Dollhouse (2009 Joss Whedon)

9.9
"Did I fall asleep?"
"For a little while"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135300/

Dollhouse it intriguing, smart, funny and ultimately awesome! I was not sure whether it deserved a 9.9 or not, mainly because of its first season which whilst needed, so that the audience can familiarise themselves with the characters and concept, is a little dull. Eliza Dushku isn't my favourite Whedon alum however the show in general makes up for her occasionally hammy acting by including cast members such as Amy Acker, Fran Kranz, Tamoh Penikette and others who appear later (no spoilers) that shine out as excellent actors and characters. The exploitation of big companies is often evident in Whedon's work (the shadowed figures in the Avengers, the alliance in Firefly and so many frat boy to be billionaires in buffy) so to see one from the insides through the innocent eyes of Echo and her handler Boyde Langdon is an interesting perspective and with the cut and paste brain technology thrown in the number of possible stories to exploit such interesting themes is staggering. Whilst I chastise the first series for its tiresome episodic format, pasting Echo into new personalities, their are some amazing episodes but the best material comes after Epitaph 1, an episode that jumps into the future to set up the story lines of the second season.

As I have mentioned the greatest characters in my opinion are not the Dolls or their imprints (not including Alpha who I would argue is neither a doll or an imprint) but are Topher and Ballard. Both characters offer unique perspectives on the Dollhouse, Ballard as an agent trying to investigate and stop the Dollhouse and Topher a scientist more focused on his work and his play rather than the morale implications of his work.... or not. These two characters are also two of the characters that add light heartedness to the series, Topher particularly, who seems to be a teenager at heart with a mind of genius.

The intense story and insane technology are sometimes forgotten about and a scene is taken up by pure fighting, Echo, Ballard, Alpha, Boyde and countless other characters brawl over and over in some amazing scenes, the camera work and the fighting styles often vary but interesting, fast paced camera work always complements the battle and produces some of the best fighting scenes I have seen in my life.

This might not be a series for everyone, partly because you have to persevere, however if you do the series morphs into an amazing creature and everything becomes relevant, the power plays between characters and secrets that are revealed are enough to make an audience tongues drop but so well created that on a well deserved second watch the seeds can be seen. The showrunners as well as individual writers and directors are to be given a large amount of credit for the excellence of the unique and imaginative show. The way the show originally works, with Echo getting an imprint an episode, would have grown tiring, I am grateful that it progressed into a more rounded show, it can be seen that the premise of the show was not to keep that format going too long, trust me, trust whedon and stick at it (although Im being a little harsh, the first season is still well above most tv, so you can imagine how good it gets... you dont have to imagine! Watch!). A feast for the mind as much as for the eyes Dollhouse is a (Joss and Jed) Whedon masterpiece well worth a watch!
9.9