Dollhouse

I wrote an article for my college newspaper about Dollhouse, the new show from Joss Whedon, which aired its first episode last Friday night. Unfortunately, when I get going about television in general (and Joss' shows in particular), it's difficult for me to stop writing. The result: 1,600 words where 600-800 were asked for. I understood that I was going to have to cut it down, and it would break my heart. So here it is, in its entirety: my take on Dollhouse.

Enter the Dollhouse

"Nothing is what it appears to be." These are the first words uttered in the new series from Joss Whedon, Dollhouse. Even after you know the show's premise, there are layers of meaning to uncover and understand.

Anyone who has ever seen a Whedon show, whether it be Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, or even just the 45-minute internet musical series, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, will be used to his style: what happens on the surface may seem fantastic in the sci-fi geek sense of the word, but the truth of the message is an intimate study of the human experience. And this is all done in a way that is full of Whedon's characteristic wit and imbued with Classical storytelling themes. When it comes down to it, his shows are all about good versus evil, and the moral gray area in between. Dollhouse is no exception. The story is about a secret company that will fulfill people's deepest desires with the use of Actives--human beings who reached a place in their lives where they became willing to sign themselves over to "helping others." Calling them "volunteers," however, is a bit of a stretch because, from what I could sense of Echo, the words "actions have consequences," as they pertained to her when they were said in the first scene, meant "go to jail" or "start a new life where your past actions mean nothing." Of course, they could not fully comprehend what they were agreeing to because it would have seemed unfathomable that their personalities were going to be completely deleted, leaving them with no history and no identity. They have become, in effect, "dolls" who can be imprinted with a new personality every time they are hired out to a client. They can fulfill any need and possess any skill to satisfy that client. At the end, their experiences are erased from their minds, and they return to their everyday lives of contentment and emptiness in the Dollhouse.

On the logistical front, production difficulties have plagued Dollhouse from early on. Delays and rewrites were announced several months ago, which is never a good sign for a show that you are excited about. FOX relegated Dollhouse to a Friday night timeslot (basically a big announcement that they had little faith in it to attract an audience). The only upside of this is that their expectations are probably not too high, so even if ratings are not stellar, they might keep it around for a while. The pilot episode pulled in about 4.5 million viewers--a respectable number under the circumstances.

I think Dollhouse will be safe for at least this 13-episode first season and a pickup for Season 2. Beyond that, its numbers, critic reactions, and fan response will determine its fate. Why do I feel so sure about its survival at present? Because "Save Dollhouse" campaigns were started by Whedon fans about a year ago. Because in 2002, Whedon had a show on FOX called Firefly about a band of rebel outlaws trying to survive in space (it has since become a cult favorite, complete with its own nationwide events called "Browncoat Conventions," and the 2005 sequel film, Serenity). Firefly was canceled after only a handful of episodes. It was such a cold-blooded act on the part of the network that Whedon has not worked with FOX again until now when the people that made that decision have been replaced. Replaced by people who know that Joss Whedon is one of THE creative geniuses of television. That he brings out the best in other creative geniuses like actors Eliza Dushku and Amy Acker and writers Jane Espenson and Tim Minear who have worked with him for years and are working with him now on Dollhouse. And that if they cancel Dollhouse before it has had a good, long run of episodes, all those responsible at FOX will be trampled by a stampede of Whedon fans.

In the pilot episode, "Ghost," the Active Echo, played by Eliza Dushku (Faith of Buffy/Angel) becomes a hostage negotiator for a man whose daughter has been kidnapped. Dushku is a very strong actress and, as a self-described ADD person, this role is perfect for her because it allows her to explore new characters every week. At the same time, she has to develop Echo as a character. This is obviously a difficult task since an Active, by definition, has no "character" to speak of. Nevertheless, even in the first episode, there were a couple of indicators that her character will evolve in very subtle ways. For starters, she had a single, brief flash of a memory that was accidentally not removed (or that was, but she remembered it anyway). In addition, Echo showed an innate curiosity. She wants to understand the people around her, not just live a meaningless existence in the Dollhouse. She also seems to be seeking the approval (beyond a simple robotic obedience) of the people she comes in contact with--like even though she has no recollection of her former life and whatever pushed her so far to the edge of the cliff that she saw no other option than to sign her life away, she wants to be redeemed.

Other characters introduced were Langdon, a former law enforcement agent who now works as a handler for the Actives. He watches from afar while they are on missions to ensure their safety and their ignorance about the jobs they are performing. Topher is the techie of the operation--the guy who handles the computers and the mind-wiping process. Adelle DeWitt is the person in charge. She's British, she's cold, and she's controlling. In the future, we are sure to learn more about the person beneath the perfectly posed exterior. But now she just gives me chills. Finally, FBI agent Paul Ballard (portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett, the stalwart moral compass of Battlestar Galactica) is the man in charge of the investigation to find the Dollhouse. He was only in a couple of scenes in the first episode, but his desperation is already apparent. Whether he wants to free Actives from their state of servitude, to bring to justice those responsible for creating the whole system, or to do something else entirely, I do not yet know, but I could potentially foresee him ending up like Langron--someone who becomes involved in the process and serves as a force of good. A protector of the dolls. A person genuinely concerned with helping people. I could be reading too much into all of thise, having seen only an hour of the show so far. However, I feel pretty confident in saying that I know Joss Whedon;s work very well. It is a primary contributor to my love of television. It's the kind of television that I can (and have) discuss with people and theorize over for hours. What I understand already is enough to keep me watching Dollhouse because Whedon payoffs are the best kind. They hit you like a ton of emotional bricks, making you feel like you are bursting with happiness, and destroyed by perpetual sadness, all at the same time.

Most of the reviews for Dollhouse so far have been mediocre, calling it "imperfect but intriguing," or saying that Echo's ever-changing personalities will make it hard for people to become invested in her story. The pilot episode did have a few forced plot constructions in it--Topher conveniently explaining to Langdon (but more to us) about how the imprinting process worked when the latter had probably been working there long enough to know that stuff; one of the kidnappers just happening to be part of Echo's imprinted identity's past, leading to new obstables and revelations that would not have been there otherwise. That seems unimportant to me, given that it was still a great first episode that definitely leaves one yearning for more. The review in the New York Times claimed that Dollhouse was not compelling, that the universe created thus far is "thin and bland," and Echo is "presumably so named because she can only repeat her programmers' words." Really, New York Times columnist? You think that's why? You don't think that she is just named Echo because, like her fellow Actives Sierra and Victor, she was assigned a name from the NATO standard alphabet? That could give the Dollhouse a possible military connection. Or it could just be a simple, clinical system of nomenclature. OR, if you broaden your thinking for a moment, this Active in particular could be called Echo because of the story recorded in Ovid's Metamorphoses about Echo and Narcissus. She was a pretty nymph who was cursed by the jealous goddess, Juno, to only be able to mimic what others have said. She has no free will. She is trapped in her mind with her thoughts and no words to express them, which becomes even more painful when she falls in love with the perfectly beautiful Narcissus. That perspective could lend a little more depth to the name "Echo" than just the fact that "she can only repeat her programmers' words."

So, as for me, I'll be watching intently every week. I have accepted that the first few episodes will be very self-contained with only a tiny dose of complicated serialized stuff. That is to be expected in the beginning. They needz to bring in the viewerz. But, straight from interviews with Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon, episode 6 is where everything starts unraveling. And I can't wait.