Posted by Jonathan Klotz | Published
David Lynch will forever be remembered for his unique, dreamlike movies and unique, prolific series Twin Peaks. Much of his work can be difficult to follow due to its reliance on twisted logic, though eventually, they make sense and come together. That's why, when Joss Whedon showed Lynch the pilot episode A doll's houseand David Lynch's comment was that it was “very confusing,” Whedon knew he had a problem on his hands. The solution, reshooting the pilot, did not improve matters.
The Weird Idea Behind The Dollhouse
The foundation of A doll's house is, on the face of it, incredibly skeevy and creepy. People have their minds erased and replace them with fake personas for clients, secret tours, or business interests. Eliza Dushku is Echo, who starred in Fox's 2009 series, “Ghost,” taking on the role of an interviewer to save a kidnapped child. A straightforward, action-oriented episode that explains who the Dolls are, what they do, the Rossum organization, and touches on the dark side of the Dolls.
And it's not the first pilot of the series. “Echo,” the first pilot, was drawn to be, as David Lynch said, very confusing. In this episode, we see later how dark this series would become. Echo and FBI Agent Paul Ballard (Battlestar Galactica's Tahmoh Penikett) have their battle when Echo reveals her mission to save the Dolls and take down Rossum, a scene that will play out much later in Season 1, as does another scene where Rossum's crew notices that the Dolls are showing signs of self-awareness. There's more to the series pilot.
Even after filming “Echo” twice, it was cut into pieces and put into later episodes. Once fans were able to watch the pilot that could not be seen as part of the A doll's house Season 1 box set, they figured they'd watch it all. The information drips, revelations, and betrayals that fans received throughout the first season made it a hit, at least enough for Fox to pick up a second season, which seems unheard of when it comes to high-concept sci-fi programming on the network. That happened despite the interference of some officials which confused the viewers.
Dollhouse Streamed Out of Order
A doll's house not broadcast in the intended order. The second episode, “The Target,” has been moved up a notch. If you watched the episode, and wondered who Alpha was after Rossum's crew started talking about his meddling, you were right to be confused. “Grey Hour,” the first episode of the second, aired on the fourth, and in that episode we learn who Alpha is, and why we're surprised he's out there making life difficult for Rossum. It's hard enough to keep track of who it is without dealing with the managers who process the order because “Target” takes it The Deadliest Game and he thought that was cool.
Watching A doll's house after the appearance of Joss Whedon's history can be difficult. Eliza Dushku gave up acting because of what it was like to work for her, but on the other hand, she does an amazing job as Echo. The cast, full of familiar faces from the world of sci-fi, incl Firefly again Buffy alums, it's such a joy to watch them work. Be prepared to be a little confused as the series unfolds, partly because of the twisted mystery, and partly because no one knew how to sell the concept to the audience, so they made you jump.
Both seasons of Dollhouse are available for purchase on Amazon Prime Video.
