Dollhouse Confirmed for Season 2!

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

You have a point on the budget.

But, good is good and crap is crap. Having a more palatable budget doesn't make crap any better from the audience's perspective. As such, I honestly think I would have been happier to see Dollhouse disappear, because its continuation sends the wrong message: Cheap, tawdry, irritating <-word redacted for reasons of Grandma-> (hint, it's a word Inara didn't like) are more acceptable in our TV environment than educated, sensual, engaging Companions.

 

[Mistwell]

You have a point on the budget.

But, good is good and crap is crap. Having a more palatable budget doesn't make crap any better from the audience's perspective. As such, I honestly think I would have been happier to see Dollhouse disappear, because its continuation sends the wrong message: Cheap, tawdry, irritating <-word redacted for reasons of Grandma-> (hint, it's a word Inara didn't like) are more acceptable in our TV environment than educated, sensual, engaging Companions.

I found the later half of the first season of Dollhouse to be pretty good. It's not crap. It's not tawdry. And it's mostly not irritating. It's not as good as Firefly, but it's also not as bad as you seem to think, in my opinion.

I also definitely did not find Firefly more "educated" than Dollhouse as far as the writing. Dollhouse has more thinking, philosophical content than Firefly. Firefly had more action than Dollhouse.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

In fairness, I gave up on Dollhouse very early. It may have elevated after that. But it would have to be really, really good to get me past the Dushku problem. It's like looking at an animatronic Bratz doll programmed by an illiterate pimp.

 

[RangerWickett]

I heartily recommend watching the final five episodes of the season, currently available free via Hulu: Hulu - Dollhouse

They are all excellent, and if you already grasp the basic premise -- programmable people, controlled by a mysterious organization -- you don't need to see any of the earlier episodes. Well, it helps to know that Ballard (former FBI agent) is trying to find proof the Dollhouse exists.

 

[Wayside]

Dollhouse has more thinking, philosophical content than Firefly.

Dollhouse has a more overtly philosophical premise. It does not have more philosophical content.

 

[Mistwell]

Dollhouse has a more overtly philosophical premise. It does not have more philosophical content.

I disagree. In fact, they have specifically philosophical content pretty much every episode, while Firefly did it in spurts, sometimes having no philosophical question at all for several episdoes in a row.

I liked Firefly. I liked it more than I like Dollhouse, by a wide margin. But, let's not pretend Firefly was a thinkers show. For the most part, it was just cowboys in space kicking butt, with a wash of philosophy sometimes to make it seem classy.

 

[Mistwell]

In fairness, I gave up on Dollhouse very early. It may have elevated after that. But it would have to be really, really good to get me past the Dushku problem. It's like looking at an animatronic Bratz doll programmed by an illiterate pimp.

I agree 100% with you that Dushku is not a good actor. She's one dimensional, playing a character whose very definition is multi-faceted. She was a bad choice to play the lead on this show.

That said, I still liked the second half of the season, and still grudgingly recommend the show. The writing gets better. The character focus drifts away from Dushku's character more. The acting from other actors is better.

 

[Rhun]

I liked Firefly. I liked it more than I like Dollhouse, by a wide margin. But, let's not pretend Firefly was a thinkers show. For the most part, it was just cowboys in space kicking butt, with a wash of philosophy sometimes to make it seem classy.

Not to go off on a Firefly tangent, but it was about so much more that cowboys kicking butt in space. True, it had a lot of action. But the show is all about freedom, about caring for and protecting your family, sticking by your guns and doing what is right even when it is the hard choice, and so much more. I'm not saying it is a "thinkers show" but it certainly had a lot more to it than just action.

 

[Rhun]

I agree 100% with you that Dushku is not a good actor. She's one dimensional, playing a character whose very definition is multi-faceted. She was a bad choice to play the lead on this show.

I agree, she isn't the best actress in the world at all. She did alright as Faith on Buffy/Angel, but I don't like her in the role of Echo much at all.

That said, I still liked the second half of the season, and still grudgingly recommend the show. The writing gets better. The character focus drifts away from Dushku's character more. The acting from other actors is better.

I think we all agree. The show definitely improved toward the end of the season. Let's hope it keeps getting better.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

What brings me back to Firefly and Buffy is always the characters. Additionally, Firefly in particular is about found family, something that I feel very strongly about, myself.

That is what Whedon is good at, IMO: characters. Plot is pretty secondary. Visual storytelling.... really depends on who he's working with. But characters? The man can DO that.

But after an episode and a half of Dollhouse, I hadn't found any compelling characters. It felt like going to a Chicago Bulls game back in the day and watching Michael Jordan trip over his own shoelaces every time he tried to take it to the hoop. The sad was quickly overshadowed by disgust.