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Dollhouse: Season One Blu-ray
20th Century Fox | 2009 | 694 mins | Not rated | Jul 28, 2009
Michael.Schinke
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Jul 31, 2009
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Movie: 4
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Video: 3.5
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Audio: 4.5
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Extras: 3
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Overall: 4
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Time to put away your toys and enter the Dollhouse
The fourth series from word slinging wunderkind Joss Whedon hits Blu-ray after it's shaky television run with class. Set in the present day, Dollhouse is an interesting mix of true science fiction, action, mystery, suspense and a little bit of heart breaking romance that will entertain just about anyone into slightly mind bending TV. After a shaky first few episodes the series kicks into high gear when it sheds it's "mission of the week" artifice and begins to delve into the mythology of the Dollhouse and all it's related elements. While Elisha Dushku's performances can be a little uneven, given that she has to play an entirely new person from episode to episode, the stay in character turns from Tahmoh Penikett (Helo from Battlestar Galactica), Harry Lennix (Commander Locke from Matrix 2 and 3) and Fran Kranz provide a great bedrock for the show to build itself upon. A surprisingly sinister turn from Alan Tudyk (Firefly's Wash) nails the season at it's weirdest, while Miracle Laurie gives the show it's most heartbreaking turn. The show has a true arc, with few characters unaffected by what transpires in the 12 regular series episodes. The unaired 13th episode will completely blow you away as you see just how far things can get out of hand when you use technology to re-program people.
The video on this set is a bit of a mixed bag, but I don't blame the authors. While most of the imagery is rock solid with great contrast, even flesh tones and strong colors, there are some instances where the imagery is a bit soft. I blame a poor two camera setup for these, as it seems to occur in the same angles from scene to scene. There is some noise present in low light scenes but nothing to be too concerned with. Much of the imagery has a good deal of depth to it, but it still only looks as good as a well shot TV show.
The audio, provided as a DTS-HDMA track, is strong with well focused dialogue and clear delineation. Surrounds aren't very active, but I wouldn't expect them to be. Low frequencies are well defined, if not a little lean. I find this to be true for most TV shows on Blu - there still seems to be a lean towards less extreme audio work to accommodate those who refuse to invest in good home theatre equipment. Yes, I frown upon them.
The centerpiece extras, aside from the usual PR type video segments, are the audio commentary on the unaired 13th episode, "Epitaph One" and the original unaired pilot. I suggest watching this original pilot after you have watched the entire series as it can provide both new and conflicting information about characters. Since it went unaired, nothing in this episode should be taken as canon, aside from the few pieces that were lifted from it and inserted into later episodes. Like my Momma always said; never throw away a good idea.
While being a fairly bare bones presentation, not surprising given how the show struggled to find an audience, this Blu-ray set is a wonderful presentation of the material. Good video and strong lossless audio bring this unique drama to life. A must for all Whedon fans, but also recommended for anyone looking for a smartly written show that's just left of center of the weirdness line. |
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Sanjuro
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Aug 10, 2009
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Movie: 3.5
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Video: 3.5
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Audio: 4
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Extras: 3
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Overall: 3.5
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Joss Whedon's Mos Daring Show Yet
Television writer-director Joss Whedon established himself as arguably the medium's inest writer of the last ten years with cult smashes "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel" and "Firefly." What set him apart, aside from his unique style of dialogue (though that only really pervaded "Buffy"), was his def ability to pit his plots against genre conventions and his actors against their strengths. He turned boundlessly adorable Amy Acker and Alyson Hannigan into villains for a time, made the stuffy British exposition machine as much of a goofy kid as Xander, and put James Marsters through everthing he could throw at the poor man.
I see "Dollhouse" as Joss' attempt to go for the whole hog and play against his own strengths. For someone who could turn even the most Emmy-grabbing plot into seamless character development (think about how much the lauded "Buffy" standalones "Hush" and "Once More With Feeling" advance numerous character arcs without requiring much previous knowledge of the characters), creating a show in which the characters intentionally do not progress, where they literally reset at the end to start anew like old-school sitcoms, takes some pluck.
But courage alone cannot guarantee a triumph, and for its first four or five episodes, "Dollhouse can be grueling. Season premieres have never been the highlight of Whedonverse TV, but "Dollhouse's" pilot, re-written and shot after the original was rejected, is his most troublesome because it starts the series with a whimper, not even presenting the show's themes and filled with dialogue so cringe-inducing I simply have to believe Joss intentionally wrote it that way to comment on the indignity of studio involvement and artistic dilution.
When Fox eased off the pressure, though, "Dollhouse" kicks into high gear. Though it clearly casts the Dollhouse as a titular organization, it seeks to present the humanity of its operators without judgment: absorbed in their technological breakthroughs, they remain oblivious to (or casually justify with hollow logic) the horrors they perpetuate. As much as the show raises questions of identity and especially human trafficking, it is also a commentary on how science too often forsakes its humanity in favor of more research.
While the second half of the season is not all perfect ("Echoes" displays a very un-Whedon like inability to mix drama with comedy, and the Doll-of-the-week "Haunted" is a step backward after the show finally found a solid arc to propel it), it sufficiently sets up some interesting characters, storylines and themes, far later than it should have taken, but still. While Eliza Dushku's ever-shifting performances are hit-and-miss -- I think she's been treated unfairly, though; Echo is supposed to function abnormally and falter, after all -- she's buoyed by an excellent cast including breakout newcomers Miracle Laurie, Dichen Lachman and Enver Gjokaj; a suitably smarmy Fran Kanz; moral (off-)centers Tamoh Penikett and Harry Lennix; a wonderfully, intriguingly mysterious Amy Acker, who I maintain was the best actress on TV from the moment she appeared on "Angel" to the end of her stint in "Alias" and looks ready to prove her mettle once again; and bottled-up ice queen Oliva Williams.
PQ and AQ are above average, but the show is clearly working on a tight budget, with the only lavish item in the show being the gorgeous Dollhouse set (expect the next season to contain even less, what with budget cuts). Even in HD, not much leaps off the screen, but often the image looks damn pretty for a relatively inexpensive sci-fi show (thank God they don't resort to much CGI, if any).
As for extras, I'm not sure if I should count both of the unaired episodes, as "Epitaph One" is officially canon. Either way, it is a phenomenal episode, one that should ensure the viewer that Joss has a plan for the series even more than the excellent "Man on the Street," "Spy in the House of Love" or the two-part finale. Though penned by Dr. Horrible scribes Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen and filmed by frequent "Buffy" director David Solomon, "Epitaph One" displays that Whedonesque touch that was so desperately missing from the season proper, including many of the good episodes. All episodes of Whedon's shows go through the big man, but this is one of the few of "Dollhouse" that really felt like he'd bothered to look through the script and trim any weaknesses while retaining the strengths. "Epitaph One" answers many questions, but it gives itself a nice out by presenting the information through memories, which of course are suspect.
The original pilot, by comparison, is more a curiosity. Though certainly an improvement over the banal iteration that made the cut, it presents far too much mythology in a one-hour setting. I was actually intrigued (and somewhat irritated) that nearly all of the mythology and character-establishing material of the first 5-6 episodes could be found here, as it shows how Whedon and his team failed to flesh these ideas out in the early half. It's not confusing as Fox executives claimed, but it plays too many of its cards; where the aired pilot gave us nearly no crucial information, this version plays more like a mid-season recap.
Other extras include three fun commentaries from Whedon (with a guest in two of the three). Whedon is always on-point and informative in his solo tracks and disarming and gabby in his joint sessions, and that's no different here. The rest, sadly, amounts to little more than fluff pieces. Apart from an engaging making-of, too much of these features are actors and crew complimenting each other, which is nice and all but hardly something worth watching.
"Dollhouse" still needs to grow, but apart from "Firefly," none of Joss' programs fully established their footing in the first seasons. Its end run, combined with the masterful and thought-provoking "Epitaph One," suggests that Whedon could turn the program into his most complex work yet, and I'm glad to say that I actually look forward to seeing the series continue after waffling for half a season. |
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kolobos
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Jul 31, 2009
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Movie: 5
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Video: 5
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Audio: 5
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Extras: 5
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Overall: 5
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dollhouse
another great joss whedon show and a great dvd |
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math2000
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Aug 09, 2009
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Movie: 5
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Video: 5
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Audio: 5
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Extras: 5
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Overall: 5
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Dollhouse!!!!!!
this is a great show by Joss Whedon!!!Eliza Dushku is a great actress and talented!!!! |
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