Dollhouse Season 1 review

I love TV. I hate to say it but many of my childhood memories come from watching the old boob tube. I'll never forget the classic days of TGIF and seeing Uncle Jessie come out with his first single on Full House, or the time when Zach kissed Lisa on Saved By the Bell. I still remember the lyrics from Golden Girls and Punky Brewster for pete's sake! (Who is this Pete?) Hey check that out, two Punky Brewster references in a week on Review Spew. Not too shabby.

Can I tell you how glad I am that DVD's now offer countless hours of television I missed the first time. There is nothing better than watching shows without commercials. I'm a little behind the times (i.e. cheap) of DVR or Tivo so DVD's are the best way to go.

And when it comes to watching TV, nothing beats writer/director Joss Whedon for me. Yeah, I'm a bonafide geek. His shows have all been fantastic: Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and the digital hit Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. So I was excited when he announced he was working on a new show with Eliza "Faith" Dushku. But for some reason he works with Fox which is a big mistake because they have a habit of killing shows off on Friday nights. (see also: Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronological Chronicles and Firefly.)

Dollhouse is a show about a secret compound run by a mysterious corporation who brain-swipes the "dolls" and can program them into whatever a high paying client wants them to be. The show centers around Eliza Dushku's character Echo. As she assumes personalities ranging from a hostage negotiator, jewel thief, etc she starts to remember her erased life and the purpose of the Dollhouse. Also, for sci-fi fans, Helo from Battlestar Galactica plays a detective trying to find out if the Dollhouse even exists.

I watched the first two episodes on TV but because it's on Friday and because I have a life/wife I missed the rest of the episodes. So I waited patiently for the show to release on DVD. I hated to say it at the time but the first 2 episodes left me wanting. I don't mind confusing shows as long as they keep me interested. The typical Whedon clever dialogue was gone. The likeable characters were not there. I was let down to say the least. When watching the show on DVD I was still bored for the first 4 episodes but then the show really picked up and by the end of the season I wanted more. The show got much deeper near the end. No one thought Fox would bring the show back for this next season but strangely they are. It's on Fridays again so guaranteed it will be cancelled at the end of Season 2 but I'm glad I get to enjoy another season.

Dollhouse deserves a four but because of the slow start I'm giving it a high 3 midseason replacement stars.