The show lacks much of the likeable Whedonesque dialog that made his other shows so loveable. Topher channels Joss most consistently, but he's not on screen enough to carry the show. It takes itself a little too seriously for the quality of the storyline we've been given so far (compared to Buffy and Firefly on the one hand, and maybe BSG on the other.) Aside from Helo, the show lacks a character to root for, even while it tries to get you on Boyd and Echo's side. For a show treating the subject of human trafficking, it's a little too ambivalent about what it's trying to do--the way it's constantly trying to sell itself on Echo's appearance is very dissonant with the rest of its content.
Then there are problems with the basic premise: it runs the risk of becoming a one-engagement-per-episode sort of show, awkwardly tacking on the through-storyline to the engagement of the day. It's been alright about this so far, but not great. Unless it distances itself from that format more securely, it risks running out of believably interesting engagements to send Echo out on. (It's already starting to feel like it's run out of options.)
Overall, it lacks the kind of memorable character that makes really great shows great. (It has a distinctive character, but not one that's going to be massively popular.)
Those are the problems I see with the show, but with all that said... I've been loving it since episode 6. Alan Tudyk was awesome.
