Sunday, July 10, 2016

DVD Movie Review #183 Dollhouse Season 1

What do you get when you have a 70% off sale you end up trying new things. This is a series I have had an eye on for a while but had never been willing for fork out. For $2 though...it is something I couldn't resist.




The Dollhouse is a place that you can make an order for anyone who can do anything and you have it. Need a hot date for the night? Expert Assassin? Pastry Chef? They have you covered. Their process is pretty simple. People sign their bodies away for 5 years and in return their bodies come back in the best shape of their life and they get a large sum of money. In exchange for these things the people get their minds wiped and become download device's for different personalities that are then sold out to the customers for a large price. What can go wrong with this? Quite a lot really. During this we have to deal with a rabidly obsessed FBI agent who's lady crush is actually one of the dolls and an evil Doll that went ape. When we put this together within different requested client situations we have the series Dollhouse.




This series is quite imaginative. When I saw the first episode I thought "here's just another police procedural with a twist" but in the end this turned out to be more like the pretender and some other shows of that type where the main character is involved in many different situations not all being police business. The Dollhouse itself is one of those types of organizations where throughout the entire season you are kept guessing weather it is evil or good when the answer falls somewhere in between. The action that takes place is pretty intense and the acting is worth making you check this one out. I loved the tension between Echo and Alpha that started as only mystery and then lead up to a climactic confrontation.




This series has a lot of detractors that kept me from fully getting involved in this series. The first thing is that the pace is uneven. You can be racing through the story at full paced then come to a screeching halt when the story goes to an episodic event such as helping a girl find her stray cat or something. The story is also very confusing. The summary I gave you took a lot from me and I'm not even certain that take is the correct one. You are constantly confused about the dolls, what they do and how they fit in on the greater scheme of things. The last episode is also one of those screeching halt type of moments.  They really could have ended the series on episode 12 but then they had to go all crazy. This stuff is still mostly forgivable but the one most unforgiving part was that FBI agent. When I say he was Rabidly obsessed I meant he was Rabid. He as pretty much abusive to everyone that might have been a friend or ally and though in the end his paranoia became justified it was a constant annoyance throughout and in the end I was hoping for his death every time he went on screen.




This series has a pretty cool and unique story that makes me happy to see writing like this in TV where everything is reused and no one seems to want to try anything new. This series still falls short due to uneven writing, confusion and a few annoying issues. Still this is a good series overall.
Minus 2 points ugh!




Rating:  6/10

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