I want to believe. Ever since Fox announced Joss Whedon was creating a new series, I have wanted to believe it was going to be as good as his "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or even the short-lived "Firefly."

And, expectations grew when it was announced Eliza Dushku would be the star of his new series "Dollhouse." The actress, who played Faith on "Buffy" and "Angel," will play a woman who has her personality stripped away so she can be given a new personality to fit a job. Someone call for a hostage negotiator? Her character can become one. She can also be a sex toy.

The combination of Whedon and Dushku sounded so good.

Then I saw the first show. It is OK. But there are problems. Problems can be fixed. A tiny bit of hope remained.

My confidence was shattered Tuesday when Whedon talked about the new show at the Television Critics Association. During the course of the conversation, the show was compared to the film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and the defunct TV show "My Own Worst Enemy." It is actually more like "The Pretender" and "Dark Angel." The problem is that Whedon's other works were original. Once comparisons can be made, it is obvious the new offering is not that original.

A huge problem in the first episode is the lack of humor. Whedon's best work has always featured a layer of humor that helped soften the action and adventure parts of the show. There is nothing funny in, or about, "Dollhouse."

What killed my confidence was the fact this was Whedon's second try at making the first episode of "Dollhouse." And the second effort is still so weak that if Whedon didn't have such a solid reputation, the show would never see the light of network television.

I still want to believe Whedon might think of a way to make "Dollhouse" work.