Joss Whedon wins again.

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by trekkerguy, Feb 14, 2009.

  1. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    If they can avoid a precipitous drop next week that is. And shows like this almost always drop - look at all the sampling it got around here and a lot of people aren't coming back.
     
  2. Lindley

    Lindley Moderator with a Soul Premium Member

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    On the other hand, since terrific shows according to this place always seem to get canceled, maybe the inverse will hold true as well?
     
  3. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    No, bad shows get cancelled too. Remember My Own Worst Enemy? Talk about a show with basic problems with its premise! :rommie:
     
  4. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I thought we were talking about a show with basic problems with its premise, we are still talking about Dollhouse right? ;)
     
  5. Lindley

    Lindley Moderator with a Soul Premium Member

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    To be fair, Firefly appeared to have "basic problems with its premise" at first too. They managed to establish a world in which such things made sense given time. Maybe this will too.
     
  6. TheArsenal

    TheArsenal Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I liked it.

    It was by no means the strongest pilot I've seen, but the story held me and there are more than enough elements in place that this could be a very solid show. I suspect, like Fringe, it will take some time for it to completely find its legs. The largest surprise for me was the strong performance from Eliza Dushku, who in the past I've found wanting. Since this show will live or die, in part, on the flexibility and range of Dushku as an actress, it is encouraging to see she seems up to the task.

    Being a Whedon show, for some, knives were drawn or praise was readied, long before this show went on the air. It's funny that the actual product on the screen falls somewhere in the middle. I just hope the threads on the show don't dive head first into the endlessly tiresome.
     
  7. I am not Spock

    I am not Spock Commodore Commodore

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    I'm giving it some time to improve. Hopefully Joss will find his mojo again.

    I mean, Buffy, Angel, and Firefly didn't exactly have the most compelling premises, on paper. Yet the execution was good. They're some of my favourite TV shows ever.

    Come on, Joss. We know you can do better.
     
  8. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Did you also notice his "fantasy" casting women almost always look alike and have similar body types? At least 3-4 of the women on the show are indistinguishable from each other. Eh, I've never liked any of Whedon's shows, but this one seems a little more "adult", so i will prob watch it a bit longer.

    RAMA
     
  9. Colin Xavier

    Colin Xavier Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Some good news

    #1 on iTunes.
     
  10. DeafPoet

    DeafPoet Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I wasn't overly thrilled with the pilot, but then again Firefly's pilot didn't grab me right away either. I'm talking "Serenity;" I watched them in correct order on DVD.

    I was initially turned off by the premise. My big problem was that there didn't really seem to be a main character. If Echo's kind of a blank slate and she turns into someone we ostensibly won't care about week-to-week I saw a huge problem with that. I guess Penikett's admittedly interesting FBI character is the closest we're going to get to an actual leading character.

    I was somewhat optimistic about the execution of it once I saw it though. It's not much right now but I can see where Whedon's going. It's definitely got potential.

    Also, it may be cancelled, but I don't think it's going to get the axe as fast as Firefly did. FOX put it on Friday night and they know it's kind of a tricky show even given a good timeslot. I would hope they've set realistic expectations for it given past experiences.
     
  11. Serial thread killer

    Serial thread killer Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    Can't believe Fox told him that the episodes should all be self-contained.
    The best show are the ones with a long running plots.:wtf:
    Have these people never seen lost,bsg,sopranos and season 1 of heroes and sag.
     
  12. mrcoaster

    mrcoaster Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Well, not exactly rave beginnings from the reviews I've seen. Still haven't watched the ep yet, but I will sometime this week. I really want to like the show, but with the various issues that have come up in production, it has "disaster" written all over it.
     
  13. trekkerguy

    trekkerguy Commodore Commodore

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    This board is a very small audience with alot of people of the
    same opinion which means very little. Reviews rarely mean anything.

    And yeah, ratings may mean something when it comes to paying for
    the show, but they mean nothing of the quality as the reactions I see
    here are an example of the kind of people who wouldn't watch it.
     
  14. mrcoaster

    mrcoaster Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    On the other hand, people here (and on other genre sites) tend to rank every episode of some series as "A++++!!" Every episode is super awesome! So for a good chunk of people to go "meh," that's not a good sign. Still, I'll give it a shot and hope for the best.
     
  15. species5618

    species5618 Commodore Commodore

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    Oddly enough, I was talking with a bunch of co-workers about Dollhouse today. They are definitely not the kind of people who would ever frequent this board and the general consensus was that it was well, bad. And boring.

    One of our high up development executives doesn't give it much of a chance, as much as she wanted to see a new Whedon show do well (and she does this stuff for a living; she produces television series for one of the channels our company owns).

    I'll still give it a few more episodes before totally abandoning it, assuming Fox hasn't already axed it by that point.
     
  16. JonathonWally

    JonathonWally Admiral Admiral

    I was iffy on the premise of the show, but since it's Joss I'd of course give it a shot.

    Very "meh" pilot. I didn't think it was that great at all. Hopefully next week will be better, but I wouldn't be surprised if this show get's canned within 6 episodes.
     
  17. AJBryant

    AJBryant Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I have problems with the show both in-world and out of it.

    In-world, I have to wonder about an organization that is so "secret" the FBI can't find it, yet rich playboys wanting the perfect date or a guy whose kid's kidnapped knows that he can get *just* what he needs from them.

    I can only call this "The A-Team factor." It's most unrealistic.

    In other terms, I find myself morally repulsed by this organization. Incredible technology, and rather than use it for the betterment of society (e.g., "reprogramming" killers and so on) they use it to basically create "dream-whores" for rich guys, and they balk at opportunities to actually do some *good* as shown in the pilot. (Remember the "we don't care about justice, just getting the job done" and the willingness to wipe Echo even though she may have had the clue to solving the kidnapping?)

    I'm afraid getting to like this show will be a hard row to hoe, and that disappoints me, as Joss hasn't failed me before.


    Tony
     
  18. Zod

    Zod Captain Captain

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    and the funny part about that is that this show is not even in the same league as Terminator. Not if this first one is any indication of what we are going to get. Joss has lost his touch.
     
  19. Top41

    Top41 Vice Admiral Moderator

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    I wasn't blown away, but I was intrigued enough that I will keep watching. I'll be honest and admit that if this wasn't a Joss show I'm not sure I'd stick with it. Of all of the actresses Whedon has featured on his shows, Dushku might be my least favorite--I don't think she has the range the others do. Not that she's bad, but I always found both Faith an overrated character and Dushku not especially appealing. Seeing Amy Acker only reminded me that a more interesting actress could have been the lead. ;)

    Aside from Buffy and the female characters on that show, I don't know that any of Whedon's heroines have been feminist icon types. I'm not saying that they're not strong, but they've been more traditional female characters--Cordelia and Fred were supporting characters and in more traditional roles (the empath and the smart, nerdy girl), Inara was a "companion," Kaylee an awwww shucks nerdy type and River a cypher. Again, not saying any of them were weak--none of them were--but none of them were Buffy or Willow, either.

    So I didn't go into this expecting an ass kicking heroine or anything like that. I'm intrigued by the premise, but only sort of--but then, I'll be honest and admit I was only sort of intrigued by Firefly's premise. Firefly sold me pretty quickly--within a few episodes--though not immediately, so I'm willing to be patient and see where the show goes.

    I admit I was hoping for slightly sharper dialogue--I realize the Whedon witticism is polarizing, but I like the smartness of it.

    I like how you think. :D I'd also like to see some male dolls in sexual situations, too, if just to even things out a bit and add a little depth to the dollhouse.


    Initially that's probably going to be the case, as well as the handler who's a former police officer. I really like Penikett and feel he's a right fit for a Whedon show.
     
  20. mrcoaster

    mrcoaster Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Take that back! Take it back! How could you even say that?
    *sniff*
    I don't even know you any more.

    Thank goodness Eliza won't read your hateful words!
    *double sniff*