This just in: ‘Dollhouse’ axed
This has been a busy week for cancellations. The latest addition to the TV graveyard: Dollhouse.
According to multiple insiders, Fox has informed Joss Whedon that it will not be ordering additional installments of his low-rated drama beyond the current 13-episode order. On the bright side, the network still plans to burn off the remaining unaired episodes beginning in December. Hey, it’s something.
Dollhouse has been averaging a mere 3 million viewers this season. Last season — when fan support, together with significant budget cuts, helped it to get an odds-defying second-year pickup — the show averaged 4.7 million.
UPDATE: Whedon just posted the following statement on Whedonesque.com: “I don’t have a lot to say. I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again. I’m off to pursue Internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I’ve read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now, there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear. Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again.”
‘Dollhouse’: Chronicle of a Cancellation Foretold
Reacting to the news Wednesday that Fox had canceled its science-fiction adventure series “Dollhouse,” viewers went through an abrupt grieving process. First, denial (see various blog comments and Tweets that take the form of “NOOOOoooo!!!”); second, hurling favorite expletives at the Fox network; third, a kind of acceptance, as if they had known from the start that “Dollhouse” was destined for a short run.
Even devoted fans of the show’s creator, Joss Whedon (who was also behind the cult series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and the similarly short lived “Firefly”), had their doubts about the longevity of “Dollhouse,” which stars Eliza Dushku as Echo, a secret agent whose mind can be completely reprogrammed from mission to mission.
The doubts about “Dollhouse” crept in the moment Fox announced it would air the show on Fridays.
That just sucks. But 3 million viewers is no paltry amount. I don’t get it. Joss Whedon has done some of the best TV series and yet he can’t seem to catch a break.
Do you think Dollhouse failed because of the Friday night slot? Or do you think it failed for other reasons?
