Last week saw Joss Whedon's return to television for the first time in nearly five years, with his new series Dollhouse. Now, as a disclaimer, I'm such a fan that I got excited just seeing all of the familiar names in the opening credits (and actually got a chill when "Written and Directed by Joss Whedon" came up). I don't however consider myself a blind follower, and the more and more I heard about critics' mixed reactions to Dollhouse, the more and more worried I became. Critics have always applauded Whedon and his groundbreaking work on series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. Plus, he was just coming off of the acclaimed Internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Was this to be his first failure?
In a word, no. Dollhouse isn't perfect, but it still hits a lot of the right notes. First, there's its beauty of a premise. An unspecified amount of time ago, a troubled young woman named Caroline (Eliza Dushku) gave her mind and body up to Adelle DeWitt's (Olivia Williams) mysterious Dollhouse organization in order to become an "Active," someone whose personality is erased and then made available for rental by clients. Now Caroline, renamed Echo, can be anyone a paying customer wants: the perfect date, the perfect friend, the perfect assassin. All Topher (Fran Kranz), the Dollhouse's programmer, has to do is whip up a personality and then implant it within her.
Whedon has always been fascinated with characters who make sacrifices to do what they think is right. Buffy couldn't have a normal life because she was destined to a life of vampire slaying; the vampire Angel continually rejected the promise of humanity so that he could continue to protect the world; and the ragtag bunch from Firefly put their lives on the line to expose a corrupt government. We don't yet know the circumstances surrounding Caroline's involvement with the Dollhouse (though, given the brief opening scene between she and Adelle, it looks like she's got something to hide), but we can already see the sacrifices she's made.
Sure, the Dollhouse looks like the most wonderful spa resort in the Western Hemisphere, but the Actives can never remember anything that's happened and live in a disturbing state of childlike innocence (waking up from having a personality extracted, Echo asks, "Did I fall asleep?"). They have no will of their own, and are soothed into complacency with massages and exercise equipment. But every night when they go to bed, they crawl into cocoon-like chambers which shut them off from the world.
Article comments
1 - Wesley Mead
Great review, AJ! You make some fine points. I'm with you: some very minor flaws, but remarkably watchable and it's definitely got me wondering what will happen next episode. The scripting is top-notch - it's not as light-hearted as we might be used to from Joss, but it's still unmistakebly him. Anything with Eliza Dushku deserves my attention, too.
2 - samatwitch
Well thought-out review, AJ. I very much enjoyed the first episode and thought it was engaging, intriguing and intense. I, too, got a thrill seeing all those familiar names on the screen - and the Mutant Enemy monster at the end. ;)
3 - j.i.m.
I like Joss Whedon's work but I think he is one year too late with this series that immerses itself in a mea culpa atmosphere. Currently, we are working on a "Yes we can" attitude. The critics focus on the lack of someone to root for as "Dollhouse's" main problem. This is because the protagonist is a blank slate and changes identity every episode. The real problem, in my mind, is the world of "Dollhouse" because it is, by definition, morally compromised. That state of continual compromise is what really impedes an audience connection. The Dollhouse is a glorified house of prostitution. That fact is not going away. How can one not feel a mixture of hypocrisy and creepiness, and just be plain put-off? The nearest person at the Dollhouse that we can identify with is the handler but he is, by definition, compromised as well, unless he's a double agent of some sort.
Is "Dollhouse" Joss Whedon's way of telling his viewers that we are all compromised post-Bush and current Iraq, especially since the electorate voted for Bush a second time? We now all live in a creepy compromised world so get used to it? No clean slates available? With the current climate of "Yes we can", I don't think the viewers are looking for a mea culpa experience.
4 - Arlo J. Wiley
Thanks so much, samatwitch! And yeah, I was trying to find a way to fit in a mention of the monster, but alas, there wasn't one. I also didn't get to mention the theme song, which is okay but has an awesome music box ending.
j.i.m.:
I believe you're looking at Dollhouse in far too political a light. Art should never be restricted by the current national mood, or the current political climate (and it's definitely not as rosy as many paint it). Even if I didn't like the show, I would still feel that way.
I find the complaint about there being no protagonist to root for ridiculous, and I have from day one. What you're supposed to be rooting for is Echo's burgeoning self-awareness. We meet Caroline briefly at the beginning of "Ghost," and the entire thrust of the series is going to be her re-emergence.
I also don't understand how the characters' moral compromises are supposed to be a negative. That's the stuff of good drama, and it's always been the meat and potatoes of Joss' work.
This has nothing to do with Iraq or Bush, and isn't supposed to. I mean, by your rationale, The Dark Knight should've become irrelevant on November 2. Or, for that matter, any number of darker works. Just because Obama's in the White House doesn't mean that there still isn't a lot of awfulness in the world. If you're looking at things realistically, Obama hasn't even made a dent yet.
5 - j.i.m.
Dark works of art are never irrelevant, just less attractive in times of hope and possibility. And the best TV is always socially relevant which by definition includes politics.
Moral compromise does make for good drama, but a setting that brushes each character with the same color of collusive compromise, less so, much less so.
The awfulness of the world remains but the willingness to wallow in it doesn't when the alternative response, to take action, has a new and better chance of making a difference.
6 - Arlo J. Wiley
Well, you and I shall just have to agree to disagree. :-)
I love the fact that all of the characters are compromised in some way or another. And I do believe that the degrees of compromise vary; Boyd is comprimising himself, yes, but he's obviously a decent person at heart and perhaps might help bring the Dollhouse down.
Oh, and Ballard isn't compromised at all! He's quite the stand-up justice guy.