Comments on: Why Dollhouse was fail, and what you can learn from it

By: Arthur Trinchera

Arthur Trinchera — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:52:45 +0000

Now that the season is well over. Did you watch more? How about the last four or five episodes? I was hot and cold re: Eliza’s acting(anyone else have a hard time coming to a conclusion here?) but the writing definitely got better.
I doubt if it will be back. Do you have any inside info on that matter?
Thanks
Arthur (jazznutz)

By: weckman

weckman — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:31:55 +0000

I, too, would have to agree that the “Dollhouse” pilot was a complete disappointment. With all the changes asked of Joss before it even aired, I expected some inconsistencies and the likes, but the total lack of clever dialog, which is a large part of why I usually love all things Whedon, and a pretty pale main character left me rather frustrated. Still I will keep watching, although I feel that FOX might pull the plug before I do.

As to “Enterprise” though, I’d have to agree with Veronica. In my eyes it was the pilot that was most promising, and the first season still is the best, followed by a slightly misguided second. But ever since their budget was cut in half, the show sucked worse with every week and one could really feel the frustration of Berman/Braga killing all the fun the show once was. Season 4 in my eyes is the worst Star Trek has ever produced, a sheer pain to watch.

But well, that’s all history now, let’s wait and see what J.J.’s come up with…

By: Tara

Tara — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:22:06 +0000

hrm. I was super psyched to be moving closer to you and Rudy but I am not so sure now and am going to have to side with Veronica on this one.

After I discovered FireFly I watched it every night in a row until I saw the whole series. Flight of the Conchords has some of the best lyrics and videos next to Weird Al and Tenacious D. Next you are going to be telling me that Ari from Entourage doesn’t get you all fired up and that the blond haired guy from Sons of Anarchy isn’t sexy. And if you even think to say that United States of Tara isn’t pure genious that you might as well go up to Diablo Cody and spit in her face.

That is all. Wooo, I have a head rush.

By: Jerome Paradis

Jerome Paradis — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:08:36 +0000

I agree with your points, but I still liked the premiere as it made me want some more. To me, the back story and the investigation is what intrigues me the most. I hope that with time, we’ll get a deep story arc on that matter.

By: veronica

veronica — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:41:44 +0000

Lemme get this straight: you “didn’t appreciate” Firefly, don’t like Flight of the Conchords, and LIKED Enterprise? Really? ENTERPRISE?

I don’t think we can be pretend lady lovers anymore. It’s over.

By: josh

josh — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:30:41 +0000

Nice post on the show. I agree with you totally with the points you have made. I’m not 100% sure yet if I will be tuning in next week, but hopefully the show will shape up and draw me in.

By: Seth Caskey

Seth Caskey — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:25:27 +0000

Well put. I’m a big Whedon fan and had been looking forward to the pilot for some time. I finished it and had the same reaction – I just don’t care about Echo at this point. While disappointing, I’ll give it a chance – who knows how it may come around.

You also make some great points for all writers to consider.

Great post Casey.

By: Dan Gorgone

Dan Gorgone — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:51:08 +0000

My happiest moment watching the show was seeing the name “Amy Acker” (Fred from “Angel” of course) flash on the screen with the guest stars. Then when I saw her, I thought, hey that’s nice to see her again. Aside from that, I thought, this seems like Alias, and I never even watched that show. But it was easy to setup the DVR to grab it, so I’ll let’er record and see what happens next week.

By: punterjoe

punterjoe — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:46:14 +0000

Maybe because I went in with lower expectations I wasn’t as disappointed. I agree with you on Firefly, and find it refreshing to find someone else who it didn’t resonate with.
I guess I saw what I expected with Ep1 of Dollhouse… lots of building the framework to lay future plot twists on. At least it seems Fox started with Ep1. Didn’t they start Firefly with Ep3 in the story arc?
I think there were lots of little clues dropped in the pilot. Echo did seem to have some flashbacks – to her AND the template’s pasts. This repressed memory/PTSD like syndrome could prove fertile ground for interesting new directions. I think they dropped enough clues to the various puppet masters that it’s clear their motives & backgrounds are quite different and are ripe for future conflict. The guy amid the corpses watching her college video seemed as ominous as Firefly’s blue gloves.
My take is that Whedon & co have tilled a garden & are starting to sprinkle seeds. I have no problem watching it grow slowly & looking for subtle clues. Of course that is not the Fox way. I only hope that they don’t 24-ize it or kill it so we have to buy the DVD to follow the story arc – as they did with Firefly & Wonderfalls. Either way, I don’t regret getting on board, even if the ride is still slowly clacking up the first hill.
But, that’s just me :P

By: Logan

Logan — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:23:11 +0000

The pilot felt incredibly disjointed. You wouldn’t even have to tell me that it was reshot and I could see right away there were changes made to this thing.

I don’t think the concept itself is flawed. I can see where it wants to go – to get us involved in the people Echo becomes. “Miss Penn” of the pilot has an involved and dark backstory, and you get to know her quite a bit in a short amount of time.

I think the problem with the character development was the reshoot. It’s really hard to get actors to come back and bring their A-game long after they’ve moved on (and for Echo, it has a very high requirement to sell us on each person she becomes). Plus it’s harder still to get them to buy into it when they know the reason why they’re reshooting: that the network is yet again screwing with Joss.

Long story short: Joss needs to get away from Fox. Hell, get away from network TV. In Firefly’s time, there weren’t that many options. now? Throw a rock and you’ve got a cable channel down for dramatic original programming and a lot more willing to give more creative control to the creators.