Jul
14
Season two of Dollhouse is out on DVD in September. At the time the show was renewed for a second season, it defied the usual logic applied to ratings-challenged TV dramas, riding on for another 13 episodes in its lousy Friday night timeslot on Fox. Still, while the show had a reasonable share of fans, the by-product of having an in-built audience retained from Joss Whedon’s work on Buffy, Angel and Firefly, I do wonder if the show, overall, was a missed opportunity.
Early missteps in its production cost Dollhouse dearly. Though I enjoyed the original pilot, ‘Echo’, the more audience-friendly ‘Ghost’ was a weaker piece of work, with subsequent episodes disappointing up until the rather excellent ‘Man In The Street’. From there, while the show was a little more consistent in the later half of its first season, even the much-fabled ‘Epitaph One’ didn’t make the show explode as it should’ve done.
In comparison, take a look at Firefly and tell me that didn’t take off in its pilot episode. While the circumstances surrounding the production of the two shows was, of course, different, these are still two pieces of Joss Whedon television, and one is almost certainly stronger than the other.
While the second season is an improvement in many regards, these early episodes, married with an uncommercial title and concept were always going to set Dollhouse back.
As a viewer and huge fan of Whedon’s work, I couldn’t help but see it as a missed opportunity. The most interesting test of Dollhouse’s success, however, will be if it’s able to replicate the long burn cult growth that Firefly saw after its release on DVD – hopefully, we’ll one day have a Whedon show in our midst that’s both a ratings smash and a superb piece of television.
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I disagree about the original pilot being stronger than the aired pilot. I enjoyed “Ghost” alot more and thought it was better to hold back on alot of things that I felt were revealed too early in the original pilot. As for why Dollhouse failed, that’s a really difficult question to answer, but i don’t think it had anything to do with the pilot they aired. I lost interest in the show after the first half of season one, not really sure why.
I enjoyed Dollhouse. It was a slow burner sure but it definetly had its moments especially the finale of season one. I was saddened that Joss hadn’t had his five year plan and we only got two – season two’s ending was a bit rushed but still good, and all of the cast I grew to like.
I wonder if the DVD sales will be good enough to grant a third season (has this ever happened before?) or failing that a movie. Just look at Serenity. It can be done. I will still buy season two when it’s released though and watch the show in its entirety.
On a completely different note, can we please have a conclusion to The Sarah Connor Chronicles? A great show cancelled before its time.
For my money Dollhouse failed because it was as vacuous as the dolls in the show.
The misogynistic wish fulfilment angle of the first few shows also didn’t help, putting off a fair portion of the audience.
Add to that, the fact that Whedons writing tends to result in interchangeable characters (At least on paper; just read some lines without character names beside them and try and work out exactly who is saying the lines)
I doubt that Dollhouse will have the DVD sales and cult following of Firefly, because frankly unlike Firefly, Dollhouse had a proper chance and squandered it. Firefly has the mystique of being a show cut down before it even had a full season. So the rot (or quixotic fan reaction, depending on your point of view) hadn’t had a chance to set in.
Scathing, but I agree on some counts. The show’s early episodes – including the poor ‘Stage Fright’ – were as one-dimensional as I’ve ever seen television get.
Number 1 lesson from Dollhouse: Don’t create a show for a specific actress. I’m sorry but the best moments of Dollhouse where always scenes without Eliza Dushka, she was great as Faith but completely miscast as Echo. Dollhouse should been more edgier, for me it was always too tame to be must-see TV.
I wouldn’t really blame Mr. Joss Whedon if he never wanted to try a TV show again. He creates some of the best things out there and in the case of Firefly and Dollhouse, they are never given a chance. I kept with Dollhouse because it was a Joss show. Season one wasn’t as great as it could have been. Too episodey. But season two with the story arc was amazing. I actually watched each episode of season two over again a few days after I first saw it. I’ve never done that with any show. Hopefully with The Avengers, Joss will become all-powerful and be able to make any TV show or movie he wants!