Lower Decks

The following review contains spoilers for the premiere of Dollhouse, originally broadcast February 13th, 2009.

I won’t be reviewing Dollhouse on a regular basis.  I’m not even sure I’ll be watching again next week.  But I will discuss the premiere episode, shown last night on FOX.  The short version: It wasn’t very good.  The long version:  It wasn’t very good and I don’t think it will be getting any better.  What was supposed to be the debut of a “high concept” drama felt more like an overworked cliche filled with familiar story lines and wooden characters.

I’ll be honest, if not for Joss Whedon I probably wouldn’t have watched Dollhouse.  The premise behind the series didn’t appeal to me and the promos for the show weren’t intriguing.  But I’m not one to dismiss a new television show without watching at least one episode.  I’ll sample just about anything to see if it holds my attention.  Dollhouse didn’t.  I’m aware there were problems behind-the-scenes and that the original pilot episode was apparently scrapped in favor of what was shown last night.

Perhaps the original pilot would have been better.  Or maybe not.  It certainly could have been worse.  “Ghost” may have been dull and it may have been filled with stereotypes, but it wasn’t terrible.  It wasn’t as mind numbing as Bionic Woman or as laughably bad as Knight Rider.  It was just mediocre.  None of the characters stood out in any meaningful way.  They were, in a word, stereotypes.  The nerdy tech guy.  The ill-mannered guard.  The conflicted overseer.  The abrupt boss.  The confused doctor.  The obsessed FBI agent.

Echo, the “character” played by Eliza Dushku, can’t truly be called a stereotype because she isn’t much of a character.  By design, Echo is supposed to be a tabula rasa.  Each week, presumably, she will be given a new identity (or identities) and go out into the world and save little children, famous works of art, millions of dollars and who knows what else.  That’s an interesting idea.  And I’m not opposed to the suspension of disbelief needed to accept that Echo can be given memories and talents and skills at the push of a button.

What bothered me was the way Echo (and her fellow “dolls”) acted when their memories and talents and skills had been removed. They can still walk and talk and think, albeit at a child’s level. That suggests that rote skills are recalled after other memories have been wiped. Or at least I think it does. I’m no expert. But if Echo is able to remember how to walk and perhaps play the piano after being wiped, shouldn’t she also remember many of the other skills she has been given over the years. Kickboxing, jujitsu, that sort of thing.

Wouldn’t having the rote skills to do deadly and complicated things get in the way if Echo was supposed to be a teacher or a golf instructor? If one day she’s a brain surgeon and the next day suddenly starts dissecting a potato at dinner won’t someone notice? More importantly, why do these “dolls” so readily accept the idea that they’re undergoing some sort of treatment? Is that hardwired into the brains? So they aren’t completely wiped, just mostly wiped?

I’m sure some of these questions will be answered as the series progresses. Or at least I hope they are. I’m especially curious as to how and why Echo the hostage negotiator was given poor eyesight and asthma. Giving the “dolls” flaws is only asking for trouble. Say, for example, that a “doll” with a peanut allergy, charged with infiltrating a smuggling ring inadvertently consumes a peanut butter sandwich? That job’s a wash.

Suffice it to say, I felt “Ghost” was a mediocre first episode of what looks to be a mediocre series. But I won’t judge Dollhouse on just this one episode.  I’ll probably tune in next week.  There’s a good chance things will improve.  Pilot episodes are notoriously tricky to pull off and Dollhouse was a bizarre show to introduce in fifty minute. The characters may grow and flesh out. The technology behind the Dollhouse may be explained. And a disappointing pilot may turn into an interesting series.

Anything’s possible.  But I don’t see it happening.  There’s just not enough substance to begin with.  On the one hand, there will be the action and adventure of seeing Echo take on a new persona each week.  And on the other hand, there are the ethnical implications of the Dollhouse.  Over the long run the former could make for an enjoyable series about a woman who does incredible things and then forgets all about them.  The latter, however, can only be strung out so long before viewers stop caring or before it becomes impossible to believe.

Dollhouse attempts to combine the “high concept” with the “low brow” and that isn’t something that broadcast television has a good track record with.  One or the other, maybe, but not both.