GamerNode: Columns - Dollhouse Blu-Ray Review

Dollhouse Blu-Ray Review

Category: Industry, Posted: 07/31/2009 at 11:13AM EDT by FilmPLOSION!, Brendon Lindsey

The Series

No show of this past season faced as much expectations or critique as Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. The maker of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Dr. Horrible was loved by TV fans and geeks alike, and his second teaming up with Eliza Dushku was highly anticipated. Then the pilot aired, and we were found wondering -- what happened? Did Joss finally lay an egg? A few episodes went by, and I like many, was convinced that Dollhouse just wasn't worth watching.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that we all learned the first few episodes were bad because of Fox's interference (something no Whedon fan was surprised by). From there, it took off, and Joss did his own thing with it. Unfortunately, once it took off the viewers seemed to stop caring. Personally, I decided to wait until it came out as a season on Blu-ray/DVD to get back into it. And boy am I glad I did.

The series is about "Echo" (Dushku), who serves as one of the agents ("Actives") of Dollhouse. Basically, the agents at Dollhouse are humans who found themselves in hard situations. In order to help them out, Dollhouse makes a deal with them, where they get to use the peoples' bodies for a set amount of time, and in exchange their issues are taken care of.

To do so, the Dollhouse programmers essentially copy the mind of a person, save it in a database, and then turn their brain into a blank slate. Various personas can be programmed, letting the dolls fill a variety of roles, from hostage negotiator to assassin. Unlike people who have a limited set of skills, Dollhouse's agents can become anything -- the perfect spy, the perfect trophy wife, and more.

As I mentioned, the first few episodes, to put it frankly, blew. They were "assignment of the week" episodes and did almost nothing to further the plot, or enamor us to characters. Once again, that was all Fox's doing, and around the fifth and sixth episode, Joss's vision for the show takes control. From there, the rest of season 1 is full of drama, twists, and one cliff-hanger after the next.

It's a shame that Dollhouse takes so long to even begin, but the good news is that, for once, Fox is going to do good by Joss, and not prematurely cancel a show because of the network's mistakes. Season 2 has been confirmed, and if it continues the pacing, story, and theme that the latter half of season 1 introduced, it's definitely going to be must-watch TV.

If you haven't given Dollhouse a chance because of negative early reviews -- or disliked the show's start yourself -- pick it up and give it another shot. In a world where 90% of the shows on TV are crime scene investigations, cop dramas, or medical dramas, Dollhouse is a refreshing breath of fresh air. Hopefully Fox keeps its hands off of season 2.

The Disc

Audio and Video

Like many TV show releases on Blu-ray, Dollhouse's video is a mixed bag. At one hand far superior to the aired presentation and the DVD release; on the other not quite to the level of an HD movie.

The release sports 1080p resolution with an AVC MPEG-4 transfer. Colors are definitely the high point of the release, as they're bright, vivid, and realistic looking throughout. The shadow delineation also looks good, and the black levels are some of the best I've seen on a TV release.

Now for the bad. It's pretty clear that, in at least a big chunk of the show, noise reduction and artificial sharpening have been utilized to make it "look better." The problem is, it becomes too obvious, as many of the finer textures seem to be textureless, and even human skin and faces appear smudged on some close-ups.

Still, it is superior to the TV and DVD releases, so don't worry too much about the shortcomings.

Audio, however, may be a problem for some. While it is presented with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, it sure doesn't sound like it at times. Yes, the effects and score are tremendous -- but the dialogue, at times, sounds flat. Almost as if you're hearing it from the other side of the room, or through a window, rather than being right in the thick of things.

The leveling between the music/effects and the dialogue also could have used work. I found myself frequently having to play Volume Jockey during the more intense scenes to hear speech during action, and not wake the neighbors up with the sound effects.

Extras

There are three very worthwhile and awesome features available: two unaired episodes, and a 25-minute "behind-the-scenes" special.

The first unaired episode is Joss's original pilot. Surprisingly, Fox's broadcasted version is, in my opinion, the better of the two. That doesn't mean Joss's isn't worth watching, though -- especially if you want to see more detail on what the future of the show promises, and get a darker look at the premise. It's best to watch this before you finish the series, though, as many of the ideas from the unaired pilot that aren't in the original end up being used in later episodes. It is interesting to see which ideas were kept and used later, and which ones were tossed to the curb, though.

The second unaired episode is not only the best episode of Dollhouse, but also one of the best episodes of TV Joss has ever made. Titled Epitaph One, the episode was created to fulfill Fox's 13-episode request (which Fox later claimed was filled by the re-shot pilot). It's set in the future, in a post-Apocalyptic world where freedom fighters discover the Dollhouse. If you're a fan of Dr. Horrible and The Guild, Felicia Day also guest stars in this standalone. It doesn't really relate to the series other than to show a what-if future, but it's my hope that we get an Epitaph episode each season. And, if we do, I don't care how many seasons Dollhouse spans. If I can see more episodes like this, even once a season, it's well worth the investment.

Unfortunately, the other special features fall flat. Even Joss's commentary -- usually the highlight of his TV releases -- is boring. I can't help but wonder if he was fighting with Fox over the future and direction of the show when these were recorded, because he sure doesn't seem to be enjoying himself. There are also four featurettes (none of which are entertaining) and 30 minutes of deleted scenes (none of which add to the show).

Verdict

I'm really, really glad I decided to give Dollhouse another shot. The first four, five episodes start off slow, but after that... Let's just say that, when season 2 starts, if you like good TV and are sick of seeing the same medi-cop-scene-investigation crap on all the time, you absolutely have to watch Dollhouse. It's on the verge of being great, and if it gets canceled now there's no telling what Fox will replace it with. Maybe a new season of Skating with the Stars...