5 out of 5

Director: Joss Whedon’s crew

Im confused why this didnt kick the panties off of every other show… or actually, wait, no Im not. Dollhouse isnt made for TV. The plot builds too well, the lead star is too pretty, and it has a feminine name. It wasnt meant to succeed. So witness it here, in a better format: streaming. Dollhouses most general plot piece is the titular facility – a secret facility – owned by a large, looming corporation, wherein people sign away their lives for a contracted amount of years to become a Doll. And whats a Doll? Its exactly what it sounds like – in the confines of the show, the technology exists to wipe someones personality down to a core personality, a blank slate, a Doll, so that new personalitys can be overwritten. And those in the know about the Dollhouse have plenty of money to pay for specific programs to be downloaded onto pretty people. The initial problem is that things start out episodic – our main star is Eliza Dushku (who, though I was skeptical of pretty girl) blew my socks off with her ability to flex between all her roles over the course of the show) – and the first couple episodes give her a personality which leads into a mystery, or a chase scene. But these are really just a warmup to get you used to the concept… so Whedon can slowly work in some really dark and exciting themes and subplots. This is the type of plotting that made Battlestar work (continuous, instead of Lost-type cliffhangers), it just probably isnt what people were expecting. I was hooked on this damn show. Great acting from everyone, truly fascinating and tense scripts, and dark themes not found in other Whedon work.