"DOLLHOUSE: SEASON ONE"
Blu-Ray Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Eliza Dushku as ECHO Harry Lennix as BOYD LANGTON Fran Kranz as TOPHER BRINK Tahmoh Penikett as PAUL BALLARD Enver Gjokaj as VICTOR Dichen Lachman as SIERRA Olivia Williams as ADELLE DEWITT Amy Acker as DR. CLAIRE SAUNDERS Not Rated Studio: FOX Created by: Joss Whedon Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In the heart of Los Angeles, an underground business exists which rents out people for any specialty imaginable. These blank actives are housed in a spa-like atmosphere with their original personalities on file on computer hard discs. One active named Echo (Eliza Dushku) is unique in that she is the most request and the most versatile. As Echo is sent out on a variety of assignments – from a dominatrix to a hostage negotiator – she is being tracked by an FBI agent trying to blow the lid off the Dollhouse legend.
WHAT I LIKED
I gave this show a chance when it first started airing on Friday nights last fall. Not being a huge Joss Whedon fan (that’s right, people, I didn’t think that “Firefly” was all that), I watched it cautiously. There were elements of the production design – and the weekly costume fantasy of Eliza Dushku – that I fully appreciated. However, the show lost steam for me four or five episodes in. So, I gave up.
Being able to go back and watch the entire first season has been a pretty good experience. As I had heard from various folks (many of them acolytes of Whedon who admit the show has its flaws), the season did pick up around episode six. This was when the show went from the rather rote imposter-of-the-week episode to a longer-form look at Echo as a person and the overall conspiracy behind the Dollhouse.
Dushku is, of course, quite fetching and embodies the character of Echo perfectly. In short, she is one of the big reasons to watch the show. Acting alongside of her is Harry Lennix as her handler, who also does a fine job but isn’t given enough screen time.
There is plenty of inside jokes for the Whedon fans, but those who don’t own the entire series of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” on DVD can catch on without any pretext.
In some ways, “Dollhouse” might have worked better in the 1970s and 1980s when “The Incredible Hulk” ruled sci-fi television. It’s early episodic nature had a distinct throwback feel. Only in the middle of the season did we get a taste of what it could be with a continuing story arc. Let’s see what happens in season two.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
As I said earlier, I’m not a big fan of Joss Whedon. I’ve never liked his writing or dialogue much, and the rabid popularity for the guy’s work in the genre crowd makes him feel like the coolest guy at band camp... he’s got his loyal following but he’s still just a geek with a raging ego.
It’s that raging ego that turns me off at times with the show. Some of the storylines – and a large amount of dialogue – seems to revel in its own cleverness, even though it’s not that clever. The epicenter for this seems to be the character of Topher (Fran Kranz) who tries so hard to be geek chic but just ends up throwing down a string of stilted dialogue with no real likeability. If it weren’t for Alan Tudyk showing up at the end of the season to balance his cheesiness out, he’d be unbearable.
It took a half-dozen episodes for the series to pick up because out of the gate, it was just too hard to get past the whole whorehouse nature of the Dollhouse. Custom-made hookers might make an okay one-shot film but never had the steam to last more than a few episodes.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The three-disc comes with all thirteen episodes of the first season, including the much talked-about lost episode 13. This, along with the original unaired pilot, is the most interesting feature. Episode 13 takes the “Dollhouse” story into a wild turn of events, even though it’s basically just a different angle on Stephen King’s novel “Cell.” I’m not quite sure if this is a real lead-in to season two or just a “what if” episode that Whedon made to fill a studio requirement. In any respect, it was interesting, but I hope the next season takes a different turn.
Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku and some writers lend their voices to several episodes as commentary tracks, which would be better if they didn’t assume that everyone watching (or rather, listening) weren’t die-hard fans of the Whedonverse. As one of the folks who wasn’t in the cool-kids-at-band-camp clique, I would have preferred more background to the series and episodes than was really provided.
There is a slate of deleted scenes, along with four short featurettes, which includes some decent insight and more ego from Joss Whedon: “Making Dollhouse,” “Coming Home,” “Finding Echo,” “A Private Engagement” and “Designing the Perfect Dollhouse.”
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Acolytes of Whedon and people with a thing for Eliza Dushku.
