Why I Watch Dollhouse

Over at Why I Watch Dot Com people are saying why they keep coming back for more Dollhouse, so I submitted my own reasons which I'm reposting here for completeness and cuz I haven't thrown up a blog entry in awhile. Dollhouse is on FOX on Fridays by the way, at least at the moment. Someone is spreading rumors that once again the show is under threat of cancellation. The ratings aren't great, so once again I find myself looking at a great show that presumably no one is watching. Well, I am, and here's why.

Why do I watch? I watch cuz Joss Whedon has never steered me wrong yet, but that's not why you should watch.

Other people might tell you Dollhouse deals with deep and meaningful subject matter while posing poignant questions that are pertinent and applicable to these difficult times humanity is facing in this century. Screw that. Sure it's deep and meaningful and all that crap. It's also fun! In the first few moments of the first episode, two people drive their motorcycles onto a dance floor. Why? I don't know why. It's crazy! You might scuff up the wood. But who cares? It's television! It's fun!

I watch cuz you don't know what to expect from this show. Why watch a show that's predictable?

I watch cuz the women are hot and the men kick ass.

I watch cuz the men are cool and the women kick ass.

I watch cuz Enver Gjokaj can say anything with a straight face.

I watch cuz I enjoy Eliza Dushku playing dress up.

I watch cuz Tahmoh Penikett can throw down a mean fight scene.

I watch cuz Fran Kranz knows how to do justice to WhedonSpeak.

I watch cuz Dichen Lachman surprises me every other time she appears on screen, and when she's not surprising me, she's dazzling me. She's got a smile that if properly weaponized could bring about world peace.

I watch cuz Harry Lennix exudes confidence, wisdom, and you can't tell from one second to the next if he's gonna make some pithy remark or take the other person's head and shove it into electronic equipment.

I watch cuz Olivia Williams has taken the most morally twisted and disturbing character Joss Whedon has ever conceived and breathed a life into her that makes her as real as the next new friend you will make.

I watch cuz Miracle Laurie had my heart at "lasagna."

I watch cuz this show is flying without a net. It's taking risks and going where other shows don't dare. Yes it's not perfect. You want your TV formulaic? Watch the news. Yes sometimes the writing falls flat on its face, but sometimes it soars beyond the stratosphere.

I Watch cuz I like my entertainment fearless.

I watch cuz it's a show that doesn't dumb it all down for me, even though sometimes I wish it would.

I watch cuz at first I thought The Attic was A Place, and then I realized it's more of A Condition. Then I thought it meant being dead. Then I thought it meant being physically dead but mentally cooped up on a hard drive. I thought maybe it's both A Place and A Condition. Then someone showed up in Epitaph One who shouldn't have been there, and now I don't know what to think.

I watch cuz it doesn't insult my intelligence, and it challenges that intelligence in ways that sometimes make me feel kinda stupid. But it's all good.

I watch cuz it looks great. It sounds great. It feels great. It's Dollhouse. It's on Friday nights on Fox. You should watch it too.

...while you still can.