TV is the New Reading

‘Dollhouse’ draws to a long-anticipated close

First off, for anyone who missed my podcast this past weekend, longtime “Monk” fans especially will want to tune into USA tomorrow for a marathon of outstanding “Monk” episodes culminating in an encore of the series finale Part One at 7 p.m., and Part Two at 8 p.m. on USA.

Tony Shalhoub’s obsessive-compulsive former police detective turned private investigator Adrian Monk is one of the most beautiful creations in detective fiction and it’s been a joy to watch the development of this character since his appearance in August of 2002. My complete tribute is available in my previous blog entry.

"Dollhouse"

Last year premiered the latest canceled series by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon, a multi-character study called “Dollhouse.”

The show focused on Eliza Dushku, who played rogue slayer Faith in the “Buffy” series. Dushku plays Echo, one of several “dolls” – genetically altered people who can be programmed to perform tasks both risky and risque, depending on the client.

The tasks are deceptively straightforward. In one situation, Echo was simply called in to be a mom for the child of a grieving father who’d lost his wife in childbirth and couldn’t connect with his son. In that instance, Echo’s maternal instincts had been so deeply ingrained that in a fit of paranoia, she lashed out at her handlers and ran away.

Indeed, traits from several of Echo’s programmed personalities – be it teen counselor, athlete, rock climber, hostage negotiator, super spy or party girl – surface at the oddest times. And it’s never the nearsightedness or asthma or the charming nymphomania (and for those of us with arrested development, that was an especially delightful imprint).

No, It’s always the more violent traits. And what makes Echo so different is these shadows of her former selves are hidden away in a part of her brain that the chief programmer – a good-natured if amoral computer geek with a god-complex – can’t seem to get at. He thinks he’s performed a clean wipe on her brain, but her handler knows better.

Cancelation

As I indicated, this series seemed predestined for immediate cancelation. Whedon has tried speculative programming on the FOX network in the past, it has ended badly, and fans assumed that would be the case with “Dollhouse” as well.

As the show entered different stages of production, Whedon fans saw clips and releases and loved them, all but guaranteeing the show would be canceled unaired. And when we heard FOX had ordered a reshoot of the pilot episode, our collective sigh recalled the same thing happening with Whedon’s ill-fated FOX production “Firefly.”

But to be fair, FOX kept its own expectations low, airing it on Friday night for maximum DVR traffic over the weekends. And FOX tried several different marketing approaches to build the weird little show’s success, even linking it with the network’s (also canceled) production of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”

Whedon fans of course were already likely to be watching “Terminator” because of the involvement of Summer Glau as a sexy android. Whedon fans assume he created Glau in a lab simply to be in his productions, in that she’s been involved in both his “Buffy” spinoff, “Angel,” as well as former FOX production of “Firefly” and the Universal release of “Serenity.” And now she’s on deck to make an appearance in “Dollhouse” as well.

Precious, unlikely gift

Wikipedia lists nine unaired episodes, including two back-to-back expisodes airing Friday beginning at 7 p.m. Naturally, this doesn’t in any way guarantee that all of these episodes will be aired.

Longtime Whedon fans argued this show would be canceled unaired, and then would be canceled within the first season, and then that it would never be picked up for a second season, and then howled in agony over the news of its cancelation.

My attitude throughout has been that it’s a Whedon production being aired on FOX. Of course it’s getting canceled. It could be canceled at any time with no notice, so the best thing to do is simply enjoy each episode as the precious and unlikely gift it is.

And this approach has allowed me to welcome and appreciate so far some 16 episodes of enjoyable storytelling and development as only Whedon can provide.

Having been told the end is in sight, I remain committed to this enjoyment, and welcome Friday’s two-hour series resume as merely the beginning of the end. As indeed I do with every Whedon project. I will watch it as long as they air it, and when they stop, I will reflect, savor and await with pleasure his next project.

It’s an approach that has kept disappointments at a minimum and – since the sudden season finale of “Angel” now some 4½ years ago – it has served me well.

The finale is nigh. Bring us home, Joss. Bring us home.

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