Dollhouse - Season 1-2 [Blu-ray]

I'll admit it - the first episodes of Dollhouse didn't have me convinced. Disappointment that the collaboration of Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku (surprisingly unconvincing and rather dull) I wasn't quite sure I wanted to continue to watch.

But then came the episode "Man on the street" and I glimpsed what Dollhouse could really be. I got hooked. The rest of season 1 is an entertaining ride carried on an interesting concept with so many loveable characters that you're not sure who is your favorite.
Topher Brink (Fran Kranz) and Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams) are two of Whedon's best ever crafted characters. Brink's journey through the show is as endearing as it is heartbreaking and Adelle is a fascinating woman through and through who steals the show no matter what scene she is in or how small the part is.

Mr. Dominic, Boyd, Dr. Saunders, Viktor, Sierra... other highly interesting and somewhat under-used characters that should have been given more room to play (why were the credits soley dedicated to Dushku? We understand that she is the star without it being shoved down our throats at each turn).
Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Pennikett) is an interesting character and his journey too is one that fascinates as it goes along although Paul takes some getting used to. Sadly his interest in Echo (Duskhu's character ) is unconvincing and the story never gets a push because the chemistry between them is flat as cardboard.

It is the final three episodes that gives Dollhouse that edge you've been waiting for. "Briar Rose", "Omega" and "Epitath one" (Yay Zac Ward) are all sheer brilliance and it leaves you craving for more. (Big shout out for Alan Tudyk's fantastic acting during the first two of these)

Season 2 moves along at a more rapid pace and the show has really grown stronger as a whole. It will have you hooked taking you from an "interesting concept" phase, to "fascinating thrilling to watch" and all the way to "deeply unsettling" as the world of the Dollhouse technology and its possibilities really start to become clear.

Somehow Dushku and Pennikett found some kind of spark because the Echo/Paul connection seems more believable (if still somewhat overrated).
Everybody shines in this season Dushku is brilliant(even pulling of some cheesy stinker lines with gusto) and Enver Gjokaj there isn't enough good things to say about. He is one of the best thing this show had going for it.

All in all Dollhouse is more than it's first few episodes (they really aren't that bad, they're just not all they could be) and sticking with it will leave you burning with a fervor for more. It is one of the most interesting concepts I have ever seen presented and one that feeds discussion in the plenty, (and has one truly bizarre but very enjoyable ending).

(Ps. The show has an amazing soundtrack. "Remains" by Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon is magic)

I remember seeing one early episode of Dollhouse series 1 on TV and not being that impressed. To me it seemed to be very similar to a favourite of mine, Alias: a female star who is not what she appears to be, working for a mysterious organisation, with a grizzled black partner, a guy on the outside who loves her and a crazy science guy who is the comic relief. So why did I buy this? I spend several hours a day commuting and catch up on TV series on a portable DVD player; I was running out of things to watch and this was bargain priced.

Initial impressions of the first series were much the same as my original thoughts but, hey, it whiled away the journey. It's not that the individual episodes were dull, there is plenty of action and it's well written, but it's hard to engage with a lead character who is a blank slate unless programmed to be someone else. It's only when the mysterious Alpha finally makes an appearance that things really kick off and we realise that not everything is as it seems. Towards the end of the season, the makers were told that the series was going to be canned so, given that Firefly ended with so many questions, they decided to make the 13th episode a summary of where the story arcs were going, told largely through some new characters. I didn't know this in advance and I have to say that 13th episode was one of the most mind-blowing TV events I've experienced. So much so that I watched it again when I got home - the story expands on a massive and unexpected scale.

Now obviously I knew there was a whole second season in the box, but instead of dismay that I now knew the ending, there was excitement that I would find out exactly how this situation had come about. In the second series, the problem with doll character engagement is solved as they begin to evolve new personalites. Our pre-conceptions are toyed with as characters have true identities revealed or die unexpectedly; the pace is relentless as everything is squeezed in rather than dragged out as TV series so often do. Some of the acting is quite poor (stand up Miracle Laurie and Summer Glau) but the general standard is extremely high, for example Enver Gjokaj (Victor) and Olivia Williams (Adele DeWitt). Williams, being English with an English accent in a US series, is typically typecast as a villain but, through an unusually subtle - for a TV series - performance earns our sympathy and respect. Gjokaj has a wide range of emotive acting skills and his imprinting of Topher in "The Left Hand" is hilarious.

I am so glad that I didn't give up on Dollhouse - it has gone from a so-so viewing experience to one of the most memorable in recent years.

Yes another work with Joss Whedon's brilliance brought to a very early ending. Dollhouse can be confusing and incredibly deep. You can't just stop thinking about it the moment you turn it off, it leaves your mind occupied with its twisted, clever storyline that attempts to dig deep into a human's mental, emotional and psychological abilities. Echo built herself from scratch, and it was just fascinating to watch her become her own ''someone'' by the end of the show, someone who's brave and smart and just beautiful. The ending was Epic .. heartbreaking .. only Joss Whedon would leave you smashed like that.
Eliza Dushku is one talented actress, it was very interesting and just easy to watch her take on different characters and personalities so effortlessly. The rest of the cast was awesome too. In my opinion, the show itself deserves more than 5 stars.
Why 4 stars? For the boxset itself! Basically nthn new except the regular Season 1 and Season 2 put together into a cardboard box that will clearly wear off in a short time. I would have preferred something more creative and solid for fans of the show (even if it wasn't released immediately). It does have some extra features the best being the final round the table close up with Joss Whedon and the cast, which was great to watch.
Can't wait to see what's next to hit our Whedonesque world!!