Saturday, April 11, 2009

Of Fringe and Dollhouse

I started watching the shows Fringe and Dollhouse out of some kind of obligation for the creators. I've enjoyed their past shows, so I felt that I had to watch the new. I hated both shows at the beginning, neither had characters that I enjoyed - and for me, characters are paramount.

I've been watching them religiously, out of some strange misplaced faith- and for a while I started to lose my religion. Lucky for me, Fringe got better. They started to add more emotional contact through new supporting family members. Characters started to become emotionally involved in story lines. The long term plot started advancing too, which was nice. Fringe has become a treat that I look forward to- and I'm glad they are back from their mid season break.

Now on to Dollhouse. So far, there isn't a single character on Dollhouse that I give a damn about. The long term story isn't grabbing me. I don't give a damn about the mysterious Alpha, the dolls, or anybody else. Sadly, I've been watching it so long that Stockholm Syndrome has been setting in. I'm starting to feel sorry for the show. I really want it to be better for its own sake. I want to say, "Come on little buddy, you can do better. You can create something that actually reaches out on an emotional level. Keep trying slugger."

It took a while for Fringe to grab me. I hope Dollhouse will too.

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