TV Tonight: Watch Dollhouse! In Three Weeks!

Didn't you see episode four (and found it middling) already though? Saying "I may skip one week!" isn't that much of an ultimatum.
-
And yes, every source on Earth seems to be saying that Whedon and co. drop all pretense of a procedural with episode six and go straight serial. Too bad that episode not only goes directly against the BSG finale, but the action crowd may have switched back to Flashpoint by then.
-
I'm just extremely doubtful of the show's long term chances, Fox executives afraid or repeating Firefly or no.

You heard it here first. Dollhouse has 5 weeks, then James Poniewozik grabs his bow, and hunts Dushku through the woods in an ironic demand for better episodes.

The race is on.

i have to say that even if it's not great joss, i still find it entertaining and am def willing to stick around to see if it gets to be at least good joss... though admitedly i'm not up to date on BSG and not a huge fan of Flashpoint so there's no real tivo competition...

I'm in for the long haul. I'm a pretty hardcore whedonite, and I really don't care if it takes the show awhile to find its feet - If we're talking about making a decision around "a letdown based on his past work", I'll just say that I wasn't completely sold on a lot of S1 of Buffy, and Angel took about half a season (at least) before the show found its tone and got on its feet. I'm prepared to be patient and underwhelmed at first, but I'm keeping the Faith. The first couple episodes have been kinda uneven (although I'd say that's true for, like, most shows I've wound up really liking), but I totally dug the energy and tone of the second episode. I'd LOVE to see the original pilot and compare it to the final version, I wonder which I would like better. I'm way excited about the revelation of who's going to play Alpha (I won't spoil it for folks who haven't heard, but if you're interested the info is out there, and its awesome). I'm ready to be a patient, loyal viewer and wait for the point where Joss gets to really cut loose and do his thing. I will continue to say this exact same thing until the end of the first season, at which point I'll re-evaluate in light of the reality of the situation.
.
I honestly can't imagine that I won't be a major fan, just by virtue of it being Joss Whedon doing it. And, as I've said before, I don't think there's anything wrong with fan loyalty and appreciating something simply because it comes from the mind of a person I consider a genius. That said, I do believe that the show will ultimately deliver in a major way.

I liked the pilot. I loved episode 2. Like shara, I'm in for the long haul. The father-daughter dynamic between Echo and the handler sucked me in. Whether it's glimpses of Caroline we're seeing or Echo is becoming sentient herself, I like the person we're getting peeks of.
.
My favorite character so far is Topher. I like that he's not some dupe of a tech nerd who's been convinced he's doing good. He's not the classic 'oblivious geek who develops a conscience.' He's not necessarily a bad guy, though. He loves his work, believes he's an artist, and he doesn't sweat the little things - like right and wrong, human trafficking, and what amounts to homicide. In his mind, he's creating beautiful, complex, multi-layered works that are both art and science. Then he murders his darlings and begins again. He is the consummate artist. I love that guy.

@Masurix: Long-haulers unite! I am also liking Topher - the actor seems to be rising to the challenge of playing the amoral geek without going too far in the irritating cliche direction. Because he sees things in terms of art / science rather than right and wrong, there are plenty of directions that they could take his character arc without going into the whole "redeemed by discovering a conscience" thing because his job has a set of potential consequence that range far beyond the good/evil dichotomy.
.
Someone I want to see fleshed out more SOON is Adelle DeWitt. She could potentially become the most interesting character because of how conflicting and multi-layered her motivations can be, but if she's not developed well she could also appear pretty flat (always slightly irritated, professionally smooth, and tightly wound).
.
I'm wishing that Amy Acker was getting more screen time, because she's the actor that I like best on the show. I'm looking forward to seeing more about what's up with her character.

From the reviews I was thinking this would be a terrible episode, but it really wasn't. I'm admittedly a fanboy but the first half and the last 10 minutes were above average. The only part I hated:
.
*SPOILERS*
.
I was hoping they wouldn't again go with the 'let's tell the doll she isn't real' and 'shouldn't be acting this way' and the 'but omg I feel this way anyway' bit. I get it, after three episodes. But that's not a terrible quibble.

Dushku can sing... I didn't see that coming. Either way, it wasn't an amazing episode but I'm a Long-Hauler, and if J-Mo write anything in the world I'd give it a shot. This ended up better than I was told it would be and I enjoyed it. Awkward Rihanna parallels and all.

Spoiler alert btw. This was definitely my favorite of the three I've seen. I'm glad to see that there's steady improvement. I thought that Eliza D stepped up the acting and the singing was a nice treat. That little headshake at the end was my favorite moment. I was very entertained throughout and liked the addition of Sierra. I deem it a success!

[...] I’m definitely looking forward to Dollhouse kicking into high gear in a few weeks, I was sort of pleasantly surprised by the mission this week, because the preview last week [...]

It's looking to me like a potentially interesting show that's trying to find it's footing. Although the central doll missions may be the weakest element at this point, I'm getting more intrigued by the characters.
.
So what are the odds that we will get to see these mythical final 7 epsidodes? My bet is that Fox will air the already admittedly weaker 4 & 5, and then kill it right when the promise of improvements is at hand. Because they're Fox, and that's how they roll.....

They did promise to air all 13 episodes, but I don't trust them as far as I could throw them. We'll see.

@masurix: "I don't trust them as far as I could throw them."
.
Dude, me neither. I was just re-marathoning Firefly over the last couple of weeks, and the experience left me with my head repeatedly in my hands, telling Mr. Shara Says "this show could STILL BE ON" if it hadn't gotten so totally screwed over by the goram network. I know it doesn't do anyone good to dwell on it, but man I loved that show.
.
@Kemper - the characters are definitely getting a little more intriguing, especially Echo and Sierra, with those little head nods and touches of recognition and understanding. I'm definitely liking Boyd a lot too. I'm wondering about Paul Ballard's neighbor, the sweet stalker girl - I like her a lot, and I thought that she got more interesting in this episode because now she's got me wondering: Is she a doll whose task is to Keep an Eye On Ballard, or is she a regular person who is just shy and attached? I'm guessing that she is programmed to keep an eye on him, she seems like she is instinctively watchful of him like Echo was instinctively watchful over the singer she was unconsciously protecting. Either way, I see her getting dragged further into the mess whether she wants to be or not.