sagawizard (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} sagawizard) wrote,@ 2009-02-15 09:36:00 |
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Saw the premiere of Our Lord and Master Joss Whedon's new series, Dollhouse. I don't think I have any real spoilers here, but if you're afraid, read no further.
My general impression: Eeeehhh.
It's got an interesting premise. I like how the episode provided a meta-commentary on the art of writing and creating characters; the whole "running to/running from" thing, how every strength you give a character probably stems from overcompensation for a flaw (as a GM, I'm going to use this advice again and again whenever I get munchkin players who want to create munchkin characters, thank you Joss m'man!)...and I see potential in the "character" that is the whole Dollhouse organization, how you've got Hannah Arendt's "banality of evil" playing out where there are a bunch of very potentially sympathetic people just doing their jobs, some going to some lengths to rationalize it one way or another, some just doing their small cog-work...but the sum total is something disturbing and ethically awful. I am curious, but only mildly, as to what "Echo" did in her pre-wipe life to end up here. But I expect I will be dragged through hill and dale for several seasons before I get that info, and I'm not sure I care enough to go on that ride.
I surprised and disappointed to not see a Whedon show's characteristic humor. Yeah, "tech guy" cracked a few borderline self-referential jokes, but this show seems played entirely straight, which is not what I've come to expect from JW.
If this show is going to succeed, it needs to not get trapped in "formula." We have evolved beyond the "self contained episode, everything gets set back to square one except a few dangling plot threads" model. This is the age of Battlestar Galactica and Lost, where we expect there to be a million subplots and almost too much to keep track of...yet Dollhouse seems disappointingly contained. The characters don't thrill me, not even Echo. As for the others? "Moral voice black guy" seems too one-dimensional, "nerdy tech guy" is just a stock character, as is "bitch ceo with a heart of gold" and "thuggish military buzz cut major domo." And don't even start me on "Helo the FBI agent." He's basically just Helo here, too, and I can't stand Helo on BSG because he's such a vanilla non-character.
Finally, I'm not a big fan of Eliza Dushku (and no I'm not even going to TRY and look up how to accurately spell her name). Her character of Faith on Buffy was amusing, but I don't particularly like the actress. That said, she does do the "vacant" thing very well.
My hope for this show is after a few episodes of establishing the "formula", it breaks and all kinds of wild crazy shit happens. Otherwise, we'll have to suffer through week after week of "does Helo expose the Dollhouse? Oh, he got so close, but no!" and "Do we find out anything significant about Echo? Oh, a tidbit, but not much!" And no one has the patience for shows like that anymore, or at least, I don't.
We shall see.
- SW
My general impression: Eeeehhh.
It's got an interesting premise. I like how the episode provided a meta-commentary on the art of writing and creating characters; the whole "running to/running from" thing, how every strength you give a character probably stems from overcompensation for a flaw (as a GM, I'm going to use this advice again and again whenever I get munchkin players who want to create munchkin characters, thank you Joss m'man!)...and I see potential in the "character" that is the whole Dollhouse organization, how you've got Hannah Arendt's "banality of evil" playing out where there are a bunch of very potentially sympathetic people just doing their jobs, some going to some lengths to rationalize it one way or another, some just doing their small cog-work...but the sum total is something disturbing and ethically awful. I am curious, but only mildly, as to what "Echo" did in her pre-wipe life to end up here. But I expect I will be dragged through hill and dale for several seasons before I get that info, and I'm not sure I care enough to go on that ride.
I surprised and disappointed to not see a Whedon show's characteristic humor. Yeah, "tech guy" cracked a few borderline self-referential jokes, but this show seems played entirely straight, which is not what I've come to expect from JW.
If this show is going to succeed, it needs to not get trapped in "formula." We have evolved beyond the "self contained episode, everything gets set back to square one except a few dangling plot threads" model. This is the age of Battlestar Galactica and Lost, where we expect there to be a million subplots and almost too much to keep track of...yet Dollhouse seems disappointingly contained. The characters don't thrill me, not even Echo. As for the others? "Moral voice black guy" seems too one-dimensional, "nerdy tech guy" is just a stock character, as is "bitch ceo with a heart of gold" and "thuggish military buzz cut major domo." And don't even start me on "Helo the FBI agent." He's basically just Helo here, too, and I can't stand Helo on BSG because he's such a vanilla non-character.
Finally, I'm not a big fan of Eliza Dushku (and no I'm not even going to TRY and look up how to accurately spell her name). Her character of Faith on Buffy was amusing, but I don't particularly like the actress. That said, she does do the "vacant" thing very well.
My hope for this show is after a few episodes of establishing the "formula", it breaks and all kinds of wild crazy shit happens. Otherwise, we'll have to suffer through week after week of "does Helo expose the Dollhouse? Oh, he got so close, but no!" and "Do we find out anything significant about Echo? Oh, a tidbit, but not much!" And no one has the patience for shows like that anymore, or at least, I don't.
We shall see.
- SW
