Dollhouse – It’s better to burn out, than fade away

Dollhouse is in a bit of a weird place. To call the renewal a surprise would be an understatement. In his letter to critics, Whedon himself called it  “a hilariously unexpected non-cancellation.” That leads to a choice between two very different paths. Should the powers that be down at Dollhouse HQ try and reinvent the show, hoping to finally attract those eyeballs that eluded them last season? Or should they look at season two as playing with house money (pun intended), and make the show for the audience they already have, as small as that audience may be? It gets right back to the question I asked when the various casting announcements started coming out. Is Whedon preaching to the choir? Yes, he most certainly is.

Update: The numbers are not good. 2.57m/1 Lowest rated episode of the series. Worse? It was beaten by Brothers.

Watching the premiere, it’s just expected that viewers understand who Alpha is, and what he did in uploading all of Echo’s personalities into her at once. You should also know about Ballard’s history with the FBI, the deal he struck that brought him into the Dollhouse, why Victor is having surgery to reconstruct his face, and the complicated history of Saunders/Whiskey. Really, nothing is explained. They didn’t even go into a brief intro of how the Dollhouse works.

For someone that is already on board, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s more a continuation of the story, and you don’t waste any time bringing the new kids up to speed. However, it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that the show is going to be able to attract much of a new audience. It’s really not welcoming in any way.

Getting to the episode itself, I’m left thinking mostly positive things. It did lack the big bang of a premiere event, but continuing the story right where we left off has offered a solution to what was one of my biggest pet-peeves in the first season. I long ago passed my threshold for blank slate Echo. A heroine with no personality is, as one would expect, dull as hell. Seeing the lights get turned on, and Echo actually becoming aware, is worlds more interesting. The quicker she gets up to speed, the better, in my book.

The engagement was also a winner. Along with the choir-pleasing casting choice of Jamie Bamber, I really liked the twist to it. It did kind of throw Boyd’s disgusted protestations under the bus, but finding out that Ballard was “the client” and Echo was working deep cover was unexpected. It also led to the funniest line of the night. DeWitt, summing up Ballard’s current place: “You work for the betterment of mankind. Fighting crime by listening to Echo have sex.”

Meanwhile, back at the Dollhouse…. Everything between Whiskey and Topher was at once fascinating, and disappointing. The reality of the show’s situation crept on screen as you realized Whiskey is taking a powder because Amy Acker has another gig to get to, rather than because she really should be leaving. That’s all that much more disappointing given that this was as good as she’s been through the whole series. I could watch her all day.

It wasn’t all candy and nuts though. I did have one small issue with the premiere. There was a decided lack of Sierra and Victor. It’s a problem that carries over from the first season. There is, on occasion, too much focus on Echo. And, truth be told, given my choice of actives to see on an engagement, she’s third. The very brief bit with Sierra shows why. And really, Ivy got more focus than Sierra and Victor. What’s up with that?

So, at the end of the day, there are two ways to look at things. The premiere, and those little bits of information we know about the coming season, give me every confidence that it’s going to be a successful one. That is, successful where fans of the show are concerned. Great guest stars, Echo becoming aware, political intrigue, and all manner of hell possibly breaking loose inside the Dollhouse. That’s good stuff.

Meanwhile, the prospects for those pesky ratings don’t look good at all. Saturday’s will once again be welcomed by a curious tapping of the foot as we wait to see what the numbers look like. Given the direction of the show, the ridiculous lead-in, and the increased competition on the night, I expect more of the same. It doesn’t bode well for a miracle comeback, but those low ratings were good for a renewal once, so who knows?

Clacked by Brett Love
on Sep 25, 2009 @ 22:09 EST5EDT