A meeting with an old friend has brought Joss Whedon back where he belongs.
Tonight at 9 on Fox is the premiere of “Dollhouse,” which marks Whedon’s first return to TV since 2004.
For a time in the 1990s, Whedon was one of the hottest creators on TV, thanks to the cult hits “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (based on his less-well-received film) and its spinoff, “Angel.”
But he grew disenchanted with the medium, in part because of the untimely cancellation of “Angel” in 2004 and Fox’s botched handling of his space Western series, “Firefly,” in 2002.
Whedon turned to film (“Firefly” lived on in the 2005 film “Serenity”) and comic books, with books based on his TV series for Dark Horse and Astonishing X-Men and Runaways for Marvel.
But fate, in the form of Eliza Dushku (Faith on “Buffy”), came calling, and Whedon found himself working on “Dollhouse.”
“Dollhouse” focuses on Dushku’s Echo, who is an “active,” member of a highly illegal and underground group of individuals who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Hired by the wealthy, powerful and connected, the Actives don’t just perform their hired roles, they wholly become –— in mind, personality and physiology — whomever the client wants or needs them to be.
The Actives perform missions assigned by Adelle Dewitt (Olivia Williams), one of their leaders. Echo’s handler is Boyd Langston (Harry Lennix), who keeps an eye on her while in the field. After each outing, the actives are returned to the Dollhouse, where their memories are wiped clean by Topher Brink (Fran Kranz), the fa-cility’s resident genius.
Rogue FBI Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) has for months been trying to find the Dollhouse, and has recently enlisted the help of Russian informant Lubov (Enver Gjokaj).
The Dollhouse is an intriguing place, and watching the Actives become different characters each week should be interesting. What is lacking is the bold streak of humor that’s present in all Whedon’s previous TV shows, although that still could be coming.
Obviously, there are still many secrets to be unveiled in “Dollhouse.” While it doesn’t promise to be as labyrinthine as a J.J. Abrams work, it’s still going to overwhelm those who like their procedurals wrapped up neat and tidy at hour’s end. Those checking into “Dollhouse” need to be patient if they want to be rewarded.