The Dollhouse Television Series Lacks Personality

Joss Whedon's newest television series, Dollhouse, premiered on the FOX network this past Friday at 9 PM following Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Starring Eliza Dushku, Olivia Williams, and Tahmoh Penikett, Dollhouse is about an organization of the same name that wipes the personalities and memories of "volunteers", all of whom appear to be attractive women, so that they can be overwritten by any personality necessary for the various clientele to which the Dollhouse organization caters. The Dolls (or "actives" as they are referred to), are imbued with a personality created from an amalgam of others that is custom-tailored to a specific job, which can include everything from a ransom negotiator to a weekend fantasy girl and is summarily wiped again after the mission ends. Unfortunately, since the amalgam personality created also includes the faults, fears, and negative experiences of its component personalities, the Actives are subject to the same psychological and also physical limitations they had.

The pilot centers on the active known as "Echo" (Dushku) and her handlers. We are told very little about Echo's original personality, which is coerced into signing up to work for the Dollhouse by its icy-cold leader Adelle Dewitt (Williams) in a brief opening sequence. As expected, Echo's former personality appears to be trying to resurface throughout the show, and she certainly seems more curious about her situation than the few other actives to whom we are introduced.

In the meantime, we learn that FBI agent Paul Ballard (Penikett) is in charge of investigating the Dollhouse even though his immediate superiors believe it to be little more than a myth. So far it appears Ballard's character will be the typical rogue agent who stays just this side of the law to accomplish the goal. He gets just enough screen time to argue with his superiors and later hold a criminal at gunpoint in a bathroom to attempt to get information from him, but is otherwise a forgettable character.

While it's difficult to tell from a pilot episode alone, so far Dollhouse seems to lack the typical wit and charm of Whedon's other series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, which is somewhat disappointing. There is some attempt made with Ballard's bathroom confrontation and also the staple know-it-all geek technician, but largely Dollhouse seems to be a much more serious endeavor.

Unfortunately, the main characters are introduced with little to no personality or past. One might get the impression that Whedon is attempting to have us identify with Echo's robotic persona by keeping background details to such a minimum, but the absence of this information makes it difficult to have any interest in these characters, particularly because they all appear to fall into utterly stereotypical roles with little to no deviation from the norm. Even the first full mission we see of Echo's proceeds along predictably, so there is very little thus far to draw in viewers not familiar with Whedon's work.

Whedon claims to have planned the show out for several seasons ahead, so all of this may change, but if some spark isn't injected into the show soon, it's likely FOX will be wiping its personality in the near future.