Is Dollhouse any good?

[intrinsical]

is there much relating to robots or science fiction?

The basic story is that of an evil corporation that's turning human beings into controllable robots by reprogramming their brains, and how humans are able to overcome the programming.

Dollhouse had the most science fiction out of all of Joss's television shows, exploring topics such as free will vs determinism, psychology, the seat of conciousness, true love, etc...

 

[Deckerd]

I thought the second season was far superior to the first. The first passed the time, basically, except when Tamoh was on-screen (rowrrr), provided you can put your revulsion at the premise on hold until it gets going.

 

[Ubik]

Thanks everyone for the considered responses. It sounds to me like the verdict is a "no." We don't watch a lot of tv shows (having a 21 month-old in the house sort of takes up a lot of our time), so when we do watch something, we need it to be unqualifiedly awesome. Let's put it this way: our standards have been set by Star Trek TNG, DS9, Doctor Who, BSG, and now Firefly. We're looking for a show that good, and it sounds like Dollhouse isn't it.

But someone up there mentioned Fringe. Maybe I should start another thread asking the same question about that one....

 

[BigFoot]

^ You should definitely watch Fringe.

While I like Dollhouse (enough to buy both seasons on Blu-ray), and a few eps are pretty darn good, it is a very inconsistent show.

 

[label]

^ You should definitely watch Fringe.

No doubt about this one. It starts a bit on the bland side for me, but by the end of the first Season, the pieces are in place and it ends up turning into a great show.

 

[bigdaddy]

I wouldn't bother starting Fringe until we know if it will get a real ending.

 

[Forbin]

I did enjoy Dollhouse (one of the truest "science fiction" shows ever), but I'm going to agree that Fringe is the better bet in your circumstances.

Also recommended: Farscape; Stargate SG-1, Alien Nation, and almost any permutation of Doctor Who.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

^ You should definitely watch Fringe.

While I like Dollhouse (enough to buy both seasons on Blu-ray), and a few eps are pretty darn good, it is a very inconsistent show.

What are the transfers like, BigFoot? I've been considering picking Dollhouse up for some time, and a complete series BD box-set has recently appeared on the bargain racks at my local HMV. However, TV shows on Blu-ray have had a variable success rate in terms of picture and/or sound quality!

 

[Captain Craig]

Is it any good. Yes. As pointed out it takes about 5-7 episodes for them to really reveal what few sub plot points are trickled out during those eps what the game plan is. It's not Firefly great but it is good.
Not a bad way at all to spend 20 something hours with your wife.

Also, the two other lead Dolls, Victor and Sierra, are some great new actors that come out of this show imo. I'm curious as to where they each turn up next.

 

[DevilEyes]

So, first things first, I'm not a massive Joss Whedon fan or anything. I saw a small handful of Buffy and Angel episodes many years ago and thought they were self-consciously cute and juvenile, so I never bothered. Then, I watched the movie Serenity, and liked it very much.

So now my wife and I are just finishing off the DVD of the series Firefly - and man, is it good. I mean, Deep Space Nine good. The characters are instantly loveable, the tone is great, the scripts are tight...I mean, it's really, really good science fiction.

So....Dollhouse. I've heard nothing about it. We're looking for a new sf series to rent. Is this one very good, or is it not worth the time?

I can't talk about Dollhouse as I haven't seen it yet except for the first couple of episodes, but man oh man are you making a mistake if you don't give Buffy and Angel a chance just based on a 'handful of episodes'. You might have seen the wrong episodes, but trust me those series are a lot more than "cute and juvenile", actually Buffy stops being juvenile after the first one and half seasons and is increasingly less so with later seasons, Angel is rarely 'juvenile', and as for cute... There's always, or almost always, wittiness and humor, but there's a lot of great drama and darkness. But these aren't shows where you watch some episodes and skip others, even when the episodes are 'standalone', so much is about characters and their development and relationships. You just have to keep in mind that Buffy season 1 is much weaker than the rest of the show, and is indeed 'cute and juvenile', but it gets much better later since the second part of season 2, the show is on the whole other level. Angel season 1 is also not on the level of the rest of the show, except for a few episodes - it has too many standalones and is pretty straightforward, while season 2 has a great arc and is darker and has a lot of moral ambiguity, and the same goes for the next seasons.

 

[Deckerd]

I actually agree with Ubik's comments on Buffy. Angel I can't comment.

 

[Solarbaby]

Dollhouse was amazing. It was a such a cool and an original concept. I thought Echo was a great character and I enjoyed the Dushku's preformance. Certainly in the breakdown scene in the last episode she gave the performance of her career.

It looked great, the characters were believable. The underlying mystery of what the technology was invented for was a fascinating revelation.

 

[stj]

The first two or three adventures came across to me exactly as much The Adventures of RoboHo I was afraid the show would be. (An impression I got from the trailers.)

 

[label]

I wouldn't bother starting Fringe until we know if it will get a real ending.

We know we're getting three full seasons already.....and the ratings so far after the move to Friday have been much better than expected, so provided they don't take a huge dive - and I have a hard time believing a serial story-telling show like Fringe will at this point in it's life cycle - that we will more than likely get at least one more season....I'd say it's pretty safe to get invested unless you want to wait the series actually finishes at some point in the future and just watch it straight through.

 

[label]

I thought Echo was a great character and I enjoyed the Dushku's preformance. Certainly in the breakdown scene in the last episode she gave the performance of her career.

I'm not an overly big fan of Dushku most of the time. I feel she's pretty limited talent wise, but there are a few times she really impresses me. She did it in Season 4 of Buffy and she definitely did it in the scene you describe.

 

[BigFoot]

^ You should definitely watch Fringe.

While I like Dollhouse (enough to buy both seasons on Blu-ray), and a few eps are pretty darn good, it is a very inconsistent show.

What are the transfers like, BigFoot? I've been considering picking Dollhouse up for some time, and a complete series BD box-set has recently appeared on the bargain racks at my local HMV. However, TV shows on Blu-ray have had a variable success rate in terms of picture and/or sound quality!

While not perfect, the transfers are very good. Definitely much better than DVD. So if you plan to get it, you should definitely get it on on Blu.

 

[Sindatur]

Is it any good. Yes. As pointed out it takes about 5-7 episodes for them to really reveal what few sub plot points are trickled out during those eps what the game plan is. It's not Firefly great but it is good.
Not a bad way at all to spend 20 something hours with your wife.

Also, the two other lead Dolls, Victor and Sierra, are some great new actors that come out of this show imo. I'm curious as to where they each turn up next.

Sierra, I believe is going to be in the new Torchwood Season/Series

 

[Ubik]

So, first things first, I'm not a massive Joss Whedon fan or anything. I saw a small handful of Buffy and Angel episodes many years ago and thought they were self-consciously cute and juvenile, so I never bothered. Then, I watched the movie Serenity, and liked it very much.

So now my wife and I are just finishing off the DVD of the series Firefly - and man, is it good. I mean, Deep Space Nine good. The characters are instantly loveable, the tone is great, the scripts are tight...I mean, it's really, really good science fiction.

So....Dollhouse. I've heard nothing about it. We're looking for a new sf series to rent. Is this one very good, or is it not worth the time?

I can't talk about Dollhouse as I haven't seen it yet except for the first couple of episodes, but man oh man are you making a mistake if you don't give Buffy and Angel a chance just based on a 'handful of episodes'. You might have seen the wrong episodes, but trust me those series are a lot more than "cute and juvenile", actually Buffy stops being juvenile after the first one and half seasons and is increasingly less so with later seasons, Angel is rarely 'juvenile', and as for cute... There's always, or almost always, wittiness and humor, but there's a lot of great drama and darkness. But these aren't shows where you watch some episodes and skip others, even when the episodes are 'standalone', so much is about characters and their development and relationships. You just have to keep in mind that Buffy season 1 is much weaker than the rest of the show, and is indeed 'cute and juvenile', but it gets much better later since the second part of season 2, the show is on the whole other level. Angel season 1 is also not on the level of the rest of the show, except for a few episodes - it has too many standalones and is pretty straightforward, while season 2 has a great arc and is darker and has a lot of moral ambiguity, and the same goes for the next seasons.

Oh, I don't doubt that Buffy is a very good show; I'm just certain it's not my thing. The "handful" of shows I saw is something like 5 or 10, and that includes later seasons, and episodes that are supposed to be among the great ones. I just didn't care. What seems dark and ambiguous among adult characters seems to me, among adolescent characters, like whining. I suspect one has to be about the age of the characters to enjoy a show like that, and since high school and college are long behind me, I simply don't have the patience. Also, I'm a sci-fi guy, not such a fantasy guy (which is why the ending of Lost feels like the biggest and laziest cop-out in the world to me), so I'm only willing to invest if it's a sci-fi show.

Any other opinions on Fringe? So far, it sounds like there's a more positive reaction to it.

 

[Alex1939]

So....Dollhouse. I've heard nothing about it. We're looking for a new sf series to rent. Is this one very good, or is it not worth the time?

I am same as you. Buffy/Angel...meh. Firefly/Serenity = Amazing.

Dollhouse is good. I give it my recommendation. BUT it's important to know the first 5 episodes are clunkers. The series picks up in the second half of season 1, and then season 2 is outstanding.

 

[TheSeeker]

I really liked the concept of the show and the overall execution but the final wrap up definitely felt rushed to me. I also thought that Eliza Dushku's acting ability was not up to the challenge of playing so many different characters. I would say that nearly everyone else on the show was better than her.

Also put me down as someone who would recommend Fringe. It kicks ass!