A while back on my blog, I posted a call to arms for Browncoats, sleeper Actives, and Whedonites around the world to rally to save Dollhouse from being canceled. I am only a small part of this small but rabid group of fans, and apparently our cries were heard. We still don’t know if a third season is in the cards, but Fox has, at least, agreed to air the full 13 episodes purchased for season 2.
But what is it that makes Dollhouse so special? I was asked this question last night on Twitter, and I came up with my 140 character answer:
It tackles issues like human trafficking & technological responsibility, while having time for emotional resonance and action.
In a nutshell, that’s Dollhouse. Unlike Whedon’s other shows, it is set in a world not so different from ours. There are no vampires. No werewolves. No Alliance, Reavers, or Evil League of Evil. The primary antagonist of Dollhouse is unchecked and irresponsible corporate technological advancement.
How’s that for an abstract villain? And to further complicate matters, this abstraction is also what motivates our protagonists because it’s their behind-the-scenes employer and reason for being.
It really is a sticky mess.
And among all that, Dollhouse manages to embed societal commentary about human trafficking, prostitution, and free will. And the shows creators also manage to find time to create an ensemble cast with incredible synergy and style as well as provide intriguing plots, action, hot girls with guns, handsome guys who can legitimately act, and some humor thrown in for good measure. I can’t remember where I saw the quote, but I agree: Dollhouse is the smartest show you’re not watching.
Really. No one watches it. I love it, and even I watch Stargate Universe during the same timeslot and DVR Dollhouse for later. It is plagued by media stereotypes about how it promotes prostitution or how the first season was so bad people stopped watching it. And all I have to say to those naysayers is this: “nuh uh.”
The first five episodes of season one admittedly range from bad to okay. But once episode six, “Man on the Street,” ramps up, the show goes full-throttle from meh to awesome in no time flat. The unaired, DVD-only episode “Epitaph One,” might be the best SF television I’ve seen in years; it leads into the second season by jumping ahead 10 years and giving viewers a taste of what’s coming, letting them piece the coming narrative together LOST-style.
Season one set up the narrative and the ensemble. It gave us some backstory and made us start to care about the characters, which is really a feat in and of itself given that in their “normal” state, they are nothing but empty, personality-less husks.
Season two picks up in that vein and has given us less action (thanks to Fox reducing the budget) but much increased and desired characterization. This week’s episode, “Belonging,” will delve into Sierra’s past and explain how she became an Active in the first place, a topic that received a few minutes of screen time in S1. I expect the rest of S2 to carry on in this tradition and slowly leak details to more fully flesh out the characters.
It is really odd, I think, to care so much about characters about whom so very little detail is offered. Yet somehow Dollhouse creates such an ensemble. I think that is the show’s strongest suit, and unfortunately one which causes the show to lose the most potential viewers.
When seen on the surface, potential viewers have a hard time understanding how much depth a character who has either a new personality every week or no personality at all could possibly be enthralling. Somehow, Joss Whedon and his cronies accomplish that, however, and I care more about the empty Dolls than I do about the Actives.
Because the show breadcrumbs both character personality and backstory, potential viewers think they’ll suffer. The show is episodic enough that people who tune in sporadically can still enjoy the mission-of-the-week without fully understanding the serialized mythology. While, like any regular series, the show is more enjoyable for dedicated fans, I think there is a lot there for new viewers, too, because of the constantly unfolding narrative and three-dimensional characters. Dollhouse always features a weekly subplot with an Active being imprinted with a different personality, and in some form or other, action, hilarity, or drama always ensues. No purchase necessary.
Buried beneath all that is the creators’ commentary: Is progress for the sake of progress moral or ethical? If someone voluntarily signs away rights to his or her body for a certain length of time, is it wrong to treat it as property? At what point do people have the right to even do that, and is it the government’s place to say they can’t? How far can society or technology deconstruct a person’s personality to the point where he or she no longer exists? Is there a moral grey area in technological advancement where ambition and power are balanced by intent and free will?
If nothing else, Dollhouse is unique among currently airing television programs. It has Joss Whedon’s trademark wit and polish, but manages to be far more relevant than any of his other series. If you haven’t watched Dollhouse or gave up after the travesty that was the first half of S1, give it a shot again. You’ll hopefully be surprised at what you’ve been missing. And, if ratings don’t go up, you’ll miss the boat. There are only 10 promised episodes left. If the ratings don’t get significantly better, Fox will surely give away the Friday Night Death Slot to someone far less—or more, depending on your perspective—deserving and none of us will know if Echo ever made it to Safe Haven.
DOLLHOUSE: L-R: Harry Lennix, Enver Gjokaj, Fran Kranz, Dichen Lachman, Olivia Williams, Tahmoh Penikett and and Eliza Dushku. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Frank Ockenfels/FOX
22. October 2009 at 5:07 pm
Word elsewhere seems to be that the series is dead.
It’s been reported that Fox plans to run two more episodes in October, none during the sweeps month of November, and then burn the remaining episodes off two a week through December until they’re all aired.
Then with the series complete, Adios, “Dollhouse!”
The suits at Fox are such jerks. Whedon has been such a consummate gentleman. He said repeatedly that the original pilot had been rewritten and reshot, because it was no good. But when it was finally released on DVD, it was clearly the best episode of the entire first season. Whedon was protecting Fox when claiming it had been bad. Had his original pilot aired, instead of the dumbed down, simplified episodes, the first season would have been very different, much, much better. Why would Whedon dumb down his episodes short of heavy handed meddling for the Fox suits?
They only mystery other than why Fox thinks its audience is of such low intelligence is why Whedon keeps going back to them. Surely, some cable channel would treat him with better respect? Even SyFy.
22. October 2009 at 7:32 pm
Yeah, I actually read that today after writing and posting this.
I am glad, however, that Fox has the…ahem…generosity to let the season finish (even if it is pushed out two at a time after a ridiculous hiatus).
With the following Dollhouse has, I’m amazed that another network like FX or SyFy doesn’t pick it up. It’s obviously getting really high critical marks (once the critics move past the initial Fox-required episodes), and the 2 million viewers it’s receiving would be perfectly adequate on some networks.
I hope Whedon is done with Fox after this. I understand that Dollhouse came about through Eliza Dushku having a contract and a new guard of executives were running Fox, but he’s been burned twice just for being, as you put it, a consummate gentleman.
He shines at cult shows, and the internet is absolutely begging for exclusive hour-long dramas. A Hulu-exclusive web-series? I’d love one, thanks!