Dollhouse‘s Enver Gjokaj Gets Soapy on Funny or Die

Any fan of Joss Whedon’s now-departed Dollhouse knows that the freakiest thing about the show wasn’t its dystopian neuropunk brain experiments, but the talent of its at-the-time-unknown supporting cast, who were challenged to create completely different characters on a weekly basis, but made it look easy over the show’s brief run. Enver Gjokaj, known mostly as Victor on the show, was one of those standouts, and today the web gets to see him play yet another set of dual roles in the soap opera parody Previously On Point Dume.

Running as a Funny or Die exclusive, the first installment of Point Dume keeps its tongue firmly in cheek as it sets up the titular wealthy beach community as one rampant with murder, sex, and supernatural intrigue. The gimmick of the series, though, is that you’re not actually watching the show: You’re actually watching an entire episode’s worth of narrative as summed up by a “Previously On…” montage (a format which seems familiar, though I’m drawing a blank on specific examples from the web world that have previously emulated it — perhaps it’s just an idea that’s gotten pitched a lot).

Per an interview with io9.com’s Charlie Jane Anders, the first episode of Point Dume is the only one that currently exists — Gjokaj and his collaborators (including writer Ross Maxwell and director John Lange) are waiting to shoot the next four installments until late May or June, after they’ve gotten feedback from the online audience.

That response will probably be enthusiastic: While Point Dume moves so fast that jokes and plot reveals can be missed, the first episode has a well-balanced tone and contains many laugh-out-loud moments (though be warned: they don’t necessarily improve with repeat viewings). At its best when thoroughly over-the-top, highlights of the first episode include a stare-off between step-mother and step-son, the cacklings of a mad scientist and the pitch-perfect Gjokaj as the shirtless landscapist Bron (he also plays Bron’s evil doppleganger Ron, who appears only briefly).

On a technical level, Point Dume isn’t super-impressive: Whatever happened when the video was being compressed for web distribution has given the cinematography a cheap and out-of-focus look — far from resembling the crisp video production of a traditional soap opera. And there’s a over-use of green-screening to recreate locations that could have been shot for real, which makes moments like “the Scheming Stepmother” slapping a door appear painfully fake. (In fairness, Gjokaj acknowledged the first episode’s poor use of green-screening during the io9 interview, though they do plan to continue implementing the technique for future episodes.)

But hopefully there will be improvement, and in the meantime there’s something to look forward to this summer, especially since Gjokaj promises that the story will make some sort of sense — and I have to admit, I’m kind of curious about what lurks in the pantry.

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