Fox Cancels Dollhouse

[maneth]

Indeed. I hope JW won't try FOX again. Not that *spit* SyFy is much better when it comes to rescheduling and then killing off shows.

And yeah, ditch Dushku already, she can't act her way out of a paper bag. Not even when she's supposed to play a blank-slate character. IMO Faith killed off Angel, and she wasn't exactly a positive contributor to Buffy either.

[Commander Zelix]

I've watched it last year, but couldn't push myself to watch it this year. I watch the first 2 episodes I think, it was unbearable to me. The actress playing echo got no acting range at all. Which is strange since its a role where range is more important than anything. Shes great playing the motor biker's girlfriend. But she can't play the negotiator or other such role. No matter what wardrobe you make her wear.

[jelgate]

Yeah but they only look at those numbers as an afterthought. The numbers that all networks still care most are the Nielsen numbers. The networks have to accept that viewing habits have changed thanks to the internet and digital television.

That is not what my sources tell me. With the DVR the numbers were still quite low. And Hulu sales were nothing to boast about for Dollhouse

[Angela V]

My brother sent me this... he found it on a Facebook Dollhouse fan page:

Spoiler:

OMG! That's Wash and his dinosaurs! Now that's funny. Wish I had my Firefly DVD set with me to just go and find that scene.

[Giantevilhead]

If it wasn't for Fox, Joss Whedon wouldn't even have a career. I don't know if anyone knows this but all of Whedon's shows were produced by Fox. Even Buffy and Angel were produced by Fox.

People need to understand that this is business. Complaining about Fox canceling a low rated show while creating more reality shows is like complaining about how McDonald's sells Big Macs instead of artichokes.

[The Prophet]

People need to understand that this is business. Complaining about Fox canceling a low rated show while creating more reality shows is like complaining about how McDonald's sells Big Macs instead of artichokes.

The McChoke salad.

But, I agree. Fox needs to make money, it can't carry on shows (that are apparantly unpopular) just for the sake of it. It's bad business. They probably couldn't if they wanted to, their shareholders and other corperate investors wouldn't be exactly pleased, to say the least.

Then again, all this new digital media- downloading episodes (legally & illegally) and TV on Demand really needs to be taken into consideration, somehow. Dollhouse seems to be one of those shows that has a following that is largely internet based, so yeah.

/Some point about ratings not being as accurate as they once were.

[Unhallowed]

It was only a matter of time. I wonder if Fox will actually admit that they made a major screw up in keeping Dollhouse running and cancelling TSCC. I doubt it but i'd laugh if they did, the entire network is run by a bunch of money-grabbing brain-damaged yuppies that don't have a single clue what they're doing.

[huntress]

... the entire network is run by a bunch of money-grabbing brain-damaged yuppies that don't have a single clue what they're doing.

: shrug : Tell us something new. This is true for the majority of Hollywood. How else do you explain that lack of substance in 90% of their products? I am really glad for film festivals like Tribeca, Sundance, the Viennale and Berlinale. I really hope that television will be revolutionized even more, maybe in such a way that people really do not watch network television at all, but pick and choose the shows they want to see (I mean legally not through torrents) and it actually matters or more artists will go the way that Joss went with Dr. Horrible. It is already happening on a bigger scale in the music industry where artists like Patrick Wolf finance their record through bandstocks by fans.

[scifi_girl]

I know it was probably only a matter of time before the shown got cancelled but I thought it was quite good, and the storyline was getting really good too.

[GoSpikey]

We just had the fourth episode of season one on in Belgium today, in fact, it was on till 2 hours ago.

I like Dollhouse... And Eliza.

Bummer another Joss serie gets axed, and another Eliza show.

[M2W]

Disappointing, but not unexpected.

Now we wait to see if FOX actually does air all 13 episodes as promised.

Maybe they can show them out of order.

[ShadowMaat]

I have a hard time blaming FOX for this one and while I know the network is known for interfering with stories I still think Joss is the main source of blame for Dollhouse's failure.

The premise WAS good, IMO, but I also think it was mismanaged from start to finish. Even disregarding how it took half a season last year for the show to get to the point I think that what they've done since then just hasn't been wow enough. Quite frankly I'm amazed it got renewed even once. If any other name had been attached to this show it probably wouldn't have received a second season and I think fans are probably lucky that FOX hates them as much as they hate FOX.

The storytelling has, in my opinion, been too awkward and uneven to be really effective. Last season was a mess and maybe part of that was because of whatever limits/parameters FOX imposed, but that doesn't excuse the mess of this season or the fact that it has taken them four episodes to get to the point (again) and start developing the actual arc rather than goofing off and reiterating ad nauseum that Echo is "different" from the other dolls. And technically "Belonging" didn't really add to the arc since Echo was barely even in it, but it did provide a solid and compelling storyline for the first time since the end of last season. This is the kind of moralistic underbelly that could have been the show's hallmark and if more eps were like Belonging I think the show might have had a better leg to stand on. It still might not have made it, but maybe fans would have been more emotionally involved and upset at the prospect of cancellation rather than shrugging it off as, "Oh well, we knew it was coming."

There's more to the Dollhouse than just "OMG sex toyz" and as Sierra's backstory proves, even the sex toy angle can be about more than some rich horndog wanting to scratch an itch. Instead of having everything be shallow and surface-y they could have been building up layers and nuances, but for the most part they didn't and I think that lack of depth helped contribute to the show's demise.

The other big thing, for me at least, is what I've said again and again: too much focus on Echo. Yes, I get that she's the centerpiece for the show and I know Joss built everything around and for her, but I still think it was a fatal mistake. I don't think Eliza Dushku has the range or talent to carry off a show like this and as a result she wound up hamstringing it. All of the personalities she adopted had a certain sameness to them. A more generous fan might say that it's meant to demonstrate Echo's underlying base personality, but I say it's because Eliza only knows how to play one character over and over again. She gets the star treatment and the accolades over her castmates, but personally I'm much more interested to see what Enver Gjokaj does next and will probably make a point of checking out his career whereas I watched Dollhouse despite Eliza's presence and will probably make a point of NOT seeing anything else she's in.

Just please, gods, keep her away from the Doctor Horrible sequel.

[Captain Obvious]

eliza dusku is bad luck for a TV show. you want the thing to last more than 1-2 seasons, don't put her as your lead.

[DigiFluid]

Eliza Dushku....Summer Glau....Jewel Staite....Nathan Fillion....

I think we can reasonably safely say that it's actually Joss Whedon who's bad luck for TV shows

[jelgate]

Eliza Dushku....Summer Glau....Jewel Staite....Nathan Fillion....I think we can reasonably safely say that it's actually Joss Whedon who's bad luck for TV shows

Buffy and Angel had decent runs.