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I’ve heard many friends of mine give me a bit of grief over watching Dollhouse, the series on FOX starring Eliza Dushku about a facility that houses people who are imprinted with personalities and sent on engagements of all sorts. In some respects I don’t blame them – the series was just barely renewed for a second season by FOX and is being watched quite closely. Joss Whedon, better known with FOX for the creation of one of the most beloved cancelled series ever in Firefly, is now out of excuses of story establishment and editing, and has to deliver.
A lot of people like to accuse the series of being shallow with too much T&A, but I’d disagree. Actually, the reason why I like to watch Dollhouse stems from the fact that it A)creates a dystopian, or disturbingly futuristic, vision of the world and B)it asks us that question in the face of technological advancement and use regarding the human mind. The character of Ballard, played by Tahmoh Penikett (of Battlestar Galactica fame) is the one who validates this notion more than anyone else, because he basically embodies us. He questions the moral nature of using human beings as tools for amusement, fulfillment, or more destructive purposes. He raises thoughts about the system used that the other characters find perfectly normal – suppression of the original identity of the person, the lack of freedom with which the various “dolls” are brainwashed into accepting when wiped, the morally grey idea of conducting and furthering human psychology research using humans in dangerous situations which they normally would not accept.
If you’ve ever read 1984 or Brave New World, there’s a clear influence from those two works in Dollhouse. Essentially, part of the dystopian question in the series is “How far is too far when it comes to technological advancement?”. There’s a ton of futuristic equipment that would make geeks drool to have, from supercomputers to massive storage arrays, to the famous chair that dolls sit in to have their memories wiped or programmed. But how much is appropriate to make progress into the human mind and condition? At what point does technology eschew morals to the point of being distasteful? Even though there’s a fair amount of action in Dollhouse, the “cool” factor of multiple personalities and roles being played is always undercut by this current of uncomfortable ethics (or lack thereof).
Really, if Dollhouse is given the chance it deserves, I think it’ll have a good chance of exploring these issues and more as the story moves forward. I for one am looking forward to the next few episodes and hope that we see more of this exploration of dystopian tech over the next 13 episodes.
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I totally agree with you. This is a show that constantly makes me think. And I marvel at the fact that no one else sees it in this way. I can't believe the tv viewing public is actually stupid, so I have to assume they're just distracted. They're watching tv while talking and twittering and making dinner or something, and only watching with 1 eye.
* * * SPOILERS * * *
Like the scene last week with Saunders, when Topher asks her why she didn't find out who she 'really' was when she had the chance, and she replied "I don't want to die." But he'd just assumed there was some other 'her' still there who wanted to come back. But no, the imprint, the Saunders we know, has a will to live. If anything, Saunders might have destroyed the original imprint.
So what is a person? Is it the mind, the consciousness? Is it the body? When you separate the two, what happens? Who gets dibs on the identity when they two fracture?
What other show on TV gets you thinking about stuff like this?
Of course it'll be canceled because there's too much here for your average TV viewer…
Dollhouse is an amazing show. I've been a fanboi of Whedon's since Buffy, and I'm one of the few geeks that thinks Dollhouse is far superior to Firefly, but I digress.
The show brings a lot to the table, with grey performances, story lines and thought provoking subtext. Also, Tahmoh running around shirtless and Eliza in S&M gear is hot.
Watch this show, please! It's on Hulu too, so no excuses!!
So… with all of the good, interesting, thought-provoking content, I still have to ask, why the T&A? If it's not necessary to the story, and we're already losing the hormonal crowd, why not go all out and just tell great stories?
Personally, I think the advertising campaign has been toned down from T&A since last season, at least from the premiere. There used to be extremely ridiculous and racy shots of Eliza during commercial breaks and in the ads, but they've since been removed. That was probably because of FOX's attempt to pair it with Terminator's Summer Glau for sexuality factor. Didn't quite work out.
I honestly think that the T&A from a story perspective is on some level necessary – and before you go accusing me of being a healthy, red-blooded male (guilty as charged btw) I think that it is mostly to increase the level of dystopian feeling. Sure it's one thing when you make a doll take a professional personality or one that is comedic, but when clients hire dolls to be sexual fantasy fulfillers? That's where you start squirming in your chair.
It isn't all with the females, too. The male dolls are used just as much.
I agree also…My wife wanted me to watch the show and I thought…"Oh no , one of her shows again…but Hey, Eiza Dushku…Bonus". After the first show I was seeing the Brave New World connection you mentioned but was wondering how they were not going to exhaust the premise and just show the same basic 'engagement' type over and over. So I really enjoyed the subplots and interaction between all of the characters and it sucked me in for the first season. I am looking forward to the rest of season 2 but am not sure if it will get anymore than that since it isn't a reality show with some Kardasian sibling.
I love me some Dollhouse. My most recent blog post is how I think that Dollhouse is turly one of Whedon's best series becaus it takes the tried and true formula that made him famous and evolves it into something socially commentative that works. It's poignant, and unlike his other series, this one is consistently serious and deals with its issues head on.
I'm really glad it was renewed, and after watching "Epitaph One," I have no doubt Joss will be able to deliver the awesomeness with his reduced budget in S2. I don't particularly care for the series stand-alone episodes; the stories are generally uniteresting, but the mythology that drives them keeps me coming back for more. I wasn't sure how intrigued I could be with characters who constantly change personality, but I really have a love for Victor and Sierra, even if Echo bugs me.
I can't wait to see what this season can do.
Okay, I may have to watch this. Question: are the "dolls" blank slates, laying around doing nothing when not being imprinted? Or are they employees who get paid for this work? Other option?
The way it was explained is that there is a "tabula rasa" state that the dolls are wiped to when not on an engagement. The best way I can explain it is as a cross between an innocent child and a Barbie or Ken doll – essentially they are adults but they are kept in a relaxing environment and do not express any real emotion or feeling. They're also docile and accommodating to those who work at the institute.
People enter into a contract to become dolls – either as a way to wipe their personal records clean (like as in Echo's case) or to escape from some past pain. At the end of their contract they're released – but until then they are essentially owned by the corporation.
"Even though there’s a fair amount of action in Dollhouse, the “cool” factor of multiple personalities and roles being played is always undercut by this current of uncomfortable ethics (or lack thereof)."
I completely agree with this and many of the posts above. I'm a female who has not yet found the T&A gratuitous. The whole show is not just one cool action sequence with hot actors (though it has its share of both). It is an eerie and brutal examination of a plethora of issues, including sexuality and desire. I think this show succeeds in being the opposite of shallow. Pete S, I definitely asked the same question: what show on right now is so thought provoking? It really doesn't surprise me that it's not getting a whole lot of viewership. The show itself studies the attraction and dangers of television and fantasy.
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