Saturday, February 14, 2009

Dollhouse

Like many fans of Firefly I had hoped Serenity would create enough stimulus for further episodes, or at least a sequel; instead, I have buried this hope and relived what I can by watching Summer Glau in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Although I find some episodes tiresome, the show is pretty solid overall — it rests on much great acting (I was especially buoyed by the addition of Shirley Manson, pure-Scot and Garbages lead singer). Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Chuck, with Firefly alumnus Adam Baldwin. (At least, Fillion appears to have left that dreadful show; also, check out his MySpace page).


Anyway, this leads to Dollhouse, Whedon’s latest creation, which I’ve eagerly awaited. The premise of the story is that a number of people work for a company for one desperate reason or another. The catch is that their memories get wiped and they become dolls. These dolls then get programmed with amalgams perfectly suited for a specific mission, near-sightedness, asthma, and all. The show revolves around Echo, apparently the fifth doll, who exhibits the beginnings of self-awareness in her cloistered world. Of course, someone wants to expose the Dollhouse, perhaps due to an attachment to Echo, and someone else, Paul Ballard, wants to take it down. While some characters seem mechanical and others recall Firefly, it will take some time for me to fully assess the show and determine whether it lives up to its potential (great writing and plot conception). I suspect (and hope) that it will; Dollhouse airs on Fridays at 9:00 PM, right after The Sarah Connor Chronicles, on Fox.

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