Lock It Up in "The Attic": The Demise of Whedon's "Dollhouse"

Current Tunes – George Thorogood & The Destroyers – Bad to the Bone

I’m finally coming around to accept something that’s both difficult and frustrating. I’ve almost been in denial about it, as much as one can be about these sorts of things. I think I mostly listened too much to what others tried to say, instead of just listening to my heart. It’s disappointing to have to come to grips with it, but it’s better to face the truth of the matter than to continue to live in a deluded world built on falsehood. It’s for the better for me to face up to it. This is so hard to say, but I’m afraid that I’ve come to realize that “Dollhouse” is not a very good television show.

While it’s been quite enthralling to get two shows worth of material for the last couple of weeks, the format has had an unfortunate side effect for the show. The primary problem is these episodes were clearly meant to be shown with a week’s break in-between each, so some of the usual tension and excitement that comes from standing around the proverbial water cooler each week to talk about the show’s development has been diminished. A good, dramatic television show, like a good stew, has to simmer for a little while, and clumping the episodes into two-piece nights isn’t letting the audience get the full flavor of the show. This all in all isn’t really the fault of the show’s creators, this is just the strategy taken by Fox to hurry and rush the show out of it’s schedule so both they, and Whedon, can get on with their lives. The tumultuous relationship is over.

However, getting to see two episodes in such chronological proximity allows for a much more precise and immediate comparison, and the resulting examinations aren’t very promising. Last night’s (Friday) block particularly highlighted this paradigm, featuring one show that was severely lacking in flow and craftsmanship (among other traits) while the second seriously turned up the heat with intrigue, mystery, and good ol’ fashioned fun. That’s how this show has been from the outset; it’s simply a hit or miss show that shows some wonderfully bright flashes of inspiration and ideas, but in the process burns itself out.

What had always frustrated me about the show (and I believe many, many other fans of the show) is how the “Dollhouse” could not, no matter what it did, get me emotionally invested in Echo, the main character for gosh sakes! Such a flaw of storytelling would normally be enough to completely kill my attachment to any sort of show, but such was the perplexing nature of this show: despite my scorn for Echo, most of the other supporting characters overwhelmingly well-done, provocative, interesting, not to mention finely acted. Victor, Sierra, Boyd, Topher, Adele all gripped me with their personalities and their individual conflicts that kept me turning the page, so to speak, each week with this show.

Apparently that trait held only a fragile amount of sway with me, as it all came crashing down with the first of the two episodes from last night, “Stop-Loss.” More appropriately called “The Victor Episode,” we get a focused look in on Victor’s real life after his contract with the Dollhouse expires. Turns out Victor is a former soldier, suffering from PTSD; or at least, he was suffering from PTSD until Topher cured him of it, which I thought was another very cool extrapolation of the technology being explored in this show. While I’m sure this was meant to be a companion episode to “Belonging” (the fantastic Sierra-oriented episode, directed by “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Jonathan Frakes), “Stop-Loss” unfortunately featured none of the tension, excitement, or heart that its counterpart had. Which is all the more a disservice to Enver Gjokaj, who has been nothing short of stellar playing the role of Victor.

The episode following “Stop-Loss” was a step back in the right direction though. Ever since this show started, one concept had literally frightened me to my core, and in “The Attic,” we got to finally see what that mysterious place was really all about. It was everything I expected, and nothing like what I expected at the same time. That mostly stems from some specific secrets about the purpose and operation of the Attic, which of course I won’t spoil here. This episode stunningly moved along the main plot line quite efficiently and managed to explain plenty while not making things more complicated (something “Lost” does every single week, ha). This episode was an absolute treat, but as I said before it unfortunately highlighted the show’s frustrating inconsistency, and that took a little of the fun out of it.

All that jabbering to just flat out tell you I’m so happy “Dollhouse” is coming to an end soon. Only three episodes left, and unfortunately I have to wait until January 8th for the next one. You gave it a good try Whedon, but I think you made a few key mistakes that those ended up too overwhelming to carry a show like this whose premise was already a bit shaky and pushy, especially for studio executives. To be fair, it hasn’t all been you’re fault. They stuck you with a really lame time slot. I would have watched this show on cable every single night if it had been scheduled on a Tuesday or a Wednesday; Friday night is meant for socializing, not for sitting on the couch, sorry.

But it’s all OK! I have a feeling you’ve got something extra special up your sleeve for your next couple of projects. It’s that promise that helps me feel fine with “Dollhouse” ending. Consider this: can you really look me in the eye and pick any one individual episode of “Dollhouse” and tell me it’s better than “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog?” No, you can’t. Because “Dr. Horrible” is a supremely intelligent little animal, and I for one think that’s what Joss should concentrate on for the near future. It should be pretty obvious to most that that’s what he’ll be concentrating on in the near future, and I’m perfectly fine with that. I can’t imagine how much different things would have been if Joss had invested all the money & energy he used on “Dollhouse” and put it towards “Dr. Horrible” instead, but there’s no point in silly what-ifs. It’s best to just keep looking forward.