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-   -   FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/tv-talk/563061-fox-air-all-ordered-eps-dollhouse.html)

SteelWill 10-13-09 05:48 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD (Post 9771506)
And I could say the same for people who watch drivel like Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, Law and Order, CSI etc. Just because I don't like it doesnt make the show(s) shit.

Please don't group NCIS in with those other shows.

spainlinx0 10-13-09 06:16 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Tracer Bullet (Post 9770404)
Since Whedon's post-Firefly career has been incredibly lackluster (the failure of Serenity, getting thrown off the Wonder Woman movie, the awful joke that was Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and now the aggravatingly uneven Dollhouse) I think that the complete failure of Firefly broke him. That was the show that he was building towards his entire career (and it's definitely his best work to date) and it was dismissed and killed without ever getting a real chance.

It's sad, really.

Very true. Firefly was already something great when it ended. Serenity was a nice conclusion, but if the show had had years to play out what happened in 90 minutes, it would have been fantastic.


Originally Posted by Nick Martin (Post 9770460)
Serenity may not have raked in the box-office dollars but to call the film itself a failure is just plain wrong.
Dr. Horrible, though not my idea of fun since it's a musical and I HATE musicals, especially the Buffy musical which I have never sat all the way through, was a big success.

That's not accurate. How this all started is that Eliza Dushku had a development deal with FOX, and she remained close to Whedon all these years. Whedon HIMSELF believed that Dushku could play any character she wanted and thought it would be good to showcase that. That's how Dollhouse was born. He had no intention of returning to TV but it gave her something to develop at Fox (which is why she is credited as a producer) and it gave him a chance to write for her roles that could show her incredible range....obviously Whedon wasn't prepared for reality to sink in.

I thought Eliza actually brought the Dollhouse idea to Josh. Perhaps I am mistaken.

I was disappointed in Dr. Horrible. Mostly boring with some funny stuff mixed in. I am a fan of Whedon, but that and Dollhouse have me ready to give up on him.


Originally Posted by Draven (Post 9770465)
Passions was Episode 17 of Season 2. Dollhouse hasn't even had that many episodes TOTAL yet.



SMG was never that great of an actress, Charisma Carpenter was downright terrible and Nicholas Brendon was still pretty one-note.

I think people are remembering the first few seasons of Buffy and Angel with rose-colored glasses. Those shows really didn't get going until a little later.

I think that Dollhouse is definitely lagging, but I've seen the glimmers of greatness that I saw in early Buffy and Angel episodes.

Passion was season 2 which was what people compared it to. I consider it fair.

SMG wasn't that great of an actress? Perhaps she sucks in other roles, but she was fucking fantastic as Buffy. That was the perfect character for her. The Body alone should have gotten her an award. And even if you consider her mediocre, you have to agree that Eliza is ten levels below even that.

Yes, you can see the glimmer of greatness, but it repeatedly gets smashed down by stupid side stuff. I enjoy monster of the week stuff, but here it often fails miserably. The last episode with her as a bimbo coed was a pathetic time-filler with nothing intriguing at all about it.

I have been more than lenient with Dollhouse because I am such a huge fan of Whedon's previous work, but I can't keep defending it without noticing the huge flaws that are starting to become apparent. Eliza sucks. Plain and simple. I absolutely love the other characters on the show, but she drags the show down, and because of her forced inclusion the show suffers.

Original Desmond 10-13-09 06:24 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 
I have no problem with Dollhouse getting canned after this season but as least Josh knows and can end it properly

Gizmo 10-13-09 06:55 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Original Desmond (Post 9771564)
I have no problem with Dollhouse getting canned after this season but as least Josh knows and can end it properly

Let's hope Josh ends it on a good note.

Puzznic 10-13-09 06:55 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 
Im a huge Whedon fan, but Dollhouse is by far my least favorite work of his. It is really held back by the premise and Eliza. I still enjoy it for what it is though, and Amy Acker brings it as usual.

Dr. DVD 10-13-09 07:53 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Puzznic (Post 9771618)
Im a huge Whedon fan, but Dollhouse is by far my least favorite work of his. It is really held back by the premise and Eliza. I still enjoy it for what it is though, and Amy Acker brings it as usual.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Eliza really drags this show down a level, and I wouldn't be surprised if this series' fans list her as one of the main drawbacks.

critterdvd 10-13-09 08:28 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Gunde (Post 9770797)
Yes by the Whedon worshippers. The rest of us found it stupid

Yet it won an Emmy and has made about 1000% its budget back. Not bad considering that its free to watch...

Draven 10-13-09 11:00 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 
I enjoy Joss Whedon but I've loaned my DVD of Dr. Horrible to plenty of non-Whedonites and they all enjoy it. Maybe it's just humorless people that don't like it?

And I stand by my statement. Episode for episode, Dollhouse is about on par with Buffy or Angel, in quality and narrative. And for the record I like Eliza Dushku. She was my favorite character on Buffy next to Willow and I watch Dollhouse for her and Tahmoh Penikett. I think she does a fine job in the role, at least as good as SMG or Charisma Carpenter.

Thrush 10-13-09 11:45 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Draven (Post 9772042)
And I stand by my statement. Episode for episode, Dollhouse is about on par with Buffy or Angel, in quality and narrative.

And perhaps this explains why I could never get into Buffy or Angel.

boa26262 10-14-09 01:31 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 
I don't think Eliza Dushku is the Problem. The writing of Echo is the problem. I liked Eliza on "Tru Calling", but can't stand her on "Dollhouse". She is the worst thing about the show.

wmansir 10-14-09 02:00 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by boa26262 (Post 9772176)
I don't think Eliza Dushku is the Problem. The writing of Echo is the problem.

If by that you mean the problem is they are writing a role that requires a very good/great actress to pull it off when all they have is Dushku, then I agree. I don't think Eliza is horrible, but she's average at best. The writers should recognize what isn't working and work around it.

Ravenous 10-14-09 04:13 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 
Eliza isnt great, but the stories, writing, layout have all been shit; thats easy to see. The writers (or Josh) just havent put any heart or drive into this damn series. Its pathetic. They touched on it with the finale, but its basically dead now.

creekdipper 10-14-09 06:34 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 
I like Dollhouse, although I was skeptical after the first few episodes. And I like Ms. Dushku, who is adequate for the role.

The show is not great, the lead is not great, and the plots are not great...but then, how many current shows airing ARE great? At least the premise is a bit different. For the record, I also liked My Own Worst Enemy & Crusoe, which both got canned last season. Neither were great, but they offered a reprieve from the standard fare that passes for "drama" these days.

Maybe Dollhouse would have succeeded if they made Echo an older man, gave him a female eye-candy sidekick, and surrounded them with a team (including quirky characters) who investigated a new mystery every week.

Or perhaps they could have devoted half the show to Echo capturing a criminal & the rest of the show depicting the prosecution of the criminal. Echo could have played both the role of cop & prosecuter.

Or perhaps Echo & partner could have been involved in a weekly race or could have been stranded on an island. Maybe she could have been involved in a weekly competition to lose weight or demonstrate her singing or dancing skills or marry a bachelor.

Stupid Joss...don't he know what the viewing public wants?

spainlinx0 10-14-09 06:50 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 
Well I think it's a little disingenuous to think the fans of Joss are clamoring for your sarcastic premises. It's not like Buffy, Angel, or Firefly were your standard TV fare. And it is because those shows were great, we all want Dollhouse to be great.

I just can't believe someone said this show is on par with Buffy or Angel episode for episode. Do you not remember the episode with the horses? Give me swimming steroid fish any day over that.

I don't think Ms. Dushku is "adequate" for the role. If she were at least adequate, I wouldn't really complain. The role is above her, obviously. I will say that they do give her some pretty shitty stories. I wonder how much of that has to do with forcing those stories in. Why is it that when the other characters are interacting, my complete focus is on the screen. When Ballard, Boyd, Whiskey, Adelle, or even Topher are the main focus the episodes work so much better, and the reason is because it feels like those stories are the ones Joss wants to tell, and the Echo ones are the filler he has to tell.

creekdipper 10-14-09 07:52 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by spainlinx0 (Post 9772262)
Well I think it's a little disingenuous to think the fans of Joss are clamoring for your sarcastic premises. It's not like Buffy, Angel, or Firefly were your standard TV fare. And it is because those shows were great, we all want Dollhouse to be great.

I grok your mouthmusic, Spain, but I guess I don't expect everything Joss does to live up to the heights of his earlier work.

My point was simply that the show offers a diversion from the other formula shows & their clones. If I found the show to be unwatchable, I'd say so. In DVDTalk Review terms, I'd give the show a "rent it"...not highly recommended or buy it, but not "skip it", either. It's certainly not essential and doesn't compare favorably to many better shows in the past, but I don't see too many current network shows that I would rate as 'essential'.

It's like Friday Night Lights...I watch it because it's different even though I sometimes find it infuriating when it relies on predictable conventions. Still, I prefer it to many other throwaway shows that are paint-by-number. I had some similar reservations about Battlestar Galactica, but the pros outweighed the cons.

Could Dollhouse be better? Undoubtedly. Should Dollhouse be better? Without question. Do those assessments make it unwatchable? IMHO, no way. I'll still watch Heroes even when the plots wander, just as I watched Prison Break when it got bogged down in Season 4, or The Tudors when almost two seasons were devoted to Anne Boleyn. I miss the variety of the 60's when every conceivable type of show was airing.

Will I miss Dollhouse when it's canceled? Not in a big way. However, I don't see much better on the horizon, judging by the quality of the new shows this season.

Draven 10-14-09 08:09 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by spainlinx0 (Post 9772262)

I just can't believe someone said this show is on par with Buffy or Angel episode for episode. Do you not remember the episode with the horses? Give me swimming steroid fish any day over that.

What about the one "Some Assembly Required" where Willow's computer fell in love with her? Was it THAT much better than that particular Dollhouse episode?

rfduncan 10-14-09 08:20 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by ATX (Post 9771459)
i get a good laugh reading dollhouse threads when people say how good it is and how they can't wait for the next eps... WTF??? LMAO

Thanks for your sage input to this thread. I guess you must have endless amounts of time on your hands if you can wade through all the Dollhouse threads and contribute nothing to the topic except a threadcrap. Seriously, thanks. :crap:


Originally Posted by spainlinx0 (Post 9771459)
The last episode with her as a bimbo coed was a pathetic time-filler with nothing intriguing at all about it.

WHAT!?!?! That implant allowed that priceless sequence with Victor (Enver Gjokaj) in the dance club! :lol:


Originally Posted by Puzznic (Post 9771459)
Amy Acker brings it as usual.

Too bad she is
Spoiler:
adios in a few episodes.

B.A. 10-14-09 08:47 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by riley_dude (Post 9769961)
The series towards the end of last season was really solid. Unfortunately I can't say the same for this season's episodes.

Spot on.

Tracer Bullet 10-14-09 09:00 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Draven (Post 9772042)
I enjoy Joss Whedon but I've loaned my DVD of Dr. Horrible to plenty of non-Whedonites and they all enjoy it. Maybe it's just humorless people that don't like it?

:rolleyes: Yes, that must be it.

I didn't care for Dr. Horrible because it did nothing new. If you're a fan of his previous work you saw the ending coming within the first 10 minutes. The songs were mostly forgettable, too- I don't remember a single one of them.

Tracer Bullet 10-14-09 09:04 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Thrush (Post 9772096)
And perhaps this explains why I could never get into Buffy or Angel.

Don't listen to him. Both BtVS and Angel are miles ahead of Dollhouse. The first season of BtVS is pretty awful, and there were some real clunkers in each subsequent season, as well, but in terms of execution and style it was heads and shoulders above Dollhouse.

The first few episodes of Buffy's second season were pretty bad too ("Inca Mummy Girl", anyone?) so I'm willing to give Dollhouse time to grow, but Fox won't be.

And the TV market is much different than it was in 1997- shows don't have time to suck and then slowly get better anymore. And Buffy only made it because it was on a small network.

Tracer Bullet 10-14-09 09:07 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Draven (Post 9772318)
What about the one "Some Assembly Required" where Willow's computer fell in love with her? Was it THAT much better than that particular Dollhouse episode?

At least I wasn't bored during "Some Assembly Required".

Dr. DVD 10-14-09 09:35 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Tracer Bullet (Post 9772415)
And the TV market is much different than it was in 1997- shows don't have time to suck and then slowly get better anymore. And Buffy only made it because it was on a small network.



You bring up a valid point. I recently looked at some shows that aired on Fox and other networks in the late 80s/early 90s, and in those days even if a show sucked beyond all belief, it seemed like it would get at least a full season. Hell, I remember Fox used to be the joke network with shows that had premises so lame that in retrospect I'm surprised anyone had the audacity to even air them (Herman's Head got two seasons for Pete's sake!).
Where were these axe happy execs when we needed them?

orangecrush 10-14-09 10:21 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 

Originally Posted by Tracer Bullet (Post 9772410)
:rolleyes: Yes, that must be it.

I didn't care for Dr. Horrible because it did nothing new. If you're a fan of his previous work you saw the ending coming within the first 10 minutes. The songs were mostly forgettable, too- I don't remember a single one of them.

I really liked Neil Patrick Harris in this. I also found the first song of the 2nd part to be pretty memorable. Though I haven't seen many musicals, so it could easily be very ho-hum and I wouldn't know it.

Superman07 10-14-09 10:48 AM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 
At least none of this sinks to the lows of Bad Eggs or Double Meat Palace! Of course it doesn't have any of the same highs either. I'd say the end of the S1 for Dollhouse was on par with something like a mid-season 2-parter from Buffy or Angel.

Nick Martin 10-14-09 01:38 PM

re: FOX to air all ordered eps of Dollhouse
 
What about "Beer Bad"?


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