Dollhouse Babes Worth Forgetting
>> 13.2.09
Watching the premiere episode of the Dollhouse reminds me the classic Two Coyote Ugly joke in which a guy is willing to gnaw off both arms in case the ugly girl comes looking for a one armed man, except in Dollhouse case there's no more need to be chewing off limbs when the ready solution is to just have the girl's memory erased.
Yep, wipe her memory clean and then give her a new memory for her next big assignment: doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. You get the picture, in fact it's a premise ripped from the pages of Phillip Dicks' Total Recall with a little Six Million Dollar Man meets La Femme Nikita. The problem is I doubt television viewers are going to be willing to tune in and watch a character who is a different personality every week no matter how much skin they flash, sorry Pam Anderson.
The best thing about Dollhouse is that might distract you long enough to forget that you're not out on a Friday night. Although I'm sure my 12-year old brother and his mutant friends will gladly tune in for some gratuitous T&A but I doubt this was the demographic advertises are trying to reach.
Smart money says you may wanna forgo the eyestrain and just forget about this one all together. After all, the last Fox Friday Nite hit was X-Files before the dawn of the Tivo. Meanwhile, this Banshee won't be adding a Tivo season pass for Dollhouse, in fact, given the show's limited potential, I doubt it will run more than 13 episodes.
Check out this Joss Whedon classic instead Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
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6 comments:
On behalf of every 12 year old boy in America I wanna say Eliza Dushku is worth the eyestrain, maybe even double vision.
Why can't they just remake Buffy like they did with 90210? This show is so lame even cable doesn't want it.
LA Times Review supports your argument
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-dollhouse13-2009feb13,0,953298.story
A group of people who have had their memories erased, led by Eliza Dushku's Echo, can be hired to do just about any task. But there's no emotional connection.
By MARY McNAMARA, Television Critic
February 13, 2009
To say there has been anticipatory buzz surrounding Joss Whedon's return to television with Fox’s “Dollhouse” is like saying octo-mom has gotten some media attention. The moment Whedon announced the project, fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly" began their internal countdown. When bad things began to happen -- the network wanted so many changes in the pilot that Whedon chucked it and began again from scratch -- the buzz only got louder.
But although buzz can indicate an excited crowd on the brink of satiation, it can also serve as a warning that you're about to get stung.
If you sense a pause at this moment, it's me taking a break to wring my hands and brush away a tear. But no amount of fondness or admiration for Whedon and his work can disguise the fact that "Dollhouse," which premieres tonight, is beyond disappointing. Overcrowded with plotlines, high-tech gimmicks and ambition yet empty of emotional connection and purpose, "Dollhouse" tries so hard to be so many things it winds up being nothing much at all.
Save Dollhouse
http://hijinksensue.com/2007/11/05/save-dollhouse/
http://www.tv.com/story/11780.html?ref_story_id=11780&ref_type=1101&ref_name=story
Joss Whedon: Original Dollhouse pilot thrown out
By Tim Surette
Published: October 27, 2008 at 05:05:00 PM
Buffy creator details compromises made with Fox on anticipated Dollhouse.
It's a showrunner's job to craft a unique universe, create compelling characters, and tell stories that viewers tune in for week after week. And sometimes, it's a network's job to ruin all of that and turn a show into junk.
Fox's Dollhouse, from creator Joss Whedon, was potentially headed down that dangerous road as evidenced by the show's stop in production back in September (which, at the time, he claimed was his decision).
The premise of Dollhouse is a television creator's dream: a secret organization has the ability to upload personalities and skills into a group of agents that are leased out for business, espionage, or pleasure. The science-fiction's drama lead, a "doll" named Echo, soon becomes conscious of her position and begins to fight back.
Fear not, all you Whedon worshippers. The creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Angel wrote an extensive post on his Web site The Whedonverse detailing the latest from the Dollhouse set, and it seems all is well...for the most part.
Whedon admits that he threw out the original pilot episode, even after he shot it, after discussing the future of the drama with Fox. However, he doesn't feel it was a bad thing, and believes the show is better in its current state because of network feedback (either that or he's appeasing the suits that sign his checks).
Fox and Whedon had different ideas about the tone of the show, which is par for the course in the business. Fox obviously wants something it thinks the kids these days love, which means less serialized storytelling, less relationship talk (does that mean character building?), and more action, Jackson.
Any big name in television would have every right to storm out and pee on the network executives' doorsteps, but Whedon managed to meet them eye-to-eye. He now feels that Dollhouse is a product that both he and the network can be proud of, the essential universe he created remains unchanged, and he still has Eliza Dushku as his lead, who he calls "strong, radiant, and unmistakable."
"In Whedon we trust" is a familiar mantra for those who have seen the man's work, and I suspect nothing will change with Dollhouse. But if that original pilot ever comes to light, we'd love to get our hands on it!
Will the last person leaving the Dollhouse please out the lights?
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