ALARIS' REVIEWS

9th August 2009
Dollhouse: Season 1 (2009)

First up, this isn't a review. I couldn't bring myself to be constructive about this series, so it's a straight up opinion piece. On the up side, I've refrained from making this a string of angry adjectives.

Joss. What have you done?

Joss Whedon, creator of the consistently brilliant Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (1997), the occasionally entertaining Firefly (2002), and the mostly awful Angel (1999), has now brought us the consistently appalling Dollhouse . Many people abandoned the series after the first few episodes, repulsed by the gratuitous sexual exploitation and the degrading premise (pretty young sex slaves brainwashed into loving what they do. And not a single mention of safe sex). I hung in there, fool that I was, hoping Joss' creative vision would win against the obvious network interference.

Never again. The series remained disturbingly sleazy and misogynist (except for the unaired 13th episode), without nearly enough moral grey to wash away the overwhelmingly awful stories. Some days it was like watching a documentary about sexual slavery, but where the editorial voice asks "Is it wrong? Maybe, maybe not."

I have no doubt that the basic premise of Dollhouse could have worked, if handled with immense sensitivity, intelligence, and ethical direction. Unfortunately, the series bellyflops into panty shots and bondage gear.

The only redeeming features are the performances of Amy Acker (from Angel ) as the gentle Dr Saunders; Olivia Williams as the very British manager; and Fran Kranz as the genius programmer Topher Brinks, who seems to be the only character written in Joss' tragi-comedic style. They deserve to be in a far, far better series.

Verdict: A badly handled sci-fi series that falls off the intelligent debate wagon from the get go, and spends its time wallowing in a morally repulsive puddle.

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