Hi everyone! I’m taking a break from my irregularly scheduled hiatus to blog a bit. Partially because I needed a break from studying, but mostly because I really felt the need to write this.

Joss Whedon’s new series, Dollhouse, has gotten a number of reviews, I know. Some people loved it, and some people hated it. Me? I’ve watched the whole thing through, and I just watched the last three episodes. FOX, you need to renew this show. (Spoilers to follow.)

To be honest, the first episode did not impress me at all. Unlike those of you who joined the Whedonverse through Buffy, I still haven’t seen it (Stop yelling at me – I’m getting to it), so I had no connection to Eliza Dushku, and didn’t really know any of the other actors (Yes, even Tahmoh Penikett. I’m getting to Battlestar Galactica too, and eventually, I’m sure I’ll be able to discuss it’s intracacies with the most rabid of fans. Well, hopefully not rabid. At least, not without their shots). And the first episode… just left me feeling empty. Of course, I found out later that it wasn’t the original pilot (Now where have we heard that before?). That actually makes sense to me. The original pilot seemed stripped of its soul, and transformed into what FOX wanted it to be. (A bit like the Dolls, actually).It set up the premise nicely, I admit – it got the concept in and that’s what drew me to the show in the first place. There was lots of tension and mystery – but there was just something lacking. I was still curious, but it didn’t grab me. (There is the possibility that I was a little spoiled from Firefly and Dr. Horrible. I didn’t get the witty banter I was expecting and hoping for from a Joss show.)

But I came back for the next episode, and then the next, and I wasn’t disappointed. Over the course of the season, this show just got stronger and stronger. The first few episodes interested me more than the first one, but I was still watching it more out of loyalty to Joss Whedon and because I found it enjoyable than because I was fascinated by it. I know one of the big questions was how could people care about a main character who isn’t consistent – who is a different person almost every time we see her? The thing is, Echo does have an original character – Caroline – who we discover over the course of the show. And in the end, Echo may have been wiped again, but she’s different from the Echo we met at the beginning of the season, because her slate can’t be wiped completely blank anymore. There is a residue that just never goes away. And now she’s aware of herself, however subconsciously. And the last two episodes? Especially the finale? Totally blew me away. The finale was beautiful (thanks in no small part to Alan Tudyk), and left me wanting so much more. How will Echo’s self-consciousness affect her and her assignments in the future? Could she get integrated into the Dollhouse staff? What will Whiskey/Claire Saunders do now that she’s more aware of what happened? And Alpha? What is he planning to do next? What will happen to Caroline, and how did she find out about the Dollhouse in the first place? There is so much here that still needs to be explored. Dollhouse is an extremely high-concept show that I’ll admit, may not be for everyone. But it’s peculiarly equipped to explore so many concepts and situations that many shows can’t – or won’t – deal with. In my opinion, that’s refreshing.(End spoilers.)

For various reasons, I had problems watching the show on Friday night, so I’ve watched several of the episodes on Hulu. Right now, it’s finals time, and I’ve been studying a lot, so I took the first break I could to watch the last three episodes in a row. I realize this doesn’t help the Nielsen ratings much, but I will watch however I can. If I can’t watch during the regular timeslot (which is often), I find another way. If this show gets a second season, I will watch it. Maybe I won’t watch it during the time FOX designates that I should, because life just isn’t structured that way – but I will watch it. I hope it lives on.

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