And so we come to the end of the first, and possibly last, season of Dollhouse, and, as expected, the conclusion generated far more questions than it did answers. Certainly there's a lot of potential to the program, as there has been to just about everything Joss Whedon has created, but I have to admit that I found Dollhouse considerably harder to get into and enjoy than the likes of Firefly - a show I both loved and which I thought had an emotional and intellectual depth equal to Dollhouse and anything else on television for that matter.
The reason for this is simple: the main character has no character. She's a Doll, meaning that she has no personality beyond what is imprinted on her, and her pre-Doll character is actually quite annoying – animal rights liberation doesn't seem nearly as relevant in these days of terrorism, financial turmoil and economic calamity.
That Eliza Dushku is excellent in Dollhouse is beyond question, as are the other Dolls regularly featured. Dichen Lachman as Sierra projects incredible vulnerability when acting as the Doll form of Sierra, though the characters she becomes while out on missions tend to be less convincing. Enver Gjokaj (Victor), on the other hand, is excellent throughout, making each role, and accent, he inhabits entirely believable. It will be very interesting to see where the writers take them both, especially Victor given his recent mishap, if a second season is commissioned.
Unfortunately that doesn't seem very likely. Dollhouse is an awkward program to get into, full of slow reveals and deeper meanings than what most audience members are looking for. Certainly adolescent males looking for beautiful woman, who are not overdressed, kicking ass and strutting their stuff would most likely have quickly looked elsewhere as there's only limited amounts of flesh or fighting and most of the latter, admittedly well choreographed, involved the excellent Harry Lennix and somewhat overwrought Tahmoh Penikett – I never really understood why he was so obsessed with the Dollhouse or Echo in particular.
So, in conclusion, I can say that I'd like to see more of the Dollhouse and its themes of identity and the essentially transient nature of self, how one person can so easily be completely different from one day to the next, without resource to science fiction machines. The show has its flaws, but they seem to be because of hidden depths only hinted at thus far. However, if the second season doesn't materialise I believe we will all be missing out on a show that could, with a more understanding network, have blossomed into something extraordinary.
Of course, that begs the question of why on Earth does Joss Whedon continue to agree to create programs for Fox!?!
