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So, there i was, reading a compendium of essays about the various works of Joss Whedon, and i came face-to-face with the chapter on DOLLHOUSE... the hole in my own personal Whedonverse.
Oh, sure, i own the FIREFLY series and SERENITY dvd, having watched them both with and without "commentary", and the spin-off comics derived from it; I've also got the soundtrack to the musical BUFFY episode ("once more, with feeling") in regular rotation on my iphone, and i've even watched all of ANGEL (for which i deserve a medal). And i've shown DR. HORRIBLE to my son, who enjoyed it with me. But DOLLHOUSE? nada, nyet, bupkis, nothing.
When it first aired on FOX, the promos made it look like a cheesy show about programmed prostitutes. When i realized Whedon had created it, and for FOX yet! (the network that totally fucked up the broadcast of FIREFLY), it seemed like Joss had sold out for commercial success, giving Satan's network the kind of high concept sex thriller it craved. So i avoided it the first time around.
But here i was, book in hand, reading these interesting essays about the show... declaring it to have the same kind of intelligence and craft as all his other work, with many similar tropes... individual stories that develop a large-scale apocalyptic mythology, focused on an increasingly empowered female superhero defending humanity against malicious (often corporate) powers-that-be. What the hell? That's what live-streaming on Netflix is for.
So i watched the series, start to finish. There are only 2 seasons worth so it wasn't very time consuming. It was hard slogging at first. The first 5 episodes are one-offs in which Echo (Elisha Dushku) is one of a houseful of "dolls", aka "actives" (people who have volunteered for various reasons to have their memories wiped and get implanted with new ones for specific "engagements" for a 5-year term, after which they get their original memories back and a big payout). Echo is given a personality/memory, and hired to do a specific job, and a rogue FBI agent, determined to discover if the Dollhouse really exists, seeks to find her and save her, and the other "dolls", who he reasonably views as high-priced sex slaves (which they often but not exclusively are).
But starting around episode 6, MAN ON THE STREET, Whedon starts developing the back story and supporting characters, and starts crafting a serious Whedonverse for his characters to inhabit. The series starts to become about self-determination, and identity, and about victimization by corporate culture that wants to keep us compliant consumers. Season 1 ends with "Epitaph", which jumps ahead 10 years to a frightening dystopian future, where the mind control technology has caused civil war and social breakdown. I guess whedon thought they'd be cancelled and wanted to firmly anchor his mythology and wrap things up in a way he couldn't with FIREFLY, until he made SERENITY. But the show got a reprieve and, Epitaph went unaired in the US, and season 2 picked up where season 1 left off, showing how things go terribly awry and how Echo and her collaborators (there is always a "scooby gang" supporting the hero in a Whedon show) try to save the world. No more police procedural/1-off "engagement" episodes; its all myth making in season 2, until if finally gets cancelled, but not before airing "Epitaph 2", which wraps things up in that future dystopia, giving Whedon the chance to present a satisfying finale for the series in a way he'd only done for BUFFY.
I don't want to get into the details of episodes, or present any "spoilers" (i don't think i have; i hope not). I just wanted to note that for those who overlooked this series originally, it's well worth the effort, if you can get thru the first 5 episodes or so. And for those Browncoats out there who were put off originally by the sleazy and apparently sexist and exploitive material (as i was), rest assured its none of those things... it resides in a valued corner of the Whedonverse and shouldn't be overlooked.
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