Dollhouse

Epitaph for a Dollhouse

The best thing that can happen to some TV series is simply to just end it. Look what happened to Lost after its creators set an end date and re-energized the storytelling and the fan base. Just this week, ABC lessened the sting of canceling Ugly Betty—which had rebounded creatively this season from last year’s collapse, but too late to fix the damage from punitive scheduling—by promising that the writers will at least be able to craft an ending (presumably happy) for the show. And then there’s Joss Whedon’s weird cult curiosity Dollhouse, which wraps its turbulent and truncated run this Friday night (8/7c) with a sequel to last season’s DVD-only future-shock finale.

Which means “Epitaph Two: Return” isn’t going to make a lot of sense to anyone who hasn’t sought out the show on DVD. But then, it’s hard to imagine anyone still watching Dollhouse who isn’t committed enough to have done their obsessive due diligence. The loyal viewer has been rewarded lately by the rare spectacle of a show going for broke with nothing to lose. The twists, shocks and revelations (Boyd is what?) have come fast and furious, packing an entire series’ worth of narrative into a few jam-packed, whiz-bang WTF hours.

I loved the surreal detour into the dreaded “attic,” and the device by which agent-turned-handler Paul Ballard was kept alive by downloading an imprint of himself into his body. Science at its Frankenstein-ian maddest, no doubt about it. I’m not going to pretend Dollhouse was a neglected or abused masterpiece—in fact, if ever a show looked like it was cooked up over a lunch, it’s this one (and I want what’s on that menu)—but in its own zany way, much of this surprise second season was about as wild a ride as network TV allows anymore.

Far from demonizing Fox over its handling of this show (besides lamenting the fact it was marginalized from the get-go with its Friday death slot), Whedonites should be thrilled the show got to finish out this 13-episode order and return to the apocalyptic scenario of the excellent “Epitaph One” (which would have worked as a series finale if the show hadn’t been given this second chance).

Once again, we’re 10 years in the future, in a world where the evil Rossum technology—which seemed relatively innocent when it was only turning hotties into prostitutes and studs for hire—has wiped the minds of much of the human population, rendering them into zombie-like mobs. There’s a Road Warrior quality to the action, as Echo (Eliza Dushku) rallies her troops, including “Epitaph” standouts Felicia Day (as Mag), Zack Ward (as Zone) and Adair Tishler (as a little girl imprinted with the personality of Caroline, the pre-Echo), to invade Rossum and return to the Dollhouse to try to rescue humanity once and for all.

A number of familiar faces return along the way, often in very unfamiliar guises and temperaments, none more haunting than Fran Kranz as the tormented genius Topher Brink. Before the fall, he was among the most polarizing love-or-loathe characters in the ensemble, a bundle of indulgent freak-geek tics. Here, whimpering at what havoc he has brought to the world, he’s heartbreaking and redemptive. (As his protector and den mother, Olivia Williams is a revelation as a very changed Adelle.)

The writing is still irreverent enough that when a character attempts to pep-talk the refugee “actuals” by declaring, “The world still needs heroes, kid,” everyone bursts out laughing. (Which, naturally, doesn’t last long.) But heroes they are, and there is death, sacrifice and also a smattering of unconventional romance playing out in this endgame. I can’t predict if fans will be satisfied by the way it ends, but at least it really does end. And that’s more than most shows in Dollhouse’s situation get to do.

What’s next for Joss Whedon? More online goodies like Dr. Horrible? (My impatience for a sequel is killing me.) A flirtation with cable, perhaps? FX chief John Landgraf got the twitter world buzzing when he teased the TCA that he was scheduling a lunch with Joss in the near future. Who wouldn’t be excited about the possibility of a Whedon show on a trail-blazing, risk-taking, adults-only cable outlet like FX? I’d be just as jazzed if he took a meeting at the adventurous AMC, which had the reckless moxie to mount a remake (disappointing, but still) of The Prisoner last year. Syfy makes sense in genre terms, of course, but its brand is veering toward a brighter, shinier form of fantasy than is Whedon’s norm. Whatever he comes up with, I hope its foundation is sturdier than that of the Dollhouse but shares its fearlessly maverick qualities and can find a home willing and able to support Whedon’s vision.

It’s obviously way too soon to be writing his TV epitaph.