TV Verdict

Friday, December 4th marks the return of internet fandom’s favorite cancelled series—Dollhouse.  Fox is airing all of the remaining episodes in two-hour blocks in order to fulfill their half-hearted promise to see the series through to the end of season 2.

Now, I admit that I’m saddened by this.  I loved Dollhouse probably more than any new series in years.  It had such potential.  Actual literary potential that just is not found in most television shows these days.  But since it’s on a major broadcast network instead of a cable niche channel, its small but dedicated fanbase was not enough to keep the Actives, well, active.

There are nine episodes left, which leaves plenty of room for things to look forward to.  Here’s a list of what I’m keeping an eye out for:

• Summer Glau. Normally, I hate it when a talented actress is typecast, but with Summer, I look forward to every eerily delivered line and coy twist of her neck.  I fell in love with her in Firefly and thought she was the best part about The Sarah Connor Chronicles, even though she played the same type of stilted character in both.  From the previews, her role in Dollhouse seems to be a little more normal, so I look forward to seeing if that holds true.
• Topher growing a conscience. It’s been established at this point that Topher is supposed to be essentially morally bankrupt.  He is said to see people as his own personal playthings, yet as the episodes go by, we see Topher becoming completely fleshed out and not so archetypally constrained.  By the end of the season, I am going to be very sad that television will lose such an interesting character.
• Ballard being gruff, rigid, and no-nonsense until the bitter end. While I expect Topher to grow as a character and become more interesting, I expect good ole Agent Ballard to maintain the status quo as the show’s least interesting facet.  He’ll be involved with the storylines I care least about, and I’m almost willing to be the and Boyd will have a throwdown at some point.  Even though he’s Echo’s handler, I don’t see him playing role i the narrative’s resolution.
• Alan Tudyk. This man makes me happy.  Whether he’s playing Dollhouse’s Alpha (who should make a stunning return within these 9 episodes or the world is not a sane place) or Dodgeball’s Pirate Steve, he is impeccable and believable because he totally loses himself in every role.  Why more people don’t know him and adore his work, I’ll never know.  I hope the rumors I heard are true and that he’ll be back for an encore of last season’s performance.
• The finale knocking our socks off, making us even sadder that more people never watched, but still resolving most of the relevant plotlines to give diehards closure. It will be titled “Epitaph Two” or maybe “Epitaph 2.”  I’m not sure which title Whedon and his crew will go with, but I have read numerous rumors that the series finale will echo (no pun intended) the fantastic and DVD-only episode “Epitaph One,” continuing the story of the few remaining people on Earth who are not Dolls.  Since “Epitaph One” was the best of the first season, I have no doubt that season 2 will end in an equally poignant fashion and make all of us at home pout that we will never get to see any more Dollhouse outside of DVD special features.

Nine. While still the majority of the season remains, we have passed the halfway point of the whole series.  There is still a lot to look forward to, but there is even more to be mourned by those who appreciate truly intelligent television.  Losing Dollhouse is a stinker, no ifs, ands, or buts.  The bright side is that Joss Whedon said somewhere that he’d announce his next project by the time the finale airs.  I’m pulling for Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog 2 (but with a more creative title).

As for Dollhouse, what are you anticipating or dreading in the finalenine?

Images ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Carin Baer and Isabella Vosmikova/FOX