Dollhouse

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Joss Whedon’s new television brainchild, particularly since it became slated for Friday nights (it premieres on Feb. 13 at 9 PM ET). It’s difficult to judge a Joss Whedon show by a single episode since the creator relies so much on serialized storytelling, so let’s start with the facts.

Joss Whedon is a versatile writer and has no difficulty in producing shows that nobody expects. For example, Firefly was nothing like Buffy. Similarly, Dollhouse is very different than Whedon’s previous television ventures. This could be why Fox relegated it to Fridays. Perhaps they fear change.

Eliza Dushku plays Echo, who is a (seemingly unwilling) participant at a location in Los Angeles code-named "The Dollhouse" (Joss has learned a lesson since his Buffy and Angel days and never names a program after a character on it). The Dollhouse is an illegal facility, but it survives and thrives because the people behind it and the people that use its services are too powerful to be touched by the law.

Each participant is called a Doll or an Active. The Actives can be programmed with different personalities which fulfill specific needs for The Dollhouse’s clients. Those needs could be personal or professional. The first episode is a psychological thriller and not a gun-fest or fight-fest like his previous works. The pilot teaches the viewer about the life of Echo. We get a sense of who she is, and who she isn’t. In this instance, she is programmed with the personality of a hostage negotiator after a wealthy man’s daughter is kidnapped.

Apparently, the process in becoming an Active is painful, as we witness a woman being initiated into the program during the course of the episode. It certainly brings into question whether the Actives are there voluntarily. During the episode, Echo begins to break her programming which undoubtedly foreshadows upcoming stories.

We also learn what Dollhouse is and the main players behind it. We meet Adelle DeWitt (played by Olivia Williams), who runs the place; Topher Brink (Fran Kranz), an amoral nerd who runs the software that keeps the Actives programmed; and Boyd Langton (Henry Lennix, whom I recognized from the Matrix sequels), a former law-enforcement officer who now works for The Dollhouse as Echo’s "handler" (a position that entails both supervision to prevent deviation from her programming and bodyguarding her). Whedon-alum Amy Acker also makes an appearance on the show as a facility doctor with a scarred face.

Sub-plots abound within the show. Tahmoh Penikett (Helo from Battlestar Galactica) plays an FBI agent obsessed with finding The Dollhouse. He seems to have an unhealthy infatuation with Echo. Future episodes will probably explain why.

The show has a strong cast and Eliza Dushku is terrific in her role. The Dollhouse set reminds me a bit of the Wolfram and Hart offices from Angel.

The episode was okay as a stand-alone, but not great. As mentioned, I don’t think anybody should judge a Joss Whedon production by the first episode. Whedon weaves an intricate web and it usually takes a few episodes to get involved. I’m looking forward to the journey.