DVDFile

Joss Whedon has long established himself as something of a rarity in mainstream Hollywood. This talented and multifaceted writer/producer/director is known for creating memorable and readily-identifiable characters to which we all can relate on some level. Typical of Whedon’s work is his keen sense of dialogue and dramatic but realistic situations, his dark sense of humor, and his uncanny knack for creating strong, central female characters who often put their male counterparts to shame. Yet despite a devoted fan base and an avid cult following — due in no small part to such innovative TV creations as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly — Whedon really hasn’t gotten much of a break when it comes to support from studios in promoting his work. After switching networks and time slots and suffering from a slight dip in the ratings, the long-running Buffy the Vampire Slayer finally called it quits after seven seasons. Whedon’s spinoff Angel continued on for five seasons but was prematurely cancelled in 2004 despite strong ratings. Likewise, Whedon’s sci-fi series Firefly was cancelled by the Fox Network before all 14 episodes of its first season were even aired. As such, Whedon has been justifiably wary of subsequent TV deals.

But when actress and frequent collaborator Eliza Dushku (Wrong Turn) struck a deal with Fox for a new series, she immediately turned to her friend Whedon for some suggestions. Thus was the new series Dollhouse born. While Dollhouse may bear some of the familiar traits of a typical Joss Whedon invention, it also marks a bit of a departure in terms of weekly story development. Whereas Buffy, Angel and Firefly were all guided by a linear structure and an established mythos where characters and events developed and changed over time, here Joss would be able to have a little fun riffing on a nearly endless variety of careers and personalities without having to hire a cast of thousands. The central idea is as compelling as it is ingenious: what if there were some top-secret agency that could effectively implant another personality — including any acquired skills, talents and even flaws — into a person while erasing their own personality and memory in the process? These agents, or “actives” as they’re referred to in the series, are then hired out to clients for a short period to either fix an existing problem or provide a valuable service. It’s sort of an inverse The Stepford Wives where instead of reducing the women to mindless, obedient servants, they are made into crack experts in whatever field their services are needed — from hostage negotiator to bodyguard for a pop singer to even a deceased woman searching to find her murderer.

Dollhouse follows the exploits of a newly-acquired active named Echo (Eliza Dushku), a girl formerly known as Caroline, who apparently was sentenced to spend five years in the Dollhouse program in order to avoid a steeper penalty for some unknown offense. She reluctantly agrees to become one of the Dollhouse drones in a meeting with head doll Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams) during the first episode, Ghost. As DeWitt sketches out the program and what it will entail, she uses the old adage to explain what Echo/Caroline’s options are: “I’m talking about a clean slate,” she tells her, to which Echo smartly replies: “You ever try to clean an actual slate? You always see what was on it before.” This interesting bit of dialogue sets the tone for the series from the get-go, as we soon discover about chinks in the purported “foolproof” memory erasure process used on the actives. Even though new personalities and memories are being grafted onto each active’s supposedly “erased” brain, their lifelong memories and traits begin to bubble up to the surface, calling into question the morality of the whole clandestine Dollhouse operation. Another theme running throughout the series and a favorite topic for Whedon is the idea of using another person as a mere commodity — something which the rich and elite are inclined to do on a regular basis. In that vein, the mysterious Dollhouse (which some people think is merely a myth) caters almost exclusively to the rich and powerful.

As a means of generating some conflict and drama in the series, Whedon pulls a few trump cards from his deck to great effect. First, there’s an FBI agent named Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett), cut from the same cloth as Fox Mulder, who obsessively believes a Dollhouse operation exists, although he has yet to encounter any actives firsthand. While higher-ups in the FBI think it worthwhile for him to pursue the matter, his immediate superiors right him off as a conspiracy nut. But Ballard’s interest in the Dollhouse is much more than it seems at first. Taking a page from his own Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, Whedon also introduces a rogue, out-of-control former male active (yes, there are men, too — even though the title “Dollhouse” would suggest otherwise) by the name of Alpha (Alan Tudyk, who played Wash on Firefly) who reminds me of the seemingly-indestructible Adam cyborg from Buffy. Alpha obviously became self-aware of his role in the Dollhouse at some point and managed to break out of the facility … but not before cutting up several other actives and employees, including Dr. Claire Saunders (Amy Acker, an Angel alum) in the process. He’s now intent on destroying the Dollhouse and its remaining actives. But Echo and her other close-knit group of actives — including Sierra (Dichen Lachman), Victor (Enver Gjokaj) and November (Miracle Laurie) — are struggling with their own identity issues and start questioning their “treatments” and why they can’t seem to remember how certain injuries happened.

While Dushku is well-cast as the obvious star of Dollhouse, like most Whedon projects it is the strength of these supporting players that sets the series apart from others. Whedon is very savvy at casting just the right actor for certain roles, and oftentimes these small, bit parts can evolve into important characters — much like the way Dushku herself did when she played Faith on Buffy. Other standout supporting players here include the brains behind the memory erasure and personality implanting process: a science nerd named Topher Brink (Fran Kranz), who comes off as an affable yes-man in the first few episodes, but begins to reveal himself to be much more in control of his own destiny — and those of his actives — than we think. Each active is also given a handler to watch over them while on assignments, and Echo’s is a decent man named Boyd (Harry Lennix), who starts having his own doubts and reservations about what the Dollhouse is doing not only to the actives, but also to its well-paying clients. As Echo starts to understand what the Dollhouse is all about, she finds Boyd becoming more sympathetic to her plight.

Even though I’ve always been fascinated with Whedon’s work, I have to confess I was one of many who bailed on Dollhouse after watching the first four episodes when first broadcast. I should have known better: Joss is notorious for taking his time to let a series and its characters evolve and it sometimes tries the patience of even his most ardent fans. Looking back, the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a bit sluggish and rough-around-the-edges and the series really didn’t hit its stride until the second and third seasons. Likewise, I thought the first season of Angel was a bit of a disappointment, too. But after some smart casting changes in season two, it also began to take off. So I was only too pleased to revisit Dollhouse on home video and found everything I had heard was true. I should have stuck it out for just two more episodes. Whether by accident or by design, the first five episodes of Dollhouse — Ghost, The Target, Stage Fright, Gray Hour and True Believer — are all essentially standalone episodes wherein Echo plays a wholly different character each week. While there is still ongoing plot development about the Dollhouse and its operation, these are essentially self-contained plots. But things really pick up with the stellar sixth episode, Man on the Street, where we learn some crucial things about the actives within the Dollhouse and people’s perceptions of the mysterious operation on the outside. It’s from this point on that the series comfortably settles into a cohesive groove, with revelations in each subsequent episode that build on everything that came before.

By the time I watched the already-acclaimed brilliant final unaired episode included in this set, Epitaph One, I was completely blown away and shocked by how well Whedon and his team had brought everything together and made me want to reevaluate the previous 12 episodes. I still maintain the first five episodes are a little slow; but I also think they’re necessary to help introduce the central characters and allow you to get to know them. Again, the same can be said of Buffy and Angel. The brilliance of Whedon’s writing and character development has always been in the little things that bond people together. I can remember one of the most poignant and emotional scenes in the entire Buffy the Vampire Slayer series was a wordless moment between Buffy and longtime friend Xander before they embark to fight off the latest “big bad,” knowing they probably won’t make it out alive. It’s one of those great connections between people — just a look, knowing all they’ve shared and experienced together prior to that moment — that packs the emotional wallop. I had a very similar emotional response watching Epitaph One … and I’m glad Whedon will be coming back this fall for a second season of Dollhouse now that I’ve seen what the series has in store.

Comments (0)

Leave a comment

Title
Comment	smaller | bigger
Name
Email
	Add Comment