), Fox has proven to have a healthy lack of patience for Whedon's need for time to develop his characters and build his audience.
If this were not a Whedon-vehicle, I'd skip it. But until the inevitable cancelation, I'll be tuning in, hoping that Dushku gets a little less wooden and a little more kick-ass. It was a rocky start, but I have "Faith."
