Dollhouse -- Third Time Is Certainly Not the Charm

Given all the rigamerole over Dollhouse getting to its premiere; the first pilot, the second pilot, the public uproar from the Jossverse fan legions who started the Save Dollhouse campaign even before the show started, I thought after the first episode I would just give the show a little time to settle in before I came to any conclusions.

But after Friday I realized that was a mistake, because it should be getting more compelling and it's not. It's really not.

And this story of the pop singer with the death wish having the murder pas de deux with the crazed fan who made a rifle out of his fake crutches made me wanna jump through the TV and smack that pop singer into another show.

Any other show.

Oh, poor poor pop star with the pseudo-Rihanna looks (got kinda lucky there, huh?) and the pseudo-Britney issues. Boo hoo. At least she was self-aware enough to know what was going on, though it apparently came with a death wish that the actual pop tart hasn't cultivated.

I wanted this character to die. If you want the character that your heroine is charged with protecting to die, why are you watching? I mean, why was I watching? To get some of that juicy Tahmoh Penikett b-story/umbrella arc?

Should I care about agent (I have to look up his name, I've watched three episodes and I still have to look up his name, that's not right!!!) Paul Ballard (thank you Dollhouse website) when the only person who shows up at the hospital after he gets ambushed is the somewhat pitiful neighbor with her ever-present tray of lasagna?

And come on, singleton neighbor woman, does Paul Ballard (trying to use the name so it makes an impression) look like a lasagna kind of guy? No, you and I look like lasagna eaters, not Paul Ballard (even you'll know his name by the end of the episode). Send me the lasagna and get on with your life or your pitiful attempt to make him you BF is gonna get you killed.

I don't wanna see some poor single girl with a crush get killed because of it, sounds like something that would happen to me -- it's why I don't date anymore.

And now that we know that the foreign guy (Bosnian? Serbian? That country from Dynasty -- Moldavia?) is an "active," who else is? Is the security guy (Reed Diamond from Journeyman)? That bitch that runs the thing? Good guy Boyd?

And, am I the only one that's pretty sure, reasonably sure, sure about being sure that Matt Keeslar's character from the second episode is that Alpha active that keeps being referenced? Especially now that ABC Family has failed to pick up The Middleman for a second season?

Can I ask many more questions?

Okay, no more questions. I'll just say that I'm giving special dispensation to this show because; a) It's Joss, b) The network did some screwing with the show, and c) There's really nothing else suitable at that hour.

But get better fast, before they can your ass, Dollhouse. And get a better lead-in, Sarah Connor, for all her personal firepower, does not have your back.

If you haven't seen it, you can click over to Hulu right now (if you live in the US) and watch it right now and see for yourself. I would recommend watching episode two first, then one, then three.

Oh, and next week, Echo infiltrates a cult. Not a cult of Joss Whedon fans who play Firefly on an endless loop and chant to make Rupert Murdoch break a hip, but a cult still.

Comments

[Rob Buckley]

1.

Episode three was awful. I really wanted to throw a brick through the tele at that pop star. My verdict on the first three eps is here. However, according to Eliza (link at the review page), we have to wait for at least episode six before it gets good.

I'm not sure I can wait.

[Joe B.]

2.

Rob, I'm not sure that the world will hang with them that long.

Well, it's a Friday show, maybe they will.

And maybe monkeys will begin flying out of my butt ... NOW!