Dollhouse guaranteed 13 eps for S2, but that could be the end...

[TV Lowdown]

It's been confirmed that all 13 episodes that Fox ordered for S2 of Dollhouse will air on TV, after weeks of rumours that the show would be pulled from the air after poor ratings for the opening episodes.

The confirmation from Fox is here, with a few words from Joss Whedon on the matter as well.

What do you think? Is it fair to assume that the show won't live beyond the 13 episodes, or could there be a last minute reprieve? After all, the fact that they got a second season at all was miraculous.

 

[Mr Light]

There's no way in hell there will be a 2X14. I'm shocked they're going to air the episodes as it is. Of course they didn't say it would be in the same time slot. They're currently burning off the remaining episodes of "Sit Down and Shut Up" Saturdays at MIDNIGHT. What an insult

 

[Timezshadow]

I think this is good news. I'm a fan of the show and was crossing my fingers hoping the show would, at least, finish out this season. Now I can look forward to regular typing again

Mike

 

[Forbin]

Glad it'll happen. I hope they take the opportunity to give the show either a solid ending, or a suitably intriguing and ominous (non-cliffhanger) open ending.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Heck, I'm just happy the remaining 6 episodes are being shot. I was afraid FOX was going to pull a Tru Calling on us and not even let them finish shooting the season. Beyond that, I'm less concerned about whether the episodes are aired or not. I'll see the DVDs eventually. I'd be very surprised if there was a Season 3. But then, I'm very surprised there is a Season 2.

The good news is the Joss Whedon has a tendency to end his seasons with a certain degree of closure. Even if he leaves you wanting more, knowing that there's a rich, full universe left to explore, he tends to not end his seasons mid sentence. (Angel Season 3 is the only major exception I can think of to that rule. But then, at that point, UPN was contractually obligated to pick up Season 4 if the WB canceled it.)

 

[Captain Craig]

Seems like a good news/bad news situation no doubt at the present.

The MLB playoffs are most damaging in the immediate present though. With a slight uptick from ep2 - ep 3 we could hope that steadily continues, however with baseball interrupting that the viwerer who sees baseball instead of DH when the TV is turned on may think that DH has been cancelled, thus losing potential viewers.

The best case would be that once baseball is done going into November sweeps FOX actually advertise that new DH will be airing. Let the cards then fall where they may.

Came across this info as well regarding the DVR/Tivo rankings for DH. Good news is this:

Dollhouse and Smallville tied for the largest gain in viewers, with each obtaining 50 percent more viewers in the seven days following their initial airings.
Both shows also saw a jump in their ratings this past Friday. Dollhouse pulled in 2.25 million viewers, improving on the previous week by a quarter million viewers.

Again, it would be bad for baseball to possibly damage any potential rebound for DH. Cause it clearly could.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

What do you think? Is it fair to assume that the show won't live beyond the 13 episodes, or could there be a last minute reprieve?

There will be no reprieve on FOX.

No idea what else might happen, but the odds are always long against a successful change of venue. Quite a pity, really. I've come to like the show enormously.

 

[Angel4576]

They really should aim to give the show closure inside the 13 episodes for this season, as barring intervention of biblical proportions there's just no way on earth it'll be back next year.

 

[Warp Coil]

The only way Dollhouse would win a reprieve from Fox would be if its ratings doubled over the course of the season, and even then there's no guarantee. It's nice to know that Fox will stand by its commitment to produce and air all 13 episodes. It definitely will give Joss an opportunity to craft some sort of ending. There will be no third season of Dollhouse unless there's a miracle, or a cable network is interested in picking it up.

 

[Captain Craig]

As noted by another I'm just glad that, if this Fox executive can be trusted, all 13 ordered episodes will be shot.
It was nothing two years ago for FOX to order 13 episodes of New Amsterdam, then cut it to 7 and cancel the show before it aired. Having aired(on Friday of all things) only due to lack of other options it then gets around 7million viewers and dropping to an average of 6 over the airings and nobody thinks to restart production? Good numbers for a Friday, Dollhouse would take them.

Shooting 13 episodes may be right but airing them could change.
I do hope for some type of push post MLB playoffs that might see the ratings climb.

 

[John Clark]

Enjoyed the first series in general and the second is due to start here shortly.

If season 2 is going to be just 13 episodes with no hope of renewal, I just hope they finish it properly.

 

[Captain Craig]

I don't think that there is "no hope".
I think it's realistic to say that the hope is razor margin thin though.

As for ordering additional episodes or a third season, Fox says it will make that decision after the current run.

Viewership is what could alter the situation in favor of more DH. Could.

 

[bigdaddy]

They can just tell fans of the show to watch the first and second seasons and then watch the episode that never aired that explained everything.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I'd rather they leave it open-ended than rush it to a conclusion.

 

[bigdaddy]

I'd rather they leave it open-ended than rush it to a conclusion.

They will conclude it in a comic book series.

 

[Angel4576]

Or maybe a movie!

 

[Lindley]

I wonder if David Nabbit is a Dollhouse client.....

If so, would he ask for Echo to be imprinted as a vampire slayer?

 

[ManOnTheWave]

Low rated or not, Whedon's stuff seems to sell relatively well on DVD. It's probably smarter for FOX in the long run to finish out the "full" season than just kill it like they would have just a few short years ago.

 

[watermelony2k]

Shoot all 13 season 2 episodes and produce Epitaph Two for inclusion on DVD. Where can you go wrong with that, Fox?

 

[Garibaldi O'brien]

I do hope Joss packs as much as possible into the two seasons we have guaranteed. I agree we need an Epitaph Two, as Epitaph One is what has kept me DVRing season 2. Bringing on Summer Glau is a bonus means Joss has hooked me to till the brutal end.