"As Fox preps for its upfront presentation on Monday, the net is said to be on the verge of renewing Joss Whedon's frosh drama "Dollhouse," and it has added another laffer to its frosh slate for the 2009-10 season. Word spread Friday ayem that "Dollhouse" is looking good for a 13-episode sophomore renewal and is likely to stay in its Friday night berth. The 20th Century Fox TV fantasy drama starring Eliza Dushku has delivered modest but consistent ratings on a low-trafficked night, thanks to Whedon's built-in fan base."

But Dollhouse shows a lot of promise of interesting and complicated story arcs in the future. I hope that Fox execs take the long tail into account, and realize that, even if ratings aren't great, there is money to be made for potentially DECADES from the right type of genre show. "Lie to me" may be a decent show, for instance, with better ratings than Dollhouse, but nobody is going to be buying it on DVD three years from now.

The buzz is getting louder...*squeak*

If they bring it back, they need to redo the opening credits. I think that is actually one of the single biggest factors contributing to low ratings. Keep the teasing semi-nudity, sure, but make it a little less Lifetime-Movie-For-Women-like.

It's not a full-on support, where they would order new seasons of T:SCC and finance a new tv-movie of Firefly/Serenity, but it's a start.

A Start....

:The network won't officially say so until Monday, but several sources close to the show say that the deal is being worked out now."

http://tinyurl.com/q9cjkq

I humbly suggest Summer Glau.

Considering they've only been 12 episodes so far of Dollhouse, it does show promise. The last few episodes (excluding the very end of the finale) were great.

Toonol is right through, they should really change the title sequence. Maybe, you know, feature some of the other actors perhaps?

His name is Enver Gjokaj, thanks IMdb.

gotta keep those Fox Suits from meddling in the scipts, too.

Also Glau as a Doll would be the smartest thing this show could do if they aren't going to work on making the stories better.

Seriously, FOX... Cancel Dollhouse and give us back Terminator TSCC. It's stupid to beat the dead horse known as Whedon's writing, and it's even more stupid to miss the fanbase coming off of the Terminator Salvation movie.

But then, you're FOX... You live for dumb decisions.

The characters actually grow and evolve (gasp!) as characters. The narratives, both over seasonal arcs and in individual episodes, are exciting, page-turner-quality writing. It's not all just strangling-you-with-the-clever gimmickry, as I've heard it accused of being. Whedon's shows are every bit as enveloping as Lost, and MUCH better written than Smallville or Heroes has EVER been.

So, really, isn't it just because those of us who like Whedon's work LOVE it? Is it because it's not your type of humor? What's the deal?

Don't get me wrong, Anti-Whedoners, I'm not hating on you, I'm just asking why, when there's so much thoughtless, meaningless crap on TV (though not as much of it as when Whedon started, I'll admit,) why hate on shows that are actually well-written, entertaining, quality programs?

Personally, I liked Buffy, loved Angel, and loved Serenity. I saw the Buffy movie in theaters the day it came out. I collect both "continuing seasons" of Buffy and Angel in comics and have most(if not all) of the tie-in comics from all Whedon series.

Does that establish my bona fides?

That all having been said, I find "Dollhouse" about as interesting as a root canal.

Although I continue to enjoy the Joss, upon repeated viewings of Buffy, in particular, I find the cute-speak fucking annoying as shit and understand why that (and some of the maudlin nature of some of the show and the characters) could be offputting.

Does this help you understand? Just 'cause *YOU* find Whedon's stuff "very engrossing, intruiging, captivating, and entertaining," doesn't mean that everybody does.

Shit, dude, Uwe Boll still makes movies 'cause somebody still watches them. That ought to be 'nuff said.'

I really wonder if there are in fact two camps of Whedon fans: The "browncoats" who love Firefly first and foremost, adore Dr. Horrible (which I found pretentious and boring, actually), and are sticking with Dollhouse no matter what. And people like myself who admire and respect Whedon as a working screenwriter in various forms of media (movies, TV, comic books); we tend to like Whedon for Buffy first and are kind of so-so about everything associated with him after Angel. And we're also the less vocal Whedon supporters.

Hey, who can argue with that?

Anyway, hope they don't stuff up season 2. I think the key is to remember the show is called Dollhouse, and not The Dushku Show.

Remember Dollhouse is from Fox sister studio 20th and TSCC is WarnerBros., which changes the cost-benefit equation.

Still ... this year though ... man ... it's like George Romero movie out there. You can't trust that any show is dead until you've seen its severed head."

I think there is still a bit of life. Twitching?

If you're interested in a full critique of Dushku then I would direct you to Salon.com's Heather Havrilinsky who expertly takes her to task for being to similar from week to week while praising the rest of the show. There is a reason why the standalone episode where she played a dead woman was my favorite standalone, it's because Dushku actually played someone other than herself.

However, the moment in Terminator when BAG was shot in the head? Awesome. Did NOT see it coming.

2) Buffy the Vampire Slayer

3) Dollhouse

4) Angel

In my opinion, Whedon didn't know what to do with Angel at first, much like Dollhouse. However, he figured the show out pretty quickly and I think that is what has happened with Dollhouse.

Making S02 cheaper than S01 shouldn't be TOO difficult.

Now we just need them to focus more on Topher and Ballard/Helo and a little less on Echo. ED can act, but her character isn't as interesting and cannot be developed as well as the surrounding 'supporting' cast.

With me as Bale Christian.

Now Dollhouse is far from brilliant, (ep3 was shite-tacular) but the premise, ensemble and overall more serious tone elevate it above s1 of Angel. Now s2 of Angel is awesome though...

My only fear is that this might go the way of "Tru Calling" and the network renews the show and then cuts it back so severely that the "renewal" becomes more of an insult than if they had just cancelled it in the first place. I remember how happy I was when that show got a second season and then the season premier got pushed back and the number of episodes got cut down and, finally, it got cancelled before even airing all of the produced episodes. Hopefully, the same thing won't happen here. Hopefully, Fox will promote and pair it up with a strong show like 24 or American Idol to allow it to build an audience they way they did with Fringe.

Thanks for hanging in. joss | May 16, 08:49 CET"

Originally posted 5/12

On the other hand, I wouldn't get TOO excited even if they announce a 13 episode second season. Let's remember this is Fox, so there's still a chance it will come back next year and even in a re-tooled state STILL bomb in the ratings, at which point Fox will pull another DRIVE and cancel it with episode 4 and say "Shut it down right now. It's not even worth doing the 13." So, I guess we'll just have to see what actually happens next year if it actually does come back in an all-new incarnation.

Dushku is doing some of the best acting of her career, converting even a skeptic like me, too. I'm really enjoying this troupe of actors. Whedon chooses well once again.

Plus -- I want to learn more about the story. It's got far-reaching science fiction coolness wrapped in drama. The show budget's been cut, which sucks a little, but I think the result won't diminish. Can't wait.

I'll definitely tune in next season.

BABYLON 5 was about people and built a world that was explained a bit at a time, without people having to say "Quee-Zah!" to identify itself as a different world and culture. It fell apart a few times, but its heart was in the right place.

JOE 90 was a favorite, too.

"Terminator" had completed its run, Reilly says. Adding this wasn't an either/or decision with "Dollhouse."

"If we'd cancelled Joss's show, I'd probably have 110 million e-mails this morning from Joss' fans." - Reilly.

Fox Friday: Brothers & 'Til Death a lead-in for Dollhouse (???)