Guns and dolls

It would be an understatement to say that Dollhouse was one of the most anticipated shows of the season. If you are a Joss Whedon fan, you probably had the show’s premiere marked on your calendar. This show went through a lot of trouble to hit the air. Rumors were swirling that it would be canceled even before it would go on air. The pilot episode had to be redone because the network thought there was too much mythology. In other words, this was a show that almost never made it if not for the thousands of fans who rallied to get the show on the air. And now that it has made it on the air, there is much to be said about the newest action-packed series on the boob tube.

I have to admit that, although I am a huge Whedon fan, the premise of Dollhouse, though neat and exciting, isn’t exactly a novel concoction. The show  revolves around an organization called Dollhouse which employs young people referred to as ‘actives’, and sort of brainwashes them to fit a certain mold, depending on what their clients’ wishes are. The show is vaguely reminiscent of that other girl-power show about brainwashing and secret organizations, Dark Angel, which is unfortunate, because Whedon has always had a knack for making unique shows.

Echo gets her memory wiped by Topher after another grueling adventure, while her handler, Boyd, looks on.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, probably the best action heroine show on television, was creative and unique, with characters everyone could easily adore. Firefly was probably the most imaginative of the Whedonverse bunch, incorporating a sort of  space cowboys theme into the story. And Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog was just outright funny. What makes Dollhouse interesting are the conspiracy parts of the show. Not only are you, as a viewer, intrigued by the past of Echo [played by Eliza Dushku], one of the actives, but you are also curious about the origin of Dollhouse, and how the system works, exactly. There is also a matter of this character, Alpha, who is supposedly a “doll” gone wrong, reminiscent of maybe Universal Soldier or something.

Something that does make the show unique is its set. Whedon’s shows have always featured sort of a unique headquarters for the characters. In Buffy there was the Sunnydale High library and then later on in the series, the Magic Shop. In Angel, it was the haunted mansion in Los Angeles. Firefly had the most elaborate set, I would say, where they had the actual aircraft of Serenity as the actors’ playground. And then Dollhouse has its own unique set, which is features combo themes of an Oriental-inspired spa and a military lab slash high-rise building of sorts replete with the most up to date technology and equipment. This is one of the aspects of the show I really like.

Now, kick ass action isn’t new territory for Joss Whedon. All of his shows are united by the fact that someone is always getting their ass kicked in every episode. Dollhouse definitely incorporates all that action, but also injects a hint of humor into the script. The writing is trademark Joss, made most apparent in the character of Topher, a kind of young genius who is responsible for the program that brainwashes the actives. Topher seems to be a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Xander and Warren [of Season Six's The Trio].

The show is only four episodes in, and there are already several questions swirling about. I have to say that I wasn’t exactly wowed by the season premiere. I had expected much more build-up before being launched into the life of the actives and Dollhouse. Dushku isn’t exactly the best actress out there, but thankfully Dollhouse doesn’t really require that much effort in the emotional front. Sure, Echo has her regression phase and her alterna-ego of the day, but really as the show progresses, you notice that most of the personas that Echo adopts are strong-willed, butt-kicking women. These personas aren’t exciting to watch because Whedon fans are already aware that Dushku can kick ass because of her role as Faith in the Buffy series. It would be more interesting and more fun if Echo were to adopt a more challenging persona that we have never seen Dushku do before.

I also can’t say I’m a fan of the actor who plays Topher. The delivery of the Joss zingers seems a tad contrived, and I feel like he hasn’t really established himself as a singular character. The less he comes off as a mock-up imitation of another Whedonverse character, the better. He has improved in the fourth episode, so I am willing to give him a chance. Harry Lennix plays Boyd, Echo’s handler [one could say he is a "Watcher" of sorts, wink wink]. He does a fine job, but I feel like they need him to be more involved, and they need to establish more of that bond between Echo and Boyd. Another interesting character is that of Ms. DeWitt, sort of the second head honcho of Dollhouse (this is new information from the last episode), and played by Olivia Williams. Another familiar face from the Whedonverse joins the cast: Amy Acker plays Dr. Claire Saunders, resident physician of the Dollhouse. Her past is also an intriguing aspect of the show, and since we don’t see much of her character in every episode, that intrigue is amplified even more. And the addition of Tahmoh Penikett of Battlestar Galactica fame is the most exciting of all. Penikett is a tremendous actor, with a very expressive face and ahem, I must say, a very appealing physique. Penikett plays Agent Ballard, an FBI detective obsessed with tracking down Dollhouse.

Tahmoh Penikett and Eliza Dushku show their trust in Joss Whedon.

Overall, despite being panned by critics for its underwhelming pilot episode, I feel like Dollhouse can turn out to be a really good show. Yes, the script does need some work, and the traditional Joss Whedon jokes are made less frequently than in his other shows, but it’s getting there, I think. Yes, Eliza Dushku’s “Did I…fall asleep?” repetitions can get tiring, but the show is slowly finding its feet, and I am confident it will find its voice as well, given time. There is the right amount of mystery, equal parts action and suspense, and we have yet to see a little romance going, but knowing Joss Whedon, he can pull this off. Let’s just hope we don’t jinx it and it gets canceled. We all know how Fox can get.