Even months before FOX’s Dollhouse premiered, campaigns to save the show appeared on the Internet. Still haunted by the memories of the treatment their beloved Firefly received by the very same network, Whedon fans were desperate to see their master’s new work last. In some ways they were right to be scared. News of the pilot being reshot caused alarm bells to sound, especially when it seemed to be against Joss’s plans. Yet, the show did make it to not only air, but it carried out the complete season and got a surprising renewal.
During its first season, those “Save Dollhouse” campaigns were little heard from. Apparently, even the ratings not being so hot — and the show in danger of not getting a second season pickup — didn’t worry the fans. The renewal was granted, and there was much celebration. And Dollhouse was no longer in need of being saved.
Jump to season two, and after only two episodes, the Save Dollhouse campaigns are at it again. Petitions are posted and Twitter avatars are changed in hopes they’ll change the minds of the FOX powers-that-be, should they be sharpening their hatchet. There’s good reason for them to think it might be in danger: it IS in danger. I mean, come on, those are pitiful ratings. And you know what? It deserves those ratings.
Yes, I said it. It deserves those ratings. Because it stinks. Don’t blame its position on Friday night. Don’t blame FOX. Because, until we hear evidence to the contrary, you can blame Joss Whedon for this.
Dollhouse getting a second season was a surprise to many. Hell, I know I was surprised, but I was happy. I was happy that, with a new season ahead of him, Joss could make this show what he wanted it to be. He wouldn’t be forced to do what the networks wanted him to. Since its first season was iffy in the ratings, and more time had been put into understanding what a Friday audience likes to see, I had full faith that Joss could bring season two in with a BANG. I had faith it would excite fans and would give reason for new viewers to see what all the fuss was about. And he failed us.
That first episode of the second season was Joss’s (and FOX’s) chance to bring new life to the show. They had a prime opportunity to deliver a season premiere that kicked all kinds of major ass and kept people on blogs, Twitter and in lunch rooms talking for days. Instead it went ahead and showed the talented Amy Acker the door and nearly put people to sleep. Are you kidding me?
Close your Dollhouse petition books. Change back your avatars to something with a more noble cause. Dollhouse does not deserve saving. I say that Joss Whedon needs saving, because whatever alien that is eating that man’s brain has caused him to allow Dollhouse to taint his otherwise awesome resume. He shouldn’t be pushing out stuff like this! He cannot be. He’s been kidnapped and a doppelganger is in his place, I tell you. There’s an alien disguised as a hoodie attached to his back, or Topher wiped the man’s mind and forgot to flip the funny bit when he reflashed his brain.
Somebody, please save Joss Whedon from Dollhouse. FOX, go ahead and swing that ax so that it cuts the alienesque umbilical cord from the creature in Joss’s head that it’s feeding, and allow him to give us what we know he’s capable of, like Buffy, Firefly and Dr. Horrible. If there is hope for Joss — and all the rest of us — this Friday will be the last we see of a show that just needs to be sent to the attic.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Oct 08, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
Ummmm… no. Whatever you were watching, it wasn’t the show I saw. The first episode of season 2 was everything I expected, and a few things I didn’t, and I was happy with it.
I’m not a drooling fanboy who thinks everything Joss does is perfection, either. Dollhouse is a good show. It may become a great show, given time, and I’d like to take that ride. Even Buffy had to have time to find it’s sea legs, but season one is extremely watchable. My 70-year-old mother (with a PhD in child psychology) has started watching Buffy and she loves it. She’s catching up on Dollhouse, too.
I actually (and, shamefully) agree with you (as a Whedon fan). However, I also feel that I must confess I always felt the first shot of whatever Whedon did never rubbed me the right way. I hated Buffy: The Movie, but loved B:TVS (from s1 ep 1 – on). I hated the first couple eps of Firefly, but loved Serenity. I hated the initial comics he wrote for Astonishing X-Men, but loved issues 13-18 and the Giant Size.
I initially thought DH would work similar to S1 and S2 of Alias with a lot of costume, gun-toting fun, but with an agent discovering she’s been misused and has to take the shadowy organization down from the inside. Prior to the pilot, I assumed the dolls were people with a mild criminal record who agreed to work for a government-affiliated organization in order to avoid sentencing. Of course, as the series progressed, I assumed they’d reveal that in addition to ‘saving’ the world, the organization had a shadowy side which included renting them out to the rich for play or political coups (which it does, but not in the way I thought a la Alias). I feel the show would’ve been better off from the beginning if Echo already retained a bit of consciousness and personality for us to latch onto.
I am enjoying this season. Both episodes have given insight into the bigger picture that Epitaph One provided and the engagements have been interesting as well. Though, I watch the show for the show itself with no expectations of what Whedon has done or is doing.
This is one of the few shows out there that really makes you think about the world we live in and the world where the Dollhouse exists. As was shown in Brett’s post about whether Madeline/Mellie/November is still a doll:
https://bit.ly/lPsEI
The show was always a mess and the only decent episode was the one never to air on TV.
I agree with Keith that the season premiere was the big chance to blow people out of the water, and the show fell short there. It wasn’t a bad episode, but it wasn’t the home run that Epitaph One suggested it could be.
I’m not ready to throw the whole thing under the bus just yet though. Having seen the previews and hints at what is to come in episode 4, I want to see how that plays out first.
I no longer care. I cared more about Tru Calling in its second mini season than I do about Dollhouse. That show ended with a genuine change in direction, as did Jericho. At least they seemed to TRY for their reprieve. I can’t even really remember what has been on so far, other than what you mentioned in the post. That’s pretty bad. Josh needs to move on, and he needs a winner. Preferably on SyFy or USA or FX, etc.
Yeah, count me in the group of people that has been totally non-plus’ed by this season so far. Things certianly picked up at the end of last season, and “Epitaph One” was a game changer, but this season has not built on that at all. They do some really good stuff with Whiskey, but couldn’t afford to keep Acker on the show.
(On a side note, I still say that Acker would have been a better artistic choice for Echo, and for those that say she’s not a big enough name to lead a show, I’d like to reference Russell, Garner, or Torv (JJ’s Angels). Or this season’s Taylor Schilling (who’s Mercy premiered to nearly double the overall numbers than DH’s premiere last year).
But, I agree with Keith, and disagree with my friends Brett and CJ … This show just hasn’t been good this season. There’s certainly been good “stuff,” but overall, it is nowhere near to living up to the expectations that “Epitaph One” created.
The 1st five episodes of season 1 and the first 2 of this season so far were of the same quality. You would think that after the debacle last season they would avoid the “Echo imprint of the week” but they went back to it. And it killed whatever momentum they had.
Based on the quality of the second half of season one alone, I don’t want to see this show cancelled. Every episode from “Man on the Street” onwards was great, and “Epitaph One” hinted at a very interesting road ahead.
Count in the fact that Joss Whedon can produce brilliant television, his shows usually take some time to find their feet, and his working on a tiny budget, I’d be sad to see this show go. We’re only two fairly decent, but not amazing, episodes into the second season. The episodes weren’t THAT BAD, were they?
Unless you hated the whole of season one, I can’t see why anyone would want to see the show end based on those episodes alone.
Again I’ll concede that the complaints have merit, but I don’t want the show cancelled.
If it were mine to decide – season 2 would have started in the future, dealing with the Epitaph One yumminess, doing occassional flashbacks to the current time to fill in the viewers in on secrets.
You’re right. That would have been perfect. It would have required quite the cast change, but it would have been worth it to explore the story that went with it.
It’s n ot so much I WANT the show cancelled, as much as I won’t waste any more energy worrying about whether it sticks around. If this is what happens with the second chance at life, then how very DJ AM of them. (Low blow, and I do understand PTSD as I have it, but I am like my own doll, and can admit when I either need to step up or back out).
I’m very sorry about the PTSD. You are in my prayers.
Thanks – its amazing what your brain will do when you are traumatized. Sometimes you don’t even know it’s happening, but everyone around you does.
Oh golly – as I was writing this I saw the Dollhouse preview. It doesn’t look promising. How disappointing.
I think Dollhouse is suffering from the fact that most people have lost the ability to think about things and just want answers force fed to them by reality shows. Any show on TV now that causes a viewer to think and follow along in story archs that take longer than one ep or are about something more than sex, and people don’t want to contribute the time.
Epitaph One was an amazing ep that FOX couldn’t be bothered to air. How does that garner an audience or drum up interest in a show when the “most talked about ep” of the season isn’t supported by the network? I watch Glee (as well as other FOX shows) every week and never once do they air commercials for Dollhouse. They’ve given this season almost nothing as far as a marketing campaign goes and then they wonder why they can’t attract new viewers. And this show is hugely received overseas, but none of those numbers count for anything as far as I can tell.
I wish Whedon would just give up on FOX since they clearly only care about shows featuring singing, dancing or chefs getting screamed at. He should take his brilliant work over to Syfy, a network that actually cares about their shows and stands behind them.
*POST AUTHOR*
Like I said in the post, I don’t believe blame should fall on FOX, at last not solely. Have you seen the previews for the next episode? Zzzzzzz. Who would think that looks exciting enough to tune in?
I *love* thinking shows. I’m into Lost, FlashForward, Stargate Universe, and more, plus I was obsessed with BSG and many others. I’ve loved all of Whedon’s previous shows too. So, it’s certainly not that I need to be force fed answers. I just need to be entertained.
Actually, I haven’t seen previews for the next ep and I’ve watched 5 other shows on FOX this week. That’s my point about advertising for the Dollhouse.
And people who come to this site may love thinking shows. It’s why we congregate to discuss things, because we have brains. But we are the exception to the rule. Look how popular all the CSI shows are where generally each case is solved by the end of the ep and if you miss a week it doesn’t matter cause there are limited story archs.
I love Dollhouse, but I can see how people dislike it. Definitely not like Firefly, where I’m shocked if someone hasn’t heard of it. Tiny little tangent: Firefly’s on sale at Best Buy, $13, not sure how long that’ll last.. Back to my comment though. I think this season isn’t as good as last season, just cause there’s really not too much more to bring to the table, it seems. However, I think it’ll improve with the addition of Summer Glau. Sarah Conner Chronicles fans will probably watch those episodes, Firefly fans will watch if they aren’t already, and of course faithful Dollhouse fans will be in full force after this month-long break. So ratings should improve, if all goes well. And maybe the season will improve as well. Or maybe I’m just terribly optimistic. Either way, I suppose I’ll enjoy it at least.