For rabid fans of the Whedonverse, the arrival of Dollhouse was something of a godsend. After years without the quippy comebacks, dense mythology and dreamy stars of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, Joss Whedon threw himself back into to the television fray with Buffy alum Eliza Dushku and a group of actors with hefty resumes and difficult-to-spell names behind him. But would Dollhouse be another slow-to-catch-on cult hit like Buffy or a never-to-totally-catch-on cult hit like Firefly?  

With the first season arriving on Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow, I thought I'd take a look at the series, and pass along my impressions so that if you haven't seen the show, but were debating the Blu-ray/DVD purchase, I can hopefully help you make a decision one way or the other.

Dollhouse is the story of a group of people capable of becoming anyone, but with no idea of who they really are. A Doll is a person for rent, able to morph into whatever their buyer desires—be it a sexual fantasy, a bank robber or a hostage negotiator. Although the Dolls have had their personalities, memories and arguably, their souls taken from their bodies, there seem to be some kinks in the system.

In particular, a Doll named Echo (Dushku, best when playing the childlike emptiness of her Doll personality) is beginning to recall details from her former life—an issue that could endanger every Doll in the system. While Echo struggles within the system, in the outside world, an FBI agent named Ballard (Battlestar Galactica alum Tahmoh Penikett) searches for the fabled Dollhouse, hoping to liberate a girl named Caroline who seems to have disappeared within its walls. When Echo and Ballard’s worlds collide, they could blow the secrets of the Dollhouse wide open—but only if that’s what Echo is programmed to do.

Played in real-time throughout the television season, Dollhouse seemed to suffer from a syndrome familiar to all Whedon-fans: slow start syndrome. Joss Whedon is never in a rush to show his hand in the first episode or two of a series and Dollhouse is no exception. The pilot episode "Ghost" (that is, the pilot reshot after the original unaired pilot) is a bit flat and humorless. Echo, as played by Dushku, is totally believable as an automaton, but difficult to take seriously as a troubled hostage negotiator out to save a kidnapped little girl.

The beauty of watching a show like Dollhouse on DVD, however, is being able to plow through the first few slow episodes (the exception being the exciting "The Target" in which Echo is turned into a hunting trophy for a crazed outdoorsman) to the meat that began to emerge mid-season. Because once the series' mythology really takes hold in "The Man on the Street", Dollhouse picks up speed and proves itself to be a worthy entry into the Whedon milieu.  

Also apparent while watching the show on DVD is the hugely important role supporting characters play in making Dollhouse a must-see event. Actress Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense) gives Adelle, the head of the Dollhouse, a tough-as-nails edge with some serious gravitas underneath. Amy Acker (Angel) gives her character, Dr. Saunders, a haunted undertone as a woman working among the creatures that wounded her. Fellow Dolls Victor (Envor Gjokaj) and Sierra (Dichen Lachman) are both eerily good at enacting a love story between two people with no sense of emotion. And even Fran Kranz, the controversially annoying Topher, injects much needed humor into each episode, whether you like him while he does it or not.

Those hoping for more insight into the mysteries of the Dollhouse will be excited over the extras featured on this DVD. The first three discs contain only a few commentaries given by la Whedon and Dushku, full of the humor and superfluous background info we’ve come to expect from a Joss talk-back.

Unfortunately for this reporter, the bulk of the DVD extras are included in the fourth disc of the set, which wasn't made available for review. Included on this disc, however, will be the elusive missing "fourteenth" episode, entitled "Epitaph One", the previously unaired original pilot for the show and many featurettes on the making of the show.

Joss Whedon is a show runner who makes shows for the fans. He knows they’ll wait for him to reveal his master plan and he knows he can take his time doing it. The struggle through a few slow episodes is worth the reveal of a hugely intelligent show that knows how to kick some serious butt.