Dollhouse

Question: I hadn’t realized how much I appreciated your Internet columns until they weren’t there. And I really hate not having had much insight into your opinions of Dollhouse as it begins. I see the beginning as a pretty good start, but definitely just a start. Here’s hoping the ratings improve for both it and Terminator, but those sleazy promos have to go. Ugh. —Anna

Matt Roush: I missed you all, too, more than you’ll know. And isn’t Dollhouse an odd creature of a show? I’m intrigued by it, if not convinced yet that this show will end up in the Joss pantheon of classics. But the three episodes I screened before the premiere (1, 2 and 4) got progressively better, which is a hopeful sign, ratings aside. And during several public appearances I attended with Joss Whedon in New York before the premiere (moderating a panel at the New York Comic-Con and, a few nights later, a gathering at the Apple store in Soho), he promised that the sixth episode, airing March 20 (the same night as, sniff, Battlestar Galactica’s finale), is a real game-changer. That’s the episode when Echo and Agent Ballard finally cross paths. As is usually the case when a show this offbeat is in its infancy, I’m hoping it will find its way and get the time to prove itself. The numbers on Friday, as expected, have been pretty pitiful, but that was to be expected. As for those “sleazy” promos: I though they were kind of fun in the way they evoked ’70s “grindhouse” sexploitation. Of course, anyone who knows anything about the Terminator series, and Dollhouse for that matter, knows these promos didn’t reflect their true spirit. Still, can’t blame Fox for trying. Now we just have to trust that the network will leave both shows alone until the end of the season before making a decision about their (iffy) future.