"Dollhouse" (2009) TV series

User Rating:

(awaiting 5 votes)

Creator:

Joss Whedon

Seasons:

1 | 2

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

They can be anyone you want...

Plot:

A futuristic laboratory assigns different tasks to its various residents, who then have their memories erased upon the completion of their assignments.

Plot Keywords:

Memory | Identity | FBI | Moral Ambiguity | True Love

Cast

Eliza Dushku	...	Echo / ... (21 episodes, 2009)
Harry Lennix	...	Boyd Langton (19 episodes, 2009)
Fran Kranz	...	Topher Brink (19 episodes, 2009)
Tahmoh Penikett	...	Paul Ballard (19 episodes, 2009)
Enver Gjokaj	...	Victor / ... (19 episodes, 2009)
Dichen Lachman	...	Sierra / ... (19 episodes, 2009)
Olivia Williams	...	Adelle DeWitt (19 episodes, 2009)
Amy Acker	...	Dr. Claire Saunders / ... (12 episodes, 2009)
Miracle Laurie	...	Mellie / ... (12 episodes, 2009)
Reed Diamond	...	Laurence Dominic (11 episodes, 2009)

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15 | Singapore:NC-16 (season 1)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The character of Dr. Saunders was originally written to be much older, but Joss Whedon rewrote the character so he could cast Amy Acker.

Quotes:

[repeated lines]
Topher Brink: Hello, Echo. How are you feeling?
Echo: Did I fall asleep?
Topher Brink: For a little while.
Echo: Shall I go now?
Topher Brink: If you like.

Just OK

Like others here I only know Firefly and enjoyed it. Having just watched the first episode it doesn't look too bad and was watchable. It also handled the scene setting reasonably well although the internal boxing/MMA vision of the FBI agent was utterly puerile and downright irritating. Contrast that with the decent attempt to build on the complexity of the characters and settings and one can already see where it runs the risk of falling down.

A couple of things stand out for me. Firstly I thought some of the dialog was hackneyed and really badly written. There is also a suggestion of stereotypes at work and the assumption that all bad guys are automatically connected. Finally much as I find Ms Dushku visually alluring, she's just another one of those pretty faces who would struggle to act their way out of a paper bag.

But that is made up for to an extent, by the supporting cast of Reed Diamond, Olivia Williams and Harry Lennix. Whedon's track record should carry it along for a while anyway but it will need better writing and some finger-crossing that Fox don't can it. One would also hope it will not turn into just a personality of the week show.