I caught up on the premiere of DOLLHOUSE, which is MY OWN WORST ENEMY with boobs, a much more muddled concept, and much less compelling characters. But even nice boobs aren't reason enough to tune in for another episode. So I won't be watching again.
UPDATE: I broke my resolve, mostly because of Kay Reindl's rave review, and watched episode #2. I liked it even less than episode one. The story-telling in the episode is a time-shifting mess (that felt like clips from the scrapped pilot) hung around one of the dustier TV cliches — yet another variation on "The Most Dangerous Game," and not a very interesting one at that. Kay found depths of emotion in the episode that I didn't see — or, should I say, feel — at all. It was about as cold and distant as a TV show can get, which isn't a good thing. By it's very nature, DOLLHOUSE is a show devoid of character because each week Ms. Boobs-in-a-tanktop gets imprinted with a new personality. So the only constant are the boobs-in-a-tanktop (to the point of of being unintentionally funny)…and the enormous suspension of disbelief required by the franchise itself, which is overly and unnecessarily complicated and not the least bit enthralling. LA FEMME NIKITA — the movie and the series — told the same basic story as DOLLHOUSE. So did MY OWN WORST ENEMY. At least with ENEMY there were two distinct characters to care about, both played by Christian Slater. And the concept was a much easier buy, and more cleanly dramatized, than the one in DOLLHOUSE. But ENEMY still bombed. I'm betting that this one will, too. You'd have to be a diehard, slavishly devoted Whedon fan to stick with this. I'm not.
I watched the first episode and felt pretty much as you did. So I missed the second one. I’ll probably miss the others, too.
Lee, I gave it two tries. My impression is that DOLL HOUSE is just another variation on LA FEMME NIKITA but nowhere as good.
Oddly, I felt the same way about Beverly Hills Bordello but soon warmed to the concept.
Yes, Beverly Hills Bordello had its charms, but it can’t begin to compare to Cinemax’s new series, Forbidden Science. Tod, this one was made for you…
I cannot remember the last show I liked after seeing only one episode. (Possibly LOST … although I no longer watch it.) It usually takes me at least 4-5 episodes to warm up to somehing new.
VG
Victor,
I can think of LOTS of shows I liked from the pilot/episode one.
DEXTER
DEADWOOD
SOPRANOS
TERMINATOR: SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
WEST WING
HILL STREET BLUES
MONK
FARSCAPE
to name just a few. The list goes on and on…
Lee
Ha-ha. Well. Lee, 8 is hardly “lots” compared to all the shows that come out every year. How many new shows have come and gone in the last five years? But my comment was not meant to infer that there are no good shows with great debut episodes. Rather that I personally am slow to commit.
Dexter, Deadwood, Sopranos? I can’t afford those expensive channels. I saw the first episode of MONK and suspected I would like it … but I wouldn’t say for sure until a few more. I caught on to West Wing after it was already an established hit. Wish I’d been there for the first episode.
TERMINATOR is terrible.
Again, my original comments were much more about my own personal viewing habits … not the quality of the shows.
VG
TERMINATOR started great and has gone rapidly downhill ever since. It’s a damn shame…because Summer Glau is terrific as the female Terminator. But everyone else so glum and miserable that you *want* them to die. There have been a few stand-out episodes but not nearly enough of them…last week’s backlot-bound snoozefest of moping (in which Glau was virtually absent) was a prime example of everything that’s wrong with the series.
Lee
The first episode of TERMINATOR was so bad, I couldn’t believe anyone would watch a second. Not as bad as BIONIC WOMAN, which I watched around the same time. But bad.
A first episode doesn’t have to be great, but it has to at least hold out the promise that the show will be good.
I loved Buffy, Angel and Firefly, but Dollhouse is a dud. Very disappointing.
I might’ve been less disappointed with this show if they’d just been honest and called it Matrix Barbie.