BY JULIE LEUNG
After five wishy-washy episodes, “Dollhouse” creator Joss Whedon finally did what he should have done from the beginning with sci-fi thriller series – keep the camera off Eliza Dushku.
It’s hard to do, I know, especially considering the title credits are just a montage of Dushku-glorifying close-ups.
Premiering in February on the dreaded Friday night time-slot, “Dollhouse” follows a covert organization that wipes the personalities from voluntary, beautiful people and imprints new ones into them. Now known as “dolls” or “actives,” they are then hired out to rich clients with either a high-stakes adventure on the line or a sexual fantasy on the mind.
The premise calls for a group dynamic, similar to Whedon’s previous sci-fi show “Firefly,” in which nine characters enjoyed nearly equal screen time. But as the story goes, “Firefly” was canceled after 14 near-perfect episodes — a crime Fox has yet to be forgiven for by fans. Perhaps that’s why this time around, Whedon is hesitant to spread the wealth around. Rather, the show centers on Echo (Dushku), an active who beginning to retain memories and develop self-awareness. She’s “compositing,” as snarky neurologist Topher (Fran Kranz) would say. The last time an active composited, a bloodbath ensued. The show frequently alludes to this rogue active (called Alpha) who operates on the fringes of the plot, more than likely building up for a major showdown.
From the onset, “Dollhouse” looked to be little more than a vanity project for the unexceptional actress who first garnered fame as Faith on Whedon’s runaway hit, “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” Dushku was decent as a slayer-gone-bad, but did that mean she was ready to play lead in her own show? Did you see “Tru Calling”?
The series called for a stronger lead actress. But since that seems unlikely to change, the key to its salvation is to re-focus the spotlight on the more interesting dolls, namely Sierra (Dichen Lachmen), Victor (Enver Gjokaj) and Mellie (Miracle Laurie).
Too bad it took Whedon five whole episodes to realize that. The first batch mostly featured Echo galavanting from one “engagement” to the next, barely stringing together a cohesive bigger picture. That is until last Friday’s “Man on the Street” rocketed the show from mediocre to mesmerizing.
**SPOILER ALERT**
In this game-changing episode, we see the organization shaken to its core by an apparent rape of an active while she is in her blank state. As the fingers start pointing, Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett of “Battlestar Galactica”), the FBI agent tirelessly on the Dollhouse’s body-trafficking trail, catches up with Echo during her engagement with a Dotcom billionaire (played by comedian Patton Oswalt). Oswalt’s character had been using Echo as a surrogate for his wife, who had been killed before he could tell her about his fortune. The story fills in a much-needed moral gray. At once, viewers feel sorry for the client but also understand Ballard’s disgust with the business.
In terms of the bigger picture, the episode also reveals an inside man working in the Dollhouse and the existence of 20 more Dollhouses around the world. We learn that there’s a more sinister motive driving the organization. “The Dollhouse deals in fantasy. That is their business, but it’s not their purpose,” says Echo to Ballard via a corrupted personality imprint. And finally, the crucial mind-blowing twist comes courtesy of Ballard’s shy and adoring neighbor, Mellie, who turns out to be a sleeper cell. Kudos to Miracle Laurie for proving that so-called “plus-sized” women can in many ways out-act and out-schlock their toothpick counterparts.
**SPOILER ALERT ENDED**
With razor-sharp humor and jaw-dropping revelations, “Man on the Street” should have been the rule not the exception. Fox had little faith to begin with, shunting the show to Friday nights, where it had little to no chance of gaining an audience. Cancellation seems all but certain at this point.
At last, “Dollhouse” looks to become the complex, thrilling mind-game it should be. Too bad it regained consciousness too late.
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