In Defense of Dollhouse

After watching the Dollhouse season one finale I can say that there is no reason this show should be canceled. Well the low ratings might be a reason … But that doesn’t mean that creatively this show is not firing on all cylinders like so many people have claimed since the inception of this unique television experience.

That’s not to say Dollhouse is a perfect show, it has had it’s moments where it faltered. The Dollhouse episode that was a riff on the Most Dangerous Game for instance was the season low light for me. That being said, even that episode though had some great stuff in it that was vital towards the end of the season. The reason why I believe this show has a future is the plan of the series seems to be coming to light and really came into focus in the last few episodes.

Critics have stated (IGN TV I’m looking at you) that there is no point in watching a show where the main character does not develop, change, and grow because they don’t retain their experiences at the end of the episode. I’d argue that the introduction of Alpha’s original self coupled with Echo’s reaction to becoming Omega puts that criticism to rest. As Agent Ballard stated smugly in the finale, you can’t wipe a person’s soul.

Now I will pose a thought that has nagged at my own soul for a while and which I’ve hesitated to say because of my deep love and appreciation for another Joss Whedon creation. This will likely incite many a heated opinion (assuming anyone actually reads this) but I feel the need to say it non-the-less. The 12 episode season one of Dollhouse as a whole was a more entertaining and intellectually challenging run of television than the 13 episode season one of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Dollhouse has more stories to tell and I’d hate to see them end here. Could you imagine if the WB canceled Buffy after 13 episodes? No evil Angel, Spike, Drusilla, Mayor, Faith, Oz, Tara, Dawn, Wesley, Anaya, Agent Finn, or Andrew would have ever graced the TV screen. We’d be left with the cartoonish “Master” as the greatest Buffy villain and we’d remember Inca Mummy Girl as a high-water TV mark instead of the devilishly fun Sweet and his musical episode.

The components of Dollhouse can continue to be built upon in the same and maybe even better ways than they were with Buffy. You can check out (as of 5/9/09) episodes 8, 9, 10, 11, and the season finale 12 on Hulu.com. The earlier episodes you can grab off Itunes, stream and download this show dear reader you won’t regret it.

Wife says: "I can't believe how much I love this show" and that's big because we certainly don't agree on all our TV shows.