Dollhouse
Just finished watching the second episode of "Dollhouse", Whedon's new series. I tried very hard not to compare it to Whedon's short-lived work of art "Firefly", but that's easier said than done given how "Dollhouse" falters through so many key elements that "Firefly" got right.
Eliza Dushku is adorable and believable, making her a great choice for her imprintable agent character, Echo. Echo's mind is a clean slate that gets imprinted with a personality for the show's assignment and then wiped clean at the end. It's an intriguing concept, but it means Echo's personality is pretty much static from the start of episode 1 to the end of episode 2. After the novelty of her becoming someone new every week wears off, Echo's rather boring and uninspiring. Any growth and character development you see in her is essentially lost by the end of the hour, save for the small fragment she remembers. It just not enough to get attached to.
Harry Lennix is perfectly cast as Echo's guardian angel... conflicted about how Echo is treated. He wears his traits on his sleeve though and his character doesn't seem very complex. His back-story adds very little depth... so far he seems to be exactly who you think he is.
Everyone else seems to follow the same pattern as Lennix's character, basic wooden archetypes with no real depth. The egotistical computer nerd. The compassionate overseer who believes her work with the agents is for the greater good. The angry head-of-security who complains about how much trouble Eliza's character is, inevitably setting up an episode arc with some sort of betrayal twist, I'm guessing.
All the characters have a common theme, they're all DULL. I was completely drawn in by how incredibly complex and flawed all of the characters from "Firefly" were. Now I can't help but expect that from any other Whedon vehicle. "Dollhouse" just fails to deliver at all in that regard and characters are really what I watch Whedon for.
Eliza Dushku is adorable and believable, making her a great choice for her imprintable agent character, Echo. Echo's mind is a clean slate that gets imprinted with a personality for the show's assignment and then wiped clean at the end. It's an intriguing concept, but it means Echo's personality is pretty much static from the start of episode 1 to the end of episode 2. After the novelty of her becoming someone new every week wears off, Echo's rather boring and uninspiring. Any growth and character development you see in her is essentially lost by the end of the hour, save for the small fragment she remembers. It just not enough to get attached to.
Harry Lennix is perfectly cast as Echo's guardian angel... conflicted about how Echo is treated. He wears his traits on his sleeve though and his character doesn't seem very complex. His back-story adds very little depth... so far he seems to be exactly who you think he is.
Everyone else seems to follow the same pattern as Lennix's character, basic wooden archetypes with no real depth. The egotistical computer nerd. The compassionate overseer who believes her work with the agents is for the greater good. The angry head-of-security who complains about how much trouble Eliza's character is, inevitably setting up an episode arc with some sort of betrayal twist, I'm guessing.
All the characters have a common theme, they're all DULL. I was completely drawn in by how incredibly complex and flawed all of the characters from "Firefly" were. Now I can't help but expect that from any other Whedon vehicle. "Dollhouse" just fails to deliver at all in that regard and characters are really what I watch Whedon for.