Those of you who have read our current issue know that we’ve been waiting very eagerly for Joss Whedon’s latest television universe, Dollhouse. The show, which premiered Friday, stars Eliza Dushku as Echo, a member of an underground group whose personalities are wiped clean and replaced so that they may be hired out as saviors, lovers or killers.
In the premiere episode, Echo is programmed to facilitate the payment of ransom of a 12-year-old girl kidnapped by Mexican bandits. The show’s resident nerdling Topher Brink (played by Fran Kranz) complicates Echo’s already perilous mission by downloading asthma, a dark secret and a pretty bad Spanish accent into Echo’s brain. (Okay, Dukshu is probably the one responsible for the bad Spanish accent.)
Inevitably, the show’s dramatic power will hinge on Whedon’s ability to extract from Dukshu an entirely different emotional universe in each episode. It’s a tall order considering how little he was able to pry from her as the rough-around-the-edges Faith back in her Buffy days, but Whedon has earned a season’s worth of patience in my book. I just can’t help but wonder what a more adept lead actress would mean for the show. Dukshu is great in a motorcycle chase, a fight scene and a miniskirt, but she lacks the emotional range and funny bones that have become a staple of the Whedonverse. In short, she’s a lot more Kristy Swanson than Sarah Michelle Gellar.
The premise doesn’t bode well for character development, indeed, it essentially makes it impossible…at least difficult…many things are difficult…like recovering from major natural disasters…
http://cufa.com.au/DisasterRelief/Victoria_2009/deposit.
In a sense, the fact that Echo can’t possibly have a single character arc might help Dukshu find her footing here. Who knows? When I talked to Whedon it was clear that this entire project was conceived from the beginning with Dukshu in mind–so he’s got
True, and I think Dukshu is a more talented actor than people give her credit for, her role in Buffy was fairly strictly confined to the ‘tough girl’ archetype and didn’t lend itself to a particularly wide emotional range, and when she was called upon to
Oooo. I never got into Buffy but loved Firefly and Serenity… and Mal… “I aim to misbehave” <3
Yeah Firefly was the bomb, it was a shame the network didn’t give it more of a chance methinks.
The second episode of Dollhouse was SO MUCH BETTER than the first. It was kind of like night & day. There were at least 4 plot twists I didn’t see coming, including a cliffhanger, which has got me much more excited for next week’s episode. Dukshu is still
Is it off the air?
It doesn’t seem like it’s on any more.
Tattoo Tattoo
Tattoos Tattoos
Tattoo Designs Tattoo Designs
Tattoo Cross Tat