Dollhouse

I got three episodes of Dollhouse to review before it begins, because one only hints at the potential for the series. As a single episode, the pilot might not be the most gripping hour of television, but it sets up the premise and suggests all of the different permutations that may be explored week to week. It’s the differences from week to week that make it compelling.

Dollhouse is a secret organization that implants its actives with different personalities for each mission. They can have any skills required, and be wiped clean at the end. Obviously this means a variety of action scenarios. More fun will be the moral and ethical tasks asked, and the philosophical questions of existence each blank slate active may face.

The premiere begins with the emotional costs of this procedure before getting into action. We see Echo in a night on the town, clearly having the best time ever with the perfect guy for her, and you know they’re just going to pull it away from her. Your heart just breaks for this delightful, happy girl.

The mechanics of the Dollhouse are easy to grasp, at least for those of us who keep up with this stuff. I mean, a few Total Recalls, Matrixes and Flowers for Algernon and any version of mind warp makes sense. The base state is baby-like and they eventually explain some of the nit picky “how does it work” questions the deep thinkers would have. They’re already touching on what the process does to the actives, so it’s like a little science experiment they’ll get to play with each week.

The first episodic plot, a hostage negotiation scenario, hardly seems worthy of the grandiose concept. It’s a fine execution of procedure and it shows how things can go wrong with the actives, but you’d think they’d big a more impressive first mission. That’s why I’m glad I got to see the next one. They open with a flashback to an accident in the dollhouse. That’s the juicy stuff. What happens when a little thing called reality gets in the way of their perfect plan? The client has a more morally questionable request too. I mean, we can all get behind saving a kidnapped girl, but some of the viewers won’t like this guy’s purchase.

The action can be outdoorsy adventurous, but of course we don’t need another stunt of the week show. What’s cool is you think it’s going one morally questionable way, and then it gets so outrageous you can’t believe they’re doing this on TV. If they can push the boundaries of TV plots every week, that’ll be worth checking out. The question should become, will they have to pose a juicy moral proposition each week, or can some just be straight action?

The third also makes you think it’s about one thing and then reveals it’s another. Now the game will be trying to guess if the mission is straightforward or a switcheroo. We’ll also have to see if the TV spots give this away before the episode airs. Dushku truly gets to play different characters each week, and if you think one seems familiar, trust them, they’re tweaking it. You’ll see backup plans and more of the supporting actives get into the action.

There are a few effects that look like television, but we suspend disbelief. I really wouldn’t be any more impressed if they hung Eliza Dushku off Mt. Everest. They can do stunts or they can fake stunts, I’m involved in the stakes of what they’re doing this for.

Some of the episodic players don’t hold up with the regular cast. They ham up the clichés in a way that’s surprising Joss Whedon allowed. But you only have to deal with that once and the regulars are high class. These are the pros who can play the reality of the most fanciful situation, so who cares about a suit playing by the books A-hole?

The only thing really missing is humor. There’s no pithy Joss Whedon banter full of references. So, this is going to be his serious show. It seems like a missed opportunity because all the gravitas creates an unrelatable distance. They could be having fun with the premise. I mean, they’re providing everything from tailor made “escorts” to ultra nurturing midwives. There’s gotta be a one-liner in there somewhere. Actually, the dialogue is a tad simplistic which is a disappointment for such weighty themes, but when things go wrong, you feel the impact of the story.

It’s easy to see why the perception is that the show is troubled. It’s doing a lot and any element could not work for someone, or not work together. It’s not perfect but would you rather have a safe run of the mill series that worked out all its kinks, or a show that’s going out on a limb to entertain you and maybe feeling its way around a little?

Crave Online rating: 7 out of 10