Dollhouse off to a shaky start
I feel for Joss Whedon. Before Dollhouse premiered it was getting a lot of bad publicity with many pundits speculating Dollhouse would be axed before it had a chance to get off the ground.
Whedon was forced to urge viewers to give the series a chance. In an interview with Sci Fi Wire he said, “All the speculation is just that. People actually start deconstructing the show before they’ve seen it…It’s not a seamless birthing process. But … it seldom is. For me, never. And it’s been hard, and I’ve had despair, and I’ve had joy and excitement.”
Now that people have given Dollhouse a chance it seems nothing much has changed, except that now most people are beginning to realize the speculation was justified. I feel for him because no doubt right about now Whedon is back to despair.
In a review of the latest episode, USA Today claim Whedon is wasting his time on a series with a premise that can be described as “an empty vessel.” Reviewer Robert Bianco goes on to say lead actress Eliza Dushku lacks the versatility needed for the role whilst Fran Kranz (the genius imprinter) is just plain annoying. Rick Porter over at Zap2It, who has seen the third episode, is already counselling casual fans for patience to “ride out the initial bumps”. Then we have Dave on Demand who, when Fox announced Dollhouse was the network’s ‘highest-rated Friday series premiere in four years’, called the announcement ‘damning with faint praise’. No need to read between the lines there. I could post more – as there are more scathing reviews – but you get the picture.
Yes, perhaps these particular reviewer comments are a bit selective on my part. There are definitely some forgiving and even some praising reviews out there, but sadly I concede my thoughts mirror those that aren’t so forgiving. Understand that I’m the first to admit that I am a fan of Joss Whedon, thanks mainly to Firefly and Serenity. But I have to say that Dollhouse doesn’t strike me as being a Whedon production. As I’ve watched each episode I’ve been compelled to think that it isn’t as much Whedon’s work as it is Fox’s. It’s no secret that Fox tampered with Whedon’s creative intention, imposing script rewrites and re-editing to suit the tastes of the bean counters. Whedon wanted a story arc, Fox wanted self contained episodes. We know the damage such opposing positions create. I might be off mark, but it seems to me that Dollhouse is, to a large extent, a reflection of this damage.
Jennifer Thomas over at Pioneer Local wrote a review in which she said, “Here’s how I maintain hope — I think this is just a show that’s going to take a little while to find its footing — especially given the mandate from Fox that the episodes all be self-contained — and it’s still Whedon behind the wheel.” Personally I don’t have time in my schedule to ‘hope’ and I would find it difficult to do so because I think there’s more to the woes of Dollhouse than just Whedon not having a complete grip on the way the series unfolds. I think on top of that issue you’ve got a story with a limited premise presented with a few crucial roles cast wrong. I agree with Robert Bianco’s sentiments as far as the acting goes.
To be honest, I’ve been so disappointed with the first two episodes that I doubt I can bring myself to endure episode 3. That said, I hope Jennifer Thomas is right and that as the series progresses it undergoes a magical transformation because, well as I said, I’m a Whedon fan and I want him to reap the success a man of his talent deserves. Unfortunately I’ll have to find out secondhand that it’s happened. Last week Martin Anderson (Den of Geek) said, “Dollhouse has got one more episode, and then it’s history for me.” Anderson’s comments virtually echo (forgive the pun) my own comments after watching the premiere. Unfortunately for Dollhouse, now that I’ve seen episode 2 that’s how I still feel.
Joss Whedon