Dollhouse- Actual Review

So, that in depth discussion of Dollhouse just turned into speculation about what the myth arc of the show will be about. I neglected one key detail: Is the show actually any good? So here are some actual thoughts on the quality of the show rather than the plot hooks. Bear in mind that all statements and assertions made here should be read with a "thus far" immediately following, as there have only been two episodes, so yeah.

Is it good?

Short answer: Yes

Long Answer: Yes if it was written by anyone other than Joss Whedon. Whedon has set the bar for himself pretty high and over the past couple years managing to deliver sequentially more with less (Buffy ran for 7 seasons, Angel for 5, Firefly for 1/2, and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog for 42 minutes of pure awesome). So from anyone else this would be phenomenal, from Whedon it's a little below par. So far.

Pros:
Eliza Duskhu- Eliza Duskhu is always great, and giving her a show she can essentially use as a massive demo real can only be a good thing. Her ability to create substantially different personas for each set of implanted memories

The ensemble- For the most part the ensemble is pretty solid, with a few welcome familiar faces (Look it's Helo! Look it's Fred!). Harry Lennix as Echo's handler, Boyd Langdon, is the moral center of the show, and combines fatherly affection for Echo with trepidation at the actions of the Dollhouse. Reed Diamond's head of security, Laurence Dominic, was mildly irritating in the first episode but by episode two I began to sympathize with the guy whose job it is to deal with rogue actives and cases gone wrong. The only false notes are Fran Kranz' smarmy lab tech and Olivia Williams' Dollhouse CEO. The former is annoying, and the latter... I'm not sure what it is exactly, but the character doesn't feel all there yet.

Cons:
Sketch- The premise of the show kinda sketches me out. I mean sure the Dollhouse creates hostage negotiators and assassins and, I dunno, Pilates instructors, but a lot of what they do is essentially prostitution. And that's a little creepy. I find myself wondering if, in addition to wiping the Actives' memories after mission, they also check them for STDs.

Humor- Or rather, lack thereof. All of Joss Whedon's works to date have been awesomely funny, even (especially?) at their darkest. Dollhouse is not especially funny. There is a distinct lack of the idiosyncratic dialogue Whedon is known for. Perhaps part of the problem is that a lot of the "funny" lines come from Topher, the sketchy lab tech, and he's just annoying.

Jury's Still Out:

Universe- All of Whedon's previous works have had exceptionally well realized universes. So far we haven't gotten much of a glimpse at the Dollverse or whatever term fans are calling it. The technology exists to extract and implant memories, so what also exists? The terms haven't been defined yet so we don't know what to expect. So there's a little super science, but how much? Is Active creation the one divergence from reality or will we later run into robots and ray guns?

Overall:

It's neat. Certainly worth watching. Give it time and it may become something truly awesome. Place your betts on how Fox will screw it over.