Dollhouse: "Ghost" 2/13 - Grading & Discussion

[Hyperspace05]

My grade: Average

First of all, a background of myself. BIG fan of Firefly. Not Buffy/Angel. But it was Whedon's involvement that got me to watch it tonight.

Positives...
- An interesting idea, even if it hardly is original. But I hope that they can take the concept and run with it to some interesting places.
- Very interesting secondary characters, in particular her handler.

Negatives:
- T&A... Geez. I appreciate beautiful ladies, but they are really laying on thick, aren't they? Blatant demographics reach, but not in a good way. Way over the top.
- Dushku... Is just not a very good actress, or at least did not seem to be it in this episode. I had heard about her before, but this was actually the first time I have seen her in a major role (yep, I'm not a Buffy watcher) . I hope she can improve, because this was not good enough to carry a whole show. And as others have pointed out, her "Echo" persona is just supremely annoying.
- The tech geek, who is annoying and way too young to be in such a position.

I'll give this show one more episode to convince me. I'm hoping this was just an over FOX-ified pilot.

[davejames]

I thought Dushku was perfectly fine (and I didn't mind her skimpy little dress at all ), but I'm afraid this concept, and the whole Dollhouse mythology they're trying to build, isn't grabbing me at all right now.

There might be some interesting themes worth exploring somewhere in there, but for the most part this just seems like a thin excuse to have Dushku play dress-up and get involved in routine cop show plots week after week.

There just wasn't NEARLY the level of fun and creativity I'm used to seeing in a Joss Whedon show (a kidnapping plot almost feels like a waste for someone of his talent). Perhaps, if he was allowed to really let loose, I can see how this Dollhouse idea might be a lot of fun to play around with. But played straight like this, it just doesn't work.

[Tulin]

My partner likes Eliza Dishcloth so we will HAVE TO watch this after. I have been calling out all the disparaging comments to him in the other room to try and dissuade him but so far, to no avail.

Sigh

[Bob The Skutter]

It has potential, I liked it enough to keep watching, but it wasn't great. It was fairly average as things go but it wasn't bad and I rather like the premise. I think given time it could be good, but as it is at the minute I'm still going to wait and see how it goes over the next few weeks.

[rafterman1701]

Boring and overly complicated. I did not buy any of it. I'm a Joss fan, but this was forgettable.

[DarKush]

I was bored. I liked the concept, but I don't know if they can sustain it over a period of seasons, similar to my thoughts on many of the other high concept shows that have been coming out since Lost. DH would probably work better as a film, novel, or a comic book/graphic novel.

Echo was the only character that made a lasting impression-perhaps because they mentioned her name a lot, and she had the most screentime (okay, I loved the little white dress at the beginning too), but I didn't find Duskhu's performance all that engaging. I wasn't a Buffy fan, but I did watch some of her episodes as Faith, on Buffy and Angel, and I liked her. I also loved Wrong Turn. The rest of the characters were ciphers.

As I was watching it, I just wondered if it would be more affordable to actually hire an escort/prostitute for a perfect date, or an actual hostage negotiator instead of hiring an active? Perhaps its a conceit of the show, but it just feels convoluted and contrived that people would go through all that much trouble when there are actual people/'experts' already that they could hire.

For some reason, I kept thinking about Alias when I was watching Dollhouse. I really had liked the Alias pilot. It was fast paced and far more interesting than DH. I was hoping for something along that line going into watching DH, but it was mostly boring and drab. Even the action scenes didn't excite me, and I wished it had a more streamlined, stylish look. It looked like a TV show IMO.

I might give it another chance, though I'm not sure. I've given up on Fringe, which started out far stronger, so I'm not sure I want to waste an hour on DH. Maybe I'll just check this board and see if the reviews get better before diving back in.

[Samuel T. Cogley]

Bad acting, forced dialog, beautiful people, fancy clothes, and lavish sets.

"Dollhouse" is like a porno that never gets around to the sex.

[Technobuilder]

After reading this thread's comments I lowered my expectations appropriately before watching it just a few moments ago and for the most part I liked it.

It's got a Babylon 5 - Season 1 vibe going on, in that all these things are happening without context or explanation, but I don't feel like I know enough about anything yet to care until I see how things progress. No real story hook was evident, but I am intrigued about the underlying process of "this business" and why it even came into being in the first place.

Not sure that there's anything to rave about yet, but this show seems to be on a slow boil building towards something, although for the life of me I can't figure out what that might be or why I should care. But like anything else, I'm willing to give it a chance. I stuck with Terminator: SCC, having no real interest in the Terminator franchise and that seemed to work out pretty well. We'll see.

[Samurai8472]

"If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The Dollhouse."

Basically.....

cue Dushku dropping a ball from a crane,while she smokes a cigar

"I love it when a plan comes together"

[Lindley]

Samuel T. Cogley wrote:

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Bad acting, forced dialog, beautiful people, fancy clothes, and lavish sets.

"Dollhouse" is like a porno that never gets around to the sex.

No, that looks more like this.

bigdaddy wrote:

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Ouch... fanboy, and fangirl, freaks on this site didn't even think it was that good in the poll.

Contrary to the belief of some, Joss Whedon's name is not enough to make most "fanboys " like something. It's enough to get it a look. But we love Firefly because it was just that good. And we love Buffy because (for the most part) it was just that good. And so on with Doctor Horrible and Angel. This one.....it's not bad, but that's the best I can say about it so far.

The creator's name is a draw. It's not the only draw. And I'd like it if people would stop implying otherwise.

[Starbreaker]

I realized what's been bugging me about this pilot, but I couldn't really put it into words last night. There's a lot of... nothing. Talking heads where there should be subtle background music or noises or something. There are too many pauses where exposition that makes no sense to me is given.

Supposedly this is a new version of the pilot? I can't imagine how hard to follow the first one was. I understand the basic plot of the show, but I don't REALLY understand what the point of this show is going to be.

I read an LA Times Review that I agreed with with on one major point. Tahmoh Penikett's character is brought in way too early. There was a little too much conflict going on in this first episode. We should have been learning more about the Dollhouse and Echo.

I probably won't be tuning in again. There's too much great TV to watch during the week.

[Ptrope]

Lindley wrote:

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No, that looks more like this.

Let's see ... that's $39.95 for the keyboard, $129.99 for the monitor, $1.50 for the Pepsi ... yeah, that about covers it.

Oh, yeah, the show! I was underwhelmed, sad to say. It didn't help that FOX ran all those irritating promos with Summer and Eliza ... the PG Porn was better than those! After all the hype for this show, and all the stated expectations, it just didn't really seem to come together. Eliza's acting was nothing to write home about, nor was Olivia Williams's. I hate to think what the dolts at FOX thought was obscure about the original premiere, because this one skated all over the place without really establishing much - after Firefly, I had the impression that FOX wants their premiere to spell everything out. Well, they're a few Sierra Bravos short of the alphabet here.

I agree with the folks who think Echo's handler was the standout of the show. Other than that, well, I'll watch it again next week to see if this is just teething, but so far, I think I may switch back to Moonlight on SciFi ...

[Forbin]

Tulin wrote:

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My partner likes Eliza Dishcloth so we will HAVE TO watch this after. I have been calling out all the disparaging comments to him in the other room to try and dissuade him but so far, to no avail.

Sigh

It's hopeless if he's an Eliza fan like me. Hell, I kept watching Tru Calling just because of her, and that was almost torture.

[Forbin]

I'm wondering just how much of the drabness and lack of humor is Fox's fault.

[Othello]

Below average. Just really not allt hat good. I'll give it a shot since it's only the pilot but that just wasn't very good. It's a shame cause there are some good actors on the show.