KnotMissPriceless
Why so much hype?
Taraparain
Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
Curt
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
lois-lane33
It is in and of itself a good show, so its a shame to see them use what is basically a lame title since if you don't know the show you know the title-and if its lame you don't spend time with the show. The acting is decent and the concept is decent also. It seems that there are very few new shows that stand the test of time unless they are MASH. Thats too bad because this one was a good idea-granted it probably wasn't designed for a long haul. I'm tired of the TV environment as it all too frequently contains predictable shows with dull plot lines. I liked many shows in the beginning-Person of Interest started out good and then became a series of incomprehensible exchanges in darkened rooms that nobody knows the location of. Burn Notice was another one that started good-and then became implausible. Well I thought it did. How could a guy that smart get burned in the first place? Maybe this show attempts to answer all these enduring questions in one fell swoop. Who knows.I do know it was better than 'A Cabin in the Woods.' What a pile of rubbish that was. Good old Joss Whedon & his effeminate title choices.
dawnner
Before reading the rest of this, please understand that I'm a huge Whedon fan. We have nearly everything he's done on disc and currently watch Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D with enthusiasm. With that out there, here's what I think of Dollhouse....Meh.The story line is actually interesting (a hi-tech sex slave ring, with a little bit of the ick factor), and Whedon writes a strong female lead, which I always appreciate. Here you have Echo who eventually works to bring the institution down and save herself and the other women enslaved. The writing wasn't bad, and it has Amy Acker whom I adore. For what it's worth, I think Amy should have been given the lead role also. Amy is versatile while Eliza is...Eliza. Amy's change from Whiskey to Dr. Saunders was credible. However, with Eliza, I half-expected her to say "5 by 5" no matter which character she portrayed. I'm sure Eliza is a lovely person, but this role was beyond her acting skills.So, again. Meh.
OllieSuave-007
This TV series, about a secret organization who uses humans to complete missions, then have their memory erased after their missions are completed, could have had potential. However, the boring story-lines and mediocre acting made this show a drag to watch.Each episode mostly center on Eliza Dushku's character, but the subplot about Tahmoh Penikett's FBI agent character trying to track down the organization is not hashed out very well and distracts the viewers from following the main story of the episode. While the main theme regarding the secret organization is somewhat interesting, the uneven execution of the stories, lack of action, sub-par drama and mediocre characters make this a weak TV show. Many series of the 2000s and 2010s, including this one, lack the charm and fun, which make you yearn for the better shows of the 1980s and before.Grade D
Morbius Fitzgerald
Okay, Joss Whedon is a decent enough writer. Most people remember him for making the monster smash hit, The Avengers (2012). His fans, the majority, however, come from his TV work. Buffy, Angel, Firefly etc. All these shows, in their own right, were good shows. I would say it offered some of the best 1995 - 2005 TV ever offered to us. So, believe me, when I say that when someone sells out THIS badly, I have to stop before it gets too much.Its true I only saw 3 episodes but let me give you a premise for each episode, take this doll, Echo (played by Eliza Dushku, who is also the show's producer...I'll get back to THAT point later!) she gets an implant but SOMETHING has to go wrong (whether its the nature of the implant, the "date" wanting to kill her...no really! They pay huge money just so they can hunt her!). She manages to survive it and we leave the show there. This means that in every episode, she gets a different personality. Now this is the shows biggest problem. She consistently gets a new personality and we could know her as say a nerdy science officer to a Naval ship, one minute, and a hot supermodel the next. Its not really good character build up if you only have 40 minutes to build up the character.So why is this the case? Why make a show instead of say, a movie? Dushku and Whedon made this show together without any outside creative input. Here comes that "producer" part. This was meant to show off her acting ability...she actually doesn't have that much to begin with and by the end, all the personalities sound like the same person.Now, I swear, the characters are bland and I'm not just talking about Echo. The only character that isn't is an FBI agent trying to prove the Dollhouse is real. This leads me to one question, why is the show about Echo? Make the show be about this agent and you'd be left with a decent mystery premise. You'd have someone who you'd actually be able to follow, piecing together this constant mystery and also struggle with inner demons and personal paranoia. THAT sounds so much better. Would I watch it? Maybe not but I'd give it more of a go than this.Not to mention the writing is just awful. The jokes are bullshit, the villain's motive for each episode, so far, has been as confusing as why Kim Kardashian is famous. I mean in one episode where she is hunted by the same guy who, 20 minutes earlier, was complaining to the leader of the Dollhouse about why the fee was too expensive. What is his motive? "I wanna know if you've earned the right to live." I SWEAR TO GOD that is true! Thats like spending 50 000 000 dollars on a house only to blow it up, after complaining to the real estate agent about the price, wondering if it deserved the mortgage!Now, normally I wouldn't take this so badly but this is Joss Whedon. Idiot! You made ANGEL! You have to know more than this! The fact that he influenced the cancellation of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, an actual GOOD show with GOOD acting and GOOD writing and decent enough jokes and...well let me say that at least THAT show had effort put into it and it wasn't just some giant "LOOK AT ME! I CAN ACT!" thing that THIS is. He influenced its cancellation just for this. Was it REALLY worth it? I don't f*cking think so!
