Dollhouse

Dollhouse is a new show from America by creator Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

When I was younger, I enjoyed watching Buffy and Angel because of how they weren't just a typical Sci-fi shows, they were drama shows with sci-fi elements to give the drama more emphasis. The shows really pulled at the emotional heart strings, created characters for you to connect and relate to, and allowed you to feel their pain with them.

It was because of this, I was excited to see Joss Whedons new project. Dollhouse first aired on February the 13th 2009, which I was able to watch here the day later.

This summary is from the IMDB website -

The show follows an organization that employs mind-wiped DNA-altered humans known as Dolls who are implanted with false memories and skills for various missions and tasks. When they are not 'at work' they are living in a real life Dollhouse which gives the show the name. One of those mind-wiped humans, a young woman named Echo, is slowly starting to become aware of herself and what's going on - all the while somebody on the outside is trying to bring the Dollhouse down while getting closer to Echo - possibly not aware that she is one of the Dolls he is after.


Here's a trailer about the show -

Taking Joss Whedons ability to create a drama based show, and use sci-fi to give it that added entertainment, I initial realised whilst watching the episode, that these, "dolls" are almost a sci-fi representation of prostitutes, being hired out for the purposes and needs of people who can pay for them. I realised, that this show could go to some very dark places in the future.

The show is more adult in tone in comparison to Buffy. Apart from the Dollhouse, and the memory changes that take place, once a Doll steps out into the real world, the stories and situations are very real. A Doll can deal with situations such as kidnapping, robbery, musician or the perfect partner. There is so many story possibilities to take a character whose memory can be altered.

One unfortunate problem with the show is that it's premiere episode wasn't as strong as it could have been. Echo being the main character, isn't a character you feel for, as she is someone new each week. For a Joss Whedon project, who I have seen do some beautiful directing and writing over the years, and I trusted that the show would live up to his name, and I was correct. As the show is developing, the core character is becoming more self aware, and is on the way to becoming a central character as opposed to lots of different ones. The problem is, with a weak start, ratings are beginning to let the show down, and could possibly end with the cancellation, which I would be upset about.

I hope the show continues and look forward to the character developments and twists of future episodes and story lines.