REVIEW: Dollhouse opens slow; ends strong

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REVIEW: Dollhouse opens slow; ends strong

February 13 2009 9 Comments

NOTE: This review is meant for those fans who watched Episode 1, “Ghost,” last night on Fox. If you have not seen the first episode, read at your own spoiler risk.

Joss Whedon is back! Those simple four words were enough to keep thousands of fans across the country home on a ghoulish February Friday, but Dollhouse executives hope more than just Whedonites will continue to tune in.

Unlike the splashy pilots other directors are known for (J.J. Abrams I’m talking to you,) Whedon’s shows typically start off slow. That’s the case with Dollhouse. The opening scene showcases a calm and cold Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams) paired up with the future Echo (Eliza Dushku) when Echo was just Caroline — a young woman running away from something in her past. The scene works quite well as a starting point, but this is where “Ghost” runs into a few speed bumps.

A crazy motorcycle race through unknown streets ensues, as Echo’s client bought her to be the perfect escort. She’s excellent on a bike, freaky in bed and head over heels in love with the handsome trust fund baby. But as chatters on our site mentioned — the whole premise of using Echo as a prostitute doesn’t sit too well. Not only that, the scene was not needed — honestly, if you’re a handsome 30-something millionaire, why the hell would you need to pay that much money for a Cinderella? Don’t get me wrong — Eliza is beautiful, but if I had to choose, I think I’d just skip the whole Dollhouse thing, head to the bar, pick up two scantily-clad gold diggers and call it a night… but that’s just me.

This is what I mean about Dollhouse starting slow. It literally wastes a 10-minute block of time just to set up the story. It seems rushed, forced and wholly unrealistic.

Thankfully, as I started to question the time I’ve invested in this site, Joss Whedon’s new baby finally found its legs. The scene where Echo stumbles into Topher’s (Fran Kranz) lab while Sierra’s (Dichen Lachman) mind is being wiped oozes cool. Dozens of acupuncture needles cascade out of Sierra’s body like frozen fireworks, and the girl looks scared shitless.

“She’s not asleep?!” Echo questions. No, she is most definitely NOT asleep.

Amy Acker is also very cool and intriguing as the beautiful-in-low-lighting doctor of dolls Claire Saunders. Looks like someone worked her over pretty good… (Alpha, do you like straight razors?)

Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Pinikett) is underused in “Ghost,” but Joss sets up his story through a couple brief scenes… Agent Ballard is hell bent on taking down the Dollhouse. He hates the fact that they can take someone’s soul. It seems as if he considers this almost worse than murder… certainly worse than the human trafiking the Russians are involved in. I just wish the kickboxing scene was a little cooler, but the bathroom scene more than made up for it. “Wash your hands… and your shoes.”

Next up for Echo — a flawed hostage negotiator with a past that backfires. Her job is to broker the safe return of a wealthy client’s young child. During the exchange, Echo freaks. Her programmed personality sees the man that kidnapped her as a child, and Echo can’t immediately handle the emotional scare. Boyd Langton’s (Harry Lennix) true character shines through in a strong scene as he convinces uber-bitch DeWitt to let Echo save the little girl. DeWitt finally acquieses.

The climactic final fight scene was great on its own merits, but when Sierra burst through the door at the end, I popped up in my La-Z-Boy — “Ohhh shit!” That girl wasn’t fucking around! Then the scenes with Alpha kept Dollhouse churning along at a high clip. I loved every second of it! Alpha… on a killing spree… and maybe adding that Pablo Picasso number on Dr. Saunder’s to his resume… what’s not to love?

Some critics point out that it’s hard to pull for a protagonist who is so wholly different from episode to episode and even from scene to scene, but I had no trouble rooting for Echo — either as a crotch-rocket fantasy lay or an asthmatic hostage negotiator. That being said, here’s to hoping we get more ass-kicking Eliza in the future and fewer jobs from Fantasy Island.

The Good: Alpha — man, I cannot wait. Great setup!
The Bad: Echo as a high-class ho in the Dollhouse version of Pretty Woman.
The Ugly: Amy Acker as Dr. Saunders — but ugly in a good way!

ActiveDollhouse Grade: B

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9 Comments »

janie said:

Hot hot hot!! Loved this first episode i can tell it ll be a awsome show

# 14 February 2009 at 12:54 am

Amanda said:

I’d also give the episode a B, but for different reasons.

I think the scene with her ‘perfect weekend’ was definitely necessary. It shows the side of the Dollhouse that’s, well, less moral than other parts. With her as a negotiator, she was helping someone. With her as the perfect date, she’s just being a prostitute. It gives some depth of these women being anything. They are being chosen by men and given the personalities men think they should have. It also helps set a perspective for the discussion that Agent Paul Ballard has with his superiors. They laugh at the thought that a millionaire would have to program the perfect date, when we’ve already seen that they will do it.

The kickboxing scene could have had a little more to it, but I think it fulfilled its purpose very well. Joss Whedon shows us with that one simple scene that even when Ballard is beat to the ground, he will get back up and triumph.

I graded it down because it lacked humor and it seemed rushed. Granted I tend to think most Pilot episodes are rushed, but it seemed faster than it should have been. The warning that talking to Echo about the Dollhouse would possibly send her back and then the client pushing her to know who she is and her flashing back, it seemed forced. The client was obviously panicked, but he knew the risks and his daughter was at stake, he shouldn’t have risked anything more.

# 14 February 2009 at 2:59 am

John Staret said:

I’m not nearly as analytical as some Whedon fans and tv show watchers. I thoroughly enjoyed this pilot and though it was a little quick, the pacing didn’t bother me much. Can’t wait to see what future episodes hold!

# 14 February 2009 at 11:09 am

Episode 2 of Dollhouse - The Target - Preview said:

[...] REVIEW: Dollhouse opens slow; ends strong (3) [...]

# 14 February 2009 at 1:40 pm

Pely said:

Loved it & Dichen Lachman was haaawwwtttt!!!!!!

# 14 February 2009 at 5:09 pm

Ashley said:

I was definitely looking forward to this show, for weeks.
Even seeing the not-so-wonderful promo clips on Fox made me jump with glee. I’ve been a fan of Joss Whedon in the past, and also have been a fan of Eliza Dushku in the past (namely her role in the short lived Tru Calling).

When I watched it last night, I definitely agreed about it starting off slow. But nevertheless, each time the short commercials came to an end, I found myself becoming more and more exciting to see what would happen next. I think that this show has a lot of potential. The notion of having a “new” protagonist every episode is very intriguing, especially because it gives you a chance to see Eliza perform in various different ways. And with her memories of her Echo life creeping into her head as she is programmed with the personalities and memories of other people, I believe it will allow for a lot of internal conflict for the character, and offer a large amount of possibilities for personal growth. I found myself totally believing in her character, whether she was Echo or Ms. Penn.

I will definitely be tuning in week after week, and hopefully this show will be given a solid chance. I definitely think the time slot was a good idea - Had they decided to air it after such hit shows as American Idol (although why this show has been able to last 8 seasons is unknown to me, it’s such a terrible show), it would have totally been the wrong audience to direct the show at. Having a sci-fi based show as the lead in and a sci-fi show as the lead out gives the show a good chance at surviving until the Whedon kinks are sorted out.

I mean. If you look back at the Buffy pilot, it was terrible even compared to the last few episodes of the first season. But in the end, having the slower start to establish all the background information and to introduce the main characters in a less in depth fashion, definitely allowed the show to grow and create it’s “niche” and find a firm standing for the characters.

So definitely, give this show a chance. It has an interesting premise, and some great actors as well. Although the pilot wasn’t fantastic (then again, what pilot really is that fantastic, especially when compared to later episodes?), it provided a good starting point for the characters and story lines. And I believe that this show will be able to go in many different directions plot-wise.

# 14 February 2009 at 7:31 pm

kompir said:

Hi,

Cool review, thanks for the tip with Picasso - I didn’t put that one together.

I must disagree with you on the ho thing, though. Why exactly do you think she was an escort? Did I miss something in the script that pointed to it? I read this as vacation, nothing more. What was there to suggest otherwise?

# 17 February 2009 at 1:33 am

Rynn said:

I really loved how they did the scene with Paul kickboxing, how it was split up as he was rolling with the punches from both the guy he was fighting and the superiors in the board room, then he made a few jabs back, finally coming to the point where they asked if he could back down, and taking from his kickboxing match the answer is no, but his answer, perfectly delivered, was yes.

# 17 February 2009 at 11:07 am

Active Dollhouse (author) said:

Kompir, she was definitely an escort. She was obviously the guy’s date — both Echo, the guy, Boyd, and Topher all talked about that, and more importantly, it showed the guy tying her up in bed with rope.

Rynn, I liked the kickboxing scene somewhat; I was just a little disappointed with it because it could have been so much better. Watch the kickboxing scene in the theme song and tell me that doesn’t get you a lot more excited than the actual scene in the pilot.

That being said guys — I still REALLY liked the show. That’s why I gave it a “B.” I’m just being honest with my review. I’m not going to universally praise something just because Joss did it.

# 17 February 2009 at 11:44 am