Dollhouse: Season One [DVD]

When I first heard that Joss Whedon, the man behind two of my favourite shows of all time (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel), was returning to television after a long absence I was so excited. Better still was that he was taking with him a whole load of Buffy alum, namely actors such as Eliza Dushku and Amy Acker -- plus Buffy/Angel writers: Tim Minear, Jane Espenson and Steve DeKnight to name but a few.Dollhouse is basically an illegal, underground organisation that caters to the wealthy, powerful, and connected by leasing out 'Actives'. Actives are people whose personalities have been wiped clean so they can serve whatever purpose the client demands and pays for. Echo, acted by Eliza Dushku is an Active and the first few episodes are focused upon her and her 'engagements'. When the show slowly becomes more settled within itself, around episode five, the series becomes progressively more of an ensemble piece and non-coincidentally improves hugely.These Actives don't just perform the role that they're hired to play; they actually become it. They are imprinted with a personality formed of many different people to create a persona suitable to the client's needs and desires. Sounds nefarious and dark? Yes it is. It's also treated as such. The morality surrounding this whole organisation and the various people who work for and against it explore the ethics involved. This series is bleak in its outlook; although, on the surface it's not always apparent what with the witty banter, the gloss and the beautiful people -- but underneath it, Dollhouse is very much a piece on what it means to be human and what it would mean for humanity if we really could be programmed like nothing more than computers and hardware.The Pilot episode 'Ghost' does a decent enough job of explaining what is a relatively complex idea. There are weaknesses to the Pilot episode mainly due to a lot of network tinkering but I've seen worse. The original 'Unaired Pilot' is included on this DVD set, which is much better written. Although I think 'Ghost' serves as a wholly less confusing entrance into this universe. The first four episodes are standalone-ish -- but keep at it. When 'True Believer' (penned by Tim Minear) hits the show settles down superbly with a heart-felt standalone episode that is also action packed and a sign that this show can do those kinds of episodes well. 'Man On the Street' (episode six) is when things really get going in terms of the central story arc. Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) from the very first episode is striving to expose the Dollhouse, over the season we see him fall from grace a little as his obsession takes over.The other main characters include the Actives Sierra, November and Victor; joined by Boyd who is Echo's handler. The Dollhouse is overseen by Adelle DeWitt, played by British actress Olivia Williams. The amoral Topher, the genius behind the personality imprints that the Actives are imprinted with, fast becomes one of the most fascinating characters in the series with the small bouts of humanity as he struggles with what he's done. Dr Claire Saunders played masterfully by Amy Acker, is another character I found fascinating. Keep an eye on these two.I was dubious about the premise of this show at the beginning, wondered if it could really work. I thought this kind of story could not be sustained for X amount of seasons and the intrinsic nature of the programme would be too disturbing for a network like Fox -- as usual, Whedon and Co. have proven me wrong with their excellent handling of this gritty and morally ambiguous world. There's something mildly noir about Dollhouse and its inhabitance with all the characters hiding something, lying, and just generally not being what they seem. The heroes, the villains, are not clear cut. This show has something to say about humanity, about ethics and the human condition. You should have a listen.Highlight episodes include: Man On the Street, Omega, Needs, True Believer and Epitaph One.

Ok, so I hadn't watched the show on TV before buying the DVD, mainly because I couldn't find it on any channels but I prefer to watch things when I want, not when TV says I should. So on a whim I brought this DVD, knowing that the show was created by Joss Whedon and the fact that it only cost a tenner, there was no reason not to buy it, if it sucked I wasn't going to be too put out.In fact the show didn't suck, it was absolutely amazing. I have to admit it did take a couple of episodes to draw me in, but by episode three I was gripped. I watched the whole of the series over two consecutive nights including the pilot episode and the special features. It was hard to stop myself on the first night but when its three in the morning and you have to be up at six you have to call it a night.The show itself it great, if you watched the episodes on their own then you would think that the show was good but that there would be no real continuity or story arcs. This most definitely is not the case, the characters evolve and the story continues with each new episode, to start with I will admit the continuity is rather miner, but even in episode 2 we find out a little about the character Alpha who turns out to be a main part of the series as a whole.I initially put off buying this series because I had heard about the premise, the main character as a girl who has her memory wiped at the end of every episode and gets implanted with new memory's, I thought that this would ruin the series as you would never get attached to the character, this is very untrue, the show is written so well that you grow to love all of the characters in the series and Eliza Dushku's character Echo is shown in every episode in a place named the dollhouse where all of the charaters are kept before having their memorys wiped and sent off for various tasks.I wont give away any of the story but its fair to say that this is a superb show and it is well worth purchasing, I verry much look forward to buying season 2 of the show as soon as it is availible on DVD.If you like continuity, well rounded characters, plot twists, sci fi, fantasy, Joss whedon and interesting shows that also make you think, then you should buy Dollhouse.5 out of 5