If you haven’t heard of Dollhouse yet, it’s Joss Whedon’s new show on TV. The basic premise is this: the Dollhouse is a secret organization that offers programmable people (whose own personalities were erased) for various tasks---perfect dates, assassins, undercover agents, whatever else---at very high prices so only the very rich and very connected have access to them. The programmable people, the dolls, live in the Dollhouse and spend their days exercising, painting, meditating, and relaxing. When not programmed with a specific personality for a client, the dolls are blank slates, essentially clueless and harmless. No personality.
The main doll is Echo (played by Eliza Dusku, Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), so the episodes generally follow Echo and the clients who pay for her. The concept of the series is a good set up to explore ethical and moral issues, and there are enough unanswered questions and uncertainties about the Dollhouse to keep viewers intrigued. It’s a Whedon show, so expectations are high, but the first 5 episodes were mediocre at best. They had Whedon qualities, yeah. Quirky characters, off-beat humor, actions scenes, sci-fi elements, and snappy dialogue, but those qualities didn’t blend together very well.
Until episode 6, Man on the Street.
This is the first episode Joss Whedon wrote himself, and it shows. We get action, we get humor, we get one of the best fight sequences on TV in a long time. The dolls have some substance to them despite their supposed blank states. We have subplots that are all interesting in themselves, neatly and logically connected by Echo. The episode is entertaining while staying smart. It answers a few questions, throws in a few twists, and poses a few new questions.
This is the show Whedon fans have been waiting for, the show that stirred so much hype around the web for months before it premiered. Hopefully the upcoming episodes will stay at Man of the Street’s high caliber.
Here come the spoilers…
Besides Echo, the character I’ve been most interested in is Agent Paul Ballard. He is sure the Dollhouse exists, but he needs to find solid proof. Like the audience, Ballard wants to know who’s in charge of the Dollhouse, what its true purpose is, and how it acquires people to be dolls. Ballard has a photo of Echo when she was Caroline, her own personality. We don’t know why Caroline wanted to become a doll, and Ballard is obsessed with finding out what happened to her.
I thought Mellie, Paul’s neighbor, was just that—the girl next door. Someone to talk to Paul, someone to nurse his injuries, but Man on the Street completely changed that in revealing that Mellie is a doll. What an incredible twist! I thought she was dead for sure when Hearn (the corrupt Handler) stormed into the apartment, but then Adelle activated Mellie over the phone! Great scene, but now I’m sad for Paul because he’s in love with a doll and not a real person.
Ballard’s fight scene with Echo in the restaurant kitchen was cool, and then we found out a mole in the Dollhouse sent a message to Ballard that he can’t take the Dollhouse down on his own, and he can’t do it while he’s working for the FBI. My bet’s on Ivy, Topher’s assistant, to be the mole. She seems to understand how the imprinted personalities work, so maybe she had a chance to modify Echo’s imprint while Topher was distracted.
I’m finally excited to watch Dollhouse, instead of watching it just because Joss Whedon is behind it. Dollhouse airs Friday nights at 9 on Fox.
