When someone mentions the powerhouse that is Joss Whedon, the first things that pop into your head will probably be the Avengers/Marvel Movies, then Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then probably Firefly. Most Whedon-fans would probably be near the end of their list before Dollhouse comes to mind if it even featured at all. It despite receiving a second season suffered the same fate as Mal and Serenity when it was cancelled. While many Firely fans have pondered the reasoning, blast Fox for their decision and penned petitions and signatures to resurrect the show, Dollhouse was packed up and put away without fuss or tantrum. Why?
If you’re not familiar with the show, it first aired in in 2009 and it ran for 27 episodes before being cancelled in 2010. Dollhouse was written and produced by Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku who worked with Whedon previously on Buffy, produced and starred as the lead character. ‘The Dollhouse’ is a company that possesses the ability to reprogram people in a very specific way and rent them out to millionaire clients for a day, a week, or months at a time. If someone’s life had basically gone down the proverbial toilet, they could enter into a 5 year contract with the Dollhouse, after which they could start a brand new life with enough money to last them well into their elder years. New memories, personalities and specialised skill-sets could then be transferred into their bodies depending on what the client ordered then when their 5 years are up they get their original memories and personality back and are sent out to live their brand spanking new lives.
The series focusses on Eliza Dushku’s character Caroline who in her ‘doll’ state is referred Echo. Dolls in their ‘blank state’ (no memories or personalities) are calm, relaxed, and content, but as the series goes on we see that Echo is slightly different than the rest of them, which doesn’t go unnoticed by head of the L.A branch, Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams)- an intelligent, poised, ruthless businesswoman.
The show had a good concept and a great amount of potential but from the beginning it suffered low ratings. For the die-hard Whedon fans,it seemed that Eliza Dushku was unable to seperate her character Caroline/Echo from her Buffy character Faith with many citing her her inability to play such a large array of characters with different personalities/moods/minds. Those who stuck the show out however (and I’m including myself here) were able to get over the hump of the first few episodes and realised that Eliza didn’t really need to be anything more than she was. Echo as a character existed to make sure the viewer didn’t get too comfortable, she was there as a constant reminder that she was a person and not a blank object. Eliza played the ‘blank doll state’ in a very unsettling way (bringing in the snake-like movements she is so famous for) and although some of the other ‘dolls’ might have had a more interesting storyline, it was important for Echo to exist in order to ground the whole premise into some realism.
The first few episodes have a mission-of-the-week layout in order to give insight into what the ‘Dollhouse’ is and what it can do. The technology and methodology of the company is at first a hard concept to grasp, so these episodes were needed to set up the whole idea to the viewers. Viewers needed to get used to the technology and terminology attached to it by watching Echo being sent out on a new assignment each week. One of the best things about any Whedon creation is the new language he introduces – from the teenage slang he created in Buffy, to the gorram Chinese/English hybrid in Firefly. Dollhouse is now exception and is intricately flooded with new terminology – from ‘imprinting’, the actual act of putting memories and personalities into the dolls to ‘actives’, what the dolls are known as when they are out on assignments, a whole new language is formed around the idea of these people and what they do. The show also featured actors who have worked with or went onto work Whedon in later projects, Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Amy Acker (Angel), Fran Kanz (Cabin in the Woods), Dollhouse also featured Summer Glau, so it certainly didn’t suffer from a lack of talent and each of their characters lends something more to the story and in particular Tudyk and Acker stand out for their phenomenal performances.
That said though the show was not without its problems! Creating something new, something that sees your main character ‘change’ from week to week means it’s hard to make an emotional connection with that character. The first few episodes are missing that personal element that is necessary to make the viewer want to keep watching. It isn’t until mid-season when it develops into a season arc-based storyline that we start to get an insight into who Caroline is, while also getting more in-depth glimpses into the company and the people running it and aiming to expose it.
In a way the whole premise is confusing and overwhelming, especially when you start thinking about the ethics of the show and the obvious similarities it has with human trafficking and prostitution. As subject matter it could be attributed to Fox executives wanting to distance themselves from it while ultimately blaming poor audience figures for it’s cancellation.
Despite all of this though Dollhouse is a worthty watch! I truly believe it has one of the most jaw-dropping, heart wrenching season finales out of any show I’ve seen. It’s brilliance lies not only in it’s intelligence and terrifying futuristic realism but also in it’s rich and interesting array of characters. Perhaps it never took off because there was no hero to cling on to, perhaps it’s look on the future was too bleak or maybe it was just too real for the TV exec’s to handle. Either way it’s a shame that this show didn’t get the attention or time that it deserved and it lies at the back of the television closet gathering dust but if this has peeked your interest then I urge you to drag this out and open yourself up to a whole new world of dolls and their houses.
The series has since expanded into the realm of comics and both seasons of Dollhouse are available to watch now on Irish Netflix.
[Words, Lissa Breen]
