Xephyer

I watched the 2nd episode of Josh Whedon's new series - Dollhouse, and I'm still not 100% sure. Let me start by saying that there is a LOT of stuff that Mr. Whedon has done that I think is amazing. If you haven't checked out Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, you really need to - it is amazing.

Neil Patrick Harris is great in it - as a wanna-be Super-Villain. Nathan Fillion is excellent as Captain Hammer - and Felicia Day does a really good job as Penny. Also have to mention Simon Helberg (some of you will know him as Howard Wolowitz from the Big Bang Theory) - he has a minor part as Moist. Essentially, the blog, produced in three installments, chronicles Dr. Horrible's attempt to get into the Evil League of Evil. While trying to do this, he is also trying to get up the nerve to make his move on his neighbor Penny. All the while, however, he is thwarted by his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer. If you haven't checked this out yet, head over to Itunes where you can pick it up (and also get the soundtrack which has some really good songs).

In addition to Dr. Horrible - I was (well, still am) a huge fan of Mr. Whedon's series Firefly.

This was a truly exceptional TV series - filled with great characters, deep background, interesting stories, and high quality production. However, it was cancelled after only 11 episodes (possibly due to being bounced around the schedule plus the fact that the network showed the episodes out of sequence). Anyway, it was basically a space western. The series was set in the 26th century and centers around the crew of the spaceship Serenity in the wake of a interstellar civil war. In this future, the US and China - as the two superpowers had joined to form the Alliance. The whole series is available on DVD. If you are a Sci-Fi fan, it is definitely worth getting.

Now on to Dollhouse - which is Mr. Whedon's new series. The series stars Eliza Dushku (you may know her from Buffy, Angle, or Tru Calling) who plays Echo - one of the "actives" kept in a secret and illegal operation known as the Dollhouse. The "actives" live in a child-like state in the Dollhouse, until a customer hires them. At that time they are imprinted with personalities, abilities, etc which are an amalgam of various people. The "actives" are monitored by their individual handlers on these assignments, which can be as mundane as a date, or as extravagant as an assassination. Once the assignment is over, the memory of the "active" is wiped clean, and they return to their idyllic child-like life in the Dollhouse to await their next assignment. The opeartions of the Dollhouse are under constant threat by both an obsessed FBI Agent and a rogue "active" Alpha whose imprints apparently resurfaced resulting in a killing spree and his escape.

As I mentioned, I've seen the first two episodes. First the good news - I enjoyed the 2nd episode much more than the first. It seemed the episode was more focused, provided more action and character interaction, and less exposition. I was drawn more to the characters in this episode. I liked the ongoing threat by the rogue active Alpha. Now, for the less than good news. I still don't care for, or feel invested in, the FBI agent at all. It seems almost like a separate story all together. Although it is very hard to tell after only two episodes, I would like to see some more variations in Echo - so far all of her imprints are essentially the same character (albeit it with different clothes) - I would like to see some dramatic differences between imprints. Not sure how to accomplish that, but in order to keep the series fresh, I think it will be necessary.

Don't get me wrong, I think the premise of the story is very intriguing - and there are a lot of possibilities here. I just hope they explore them all.

Honestly, I wasn't too hopeful after I saw the first episode. To me, it seemed much too disjointed. It seemed that 2 hours worth of characters and backstory was squeezed into 52 minutes of airtime - and a lot of this seemed to come via exposition; plus I didn't find the first story line to be that engaging. However, as I said, I think the 2nd episode was markedly better - and I have hopes that it will continue to improve as the show finds its voice.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, as I am a huge Josh Whedon fan - and hope we continue to see his work.