Is Fox foxing-up Dollhouse?

[Admiral Buzzkill]

although I thought most of Angel was aimless at best.

I really, really want to pretend I didn't just read this.

Do that, then.

It is just drastically unfortunate that Whedon chose to turn "programmable/wipeable people" concept into a show about prostitution and nanny services. Geez, is that really the first thing such an invention would be used for?

What planet do you live on? Here on Earth, some form of sexual commerce would be among the first "commercial applications" of this kind of thing.

Despite the good discussion about science fiction "what ifs," the main thrust of this show doesn't have all that much to do with the technology and its applications. One of the things it's about is people with power acting out their fantasies and indulging their wants without care for others.

 

[Forbin]

If quality determined cancellation, Voyager and Enterprise never would have gotten second seasons.

What planet do you live on? Here on Earth, some form of sexual commerce would be among the first "commercial applications" of this kind of thing.

Oh come on, if that true, the internets would be swarming with porn sites!

Despite the good discussion about science fiction "what ifs," the main thrust of this show doesn't have all that much to do with the technology and its applications. One of the things it's about is people with power acting out their fantasies and indulging their wants without care for others.

Well, I kinda feel that falls under the "it's about a new tech and how it would affect people and society" definition of sci fi.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Fox could have promoted it more and maybe aired it with Fringe, but they have been rather decent to the show. It seems to be their "we're sorry" for what happened to Firefly.

 

[Lindley]

The fact that it wasn't paired with Fringe from the start is the odd part. I mean, I thought that was an obvious pairing.

 

[Forbin]

Maybe they want to break it up a bit - not have two of the same kind of show on the same night, so they can bring in a varied audience.

 

[Lindley]

Yeah. That never works.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

The fact that it wasn't paired with Fringe from the start is the odd part. I mean, I thought that was an obvious pairing.

Fringe paired with Dollhouse on Tuedsay would be great, nothing to watch on Tuesday...

 

[Level 2 Diagnostic]

Friday nights really is a terrible night for premiering new shows and it's not just Dollhouse. Dollhouse is the first show that Fox premiered on Friday nights to even get a second season in 10 years so clearly it's not just the show (source).

It seems like what you're saying is FOX should never premiere a new show on Friday night; I don't think that's logistically possible. Especially since FOX doesn't put on anything in the 10PM hour, so they have 7 less hours of primetime to work with than the other networks.

And they have to put something on Friday nights. Are you really suggesting they should take an established show that's already doing well on Monday or Tuesday and move it into that slot, and replace it with an unproven show like Dollhouse? While stuff like that does happen occasionally, it's the exception and not the rule.

Plus, IIRC House didn't do too well originally either it was only once Fox started scheduling it after American Idol that lots of people started watching.

Do you really think Dollhouse is going to catch on with the people who watch American Idol? I watch Idol sometimes, but I don't see a lot of audience overlap there.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I can understand why a lot of people wouldn't watch Dollhouse. It's sci-fi and it's exploring a lot of uncomfortable topics like prostitution. I really doubt it ever would have been a huge mainstream success.

I don't think it being sci fi has anything to do with why it's not doing well. Other sci fi shows like FlashForward and V are doing pretty well right now. I would say the reason Dollhouse is doing poorly is because it's bleak and depressing, and the central character has her personality erased at the end of every episode. So, basically, it's a show with no lead character.

That being said the idea that every canceled show is canceled because of quality is ludicrous. Lots of shows took time to find an audience. Seinfeld and The X-Files were both really big shows that didn't do too well at first.

Shows finding an audience after a season or two are the exception, not the rule. For every Seinfeld there are a dozen Suddenly Susans that start out as crap and stay that way for several seasons.

What you seem to be arguing is that every show, no matter how poorly rated, should always get at least three seasons to find an audience. Would you have liked ABC's Cavemen to stay on the air for three seasons in the slight chance it might have turned into an Emmy winning comedy?

And your point is kind of moot, because FOX has actually given Dollhouse more time to find an audience. They should have canceled it after the first season, but by some miracle they brought it back. And people still aren't watching.

And then there are movies like The Wizard of Oz or It's A Wonderful Life that are now considered classics but they didn't do too well at the Box Office originally.

And for every Wizard of Oz that found an audience later, there are hundreds, if not thousands of movies that you haven't even heard of because they've been completely forgotten. And a lot of those movies are probably way better than Wizard of Oz or It's a Wonderful Life, too.