Dollhouse

[Fargull]

as it had that whole Event Horizon feel (granted it was a ripped off idea).

Have you seen In the Mouth of Madness which Event Horizon is just a rehash of and is honestly a much better movie.

As for Dollhouse, I like it, but then I am the anti-Schild in that respect as I have liked everything Whedon has done and am far to biased.

[schild]

Of course I've seen In the Mouth of Madness. I like both but I don't particularly feel the need to compare them. Particularly since Sam Neill is the lead in both.

As for Dollhouse, I like it, but then I am the anti-Schild in that respect as I have liked everything Whedon has done and am far to biased.

That would make you a teenage girl. 

[Merusk]

Heh.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/2/27/

Yeah.

[Samwise]

The newspost is better than the strip.

Dollhouse is not an enjoyable television program.

It's true that I've used a hypertext reference to link the word "Dollhouse" directly to a place where you can watch the show, but you should not interpret this as a recommendation. Being truly granular about what makes the show an affront would require the use of holographic data storage, but in general terms the show (as delivered) doesn't work. There's plenty of people to hate, and very few people to like. It's a science fiction retelling of MTV's The Real World, and it works about as well as you would expect.

What we are told by people (almost without exception) is that

1. I don't like the show, but
2. I will keep watching it as an expression of gratitude for a better, more engaging program he made back when he was making better, more engaging programs

which as a system of thought doesn't work for me. His acolytes are breathless for the show to reach apotheosis, like some scheming cult awaiting a fortuitous celestial arrangement. It's core to their belief: it's even woven into the press tour, the idea that the show isn't bad because it's bad. It because some malevolent, external force corrupted the perfect work. Well, man was ever beset by devils, within and without. Maybe don't enter into scenarios where you're contractually obligated to jettison your creative vision anymore? I'm just throwing that shit out, dog. 

Maybe it does improve, as foretold in the ancient scrolls. That doesn't mean I have to watch this lurching, stymied thing stagger around in the interim. There are other things I can do with my Goddamned television.

[Slyfeind]

So, wow. I saw a commercial for "Dollhouse" earlier tonight and went, "Wait, what? That's that Joss Whedon show. I'm totally going to check it out!" I had no idea what I was getting into, only that Joss Whedon created it, and I like most everything he's done.

So about halfway through the episode I'm like, "What the fuck is this backup singer stuff? Whedon, is this a chick drama? What the hell are you doing? I thought it would be sci-fi or fantasy or whatever." I had no idea what was going on. There were some hot chicks dancing around, and some rather brutal exchanges, which I can appreciate. Then at the end of the episode, the two girls kind of secretly acknowledge each other, and I was like...woah. I had no idea what happened, but I think that was the coolest thing on TV. Then my brother explained the premise for the show, and that's enough for me to check out next week's episode.

I agree that there's none of that humor and wit that Whedon typically delivers, and there's no chemistry at all right now. I'm thinking "WTF" while still intrigued enough to see where he's going with it.

[palmer_eldritch]

After the third episode, I've decided I like it. There's lots of threads - the cop looking for the Dollhouse, the mysterious other person looking for Echo (a family member?), the fact that Echo's treatment is clearly not working on her the way it ought to and Alpha. Then you also get a little self-contained story each week, although I'm guessing they might do some arc-only stories at the end of the season.

The bitchy singer this week was a good character and there was a nice twist in her story, although the way it was resolved was a bit of a cliche.

At some point I would guess we will get to learn more about who Echo really is and see her real personality, and learn why she ended up there.

[Riggswolfe]

I'm interested enough to watch a few more episodes. For  me it feels like it could click into something I will enjoy as much as some of his earlier shows. In some ways Dollhouse is reminding me of Season One of Buffy which was quite shitty. But you could see the potential past the shit.

[Tebonas]

I liked the last episode more than this one because the weekly plot sucked hard. I hated that whiny stupid singer and wanted her dead five seconds after I saw her. The dollhouse denying me that wish is proof to me they are villains.

The Dollhouse is SD-6 with boring missions.

[Selby]

Then at the end of the episode, the two girls kind of secretly acknowledge each other, and I was like...woah. I had no idea what happened...

Which is how I felt.  I'm checking this out because the other half has recommended that I watch and will like it.  But I'm so lost and have no idea what is going on.  I don't even know if I want to spend another hour on another episode to find out.

[stray]

All this talk about how you can't pick up women, and you've got a "other half"? You're been bullshitting everyone this whole time! 


Anyone seen the new Hula commercials with Eliza in them? It's done off the set of this show. There's a better commercial with 30 Rock/Baldwin though.

[Slyfeind]

That commercial freaked me out when I first saw it. I was like, "WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!"

[Morfiend]

I hated that whiny stupid singer and wanted her dead five seconds after I saw her.

I cheered out loud when Eliza hit her over the head with that chair.

[WindupAtheist]

Galaxy Rangers had a way cooler intro and song than Saber Riders.

[Margalis]

You have to love that they ride robotic horses.

[WindupAtheist]

I find myself liking the full song more than I should probably admit to, in that cheesy eighties way. And am I hallucinating or does a guy get shot and die at the 3:00 mark?

[HaemishM]

I'm done with this show. I knew it was over the minute Dushku started singing. Now her voice (or the person who was singing if it wasn't her) was fine, it just broke me. None of the characters are likeable and it's already taken way too long to get to the "Dollhouse is the villain" part of the story. The geek is a complete moral vaccum and the show lacks any of the wit that I like Whedon's writing for. It's a failure and it's off my Tivo.

[Tarami]

But just you wait, it'll blow Deadwood out of the water next season! Then we'll point and jeer at your faithless abandon of the Whedon bandwagon!

Too much?

[Prospero]

I just caught the second episode last night and liked it much more than the first. I'm not attached to any of the characters, but I am curious to see how all of the various plot threads play out. It also had a bit more Whedonesque dialog which helped. "4 brothers, none of them democrats."

[Morfiend]

Too much?

Ya think?   

[Numtini]

The third episode kind of got me interested more.

I can't help but think this would be a really good 10 hour miniseries--especially on HBO so we could have more of what's actually happening (sex) and at the same time less network T&A. Every time I think X episodes a season times so many seasons I think no....not going to work.

[kaid]

Ya I think maybe if this was a mini series on HBO showing boobies with wild abandon maybe it would be watchable at least if my TV was muted but as a series I hope this one dies a quick death its pretty terrible.

[Reg]

Edit: Oops! Wrong thread!

[palmer_eldritch]

I wasn't so keen on the latest episode. It was definitely an arc episode and got us a bit more into the mythology behind the series but it wasn't well done. The "members of the public" interviewed in the news report were nearly all terrible actors.

[Tarami]

I wasn't so keen on the latest episode. It was definitely an arc episode and got us a bit more into the mythology behind the series but it wasn't well done. The "members of the public" interviewed in the news report were nearly all terrible actors.

I think you hit the nail on the head in a way here. Nothing about this series stands out. Every series doesn't need to be fucken awesome in virtually every regard, but most series do have a thing they do well. This series does, well, practically nothing well. It's not funny, quirky, suspenseful, gripping nor well-acted. It's just a serving of bland, accompanied by a side-order of bland.

[schild]

It's just a serving of bland, accompanied by a side-order of bland.

Welcome to Joss Whedon-ville, population "fanboys."

Edit: Admittedly, Firefly almost broke the mold, but it got canceled, and now he's back to bland shit. Upsetting for modern TV, sure. Surprising? Not really.

[Tarami]

Firefly had a couple of good episodes. Those that didn't involve Inara to any extent or the civilized planets. In general, I guess you can say I like Firefly. The whole premise of the show worked best when they were portrayed as actual outlaws and it was just about the crew and a couple of antagonists.

Also, it had by far the best cast (like, professional actors) of any show Whedon has produced. Dollhouse on the other hand may be one of the most miscast shows I've ever seen. Shitty actors up front, decent actors in the background. Way to go.

[schild]

Had the show been about the crew only as outlaws, it wouldn't have been a Whedon show.

Whedon likes to show how much he "understands" women. But we've gone down that road before. It ended poorly.

[ashrik]

Has anyone seen the most recent episode? It was touted as some kind of "return to form" which is, assuming you ever liked Whedon, supposed to be a very good thing. How'd it all play out? There's gotta be at least one of you who watched

[Samwise]

I actually thought it was pretty good.  They're finally moving forward with the plot, and it turns out Helo kicks ass.  However, the "twist" toward the end was so obvious I facepalmed.

[FatuousTwat]

I actually thought it was pretty good.  They're finally moving forward with the plot, and it turns out Helo kicks ass.  However, the "twist" toward the end was so obvious I facepalmed.

This.

It was better than the other episodes so far, but still not great.

[Wasted]

I actually thought it was pretty good.  They're finally moving forward with the plot, and it turns out Helo kicks ass.  However, the "twist" toward the end was so obvious I facepalmed.

This.

It was better than the other episodes so far, but still not great.

Thats pretty much how I felt as well.

[Bunk]

Ditto, was a good enough episode to keep me interested at least.

[Trippy]

Next week: "A very special Dollhouse"

[shiznitz]

Next week: "A very special Dollhouse"

It better involve labia...

[patience]

After watching the newest episode on Hulu I can sort of see why people despise this show because of the hateful philosophies of the "protagonists" but overall I think this is shaping up to be a good show. It's just not that type of show where you can hope for morality to prevail.

What helps is that the show is not as predictable as I originally thought it would be but I think they are making a mess of Victor.