Essay/critique of Dollhouse (Slant Magazine)

[wenxina]

Read HERE. Some interesting points made throughout, including a critique on Joss' strengths and weaknesses as as writer.

[PJ]

I can understand his frustration, but at the same time, it's partly his fault for not going to Showtime, or at least FX, with this idea in the first place.

i agree with this 100%. I love Joss, but i think he should gone somewhere else to do the show after what happened with Firely, you know? :/

[Eric]

Mar 6, 2010 19:24:39 GMT -5 PJ said:

I can understand his frustration, but at the same time, it's partly his fault for not going to Showtime, or at least FX, with this idea in the first place.

i agree with this 100%. I love Joss, but i think he should gone somewhere else to do the show after what happened with Firely, you know? :/

Well, there isn't much he could've done. He created Dollhouse specifically as a vehicle for Eliza and she had an exclusivity contract (or whatever the hell you want to call it) with Fox.

[wytchcroft]

in case people are wondering about the mentions of comic book references in a lot of recent Dollhouse (and Buffy8) critiques and aren't avid x-men readers here's a nice one that can actually be found in wiki.

compare Paul and Mellie scenes in S1 with this;
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Xft010a1.jpg
yes, the female character is called M here too.


i'm an x-men fan anyway so it doesn't bother me unduly, but i can understand if such things in DH (and S8) frustrate those viewers and readers not geek-core enough to know what's being used or nodded to.

[henzINNIT]

Very interesting read. Some thoughts I've had and others I never considered. Interesting to think that the original Dollhouse may not have beared any resembelence to even the unaired pilot.
The bit about relying on fights to fix things really struck me. I hadn't given it much thought, but the "fight scene" moments were often the parts of the show that bothered me. Only couple felt justified.
I noticed that the writer thought our brain-washed senator was less scary than a regular, amoral senator. I don't quite agree with that, as Perrin ultimately took the "bribe" anyway in allowing himself to be wiped and controlled.
As much as I enjoyed the show - and at times I really did think it was awesome - it will always feel like a missed opportunity.

[Darth Rosie]

Here's a quote a friend of mine found: "Dollhouse thus far looks like a show I might enjoy taking apart and critiquing, but not enjoy enough to actually watch" (Zahra, April 29, 2009, response to posting by The Angry Black Woman entitled "The problem with Dollhouse is not that I don't understand subtlety").