Wondering
You know, what show I don't get? Dollhouse. I mean, I liked Firefly well enough, was okay with Buffy and Angel, and adored Astonishing X-Men, but the one episode I saw of Dollhouse just did not work for me.
Granted, I've heard it gets much much better, but I just can't bring myself to care enough to watch it.
However, I know some of you guys are fans of the series and since you've usually got fairly good taste (usually. :-)) I'm curious to know what you like about it, and see if that might intrigue me enough to get me to watch further.
So please, fill me in?
Granted, I've heard it gets much much better, but I just can't bring myself to care enough to watch it.
However, I know some of you guys are fans of the series and since you've usually got fairly good taste (usually. :-)) I'm curious to know what you like about it, and see if that might intrigue me enough to get me to watch further.
So please, fill me in?
posted by kalinara @ 1:19 AM
8 Comments:
At June 02, 2009 5:44 AM,
LurkerWithout said…
I didn't follow it, but from what I could tell by reading recaps it wasn't very good until the last half-dozen-ish episodes for the season...
But then I get my Whedon fix from the Buffy and Angel comics...
At June 02, 2009 6:58 AM,
Anonymous said…
I think one of the things it did was ask a lot of questions without asking any questions at all. The big one--Is there consent?--is in every aspect of the show. The secondary question is something like: Is consent, once given, the closing of a door? Anything can occur? Then--not to spoil, this is a tiny thing--even when there's a nice "assignment," no sex, even something silly, part of you is thinking, "Did the active(Doll) consent to THIS?"
The pilot's okay, the second ep is kind of weak (well, there's some cheesy writing that put me off; I liked it better later when I watched it with someone else), but I liked everything else up to the finale, which was stupid as hell.
At June 02, 2009 7:54 AM,
Nikki said…
It got better --- but not by much. There were only two twists/surprises that I didn't see coming. And I agree with bookslide that the series asked a lot of questions without asking any questions at all. I wouldn't be concerned about catching up on the episodes.
At June 02, 2009 9:58 AM,
ARS said…
The concept was like many Whedon projects, deeper in his mind than can be seen on the screen. I can see where he wanted to go, but I can also see that he was holding back some. We need to remember that the origin of this was to give Dusku a vehicle to act, not just a TV show. Whedon and Dusku brainstormed a concept and basically we see the plant growing through the season. Yes, some were Pretender lite episodes, but at the end of each we get a piece of the puzzle that builds up to the ending.
The consent question is there yes, but there are many others. What makes a person? If the mind is saved and the body is just a vehicle, then what does that mean? Is there a soul? Can the mind really be erased completely?
I thought the last three episodes were very strong. It is hard to say why without getting into specifics, but there is a need to wonder about an active being able to form their own personality from all the combined experiences. Echo, is there now a fully aware Echo? Is that what happened to Alpha? Sierra and Victor are they developing awareness?
The resolution with November was satisfying. She is a story you had to fill in the blanks. The young woman apparently could not handle the loss of a child and the consent let her rest. I wonder if she will be in the next season, as the questions of what happens after would be interesting.
I would really love to hear some of Whedon's commentary on the show. I am better like Firefly, he is operating on a deep philosophical level than the suits that green lit the show. They just saw a way to used sexy Eliza and make her a doll to dress up each week.
I like it.
At June 02, 2009 1:43 PM,
Evan Waters said…
The short answer is Olivia bloody Williams, but her awesomeness doesn't come into play right at the start.
The first few episodes I enjoyed in a cheesy throwback kind of way- it was very much an 80s "this week, the Dolls must protect a pop singer!" kind of vibe. When it actually gets around to the story, it starts exploring some very ambiguous and troubling territory, which I view as a positive.
It's the one Whedon series which has pretty much no comfort zone: Buffy always had her Scoobies, Angel had the team, Firefly had the ship, but there's nothing anyone can lean on here. It's an interesting experiment, and had it ended with episode 13 I woulda been okay, but I'm interested to see where it goes.
At June 02, 2009 4:43 PM,
Scott said…
It really didn't find it's feet until the last three to maybe half dozen episodes; I thought things got really interesting once *spoiler* was revealed to really be a *spoiler*. I also liked that it moved largely from assignment of the week for Echo/Caroline to more of an ensemble thing towards the end.
By comparison, the entire first season of Angel bar the last episode or two flailed about as badly, so really Whedon is doing somewhat better in this case.
At June 03, 2009 3:18 AM,
K. D. Bryan said…
I hate to sound like a huge nerd but the whole "it gets much better after/at episode six!" hype is fairly true. I'd suggest watching Episode Six, "Man On The Street" and see if that gets your interest. Not to spoil you too terribly, but it's the first episode where I genuinely believed that somebody rich and powerful could and would use this ridiculously specialized service for a unique purpose. Additionally, if you like Firefly, Alan Tudyk guest stars in a pretty great episode later on in the season as well.
The problem I've had with Dollhouse - and to a lesser degree, post episode six, still have - is the lack of humanity. The overall callousness of the protagonists stands out against their supposed beliefs that what they are doing is noble in some way, at least until later episodes give most of the characters some much needed depth. It's funny, given that I assume Echo is herself supposed to idealize the idea of humanity's inner nobility - a tabula rasa that is inherently good and decent. Showing her and the other dolls as being so inherently innocent just makes the perversity of the actual actions of the Dollhouse stand out even further.
. . . absolutely none of which convinces you to watch more, I suppose, but the series does raise some disturbing questions that most shows wouldn't even go near with a ten-foot pole. Issues that would probably have gotten more exploration and discussion if this series was on Showtime or HBO where I feel it would work better but c'est la vie. Sorry, I tend to ramble on. :)
I guess my recommendation to watch more would depend on whether you disliked Dollhouse due to ethical concerns or simply because the plot/characters/ecetera just didn't grab you. If it's the former, I'd say give the back few episodes a chance. If it's the latter, I don't think you'll be missing terribly much if you wash your hands of it but I'd say you should watch the last two episodes just to make sure. Different strokes and all that.
Oh, and from what I hear, apparently the last, unaired episode has Felicia Day guest-starring in a "game-changing" episode, so there's that too if you're a fan of Felicia Day.
Incidentally, have you seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long-Blog? I'd be curious to hear what you thought about it.
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