Joss Whedon 2.0 for Fox
I had the absolute pleasure of working for a Fox affiliate here in Lexington when Firefly was first aired on Fox. If you’re not familiar with the show it’s basically a space western. Well, two weeks into its run during its Fall run in the early 2000s it was promptly cancelled by the network. Whichever executive was golfing in Ireland after making such a ‘brilliant’ decision must not have a job right now. The 13 episodes were printed onto DVD (that’s only one season) and were a huge hit on the home entertainment market. On top of this success, Whedon partnered up with Universal Studios to release Serenity the feature film for FireFly. Guess what? That sucker brought in the money like they owned a mint and it was being printed directly to Universal’s pocket.
The backstory done, when Fox was given another chance to show off Whedon’s latest creation, Dollhouse, they pretty much ignored the ratings (and people who make awful decisions to cancel shows — Hello!? How could you cancel Family Guy three times?)
Dollhouse: Season One is nothing short of spectacular. The season starts off right and it ends with a huge bang. The premise of the show revolves around a girl named Echo has volunteered her life for five years to work for a mysterious corporation who basically rents out people to do almost any task. The catch is that her memory is wiped clean, she is given a very basic personality and with each job they insert a new set of memories and skills to take care of the task at hand. The other catch is that only the rich and powerful can contact the Dollhouse and request services. On the other end of that equation is a hungry FBI man named Paul Ballard who has been investigating the Dollhouse and wants to uncover their operation and shut them down.
Throughout the first season of the show there are multiple storylines moving during each episode. On the surface, you get a standard unique story that changes from episode to episode. Deeper than that is the ongoing investigation of the house and the eventual collision course that is set up between Ballard and the Dollhouse operation. What’s nice about this show is that the story is so well laid out that there aren’t any gaps or stops that make you scratch your head and wonder what the hell happened. Whedon and crew seem to have designed the entire season meticulously, balancing out what catches your attention in the episode and that underlying story that is the foundation for the entire series. Much like Buffy and Firefly, this is why you want to come back for more each time.
Individually, the stories work quite well. You’ll get to see Echo in different situations doing different tasks that make her character a lot more well rounded. Eliza Dushku took an incredible job as a character that has to be multiple personalities with multiple talents. For the audience to believe that Echo changes from person to person she has to pull off the acting without a flaw. I’m not a huge fan of Dushku (outside of True Lies), but I have to give this girl props! She certainly expanded her horizon in this show and nailed the role perfectly. She is talented, more than just a pretty face and deserves all and any praise for taking on such a gigantic role. Want an example of how good she is? I’ll give you multiple examples. In the span of 13 episodes she plays a kidnapped victim/investigator, an old woman in Echo’s body, a country bumpkin, a concerned wife, a master thief and a call girl. That’s not everyone, but that’s impressive nonetheless.
Now, what makes this Dollhouse: Season One so refreshing is that this show establishes the backstory as it goes. There really isn’t an ‘origin’ episode per say, rather it builds the origin of the establishment and the characters is a very subtle way. You’re not left asking questions or wondering why things happen the way they do; you’re simply going with the flow and enjoying the show. One of the main storylines in the series is the mysterious killer named Alpha who has touched everyone in the story in some way. His story flows in and out of the season, getting mentioned in most episodes. When they finally work him into the story, and finally introduce him, he isn’t what you expect. That’s the brilliance of his storyline is that you don’t see him coming. When he makes an entrance he does it with a bang and, like many of the other storylines, fits neatly inside of the season. You’re going to absolutely love him if you haven’t seen him. ‘Love’ in the sense that he is truly as bad as they say he is throughout most of the season.
So is there anything wrong with the show? Nope. Easy enough?
Dolls in HD
The only real fault of this particular season is that the HD quality isn’t the best that I’ve seen. There are portions of it that certainly could have looked better, but you could probably blame the lighting person for most of that. Still, this is some high-quality HD on Blu-ray and the show does look better because of it. You’ll appreciate the pretty people on your 1080p or 720p set. Blu-ray is the only way to go these days and this show does prove that. As for audio, if you know Whedon shows you’ll understand why audio and music are vital. His people know how to integrate the perfect amount of each into series and Dollhouse is no different.
As for features, here’s what you’re looking at:
– Original Unaired Pilot Echo
– Commentary on Selected Episodes
– Deleted Scenes
– Making Dollhouse
– Coming Home
– Finding Echo
– A Private Engagement
– Designing the Perfect Dollhouse
Yay! Features that prove that the studio and production company give a damn about their product. There is some really interesting stuff to be had here, with the pinnacle being the pilot. A great set of features to go along with a perfect television series.