“Ghost”
Written by Joss Whedon Directed by Joss Whedon The Story After getting backed into some kind of unpleasant corner, a woman in her late twenties (I’m guessing) signed some kind of contract with an organization called Dollhouse. Now, she’s called Echo, and her mind gets wiped completely clean of memories and defining characteristics, then imprinted with completely different personalities, custom designed for high-paying clients. First, she becomes the perfect date for some trust fund kid, and then she becomes the perfect kidnap negotiator for a man whose daughter was abducted. Topher, the architect of these personalities, is very proud of his work. However, there’s a snag. This personality, Eleanor Penn, is motivated by the real memories of a girl who was kidnapped and horribly abused by one of the same men who took the client’s daughter, so she gets PTSD and fumbles the negotiation, so the dad gets shot. Adelle DeWitt, the head of the Dollhouse, wants to pull out immediately because of liability issues (what with the Dollhouse basically being high-tech prostitution and therefore super illegal) and the unlikelihood of getting paid now that the client is in critical condition, but “Eleanor Penn” is, in fact, uniquely qualified to retrieve the girl from this particular kidnapper. She goes in again and gets the girl out, just in time for another “Active” from the Dollhouse to arrive and shoot all the kidnappers and take the ransom money for the Dollhouse to keep. Also there’s an FBI agent who’s dead set on proving the existence of the Dollhouse, even though his superiors want him off the case. And there’s a freaky naked dude watching videos of who Echo was before she became an Active. Definitely not the best pilot I’ve seen. Easily my least favorite Joss Whedon pilot, actually. The show’s premise is a fascinating one, but it presents a serious obstacle to engaging storytelling in that an integral part of the way this works is temporary scenarios. And not just the scenarios, but the characters! Pretty much every procedural show out there cycles in a fresh batch of one-shot characters every week to interact with the main characters and then vanish into the ether. Dollhouse is like that, but multiple main characters are essentially revolving door one-shot characters too. iZombie is sort of similar because of how much Liv’s personality changes depending on the last brain she ate, but at least those changes are always a blend of herself and the brain’s personality, and she’s struggling to maintain her identity through all the changes. This show has a literal, deliberate reset button for personalities. The worthwhile story here, then, is not the stuff the dolls go out to do with clients, but what’s happening with the Dollhouse at large, and the implications of technology that wipes people’s minds. From the pilot alone, you’d expect the show to be that much weaker procedural type thing, not something that focuses on bigger arcs. If it wasn’t for being a Joss Whedon fan and happy to see lots of the same actors back, I don’t know if I’d be very excited to keep watching at this point. Things I Liked
Things I Didn’t
The Characters The only reason Echo is interesting at this point is that it’s clear the technology isn’t entirely erasing everything. When she’s blank, she seems ever so slightly more curious about things than she should be, and she has those flashes of things she shouldn’t remember once she’s Eleanor Penn. Basically, she’s interesting for plot reasons more than for character reasons. Agent Ballard is extremely tenacious, as is hinted at rather unsubtly by the boxing match intercut with his meeting with his superiors. I don’t care yet. Topher is already pretty fun. Rather cocky, but not malicious. Fun dialogue. I want more screentime with this guy. Adelle seems pretty ruthless and manipulative. Nowhere near the level of Hogarth from Jessica Jones, but still. Langton is kind of like a cross between Giles and Book. Protective, patient, and very attuned to his charge. Without his faith in Echo’s abilities, the little girl would’ve died an extremely horrible, drawn-out death. Overall Rating 2.5/5
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The Watcher's Diary
In this blog, I'll be reviewing, analyzing, and generally fangirling over excellent television. Exhibit A: the Whedonverse. Archives
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