Another Nail In Dollhouse's Coffin

When Fox first announced Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse would air on Friday nights next to Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, it immediately sent warning signals to those hoping it would be the next Buffy. By that single decision, Whedonites were hard-pressed to deny that it wouldn’t suffer a fate similar to his previous Fox effort Firefly. And exactly as everyone thought, the ratings shit the bed.

So it certainly sent shocks when Fox revealed that it had been renewed for a second season. Albeit the production was forced to take budget cuts, their order was simply 13 episodes up front (although a back-nine pickup wasn’t an impossibly) and it was sticking with the “Friday Night Deathslot.” And once again, it tanked in the ratings.

Oh sure, there were reports of how great it did on DVR. But everyone knows that technology (as cool and convenient as it is) serves nothing more than spin for networks to “prove” people are watching their shows. That’s the equivalent of me recording 30 Rock and The Office tonight and watching it sometime this weekend. Should that be lumped into the Nielsen numbers? No? Exactly.

However following said DVR numbers, Fox reassured fans that they would not pull the plug on Dollhouse like NBC recently did with Southland (i.e. cancelling the show after 6 completed episodes even though they were contracted for 13 – all before a single one aired!) All of the originally ordered 13 episodes would be produced and aired. Seeing the blatant writing on the wall, Whedon confirmed he was planning to essentially wrap the series up with the remaining episodes. But there were still those fans pressing their luck wondering if Dollhouse might continue after the 13th show.

Well, Michael Ausiello reports the final nail in its coffin - at least until before Fox officially announces the show is DOA. The network plans to sit out Dollhouse next month for the purpose of the alluring "November sweeps." In this case, expect to see reruns of House M.D., Glee, Bones and/or Fringe filling in said slots. Making matters even more definite is the revelation when the series returns in December, Fox will fill both hours of their Friday night schedule to the remaining episodes.

For their sake, I hope they find the remaining episodes enjoyable giving the series suitable closure. But there's no denying it. Dollhouse is done.