TV Tonight: Who Does She Think She Is?

I'm trying sooooo hard not go get my expectations very high. I've been looking forward to this show for, like, ever since the strike when it first started being talked about. I'll admit that I've got MAJOR joss whedon loyalty, and however the season starts he's earned (in my mind) whatever benefit of the doubt is required to appreciate and have faith in this show - I'll most likely adore it, no matter what. And I don't think that's a bad thing - but, that said, I promise all y'all that I'll make every effort to NOT be obnoxious while others voice valid criticisms.

Ditto what Shara said. I'm going to try and be on my best behavior.

I was too young to follow Buffy, and I never got into Firefly, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to check out Dollhouse. The premise doesn't totally grab me, so maybe I'll put the time into BSG and catch reviews. I am free Friday nights (with a wife and child, I'm sure this news is totally shocking to everyone here at Tuned In), so I guess I can always catch up on the one episode to watch future ones live.

@Dave: I never watched Buffy or Angel or Firefly when they were on (I actually made major fun of friends who were all about Buffy, back before I ever watched it), and had no clue who Joss Whedon was until about 4 or 5 years ago, when Mr. Shara Says brought home S1 of Buffy and informed me that we were going to give it a chance. So we drank the Koolaide, and marathoned the entire run of Buffy, and then Angel, at one go in our spare time. It took weeks. It was AWESOME. We then discovered Firefly, and have been faithful members of the Whedon Bandwagon ever since.

Sorry I'm going to stick with Friday Night Lights instead. I was a big Buffy fan, but am not a big Eliza fan and this just doesn't look interesting enough to me to go out of my way. I open to having my mind changed, though.

What Shara said. I, too, came late to Buffy/Angel/Firefly (as in I just finished watching Buffy and Angel about two months ago) but I am now and forever officially a rabid, foaming Joss Whedon fan.

I am, however, experiencing some fear of commitment. If I fall in love and it gets canceled, I'm going to be mighty angsty. Oh well, I'll be brave and jump in anyway. Firefly broke my heart, but it's better to have loved and lost, etc.

I am SERIOUSLY excited about the Friday night lineup for the coming weeks - Terminator, Dollhouse, FNL, and BSG, Oh My! Terminator and Dollhouse will get live viewings, FNL and BSG will get viewed on Saturday.

It's kind of funny to find out how many other people watched Buffy, Angel, and Firefly years after they aired. I watched all seven seasons in a span of about three months (during the writers strike actually). I checked all seven seasons from my local library (the most economical way to watch DVD sets by the way).

Watching old TV shows feels strange compared to watching older movies. My brother watched Buffy back when it originally aired and he kind of laughed when I would talk about as if it was brand new.

When I told him about Dollhouse and that it was from Joss Whedon he said, "Who?." And this is coming from a person who watched Angel and Firefly as well. So I wouldn't overestimate people coming to the series just because of Joss. The truth is is that a lot of TV viewers are oblivious to the people behind the scenes, even someone like Whedon.

*Raises hand* I was plenty oblivious to Joss Whedon, and I'm an active participant in a TV critic's blog!

I thought the pilot was decent. I probably won't continue watching though; I'm just not that into scifi.

We really liked it!!!! Mra-ha-ha. . . But we're major whedonites, browncoats, and general sci fi geeks at this house.

My expectations were wired pretty low after the plethora of unenthusiastic reviews I had come across, but I think deep down I was sort of convinced that the critics or whoever just didn't “get” Whedon. What I wasn't anticipating was the general dullness of the show.
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After the initial teaser when the adorable girl gets kidnapped I spent most of the episode waiting for something funny, or exciting, or curious, or … something. Part of that was the necessary exposition required for a pilot, but part of that was also the acting, and the way the pilot was structured and edited. I'm willing to look past the myriad of plot holes because I am a conditioned sci-fi fan, but bad directing and so forth is a little harder to forgive. The boxing match sliced into the FBI guy's job discussion was a particularly hacky attempt to give that scene some unearned weight.
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I've set up the Tivo for the season pass, but I will only watch it if someone (say this blog here) gives me an honest reason to.
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I know that a tv show is more then just the pilot, but this pilot was bad and has given me no inclination to watch the show any further.
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Nonrhetorical question to the converted, what exactly did you like about this show?

@ Ashman: You took the words right out of my noggin.
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I'm a sci-fi fan as well and my suspension of disbelief can be plenty generous to good/ambitious storytellers, but this time-- ai ya yai, a bit much for me, I'm sorry to say.
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I understand the Whedonites' loyalty based on his past shows, and would give this one a chance, with maybe some help from an answer to Ashman's 'nonrhetorical question' above. Anyone?
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I'm a JJ Abrams fan to the death ( would probably get all giddy if he, I don't know, say, directed a 'Vanilla Ice' music video, or something) so I kinda get the loyalty factor. What did people like about Dollhouse?

I also did not cultivate high expectations for Dollhouse, given what I'd heard (and given my incredulity towards Eliza Dushku's acting skills, outside of a fairly narrow box). But I have never met a Whedon series I don't like (love), so I was still excited.

My reaction to the pilot was . . . meh. Not bad, not awesome. Strangely, though, also NOT WHEDON. If I hadn't known he was behind it, I wouldn't have guessed. No pithy dialogue? No particularly endearing characters (besides, potentially, the tech guy)? No pop culture references? No exquisite balance of creepiness, poignancy, and levity? This felt more like JJ Abrams than Joss Whedon (sort of an Alias meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind kinda thing). I did hear somewhere (Time's own 10 Questions, I think) that Whedon plans to "bring the silly back," so that's good news. I also heard, however, that FOX is already Fireflying the show (crappy time-slot, interfering with the pilot, etc.), which is baaaaad news (though I have a hard time believing Whedon would work with FOX again without making provisions to keep that kind of thing from happening).

One more gripe: I heard Amy Acker was going to be in it, and that made me happy. I assumed, though, that she'd be a Doll -- and I couldn't wait to see her in that role. Having her on board as a drab science-type is irksome. If I could remake the world, in fact, Amy Acker would play Echo's role. She's way too interesting an actress to be stuck with the part of Conflicted Doctor #1.

Anyway, I'll keep watching, and I still have hopes for the series (I'm hoping it will help fill the looming BSG void), but so far . . . meh. On the plus side, HELO!

i echo the concerns james raises, no pun intended, faith may not have the chops for this, and how can you identify with her if she's not actually a character... i will give joss the benefit of the doubt and a few more eps to see where things are going, i know he's able to bring the goods, so maybe in this instance it's just a matter of growing the complexity, characters, dialogue, etc. a bit and showing some other sides after the setup. though i am prepared to adore joss without having to adore each and every project.

Having actually watched the pilot now I can say I am alarmed at the show's flaws. The characters seemed stuck in a listless stupor even when they are supposedly in their "active" action state, and once their minds were wiped that stupor flatlines into baby talk and wandering about in yoga pants. At least Charlie's Angels actually giggled, jiggled and high kicked their way across the studio lot. These characters spout tired dialouge and try their best to support a silly premise that is no better than a Esurance commercial, without the pink hair and zippy retorts.