at first, i didn’t think i would
which is weird because i’m completely bias, and adore anything joss creates,
but about fifteen/twenty minutes in, i got hooked.
i’ve watched episodes 1 – 5 four times each, now x’]

btw, i think episode six looks fantastic.
i actually can not wait!

However, I have to say that Dusku really sold me on the being blind, and unlike knitcrik I feel that echo does have a personality I can attach to. Just like a new-born baby has a personality. Like a new-born baby it is still drowned in other things, but it is still there and I am beginning to see it.

Knitcrit points out that what is sometimes emphasized in the show is obvious – but hey, I’ll take it. This is a show I can appreciate for what it is and what it will be, and that’s it’s meant to be different from anything Joss has previously done.

Even though the dolls have their persona’s changed repeatedly, they’re still there underneath the imprint, so I don’t feel that I can’t connect with them…it’s hard to explain. But I think it’s fun to watch out for those waking up/remembering moments, to know that we can meet their true selves eventually.

I bet though, a lot of the people vieweing it are downloading or recording it for later, and those don’t count for viewing figures I guess. I think it’s finally starting to move, but is it too late?

I knew the cult would be innocent, and that this would be the “twist.” I got the parallels being set up between the bliss of the dolls and the bliss of the cult. Yeah, we do need will/self awareness for true happiness – but did we need to hear that as an explicit statement in the script? Got the “preservation of innocence (Eden, the garden) is fundamentally violent” message on the level of the dolls’ lives and on the level of the lives of the cult members. Got that Echo continues to remember stuff and is clearly headed for some type of breakout/down.

And yet, with all this thematic and suspense-based potential, I am not feeling challenged or intrigued. I think this is because the messages and themes are embodied in situations rather than characters, and that makes them seem kind of trite and obvious.

Dollhouse continues to have some problems that have been stated many, many times by myself and others – the show needs a true ensemble feel (see: Firefly) to thrive; it’s not possible to identify with or like any of the dolls because they are non-characters; it is possible that Dushku can’t carry the show; Whedon can’t build his mythology soon enough or well enough because most viewers are dumb and impatient and need regular infusions of cleavage and shoot-em-ups to stay interested; etc, etc.

Let’s see what happens next.