May 31st, 2009 11:53 am

Dollhouse

Following the hugely popular cult hits ‘Buffy’, ‘Angel’ and ‘Firefly’, how does Joss Whedon’s latest series stack up?

Without giving too much away, here is my preview/review of drama ‘Dollhouse’ which has its Australian premiere on FOX8 June 9.

From the producer who brought you ‘Angel’, ‘Firefly’ and ‘Buffy’ comes Joss Whedon’s new project ‘Dollhouse’. ‘Dollhouse’ follows ordinary citizens who have volunteered to work for the Dollhouse, also known as ‘Actives’ or ‘Dolls’, whereby their personalities from the outside world have been wiped clean so they can be imprinted with personas demanded by clients. These personas range from crimes to fantasies to the occasional good deed. Outside of these personas, these dolls are stored away in a mysterious yet futuristic laboratory, named the Dollhouse. The Dollhouse is an illegal facility and is constantly under threat from FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett).

The lead Echo (Eliza Dushku) is joined by Sierra (Dichen Lachman) and Victor (Enver Gjokaj) who all play dolls. When ‘Dollhouse’ first premiered it had a lot of potential, however due to Eliza Dushku’s limitations, the procedural nature of the show seemed very bland. It wasn’t until the sixth episode (‘Man on the Street’) where they delved more into the Dollhouse the show realised this potential. Ironically, this is when Sierra and Victor received more screen time. However, after that episode, the show headed south as it focused more on standalone episodes with Dushku. It wasn’t until the penultimate episode where I felt grateful for toughing it out during those boring periods.

Perhaps, Whedon chose the wrong lead with Dushku but that is an argument for another day. If you haven’t heard, ‘Dollhouse’ has been renewed for a second season, which might I add was one of the most surprising renewals of the last decade, especially given it was on a downward spiral (sinking from 2.0 rating in the key A18-49 demo to 1.0 for its finale). However, if the show did end on that episode, I wouldn’t mind as it was almost a perfect finish to a show which had so much potential.

As for the sophomore season, I can only hope Whedon focuses more on serialized episodes as the the show finished on such an awesome note. If it returns to standalone episodes, it will lose me.

If you are tight on time, I would recommend DVR-ing all the episodes and just skip to the Dollhouse scenes. Although I’d definitely recommend watching episode 6 (‘Man on the street’), 11 (‘Briar Rose’) and 12 (‘Omega’) from start to finish.

‘Dollhouse’ has its Australian premiere on FOX8 and if your lucky Ten Network will air it sometime in the future perhaps 12am Friday night.