Skip to main content

Gather Up the Dolls: The End of FOX's "Dollhouse"

I've had a very complicated relationship with Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, the metaphysical action series that wraps up its troubled run tonight on FOX with "Epitaph Two: The Return."

While I felt that there were moments of genius among the forced procedural element, the convoluted storylines, and gaping plot holes, Dollhouse often just left me pounding my head against the wall in frustration at times.

I never felt like Eliza Dushku's Echo became a gripping enough central character to anchor the series, which was always much more interesting when the focus shifted to that of Dollhouse's supporting players like Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj, Olivia Williams, or Fran Kranz. (The latter of which grew on me exponentially as the series wore on.) But rather than shift into a full-blown ensemble, the action continually circled back to Dushku's Echo and Tahmoh Penikett's Paul Ballard, easily the two least interesting of the bunch. (Lachman's Priya/Sierra and Gjokaj's Anthony/Victor remain easy favorites.)

Additionally, while I thought that the early second season storyline involving Amy Acker's Whiskey was profoundly moving, it was quickly undone by the eleventh hour reveals of the last few weeks, which turned Dollhouse's compelling post-apocalyptic storyline (begun in last season's unaired and fantastic thirteen episode, "Epitaph One") into a bit of a mess.

Dollhouse has always been creatively uneven: the serialized aspect of the series has always tended to take a backseat to the procedural in both seasons and when the overarching plot has come into play, the results have been less than stellar. Season One's Alpha plot, which had such promise, degraded into a hodgepodge of soap operatics, truncated subplots, and metaphorical mustache-twirling. (It also revealed a shocking lack of security at the Dollhouse, a plot hole that has been used about a dozen or so times over the last two seasons as dolls, prisoners, and clients seemingly can wander in or out of the premises at will.)

The coming apocalypse gave Season One's "Epitaph One" such promise and emotional resonance; the Active technology, used for nefarious purposes via the doll's engagement, took on a portent of doom as it was the advancement of this tech that seemingly brought about the end of civilization. But some truly odd plot twists that come off as glaring retcons--such as the reveal that Harry Lennix's Boyd was in fact one of the founders of Rossum Corporation and that he'd kept the LA Dollhouse employees alive because he "loved" them--remove any sense of strong throughline here. To use one of the complaints of Lost-phobes, it seems like they are making it up as they go along.

Dollhouse will end tonight and that ending will be the ending of this narrative. It's highly unlikely that there will be any spinoff feature films, comics, or tie-in novels. And I'm glad about that. Not every one of Whedon's series can click with a huge audience nor can it find the same sort of obsessive adoration and respect that even the short-lived Firefly engendered.

I've stuck with Dollhouse against my better judgment at times; sometimes I was rewarded (the gripping Priya arc and Summer Glau's appearances as Bennett) and other times I wasn't (the lactating episode). I can't fault Whedon for trying something different and creating a series that asked some deep and dark questions about the nature of identity and reality.

But, ultimately, Dollhouse was a television series that no one--not Whedon, not FOX, not the series' writing staff--seemed to be on the same page about; it was as though everyone's agendas were at odds with one another and that was felt and seen on the screen each week. I'm hoping that Whedon lands somewhere more suited to his talents (FX, anyone?) and that his creative instincts and vision gel better with those of a future network.

In the meantime, I am more than ready to say goodbye to Dollhouse. Here's to hoping that some of the series' stand-out talents land on their feet after tonight's final future-set showdown.

The series finale of Dollhouse airs tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on FOX.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Great post! Whedon is overrated and it's nice to see that you can see past the wool unlike most of your peers.
Tonya Ricucci said…
You summed up the problems with the show magnificently. My favorite characters though would be Topher and Adelle, but any of them were more interesting than Ballard and Echo. I hated the doll engagements and just fastforwarded through all those bits. I want my Firefly back.
John said…
Enjoyed the final episode and it's a pity the series has gone. When it was good, it was stunning and it saddens me that it was under-appreciated and scarcely watched. You may not like Whedon's writing or ideas but his work has produced television of a worth which transcends its "genre" label and puts most other network slop to shame.
Jace Lacob said…
"You may not like Whedon's writing or ideas..."

John, did you read what I actually wrote? I've been a huge fan and supporter of Whedon's work for over ten years. I think he's an extraordinary talent. Doesn't change the fact that Dollhouse was an absolute mess.
John said…
Sorry, Jace, I had 'Anonymous' and his/her ilk in mind rather than yourself! I don't agree that Dollhouse was an "absolute mess" - it had great performances from an excellent cast and more ideas in its short life than some shows have in seven seasons. What it didn't have, though, was a particular identity. Its style and tone were all over the place, especially in the first series, and it threatened to do the same in the second run. The 2nd series opener was so business as usual, I was stunned, particularly as there was no audience for that kind of episode in the first place. However, from the midway point in the series, watching a bunch of, on the whole, likeable people edging towards the destruction of civilisationasweknowit was superb. Can't wait for Fox to cancel Torchwood, too!
Cory said…
I think Dollhouse is one of Joss's better shows actually. I definitely prefer it to Firefly. I enjoyed how it could shift tones because the nature of the show allowed for it.

I also don't think it was that big of a mess - you could the conflicting views took it's toll but it still turned out to be a pretty great show regardless of the fact it could have been done even better. It was still good enough to be one of my top favorite shows on TV.
Dennis said…
While the show was uneven, and it was hard to bond to a character that kept changing, I believe the last seven or eight shows where Josh was more involved were great.
Unknown said…
I'm consistently disappointed with Whedon's endings. I'm not sure if he's trying to rattle the viewer (not a good idea) or doesn't understand what I want. I won't be so arrogant as to say it's what everyone wants, but I think most people want the characters they've enjoyed to be content. Buffy's ending stunk (and most were happy). (Oddly, I preferred season 5's ending.) Angel's ending stunk. (I didn't like Firefly at all.) Dollhouse's ending stunk. After all that, Caroline is ... gone? And Paul's dead. November's dead. Feh. Not sure I'll bother watching anymore Whedon projects.

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns