Dollhouse

It’s been a while since Joss Whedon has been involved in a television project for the Fox network; last time, things didn’t end very well. Whedon must not have burnt very many bridges during the last few years, though: his most recent series, Dollhouse, was recently renewed for a second season, despite earning low ratings during its initial 12-episode run. Things didn’t start so well, either: the planned first episode was eventually scrapped, with most of its footage divided up into portions of other episodes. A 13th episode was also part of the original deal, but was never aired. Luckily, the series had a number of things working in its favor, including a committed creative team, a decent cast and, most importantly, an intriguing premise.

Our story revolves around a number of "Actives" who serve as employees in a company known as the Dollhouse. These Actives have signed over their bodies, in exchange for an undisclosed sum of money, as part of a five-year contract. Their sacrifice, however, is the real kicker: they’ve been stripped of their former personalities (which are kept in storage) and have essentially been whittled down to a clean slate. The Actives are virtually emotionless, but they’re certainly taken care of: The Dollhouse itself is a luxurious, secure structure with plenty of food, shelter and recreation. It’s not all play, of course; when they’re hired out to high-valued clients, the Actives are fitted with custom memories to match each mission (or "engagement", as they’re called). Each Active is also assigned to a Handler, who personally oversees their safety and well-being. Long story short: whether it’s for business or pleasure, legal or illegal, the job always gets done.

Of course, the Dollhouse itself is as mysterious as some of its employees. Most locals think it’s an urban legend, but others believe in its existence. FBI Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) is one such believer, and he’s convinced that a young woman named Caroline---who currently serves as an Active named Echo (Eliza Dushku)---needs his help to not only escape, but to expose the morally ambiguous Dollhouse. Other current Actives include Victor (Enver Gjokaj), November (Miracle Laurie) and Sierra (Dichen Lachman). Topher Brink (Fran Kranz) is the Dollhouse scientist who implants the Actives’ memories for each engagement. Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams) is the presumed leader of the Dollhouse, overseeing all Actives and staff. Season 1 introduces us to these and many more characters, offering a glimpse inside this unusual organization and the people who make it work.

Television shows rarely hit the ground running, which is unfortunate: half the time, they’re cut off at the knees before they get a chance to take off. Dollhouse is no different, though it shows signs of life even during less impressive outings. The first five lay plenty of groundwork in a short amount of time, but it isn’t long before Dollhouse hits a plateau; these are essentially "personality of the week" episodes, establishing little in the way of mythology or character development. "Stage Fright" is particularly bad, combining a lazy premise with a half-hearted execution and uninspired supporting characters. Things pick up soon enough, however: the much-touted "Man on the Street" is as good as advertised, merging both main "characters" (the Dollhouse itself and FBI Agent Paul Ballard) in a logical and satisfying manner. Before this episode, Ballard’s motives seemed far too ambiguous.

Things rarely let up from here on out, creating an uneven but overly satisfying first season. The trippy "Echoes" establishes a bit more history for our lead character, while "Needs" presents a clever change of pace with a somewhat surprising resolution. "Haunted" is perhaps the only pure "personality of the week" episode in the season’s second half, but the premise itself is terrific: Echo is programmed with the mind of a recently deceased woman, who infiltrates her own funeral to find out who killed her. "Briar Rose" and "Omega" close the season off nicely (aside for the unaired Episode #13, which will be covered later), though the former is ultimately more satisfying. Even with such a strong close to the season, however, it’s a minor miracle that Dollhouse was renewed for a second year. We can either chalk it up to luck, timing or death threats from rabid Whedon fans.

With Dollhouse’s upcoming second season in mind, here’s hoping that a number of nagging problems are dealt with. The show’s intriguing premise, which includes a limitless number of personalities for our otherwise blank central characters, would do well to introduce more history for some of these folks (Agent Ballard included). Though "Needs" hints at some of the reasons why the Actives’ lives were signed over, they aren’t enough to make us care for them completely; if left as-is, this "blank slate" structure will only last so long before things get repetitive. It’s not often, though, that Whedon projects get a second chance (here’s looking at you, Serenity), so it’s likely that thell make the most of this opportunity. For now, the debut season of Dollhouse stands fairly tall as an enjoyable mix of drama, suspense, science fiction and comedy.

Presented on DVD by Fox Home Entertainment, Dollhouse: Season One was mailed out to anxious DVD reviewers as an incomplete three-disc set. This means that the mysterious, unaired 13th episode ("Epitaph One") wasn’t part of the package...nor was a majority of the bonus features, all of which should appear on the missing Disc 4. The visual presentation on these screener copies doesn’t represent the final product, either. So, aside from a pair of audio commentaries and a robust audio mix, I’m no more enlightened than fans who simply watched Dollhouse on TV (or Hulu). When the final product does arrive, however, this review will be updated from top to bottom. With that said, let’s see what we’ve got for the time being:

video & audio quality

Presented in their original 1.78:1 aspect ratios and enhanced for 16x9 displays, these 50-minute episodes look wildly uneven at times---but that’s most likely because they’re on lesser-quality screener discs. High levels of compression artifacts, digital noise and the studio’s watermark mar an otherwise acceptable presentation, which typically boasts strong colors, solid black levels and a fine amount of detail. I’d imagine that street copies of Dollhouse: Season One (not to mention the forthcoming Blu-Ray release) will exhibit a marked improvement---but until then, I can’t award a proper technical rating.

Luckily, the audio presentation doesn’t suffer the same fate. Presented in a robust Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix, Dollhouse sports a strong soundstage and clean, crisp dialogue. Though many dialogue-driven scenes are anchored squarely in the front, we’re also treated to flurries of surround activity once the action heats up. The excellent score rarely fights for attention, creating a dynamic atmosphere that fans should enjoy. Optional English, Spanish, French and Portuguese subtitles are included during each episode.

menu design, presentation & packaging

Seen above, the animated menu designs are simple and easy to navigate. Each 50-minute episode has been divided into roughly half a dozen chapters, while no obvious layer changes were detected during playback. The final packaging was also not part of these screener discs, so that’s another detail we’ll have to skip for now.

bonus features

Not much to report here, given the circumstances, but at least a pair of Audio Commentaries is present on the first two discs. These scene-specific chats are offered during "Ghost" and "Man on the Street"; creator Joss Whedon is present during both tracks, but he’s joined by Eliza Dushku on the former. Whedon does a fine job during these two commentaries, balancing candid comments with detailed production stories---and joined by his star, he obviously becomes a bit more chatty and laid-back. Dushku giggles, mostly. Both sessions are worth a listen, especially for die-hard Whedon fans...as opposed to casual Whedon fans, which don’t seem to exist.

REMINDER: Due to the incomplete set of bonus features, I can’t award a proper rating in this department either. As with several other portions of this technical review, a revision will be posted once the final product arrives.

Here’s the good news: Dollhouse is a quality series that starts slow, picks up nicely and deserves a much larger audience than its ratings would imply. It’s also been renewed for a second season, so let’s hope that word gets around. Here’s the bad news: it’s almost impossible to determine the quality of this DVD collection, due to the incomplete technical presentation, no packaging, a missing episode and only a partial list of extras. If history offers any reassurance, however, it’s that Whedon fans can usually expect a solid DVD treatment, even if the source material didn’t get the same level of courtesy. Dollhouse: Season One comes mildly Recommended for now---but if the final version is as good as expected, this should be worth picking up on release day. Stay tuned.