Late Thoughts on Dollhouse

I've been meaning to write about Dollhouse all week, but I haven't had the chance. This is probably good for you, since anything I'll say is going to be shorter.

TV or DVD?

A lot of folks have been wondering why Whedon would work with Fox and/or vice versa after the fiasco that was Firefly. But the fact that they are—and especially the fact that they offered Whedon backing without a traditional pilot—show that they've learned at least some lessons from the past. Firefly may not have done anything useful on the airwaves, but it was blockbuster on DVD, and in T-shirts and other merchandising, and in driving the early usage of Hulu (Firefly and another Fox-troubled show, Arrested Development, have remained popular on the site since its beginning).

Partly because of this, I don't expect Dollhouse to be a very static show. While I imagine there's going to be a "mission engagement of the week" format, I also expect that there's going to be progress in term of revealing the backstory of the Dollhouse, as well as changing up the nature of the Dollhouse, throught this thirteen-episode block (and future ones, if that happens). In fact, if Fox is expecting this show to be carried by a fanbase that will be more interested in Tivo, Hulu, and DVDs than in watching the show live as it happens, then we can expect the kind of show that we seem to be getting. A show where later episodes will cast earlier ones in a different light (so that fans will save them on DVRs and rewatch them online). A show where over-the-air advertising is less important than product placement (look at those vans!) and controlling ad viewing online (Fox announced that the show, like Fringe would have fewer commercials last spring). A show with clearly defined "half-seasons" stories (so that they can package the DVD sets like the Battlestar ones).

So I don't think it's too crazy to expect major changes from the show, not just an acceptance that everything is exactly what it appears to be.

Nothing Is What It Appears to Be

Dollhouse is a Joss Whedon show which starts with the words "Nothing is what it appears to be." It's hard to imagine a writer doing that without intending to send a metatextual symbol; it's impossible to imagine Joss Whedon doing it. The line is even set apart from the opening scene (which stands apart from the main episode) by setting it as part of surveillance footage (the reason for which is never explained). When I heard that line, I said to Joss Whedon, in my empty house, "So that's how it's going to be, huh?"

So when I said, above, that I expect the first 13 episodes to have a pretty clear arc, and when I heard that line, with writerly and directorly neon signs flashing toward it, it colored my view of the episode pretty strongly. It's creepy in lots and lots of ways. There are charcters that are clearly unlikeable. There are holes and contradictions. But nothing's what it appears to be, so I have to wonder what it will actually turn out to be.

( Spoilery Sections )

Benefit of the Doubt

I do want to disclaim that giving Dollhouse the benefit of the doubt in some ways, on feminism and racism and probably some other things, is influenced by white, male, etc. privilege. It's a bit easier for me to say that the show is intentionally creepy when it's creeping me out in a somewhat distanced way. As mswyrr pointed out, the first episode alone "mined rape, molestation, and human trafficking for good dramatic material," and that's a whole fist full of triggers.

If It Gets Really Awesome, We'll Let You Know

In light of that, I can see why lots of folks are giving the show a pass. But I've listed some of the reasons I'm sticking with it. If it gets really awesome, you'll hear about it. And the old episodes will be waiting on Hulu.