Dollhouse

STUDENT BLOG #2: A Younger Perspective on Fox’s Endangered "Dollhouse"

Bianculli here: In addition to presenting the viewpoints of veteran TV reporter-critic professionals analyzing television on this site, I want, on occasion, to present the other end of the spectrum, and hear what young, opinionated "amateurs" have to say. So today, I asked one of my TV History students, Rich Greenhalgh, to present his thoughts on a show we both like: Fox’s Dollhouse (Friday at 9 p.m. ET), about a secret organization that offers the services of humans imprinted with any desired personality, memory and skill set. Rich, in his first writing effort here, has noticed things more in tune with his generation — including the way a videogame-playing character holds her controller.

Strength in Numbers: More Dolls Are Better Than One

The main reason to watch Fox’s Dollhouse (Friday at 8 p.m. ET), and pray for its second season, is because the ensemble cast has really flourished, despite this being billed as an Eliza Dushku star vehicle. If the show get cancelled, I will blame Dushku and Whedon. dollhouse-eliza-gun.jpg

Personally, I was anxious to see if Whedon had learned the lesson of not having his personal ’pets’ hijack the entire story line (anyone who hated season six or seven of Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer knows what I mean). Sorry, but it’s obvious Eliza can not carry this series the same way Jennifer Garner did with Alias, or Kristen Bell did with Veronica Mars.

Dushku has three speeds: "vengeful bitch," "scared victim," and "cocky brat." She never really closes the deal — it always looks like Dushku to me. She’s easy to look at, and fun in an ensemble, but she’s not the reason I would watch Dollhouse.

The supporting cast is what saves this show, and keeps me tuned in every week. I didn’t like all of them at first, but by the fifth episode, you start to see the ensemble on an equal footing with Dushku’s character doll character of Echo.

The character that really piggybacks Echo is the doll character named Sierra, played freshly each episode by Dichen Lachman (whose picture is shown above, and whose heritage, Australian and Tibetan, is quite unusual for TV). Graceful and attractive, she surprises me with each transformation. In one episode, Lachman’s Sierra was even imprinted with the same personality and skills as Dushku’s imprinted character (a sassy safecracker named "Taffy") after Echo’s imprint malfunctions.

Sierra, in this safecracking "role," had the same dialogue, mannerisms, and personality as Dushku’s Echo, but sold it 100 times better. In other episodes, Lachman’s Sierra also has been an Alias-style spy, a virus expert — and, in one of the most recent episodes, was imprinted to be the ultimate ’female gaming nerd’ as a temporary playmate for the genius technician Topher (Fran Kranz), who lords over ’The Chair,’ where the dolls’ memories are downloaded and erased).

In this incarnation, Sierra’s speech, swagger and posture were all authentic to an elite gaming nerd (or, in Japan, otaku gamer), even down to how she held a game controller. Leonard and Sheldon from CBS’s The Big Bang Theory would be trounced by this particular Sierra in any nerd-on-nerd competition. The alter egos Sierra inhabits are so persuasive, Lachman clearly is the breakout discovery of this show.

There are a number of dolls in Dollhouse, but so far only one major male character has been developed: Victor, played by Enver Gjokaj. He’s another pleasant surprise. At first, I thought he was a creepy Russian informant, but in a few episodes, it was revealed he was a doll. I had been so sold on his Russian character, that particular twist never occurred to me.

That’s an example of the type of trick Joss Whedon is playing with this show. The layers unpeel slowly. You think it’s one thing, then the show shifts or reboots, and you find out even more, and have to rethink everything. Another plus: the humor and satire are still there, Whedon-style — as when top technician Topher tries to explain his computer or sci-fi references to Adelle (Olivia Williams), the overtly stuffy supervising director of the Dollhouse. It’s awkward comedy gold.

Ultimately, I think this series deserves a second look and a second season, for all the potential shown by its cast and premise. has going for it. However, I will admit I originally wanted it to fail (gasp!). Why? Because of the slow way the series revealed itself. It wasn’t until the seventh episode that Whedon gave the other characters more screen time — and only then did I become excited about the show’s direction and possibilities.

Joss Whedon has skills, and he’s a master of wit, dark humor and satirical speech, but sometimes I worry that he makes stories for himself and his select friends, or goes into areas that may alienate the core audience that made him a success early on with Buffy.

A second season of Dollhouse really could explode into a fascinating new cult-TV classic gem, as did the second season of Whedon’s Angel. Whedon could do it with Dollhouse if he makes it more ensemble-based in his storytelling, and takes the focus off Eliza Dushku’s character of Echo. Ensembles work just fine on Fringe, Heroes, Lost and Chuck.

All I can say, and pray, is that if Dollhouse gets wiped in ’The Chair’ and sent to Fox’s attic (where broken Dolls end up), they save Dichen Lachman and put her on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, because that girl can do anything. Besides, Dollhouse already has its own in-house robot... in Echo.