Gotta say, it's very disappointing that the most positive things I'm reading here and elsewhere are from people who are willing to hang around in the hopes that it gets better. Which - you know, yes, I hope that it gets better, but, damn, I wish that I were reading SOMEBODY commenting on what's aired so far (I mean, hello, 3 episods in now!) saying what a great concept, what interesting characters, what great acting, what punchy dialogue - you know anything that wasn't an apology or an outright diss.

Because, c'mon, BtVS and AtS were awesome, and Firefly owned my ass. Not flawless, fine, but still so much goodness there, in ensemble and world-building and dialogue and just the whole thing.

I hope the show improves. A lot. I miss having a kick-ass Whedon show to get excited about.

what a great concept, what interesting characters, what great acting, what punchy dialogue

Yeah, not so much of that in Dollhouse. I mean, it's not even an interesting or well written offensive premise! The writing is shockingly bad.

I'll keep watching because there are hints that it might get good, and because of Langton, (and because I enjoy making fun of it in a MST3K way) but, yeah, a great concept, interesting characters, great acting and punchy dialogue would have been nice to have from the get-go (if they happen at all.)

I just don't know what happened. Does Joss have unrequited Eliza love that is neutering his talents and abilities? Some sort of kryptonite situation? I don't know what to even make of it. Probably just that he fell in love with his concept (and/or Eliza) and it sucked, and there's really nowhere to go from there.

Does Joss have unrequited Eliza love

I've heard this remark several times. Is there a rumor out there about this that has some weight?

I haven't heard any rumors, but just the whole setup of the concept and the complete blindness to the reality of how the show is often indicates the craziness of love/obsession.

Also, the fact that he's so gushy about her incredible talent and how she's totally brilliant and can play anything and the evidence seems to point to.... not so much... I don't know what to think.

I'd like to move to the AU where instead of Tru Calling there was a great BtVS/AtS spinoff about Faith on a motorbike, kinda Supernatural meets The Avengers, with Ethan Rayne or Giles, and probably Oz. Snappy dialogue, canonical bisexuality, random monsters. Occasional crossovery goodness.

eta Oh, Jesus - and Lindsey McDonald, back from the dead. And maybe the ghost of Lilah Morgan, making with the sexy snarky banter with Faith. And I could go for a bit of Connor too, even. I like the way she can so totally kick his ass, and is so spectacularly unimpressed by him.

looks for portal to AU.

ends up in world without shrimp

Apparently, the road to Hell is paved with AU fanfic.

I'm willing to watch a bit more out of loyalty, as my reaction to the show is a tepid "Meh" with occasional seesaws between "that was cool!" and "do they realize how this plays out onscreen?" But if SciFi were airing Doctor Who or even a crappy Stargate series in the timeslot instead of that failed vampire soap opera, I'd be gone without looking back.

I want to live in whichever AU Fay dwells in...love of shrimp notwithstanding.

Faith, as Fay sees it, is a show I'd buy a tv for.

I hate shrimp anyway. I'm happy in Fay-land.

On the other hand, I'm not happy with watching anything just out of loyalty. Interested in hearing about it, reading up on it, giving it a chance, of course -- but if the thing itself is crap, I don't care if it was made by my beloved auntie.

Does Joss have unrequited Eliza love that is neutering his talents and abilities? Some sort of kryptonite situation? I don't know what to even make of it. Probably just that he fell in love with his concept (and/or Eliza) and it sucked, and there's really nowhere to go from there.

I don't want to place all of the blame on Fox, but as I understand it, Joss had this concept, he wanted Eliza to star, and she had a development deal with Fox. So, he either had to work with Fox, wait until her deal had expired, or find another actress. We know that Fox is about the pretty and the sexy and the stupid, often to the detriment of the show.

I feel much better about Joss' concept having read the pilot script, but I'm still not happy with the show. I generally give a show 3 episodes, so hopefully Joss will wow me on Friday.

I'm watching because the discussion about the show is way more interesting than the actual show. That's a slender twig to hold my interest.