Dollhouse in Trouble?

[Cain]

Just how in trouble is Dollhouse?

Despite the official line that the production hiatus is simply to give Whedon a chance to retool scripts to his own satisfaction, Television Week has heard a slightly more believable take on the situation:

A person familiar with the thinking of some Fox executives told TelevisionWeek that there have been concerns raised inside the network about the fundamental underpinnings of the show.
Specifically, because the heroine of the show, played by Eliza Dushku, has no free will or ability to do much beyond what she’s told to do, viewers might find it hard to root for her. In addition, some executives have expressed concerns that early episodes of the series have been confusing and hard to follow.​

This has been my concern from the beginning. The concept is a bit out there and may have trouble finding its footing. After having to redo the pilot, I find this disconcerting.

 

[Hermiod]

Oh ffs. I knew this would happen.

 

[InvisibleGT]

The idea, while "out there," is also a fantastic and unique one, and one that I believe people will connect with once they allow for the possibility.

As far as Dushku's character not having free will or anything of that nature, well... Isn't she, and the other characters, supposed to begin to assert themselves in future episodes? In that fashion, they would start questioning what they were doing, and the "problem" would be somewhat resolved.

That, and, quite frankly, how does lack of free will in this show differ than any movie/show dealing with military forces? Soldiers in combat are essentially the characters from the show; following orders.

 

[ITL]

Seems like the execs are underestimating the intelligence of potential viewers. I really hope this show goes ahead as planned and succeeds.

 

[Lindley]

Seems like the execs are underestimating the intelligence of potential viewers.

Yeah, well, no surprise there.

 

[Hermiod]

^If American viewers can keep up with the likes of Lost and Heroes which do not have episodic, easily resolved stories, surely they can keep up with this ?

As this is a Joss show, I will probably bend my "No New TV Shows" rule for it but it will wait until it's out on DVD (or Blu-Ray).

 

[Captain Craig]

In addition, some executives have expressed concerns that early episodes of the series have been confusing and hard to follow.

Confusing and hard to follow....to EXECUTIVES. Specifically the genre challanged ones at FOX.

Fox TV the ones who didn't "get" Firefly enough so they showed it out of order, delayed it and moved it around.

If they didn't get it, find Dollhouse confusing then its a sure fire bet that the show if brilliant!

 

[Hermiod]

^I do believe that the portrayal of Fox's executives in Futurama's "Bender Should Not Be Allowed On TV" is more accurate than I previously thought.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

This is the second Fox show to be shut down for scripts to be retooled. The first was 24, so it seems like something is going on. The optimist in my wants to think they are actually looking for them to be as good as possible this season, but probably not.

 

[ljrashkin]

Does this actually surprise anyone?


Actually, now that I think about it, it is almost too believable (almost stereotypically so) at this point. Hope it goes forward without too much executive meddling.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

there have been concerns raised inside the network about the fundamental underpinnings of the show.
Specifically, because the heroine of the show, played by Eliza Dushku, has no free will or ability to do much beyond what she’s told to do, viewers might find it hard to root for her.

From the first time I read this premise, my initial thought was similar: where's the Why-Should-I-Care factor in all this? The lead character must want something, and I must care about her enough that I want to see her get what she wants. Then the story is all about her overcoming the obstacles while the audience roots for her. That's the underlying structure of all stories, at least all pop-culture or reasonably popular stories (discounting just the arty/experimental stuff that never makes it to TV anyway). Without this, there's no reason for the audience to tune in.

The concept of Dolls themselves is not at all too "out there." You just have a lead character Doll who is struggling to become self-aware and what she wants is to break free and no longer be enslaved. The audience can certainly root for that! Then the problem becomes, how long can you extend that premise in a TV series...

If the Dolls are voluntarily being enslaved, then the Who-Cares factor is a problem. She brought it on herself, I have no sympathy for her plight. Also, there's a logic problem: who'd volunteer for that?

 

[Mr Light]

Isn't this premise just like Alias? Sydney Bristow whores herself out on missions to get the job done, but then realizes all is not what it seems and secretly works against the system?

The only problem is how long does it take for the twist to come. As is, it sounds like it wouldn't come until 8 episodes in or something, which would be understandably troubling. If the character "reboots" every episode and it's just an anthology with the same actors, who cares, generally speaking. I hope this isn't the case in early episodes, but who knows?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The lack of serialization would be another barrier to me watching this show, but all my objections right now are based on very incomplete evidence. Done right, this premise could work just fine.

 

[Lindley]

It's a Joss Whedon show. Serialization is a given eventually. He does like to go with the "start standalone" approach, though.

 

[JoeZhang]

Maybe the show is confusing and hard to follow? How would any of us know?

 

[The Wormhole]

Dollhouse in Trouble?

As soon as I first heard Joss Whedon had a new show on Fox, I knew the show was screwed.

 

[Warp Coil]

Dollhouse in Trouble?

As soon as I first heard Joss Whedon had a new show on Fox, I knew the show was screwed.

Indeed. As excited I am about "Dollhouse", I fully expect FOX to cancel it before it has a chance to catch on with an audience.

 

[Scout101]

it's FOX, there's a decent chance for it to be cancelled before it AIRS...

 

[Captain Craig]

it's FOX, there's a decent chance for it to be cancelled before it AIRS...

Unless there is another strike by some odd circumstance. Its the only way New Amsterdam made it to air. While flawed it was still entertaining and did nearly as well as TerminatorTSCC which is back. Alas, Fox hated it and I suspect they do Dollhouse as well and will air it only to honor a contract.

 

[DigificWriter]

Several things:

1) IO9 conveniently forgets that it was Joss's idea to shoot a new pilot, not the network's (they expressed some concerns - which is normal - and Joss's response to those concerns was to come up with a way to introduce the show that was different from what he'd originally come up with [notice I said 'different from', not 'better than']).

2) The people who are now in charge of FOX have already more than demonstrated their faith in the project. If there ARE people at the network who have concerns about the series, they're not the people whose opinions MATTER.

3) E! Online's Kristen talked to the actors from DH, and they echoed what the main FOX execs have been saying all along about the shutdown.

4) If the series were 'in trouble', The Joss would be the FIRST to let us know; since he hasn't released any statements contradicting what the FOX execs have said about the shutdown, it's safe to say that there's nothing 'untoward' going on; the shutdown is exactly what it appears to be, and is NOT an indication that the FOX execs have changed their minds about DH and its premise.