Joss and I are on a break

I really didn't want it to come to this.

Just to be clear, Joss Whedon owes me nothing. I am not one of those fans who believes the object of their affection/devotion/obsession is under any obligation to please. Joss can make any show/movie/blogisode extravaganza he wants and I will love Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity and Dr. Horrible no less for it. Call it his creative right. He doesn't owe me (or anyone) the greatest television show ever created. He's already delivered on that front.

That being said, it's time I broke my silence about Dollhouse, Fox's latest ploy to fulfill their outstanding contractual obligation to Eliza Dushku and (once again) take down the Jossverse. Except this time (dare I say it) when they cancel it (and they will cancel it), it probably will deserve to be cancelled. Never did I think I would utter such words.

It almost doesn't seem worth it to go through the many reasons why this is the case. Anyone who has endured the first three episodes out of respect for the Whedon empire (and the man himself) have not had to dig too far to discern what's not working. It's flashy, it's mainstream, it's humourless, it's procedural. It takes itself entirely too seriously and has forgotten how to laugh (did it ever know how?). It stars and is produced by Dushku. It backs off and reverts to form on the brink of pushing its own limits. It's the perfect counterpoint to everything Joss has created in the past with the ironic twist that it is, in fact, also his creation.

In the name of thoroughness, let me take a moment to more carefully outline these, Dollhouse's problems:

1) Eliza. Everyone loved Faith because she gave us an antidote to Buffy just before we collectively realized we would need one. Sure, she was never the best actress but Buffy was never about the best acting and Faith was sassy and fun and hot and not-Buffy and it was a great ride and great to have her along for it.

Echo, on the other hand, is a non-entity (literally). Eliza as Echo is Eliza with doe-eyes. Echo as hostage negotiator is Eliza with glasses. Echo as party date girl is Eliza/Faith in a short dress, writhing to the music. Echo as singer...well, despite her average vocal abilities, Echo as singer is downright painful, with a hint of Missy Pantone, the Eliza incarnation from Bring It On. I think I've made my point. Eliza has no depth; she's cardboard. One doesn't even have to leave the Jossverse to find suitable, more capable replacements (Summer Glau, Amy Acker, Alexa Davalos). But of course, Dollhouse never would have existed without Dushku's contract. Which brings me to...

2) Turning Joss's creative process on its head. Let us take a moment to reflect on the genesis of Dollhouse. Eliza got Tru Calling. Tru Calling got the axe. Fox had Eliza and together they still had a contract. Eliza still had Joss's number. Joss had dinner, Eliza had an idea, Joss had more ideas about Eliza's idea and then Fox had a show. Fox and Joss had an agreement and now Fox has Dollhouse...for now.

What exactly am I saying? Call me old-fashioned but it is rarely a good idea to create art because someone asks/pays you to. Sure, there have been instances where this has worked. Some people require a push, some things created within the constraints of circumstances of expectation are better for it and some would have been as good regardless. In this case, however, I think the equation has failed: failed Fox, failed Joss and failed the fans. Eliza asked Papa Joss to build her a dreamhome...and then she burnt it down. But maybe the house was particularly flammable. Maybe Joss didn't have enough time to build it the way he should have. Maybe it's a blueprint he never would have considered endorsing, bringing to life, had Eliza not asked in the first place.

Enough with the metaphors. Suffice to say that Joss made Dollhouse for the wrong reasons.

3) Forgetting to laugh. Take a moment to ponder the following images:

• Buffy, Xander and Willow performing Oedipus Rex.
• Wash's epic, Star Trek-like speech...eventually revealed to be voiceover for his control board plastic dinosaur mise-en-scène.
• Spike observing Angel from above, mocking his heroism and his hair gel.
• Dr. Horrible explaining the importance of the evil laugh (or terrible death whinny, depending on the gen(i)us of the evil mastermind in question).

In sum, Joss knows how to make us laugh. Not only that, he knows how to call attention to something we wouldn't normally laugh at and expose its ridiculousness and hidden hilarity. If Dollhouse had been created in the 80s, I guarantee Buffy would have made some offhand, satirical comment about it at some point in Sunnydale High's library. Without wit we're left with wit's referent; of the wit-which-was and the wit-which-could-have-been.

4) Someone other than Joss could have created it. This is probably my least favourite explanation for Dollhouse's failure, but perhaps the most accurate. I would not have believed you had you told me a year or two or more ago that I would find myself watching a new Joss Whedon show which included some or all of the following things (and more): a Lady Gaga song*, an episodic appearance of a pop singer struggling with the demands of superstardom, a wise ass supporting man who isn't funny (in the vein of Xander, Andrew, Doyle, Spike, Wash, Jayne, etc.) a big budget.

*Granted, a year or two or more ago, I would not have known who Lady Gaga was. Oh, the past was sweet.

I guess in some ways this point is related to #2. I get that it's a different show. I get that Joss can't simply remake Buffy over and over again. But I don't think Buffy=Angel=Firefly (certainly not). And I don't think it's a bad thing to have a style. Especially when your style is Josstyle (teehee- see, I can still lighten up!).

I am trying to decide if it is my Whedonite duty next week to tune in or to tune out. Shouldn't fans be questioning, be discerning? Shouldn't they challenge what they see? I think definitely yes. But what this means for my plans next Friday at 9...well, that has yet to be determined.