For my final post about Dollhouse, I am going to discuss why a show that has such good acting, clever writing, and compelling story lines failed to produce more than two seasons of 13 episodes. What went wrong? Was cancellation inevitable?
In a word, yes.
The Man Behind the Mild Success
Behold! Joss Whedon, the Creator of the Whedonverse. Longtime science fiction and fantasy fans will recognize his creative works, spanning from the incredibly successful Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the short-lived space western Firefly. Yes, when Dollhouse was first pitched to studios, Joss Whedon was quite successful and prolific, with a wide fanbase eager for his next production. Thus, a sci-fi series with classic Whedon elements seemed like a no-brainer.
What were these "Whedon" elements? Let's list them.
While many of the main characters were new to the Whedonverse, many were regular faces on Whedon's other shows.
- Eliza Dushku (as Echo) first came into the spotlight as the uncontrollable Slayer Faith in Buffy.
- Dr. Saunders, as played by Amy Acker, first entered the Whedonverse as Winifred Burkle in Angel several years prior.
- The main villain of season 1, a rogue schizophrenic Active named Alpha, is played by Alan Tudyk, who also played Wash in Whedon's Firefly.
- In "Epitaph: Part I", the season finale of Dollhouse, Felicia Day plays one of the few survivors in an apocalyptic Los Angeles. Felicia also played the lead role of Penny in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, as well as having played a Slayer-in-training during the final season of Buffy
- And in the final few episodes, Summer Glau, known for her unique portrayal of River Tam in Firefly, played the Programmer for the D.C. Dollhouse (as well as Topher's love interest).
Besides the casting, the casual humor slipped into tense or serious situations, the technical babble that makes the whole show possible, several "forbidden" romantic relationships, and the focus on one woman as she struggles to overcome every obstacle in her path - all these are very Whedon-esque, and the show develops them very well.
Clearly, Dollhouse had many elements of previously successful Whedon productions, and it still attracts new fans to this day. So why didn't it work back in 2009?
Great Story, Bad TV
I think that Dollhouse is not a story that could have grabbed the attention of a large audience through the television medium. The mythos of the Dollhouse is complex, and it deals with complex themes. Sure, there are certainly people who enjoy that kind of TV, myself included. However, not everyone is willing to commit to a television show that they don't understand or wait for a show to get better.
Let's look at just a few of the things about Dollhouse that both hook the audience and drive people away.
1. The Mission of the Week in the first season
Many TV shows have this problem, and I'm sure you're all familiar with it. For the few episodes of any sci-fi or fantasy series, each episodes is self-contained for the most part, with a new mission to complete/mystery to solve/monster to fight. Dollhouse certainly suffers from this problem. Not until the pivotal "Man on the Street" does the cycle of one-episode engagements break. However, Buffy and Angel also relied heavily on this trope. So what else is missing?
2. Character Development
I can't believe I didn't notice this sooner, but for the better part of the first season, there is very little character development. And this problem stems not from sloppy writing, but from the very nature of the show. Think about it: the Actives acquire the personalities of whomever is needed for an engagement, and after each engagement, they return to a blank, emotionless Doll state. There's no character there - there's barely any facial movement. Also, the handlers and staff of the Dollhouse, hired specifically for their amorality, are predictably neutral and bland for much of the first season.
However, once Echo begins to develop her own personality, along with Sierra and Victor, true characters begin to emerge. Around this same time, the staff of the Dollhouse begin to interact and play off each others' characters, creating really interesting scenarios. But...
3. Too Little, Too Late
The key problem with Dollhouse is that it gets better, but gradually. The episodic nature of the show, combined with the blank stares and child-speak of the early Dolls, and the lack of a coherent big-picture for much of the first season does not bode well for a first-time viewer.
However, once you get past the shaky start, the series only gets better. Honestly, I'm happy with Dollhouse the way it is: a complex story about identity, free will, love and loss. I enjoyed it very much, and I think you will too.
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