"Was I on TV?" "For a little while."

It is official. Dollhouse has been canceled. Even loyal fans of the show and Joss Whedon in general have been expecting it for weeks. It has been doing poorly in bringing in new viewers, and the small following it had was just not enough to merit it a time slot. But, a few more episodes are still scheduled to air in the coming weeks, so, to honor its memory, I will write an epitaph to the late drama.

Dollhouse (8/10)
I have always (in the last year) been a fan of Whedon's works. A friend recommended/forced me to watch Buffy. And, aside from an unfortunate first season, I loved it. My favorite characters by far were Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother, Veronica Mars) as "Willow," Nicholas Brendan (pretty much just Buffy) as "Xander," and Eliza Dushku as "Faith." So when I heard Dushku was returning to Whedon's side to star in Dollhouse, I was ecstatic. And once again, I was in love.
This show followed an organization that would trade five years of one's life in exchange for paying off debts owed or unpleasant memories. Their minds would then be wiped, leaving themselves as if empty CD's ready for files to be copied into them. One could be endowed with martial arts abilities rivaling a master or the skills of a conflict negotiator or, in one unfortunate episode, the singing and dancing talents of a backup pop star. These "dolls," as they were known, thus the name, were hired out by public and private parties to fulfill role.
The main doll, or active, is the intelligent and versatile "Echo," played by Eliza Dushku. Serving alongside Echo are "Sierra" (Dichen Lachman) and "Victor" (Enver Gjokaj), two dolls whose love has surpassed even the constant mind-wipes. In administrative positions in the Dollhouse are Olivia Williams (Peter Pan and Emma) as the director "Adelle" and Fran Kranz (The Village) as the lovably goofy, yet incredibly genius technician behind the operation, "Topher."
The first season revolved around an FBI agent trying to find the Dollhouse and hints being dropped about an elusive "Alpha" who was a rouge active. This season tried to push the limits of the box a bit more. It started off with Echo getting married to an arms dealer. She then acted as the mother of a newborn. In one episode, her mind accidentally got imprinted with that of a serial killer while at a club. And, in a surprising twist, every time Echo's mind is wiped clean from a mission, she still remembers what happened (I am hoping for a "Rouge" type breakdown sometime in the next few episodes to deal with the hundreds of personalities that are now floating in her head).
They have been, as a whole, very good episodes, but in an effort to make them the best they can, they did not leave an opening for new viewers to understand what was happening. Thus, only those that were already faithful to the show would return. And some of the writing has been a little off as of late. One characters only lines are to state the obvious. It would be slightly comical if it were not so tragic.
So with only a few un-aired episodes to go, is it worth watching? Yes, but only if you are dedicated to watching the seventeen that have already been aired.