Dollhouse - the first four

So I sat down and watched the first four episodes of Dollhouse.

Dollhouse is the new TV show from Joss Whedon. It is about a covert facility in which 'actives' wander around with erased brains. When they have a mission to go on, their minds are imprinted with the personality and skills tailored to do the job, which may be a bank heist, hostage negotiation or the perfect date. It stars Eliza Dushku as Echo, one of the operatives who appears to approach self-awareness within her supposedly blank state of being.

In the interest of full disclosure I should say I am a huge Whedon fan, counting Buffy, Angel and Firefly amongst my all-time favourite shows. As such, I was incapable on a genetic level of avoiding this show.

But the show has received a lukewarm reaction from bloggers and reviewers. Stories of rewrites abound. Rumours of Whedon's discontent persist. Dushku is on record saying we should hang in there until episode six, where she believes it gets good.
So despite my interest, weeks went by before I finally pressed play.

My initial impression, having sat down and watched all four in a row? I liked it.

It's spotty, and did not immediately grab me as the greatest thing ever, but neither did Firefly or Angel. Buffy did, but I encountered that mid-way through season 2. If I'd started at the start, I would not have been so instantly enamoured.

The main problem with the show is that the central concept brings up questions that are not immediately answered. Why is the Dollhouse necessary? Are these women prostitutes? Is that not icky? Who would use this facility? Is it good or bad?
I think if I had watched these episodes week-to-week these questions would've seriously impacted my enjoyment of the show, and I'll admit to thumbing through a magazine during the first two episodes, but almost all these wrinkles were ironed out by the end of my marathon. The show had enough momentum to keep me engaged until I was in.

And despite that, it's a really fun show. There's some inventive use of the central concept that goes beyond the 'same plot every week' that it initially implies.

I'll certainly keep watching. I would've anyway, of course, so I'm genuinely happy to say I enjoyed the show. I'm particularly interested to see episode six.