'Dollhouse' comes crumbling down; Joss Whedon expresses disppointment [Updated]

Well, at least, this time Joss Whedon fans can't retaliate against Fox. 

"Dollhouse" has been canceled. Please don't yell at me, members of the Whedon cult. I am only the messenger.

Take heart in the fact that the network really did give the low-rated series, starring Eliza Dushku, a chance. All 13 episodes will air, and the advance notice has given Whedon a chance to give the series a satisfying ending, according to a Fox spokesperson. The remaining episodes will begin airing Dec. 4.

And if that doesn't make you feel any better, consider that now Whedon is free to direct even more episodes of "Glee" if he wants to.

And if you're still not consoled, buy hundreds of thousands of DVDs. It worked for "Firefly" and "Serenity."

[Updated 1:30 p.m.: The remaining episodes of "Dollhouse" will air this way: Two episodes will air each night on Dec. 4, Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The last three episodes will air Jan. 8, Jan. 15 and Jan. 22 at 9 p.m.]

[Updated 2:13 p.m.: Whedon has posted a statement on whedonesque.com, where he says, in part, "For now there's a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear." Read it in its entirety here.]

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Photo: Dushku in an episode of "Dollhouse." Credit: Fox

Related:

Joss Whedon speaks about his "Glee" directorial debut

Fox sticks with "Dollhouse"

Comments

[Michael]

Dollhouse never really hit its stride. There were a few quality moments, but unfortunately, it never really gave a good excuse to stick around. Except for the fact that so much else on TV is pretty crappy.

[JoAnna]

I LOVE(ED) Dollhouse....I'm still going to watch it until it"ends" but I agree I had to buy the episodes on Itunes....It was on at 900 on friday, Im not at home. I LOVE U DOLLHOUSE!!!

[Steve Adder]

Well then it's now known as a fact...

Summer Glau cancels tv shows.

[Bob]

More proof that the Neilsen ratings system is antiquated and needs to be scrapped immediately. They are way behind the times, and as it's been noted elsewhere, are very poor at tracking DVR usage and online activity. This is what the target demographic of the show is doing! They're using their Tivos and watching it when THEY want to.

[Rupert Murdoch]

Dollhouse was what television was supposed to be. Clever, interesting, amorphous, like dry sand twisting through your fingers, impossible to hold onto, so enjoy it while it is there. Fox shows the sort of thinking that may turn a short turn profit into a long term loss. Television is dead, think Jay Leno at 10 as being the sort of cutting edge low cost programming that was an anchor on the corpse of broadcast media as it sunk into the scum at the bottom of the sea.

Dollhouse was too good for television.

[xeno]

Now will FOX take the hint and stop casting Eliza Dushku as the lead in shows? Seriously, has she ever been involved in a hit? (And Buffy doesn't count.) Give up on the pop-eyed brunette and find someone more talented and appealing to hire.

Speaking of pop-eyed brunettes, Summer Glau should be the next one 86'd. Casting her as the Terminator Girl and making the show revolve around her vacuous, bug-eyed non-acting was what dragged T:SCC down into the depths. Less of Cameron, a smarter John Connor and more of Sarah would have made for a riveting show.

[Tony]

The cancellation of Dollhouse illustrates Fox's philosophy which is encapsulated by the quotation, "Make people think they're thinking, they'll love you. Really make them think, they'll hate you." by Don Marquis. Dolhouse made people who watch broadcast TV think, which may have been too hard for some people resulting in fewer viewers. Joss Whedon really needs to take his shows to cable like HBO, Showtime or FX.

[troy]

I'm just sick of all the detective/cop shows, and the dancing/singing shows, along with the stupid reality shows. Why can't TV offer us viewers a variety? Not everyone thinks the same way. I hope cable TV starts cashing in on the mistakes Network TV makes. Crash, Curb your Enthusiasm, and Hung are all quality cable shows. Lets hope Dollhouse and Sarah Conners gets picked up by Cable TV.

By the way, Spike TV rocks!

[Nika]

I totally agree with Elizabeth Kaylene. I never get a chance to watch Dollhouse when it airs, but I get it from HULU the next day. I was a big mistake to keep this show with FOX, when other networks may have given it a better slot and an actual chance.

[Anna Dare]

Your shows are the most creative and they still get cancelled. Firefly is my favorite (next to Babaloyn 5) If Glee has to stay on the air I would rather you direct it to squeeze out it's hotess -twinkee -cartoon vibe (yuck). Dollhouse is not my favorite show of yours but I like it better than Glee.

[OVM]

i read a comment here that listed a persons friends stopped watching the show because it was ((too)) "complicated", and suggested a less tricky approach. are you frickin kidding me...its a tv series, what is complicated about it. if this is too much for a person to handle, maybe they should try sesame street. any marginally intelligent person age 7 & up could've figured this show out.

[Matt]

I always kinda knew that, despite all the hot chicks, Dollhouse was just too cerebral to survive on network tv. Great potential, but it never really caught fire. I really hope Joss stops trying to please the executive whores at fox television and finds an outlet for his work that lets him create what he wants to create, where he can reach his fans without having to pander to the whims of brain dead nielson families. Network TV is dying, and that doesn’t break my heart. We don’t need them anymore. Dr. Horrible's sing along blog was a fantastic example of a new distribution model. It goes right to the fans, without having to worry about the lowest-common-denominator network audience that would rather watch a weight-loss competition.

[Jim - Bring Back TSCC!]

Well now that they canned TSCC --and stuck with Dollhouse do you think there is ANY chance that they can bring back TSCC and give IT that they gave to Dollhouse?

Jim

[MIKE]

FOX has really gone downhill. The same network that took chances with shows like The X-Files and Married...With Children is afraid of giving a new show a chance to build an audience. Those shows struggled the first few years but were given a chance! The end result they lasted 9 seasons!
But NO, the suits at Fox have lost their nerve!
First they screwed up the schedule and moved Terminator to Friday Nights....then they killed it!
Then they premiere Dollhouse on Friday Nights after Terminator and now they killed Dollhouse!
I remember "Tru Calling" another Good Eliza Dushku series that wasn't given a chance either. It now appears on the SCI-FI CHANNEL.
Maybe Joss should stay far away from FOX! It should have gone to
the CW or SCI-FI channel and pitched his show!
They cancel the good shows but, leave crappy reality shows! What am I saying all reality shows are Crappy!
WAKE UP FOX! GROW A PAIR! DON'T SCREW WITH THE SCHEDULE WHEN A SHOWS IS DOING WELL AND MOVE TO A CRAPPY TIME SLOT!
GIVE QUALITY NEW SHOWS A CHANCE! DON'T PULL THE PLUG RIGHT AWAY!

[Carol]

I am so sick and tired of getting into shows only to have them cancelled. Loved Firefly...gone. Watched The Sarah Connor Chronicles...gone. Dollhouse...on it's way out. That's just on the FOX network. After Dollhouse, don't think I'll be watching FOX to much. Two of my favorite shows on USA are gone...The Dead Zone and 44oo. I like sci-fi series. I'd like to see the sci-fi series stay around awhile.They don't seem to fare well though. What a shame. Not really into the reality shows to much. Maybe I'll just stop watching tv altogether and just read instead.

[Shawn Smith]

I have to disagree wholeheartedly when you say that Fox gave the show a chance. Dollhouse was never given any chance at all. It was aired on Friday night - a night notorious for sending dying shows to choke out their last breath. The majority of your ratings for a Friday show are DVR which the network doesn't give a squat about. Secondly, there was little to no advertising for the show. I was surprised when they gave the second season the nod but it was pretty obvious it would go the same way as Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles.

[rmamart]

I am a huge Whedon fan but the Dollhouse was getting tired. sad but true...

[james]

This is terrible but all good sci-fi type shows get canceled on fox and abc. Each week all the shows i like are on the edge of cancellation. The networks need to realize if they broadcast these types of shows most of the viewers are going to dvr or watch on the web. The main bulk of people they monitor for ratings are not the type of people that watch these shows. The mindless masses watch dancing, reality, and singing shows. I hope in the future Joss will have his next show on sci-fi channel, or USA, or one of the other networks so we can get a few seasons out of it before the big axe. It makes me not want to watch any new good shows that come out, because just when i get hooked the network cancels them. Why even show them? It's the same every time, they have to realize the same boring people they cater to will not watch, its over their heads.

[Andy Luke]

"Take heart in the fact that the network really did give the low-rated series, starring Eliza Dushku, a chance. "

No, not really. Heres whats worth a yell. In addition to the Death Penalty time slot, remember, we got no new episodes for a month after only several episodes into a season. Then, before the last three episodes are screened, we get a break of another month. The network gave the show about as much chance as hypothetically cutting the limbs off a teenager. Scheduling devised by a lunatick who either intended the show to fail, or simply hasn't a clue about how to present television.

[Lauren]

I do feel that Dollhouse slowed down a little at the beginning 2nd season, but I'm utterly saddened by how GOOD the writing has been & how rushed the plot has become. They've got to cram the whole story into these last few episodes, & it's a travesty.

I never saw Dollhouse as a particularly mainstream show because it's more like an epic scifi novel than a cheap, user friendly sitcom. The average American isn't that deep. It's too bad.

But we'll be seeing more of Mr. Whedon, & I truly hope he finds an outlet that won't crush his work for being good.