New Joss Whedon show announced: Dollhouse (1 Viewer)

[PhilipG]

Yikes, that was really bad. :frowning: Annoying because I love the actresses in the show (especially Olivia Williams). The dialogue was flat, the plot uninteresting. Did it work on a superficial level (with the sound turned off)? Aside from that awful slow-mo bike chase, almost. I dread to imagine how bad the other pilots were. "Dollhouse: The Complete Series" DVD boxset coming soon to a discount store near you.

 

[Greg.K]

It was a little slow, but I liked it over all. It didn't have a pilot feel to it, though - it makes sense that this was supposed to be the second episode.

Since the personalities are based on real people - I am thinking that the active's original personalities and memories are stored away somewhere, and they could be restored at some point.

 

[Citizen87645]

I didn't even see all those scars on Acker's face. Looks like I'll have to impose my mad HT skills on my friends' SD setup.

 

[mattCR]

I think the bigger point is that they could store the memories. This tells me that somewhere in their vault is the original memories of whoever Echo is.. the person we saw in the very beginning. And whether she gets those memories back or if she even wants those memories back.

 

[Mr. Film]

Good show. Another one I have to add to my DVR record list. I'm already taping too many shows to keep up with so I'm gonna have to let one go.:frowning: Most likely going to be The Beast.

 

[todd s]

Regarding the last scene...
We see a guy sitting in a room with two dead body's watching a college video of Echo. I assume one of the dead body's is the guy who shot the video. And that the murderer is Alpha...Who looks to be the first doll...who must have gone rouge. I was distracted for the last few minutes of the show talking to my kid.

 

[mattCR]

Ratings were decent, second in it's timeslot; up about .5 over "Lyrics" and up almost a full point over "Canterbury's Law"

Viewers Give Warm Welcome to Whedon's 'Dollhouse' - TVWeek - News


With Friday night ratings expected to be low, this was a decent sign, an improvement over previous placement. Now the question is if the audience holds on.

And, FYI, just for the dance scene alone with Eliza in an unber-short outfit.. yeah, I'll tune in again

 

[ChristopherG]

That is what will bring me back for now. I was trying really hard to love the show...I didn't.

 

[Louis C]

Not a bad show - we'll see how it goes for awhile. Let's hope it doesn't get too formulaic. I thought it was interesting having former guest stars from 24 (Vincent Laresca) and (Gabriel Crestejo) Prison Break.

 

[Phil Florian]

I think Joss fans might go into this show hoping it will be the next Firefly or Buffy but it really is different. It didn't even sound like a Whedon show. None of his trademark banter and off the cuff statements. That might be a good thing in the long run but we will see. I liked it. It didn't grab me like Firefly or Lost or BSG did in the first episode but to be honest Buffy and X-Files took a few eps to grow on me before I loved them.

I am curious how long this show will last. If Fox gives it a full season I will be surprised but we will see. I hope they do as the premise is unique (a quality lacking on TV...even with non-reality shows) and some of the characters have potential (the kind of evil nerdy download tech, Amy Acker...still hotter than anyone on the show even with the scars...the boss lady...Echo's handler...etc...). I wonder if Alpha is the Big Bad or merely a bump in the road. Will there be a Big Bad? It is a Whedon show, after all.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Since I've been watching TV on a 27" 4x3 TV set, I wasn't aware of her facial scars until she tracked Echo to the mind-wipe-dump office.

 

[Quentin]

Seriously...the dance scene? She is just SMOKIN' hot.

But, man, I don't think she has the acting chops to pull off playing different personalities each week. I certainly didn't buy her in this episode as the negotiator.

I don't know that this show makes it. The dialogue needs to be trumped up a LOT. This is Whedon we're talking about. The Nikita feel is something they need to grow out of. And, the stories just have to be stronger.

And, of course...Eliza needs to step up.

 

[Jim Tudor]

I have to remind myself that premiere episodes are not where Whedon's strengths lie. IMO, "Buffy" was probably the most approachable of his premieres, and of course he didn't direct that. "Dollhouse" was difficult to warm up to, that's for sure. But with "Firefly", the long premiere episode (the original, 1st-on-the-DVD episode) is so oblique that I tell certain people who borrow my set that they might want to start with the 2nd episode, then go back and watch the premiere later.

 

[KeithAP]

I watched the show streaming from Fox's web site and man, the quality was fantastic. Much better than any other site I have used. As for the show...

I liked it a lot. A little slow at first but it picked up and finished well. Since I like it I have to assume it means it won't last long but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

-Keith

 

[Greg_S_H]

I dislike Whedon, and this did nothing to change my mind. That's good, because I didn't need to add another show to my already crowded Friday DVR schedule. The only thing I liked was that the main room of the Dollhouse reminded me of a level in No One Lives Forever. Not a reason to ever tune back in, of course.

 

[Chad R]

So how did it end? A rotted tree took out a power line down the street and knocked my neighborhood's power out at about 9:45, just when they were going to mind wipe Echo again and her handler was arguing with Olivia Williams.

 

[mattCR]

You can see the ending (hell, just zip to it) at Fox.Com or Hulu.Com.

Contribute some to the online ratings, which also help the show.

 

[TonyD]

No One Lives Forever?

anyway, over a dvdtalk someone callled Josh posted
some thing s that might be problems with the premise.

"Okay, the premise is that the "Dollhouse" is a highly illegal operation, that's described as being like an urban legend in its secrecy. That's not a great business model, is it? I mean, you have the government trying to shut them down, yet they have to operate enough in the open so that people can actually hire their services.

And another problem is that... why bother hiring a doll? I understand "Echo" will be acting as a hostage negotiator in the pilot episode. Why not just get a real hostage negotiator? Unless you're doing something illegal, like looking for a prostitute or an assassin, why bother going to the Dollhouse for services at all? Why not just go the Bunny Ranch if you're looking for a piece of ass? Gotta be cheaper than going through the Dollhouse.

And then there's the cost. Considering the illegal nature of the operation, all of the employees, and high tech equipment involved in the Dollhouse, their services are going to be REALLY expensive. That's going to seriously limit the kinds of missions the dolls are sent out on, when they can only be hired by about 1% of the population. "

these concerns make sense to me.

 

[Citizen87645]

Ken Tucker raised at least one of those points in his review for Entertainment Weekly. Alas, it may ultimately come down to this: "it's cutting-edge technology in a house full of hot chicks." At this point it might seem like pandering to the geek squad, but I have faith in Whedon to refine things as we go. If it stays on the air.

 

[mattCR]

Just a quick summary of results:

(1) I think we're going to find out that there are a lot of people who know who are high up who are actively protecting them.

(2) The biggest reason to hiring a doll vs. hiring a negotiator should be obvious. It's not that they can be programmed to be one of the best, it's that 24 hours after you use their services, they will never remember it. All of your information is kept private and concealed. Nothing you say will ever go anywhere. Thinking of the Mel Gibson film "Ransom".. at some point, he had to tell the negotiator information about his business, etc. That negotiator would live and go on and constantly be aware of this information. A doll would never remember the information. It's the fact that they get wiped later that makes them near priceless. Have a fetish for a chick made up like a Geisha who can beat you? (we saw an active as a Geisha early on). Fine. Hire a doll instead of a Geisha, and no one ever knows your depravity and risk of blackmail? Gone. The fact that a doll gets blanked afterward as their biggest selling point was even pointed out in it; when the agency freaked out that the client might become aware that the handler was aware of what was going on.

(3) I think that's the point; these are only used by the uber-elite who are using them in positions/situations where discretion and manipulation of them is what is desired. Need some corporate espionage done with the ability to completely be unconnected? Witness wiped out in the end? Hire a doll. Full crazy fetish? Fine, a doll. Need to negotiate with a kidnapper but your money comes from illegal drug money or whatever? Perfect, get a doll.