Dollhouse- Thoughts after the First Three Episodes

I've been a Joss Whedon fan since the very first time I caught a random Season Two episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the WB. My admiration for Whedon TV greatly deepened when he created Firefly, translating his special mix of comedy and drama, wordplay, and ensemble acting, from the horror realm to science fiction.

So I was pretty excited about the premiere of his latest series, Dollhouse. Now that the first three episodes have aired, it's time to think about how the series is living up to my expectations.

Dollhouse is not exactly what I expected. And, strangely, that's okay.

The first big departure from Whedon's previous work is a change in his recipe for equal parts comedy and drama. Dollhouse mixes action and intrigue (with some strategic drama). Is there any comedy in the series at all? A little- the comedy is sparsely sprinkled in, like raisins in a cookie you were hoping was chocolate chip.

Hand-in-hand with the departure of comedy's role is the absence of wordplay. Heroine Echo has no time to quip or bandy pop culture references with her foes- she is normally too busy racing across the screen on foot, on motorcycle, in helicopter. And the show's other characters are usually too caught up casting conspiratorial glances to produce either comedy or drama.

One of the three big hallmarks of Whedon TV stands firm in Dollhouse: ensemble acting. Whedon makes no mistake about his leading lady- like Buffy, Echo is core to the story, and without her the plot and the world would crumble. At the same time Whedon is slowly, carefully, filling in the backgrounds of other intriguing characters: an FBI agent obsessed by uncovering the Dollhouse, Echo's Handler (who echoes the BtVS Watcher- pun intended), fellow Active, Sierra, and the mysterious and dangerous Alpha.

I'm really looking forward to the next episode of Dollhouse. So far it has been a well-crafted blend of action and intrigue, with drama popping up where I least expected it- in the course of exploring Echo's temporary, imprinted personalities. The fact that Whedon draws drama out of a character who essentially arises from nowhere and disappears at the end of every episode, fascinates me.

My biggest concerns with the series are the depth of the world, and how Whedon will draw out and deepen the intrigue. Why does the Dollhouse exist- simply as a screenwriting convenience to explore a character like Echo? I'm trusting Whedon has deeper motivations in mind, that will draw his ensemble of characters into stickier and stickier moral territory.

So, am I disappointed by the changes in Whedon's yummy TV recipe? No. I'm tasting, I'm chewing, I'm tasting again. Of course I like chocolate chip cookies. But oatmeal raisin is pretty scrumptious, too.