I tried pretty hard to love this show.
At first it would be easy, I loved Buffy, Angel, and Firefly. I own a Serenity poster and I hang on Whedon's every word.
But Dollhouse is kind of where he lost me. The premise, while fascinating, felt tired by episode 3. Eliza's acting skills, while impressive, are not always up to the chameleon-like requirements her character requires.
This often feels like a mash up of previous series, like it's made out of spare parts of Joss' other shows. Grab some Buffy feminism, add a little Firefly anti government paranoia, insert some of Angel's brooding self analysis. It had a "Xander", a character that should've been left out upon final analysis and it leaves a sour taste in your mouth when you realize that Wheadon needs to put a Xander in every show. Learn to grow, man. People keep telling me it's not the same has his previous shows, then why all the retreading?
It should feel fresh but it doesn't. Then there's the Season Finale which was hailed as the saving episode. Really it wasn't. Instead of the gutsy punch of previous Wheadon finales, this was a plodding and meandering discussion of Decartes and Satre using turgid dialogue and a rather limp Obama fist pump. Call me a neanderthal but philosophy on TV is just more effective when it's mixed in sugar and spoon fed instead of pounded into your skull.
At times it didn't feel like a Wheadon show, it felt like a parody of one.
On HBO, this show would've flourished but on Fox, where the viewers are sold an action show, you end up with a slightly confusing genre mix up that felt like it needed that one special ingredient to be something great. That's not Wheadon's fault of course but perhaps the blame needs to be spread around none the less.
There are bright points, solid ones. The FBI sub-plot was both fun and interesting. The revelations surrounding Alpha, Whiskey, and "The Girl Next Door" were all worth a good look and I was glad to see the direction they headed in.
At first it would be easy, I loved Buffy, Angel, and Firefly. I own a Serenity poster and I hang on Whedon's every word.
But Dollhouse is kind of where he lost me. The premise, while fascinating, felt tired by episode 3. Eliza's acting skills, while impressive, are not always up to the chameleon-like requirements her character requires.
This often feels like a mash up of previous series, like it's made out of spare parts of Joss' other shows. Grab some Buffy feminism, add a little Firefly anti government paranoia, insert some of Angel's brooding self analysis. It had a "Xander", a character that should've been left out upon final analysis and it leaves a sour taste in your mouth when you realize that Wheadon needs to put a Xander in every show. Learn to grow, man. People keep telling me it's not the same has his previous shows, then why all the retreading?
It should feel fresh but it doesn't. Then there's the Season Finale which was hailed as the saving episode. Really it wasn't. Instead of the gutsy punch of previous Wheadon finales, this was a plodding and meandering discussion of Decartes and Satre using turgid dialogue and a rather limp Obama fist pump. Call me a neanderthal but philosophy on TV is just more effective when it's mixed in sugar and spoon fed instead of pounded into your skull.
At times it didn't feel like a Wheadon show, it felt like a parody of one.
On HBO, this show would've flourished but on Fox, where the viewers are sold an action show, you end up with a slightly confusing genre mix up that felt like it needed that one special ingredient to be something great. That's not Wheadon's fault of course but perhaps the blame needs to be spread around none the less.
There are bright points, solid ones. The FBI sub-plot was both fun and interesting. The revelations surrounding Alpha, Whiskey, and "The Girl Next Door" were all worth a good look and I was glad to see the direction they headed in.