Tue Jul 21, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger

Review: 'Dollhouse' Season One on DVD

There are television creators who are placed under the microscope every time they produce something new, hoping it will generate the same pop buzz and ratings success of their previous series. While a Jerry Bruckheimer can churn out cookie cutter series, the ones with more unique and distinctive voices tend to be more hit or miss. In Joss Whedon’s case, he followed Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel with Firefly. While a cult favorite, the series and its feature film incarnation failed to win the wide audience required to remain viable. As a result, all eyes were on him to see what his next trick would be and most were cautious given that the new series Dollhouse would appear on Fox, where a previous regime sabotaged Firefly through ineptness.

People cringed when the new show, featuring Whedon-alum Eliza Dushku, was given the dreaded Friday night at 9 slot but were also given fewer commercials allowing more show time allowing Whedon’s characters to come to life.

Dollhouse divided critics and fans and the ratings were iffy at best so the real surprise in May was that the show was renewed at all. Now, during the summer, about two months before the series returns, Fox is releasing a four-disc first season set on Tuesday. They provided the first three discs for review, reserving the fourth disc for consumers to discover on their own. That disc contains the unaired thirteenth episode that could well have been a coda to the series had it been canceled and shone the spotlight on Amy Acker’s Active, codenamed Whiskey. Here's a clip:

As far as the box set is concerned, the transfers are lovely and the show deserves being watched in sequence a second time. The commentary, from Whedon and Dushku, could have been a lot stronger but meanders more than it enlightens.

The series uses a fresh concept for the backstory but it was clear the series continued to quickly evolve so things rose and fell in importance making it feel more disjointed than one would expect from Whedon who excels at strong myth creation.

We have the Dollhouse, where people agree to have their minds wiped and new personalities and skills applied to fulfill the desires of the wealthy clients.  While people willingly sign up to be Actives or Dolls, there’s the whole issue of these people essentially being pimped out to those who wish to take advantage of them. Internally, staff has also taken advantage of the Dolls, causing problems for the administrator, who has also used the Actives for her own personal needs.

That there are other branches was a late addition, a throwaway line, but one you wonder about. The Federal Government doesn’t believe in the urban myth but the fact that there are several branches increases the odds that someone would spill the beans. Instead, we have the disgraced FBI agent on a one-man quest to prove the Dollhouse is real. Of course, they’re on to him and have deployed November to keep tabs on him – until some mysterious faction has also used November to issue him warnings.

The dozen episodes displayed some nice uses of the Actives for things beyond sex and companionship. One of the most poignant was “Man on the Street” with Patton Oswalt hiring an Active to recreate his last happy day with the woman who was tragically taken from him.

After spending all season seeking the Dollhouse, Paul Ballard finds it, helps them confront Alpha (who was an unseen threat to date), and then he just willingly signs on as a “consultant”? Uh huh. The entire thread of people working within the Dollhouse to help Paul also vanishes in the finale without resolution. Caroline/Echo’s returning memories also seems to have gone unnoticed by the staff that seems to notice everything else. The show really never gelled while many of the actual assignments were interesting.

The cast is a nice blend and filled with Whedon veterans such as Dushku and Acker but also brings us the excellent Harry J. Lennix, hunky Tahmoh Penikett, Olivia Williams, engaging Enver Gjokaj, newcomer Miracle Laurie, and the way too-thin Dichen Lachman.

The surprising second season renewal also comes with the promise of a revised status quo which I hope is better thought-through and more sustainable than what we have so far.

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