Ok, I've now seen all of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse and the following is what I think of it overall, now be warned there are big 'ol spoilers in the below. Not those vague kind you get in most reviews but bona fida revelations of plot details and what happens to who.(Edit to add; Actually the below is more vague than I thought it would be)
So that's the formalities out of the way, Dollhouse started back in 2009 with a thirteen part season and was widely expected not to receive a second series, but to the surprise of most (including most of those working on the show) it received a second order and a second run of thirteen episodes aired in 2010.
So it was again a short lived series for Whedon but twice the length of fan favourite Firefly. Undoubtedly the uncertainty surrounding the continuation of the series did influence the way it developed by to their credit many of those working on it fully admit that and are open as to why the series didn't find the audience it needed.
In fact Whedon himself admits he got the start of the series wrong and admits it failed to find a rhythm and a sense of itself quickly enough. This to be fair is apparent in the opening few episodes of the series. Whilst the opening set of episodes do set out the basics of the Dollhouse itself and start to build the supporting characters the main problems are that Echo herself remains mostly a blank slate and the story of the week format is let down by some very by the numbers plotting.
However it is a bit of a strange one, Echo's anonymity serves the story of the series as at this point she is supposed to be like all the other actives as the audience get used to the fictional world created. But crucially it leaves the show without a central hero for the audience to follow since Echo is by definition a different character each week for the majority of the episode. In fact at this stage Agent Ballard is the closed thing to a hero but is crucially clearly not the main character as his investigation of the house is the B-plot of each episode rather than the main drive.
The diverse elements and ideas floating around finally come together solidly for the first time in the sixth episode to air, 'Man On The Street' as finally we get the sense that the Dollhouse provides so much more than high class prostitution (from the heartbreaking story of Joel Mynor's lost wife)and the episode also dramatically spins Agent Ballard's investigation. Yes Ballard finally comes face to face with Echo who delivers a warning from inside the house.
In subsequent episodes the pace picks up as we learn more about who Echo was before the house, the House toys brutally with Ballard through his neighbour Mellie with a stop off for a good solid high concept episode as Echo is imprinted with the mind of a dead woman and sets out to find her own killer.
When then get the appearance of Alpha (terrifically performed by Alan Tudyk) the mad genius killer active with the minds of forty people figthing inside his skull. He is the first really tangible adversary for Echo and the House who his two episode brace begins the ball rolling for Echo to become 'Super-Echo'.
Now finally here get 'Epitaph One' which was made under the belief the show was to be cancelled and so uses a flashforward and back format to show a world in ruins thanks to the imprint technology and what has happened to our cast of characters. Whilst it is a strong piece of television sadly it ties the writers into a path once starting out the second series. We know where it is all going.
The most interesting part in the episode is I believe centered around Topher. We see him as a broken man holding the guilt of destroying society on his shoulders, long gone is the hyper-confident young genius and his journey to this point that would prove one of the more interesting aspects of the series going forwards.
In the first few episodes of the second series the show plays much like it did in the first with one off stories taking most of the screen time but once we hit episodes five the brakes are off and it's pretty much a non-stop ride to the conclusion.
Alexis Denisof's Senator turns out to be something more sinister than a doll as it's revealed he's a man who is who he is but has been subtly altered by (the Dollhouse's overseeing corporation) Rossum to suit their own ends. In fact his investigation ends up clearing the company of any link to illegal activities and sets him up as a Presidential candidate in waiting, one under Rossum's control.
Echo begins using skills from past imprints, is captured by another house were further details of her past are uncovered before she ends up on the run with the aid of Ballard before returning to the house able to take advantage of all the knowledge and skills she has ever been imprinted with.
It's then a return from Alpha, a trip to the Attic (which is quite effective and has another one of the shows high concept ideas) and onto the end game where one of the cast is revealed to be very bad indeed.
And it is a reveal that does somehow play out fairly believably thanks to the way it is written and performed, as the 'what? but?' is smartly covered by making them clearly on the mad side of sane.
Finally Epitaph 2 ties up the lose ends as well as raising some interesting questions of it's own before finally in the end it's Topher (having become perhaps the most interesting character) who sacrifices himself to save the world.
Overall I can see why the series failed to find an audience, it is initially hard to like and connect with but once it find's it feet I think it is a great little series. It has the Whedon humour in it no doubt but it does also routinely raise really interesting questions about identity and ethics as well throwing around some truly high concept sci-fi ideas such as human beings becoming literally avatars for others and supercomputers constructed from human minds.
In the cast Eliza Dushku is always solid if rarely excellent, Fran Kranz makes Topher more than an immoral geek (and indeed excels in the later stages), Henry Lennix's Boyd radiates quiet authority and Olivia Williams is great as the head of the house with a heart under a skin of stone. Special mention to Enver Gjokaj as Victor who excels in whatever role is given to him and is by far and away the best of the 'dolls' on display.
And so Dollhouse took it's time but has finally placed itself as my second favourite Whedon show. Buffy of course will always remain top but Angel's disappointing fourth season and I felt wasted opportunity of a fifth alongside Firefly's brevity (stopping it from developing) and over reuse of stock character types sees the 'house claim that second spot mainly in the end thanks to high ideas.
Though it would have been interesting to see how the series would have gone if allowed to run with those pulling the strings implying t would have become almost a 'Charlie's Angel's' style show with Echo and the rest fighting each week against misuse of the 'printing tech.
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