Nope. Perhaps more than any other show EVER, I will miss Dollhouse when it’s gone. But I feel confident it will go out in a protracted blaze of trolling, fanbois-isms, rape/not rape, scheduling glory.

I can’t be the only one.

I would think that it would at least stabilize the “morbid curiosity” crowd (to the point of “Didya see Dollhouse, man? How are they ever going to top -that-?”), and it hasn’t even done that much.

Now, I’ve watched five episodes total (three from the first season -including the pilot – and the first two of the second), and I couldn’t recall a single moment when I was offended. Maybe I’m jaded, maybe I’ve experienced far better sci-fi (and dramas) that touches on the same topics, but if anything, Dollhouse never went -far enough- into the prostitution aspect.

In fact, it made prostitution glittery and glamorous. The dolls live in a day-spa after all. The horror!

My feeling is that it wanted to be organized crime, but a quirky and different kind of organized crime, which, Flying Spaghetti Monster forbid, should look ugly, scary and intimidating. Hell, it’s even cuddly enough that two of the dolls get to be a couple?!?!

(Methinks that anyone who thinks that a dystopia like Dollhouses ought to let that sort of thing go on would have balked at the words “Do it to Julia!” as they appeared in ’1984′.)

Would have given the show a bit more respect – and I think a lot more people would have as well – had the Dollhouse been cruel enough to more violently attempt to squash the ‘real’ Caroline out, because that’s what the Dollhouse ultimately has to do to hold onto its prized doll, no?

Because Dollhouse got pitifully low ratings, and even when it was renewed despite them, it couldn’t hold onto even that meager audience. Because the DVD sales were, to put it charitably, lackluster. Because Eliza Dushku simply isn’t compelling people to tune in. Because in many ways the concept of the show is riddled with holes and it’s hard to suspend disbelief. Because the stories are often boring, risible, or offensive. Because the showrunner knew there were major structural problems and when he got renewed for season two, he never bothered addressing any of them and instead gave us more “mission of the week” poor man’s Quantum Leap snoozers. Because Tahmoh is a bore, Topher is annoying, and Adelle has largely been a one-trick pony, and the show is structured to make chemistry between the various characters almost impossible to build. Because the most successful episodes have been the ones that only barely featured the ostensible star of the show. Because the plot hits the same notes week after week and they’re boring notes. Because Whedon and his writers are spectacularly bad at writing action and at writing procedurals and yet they keep giving us action and procedurals and the stories are riddled with lazy simplistic solutions and giant plotholes. Because it’s not that great a show.

My 2 cents.

I’m actually going to credit FOX to the extent that House has been jammed a little in the schedules on Mondays — dual-tuner DVR non-cable households who want to catch HIMYM and Heroes (i.e. mine) have taken a pass on House so far this season. So the premiere rerun on Friday was a good way to remind a strand of viewers what they’ve been missing.

Tuesday has felt like a dead day until this week. I know that FOX has SYTYCD blocked out for two hours now, but the offerings since the start of the fall season have been really pretty shoddy — for me, it’s been a “DVR catchup” day. I’m not sure what FOX can do with its Fridays, but Tuesdays were there for the taking.

Well, at the time, it was. Standards have gotten lower, but not THAT low. And by the time they did, Dollhouse would be doing even worse.

“All of FOX’s previous friday series did better than Dollhouse and when they renew Dollhouse look what happens, and they keep it on.”

But for reasons that had nothing to do with ratings. And it’s looking like Dollhouse will basically run the equivalent of one season. So that was fair, right? It got a chance. It failed. C’est la guerre.

“FOX had it right with the Fifth Grader/Lyrics combo.”

Dude. FOX was doing better with COPS repeats than it did with Dollhouse LAST season.

“After Dollhouse is gone, hopefully FOX puts Kitchen Nightamres on fridays paired with another drama. Maybe that will do better.”

Maybe we don’t need to worry about was FOX does. FOX needs to worry about its proclivity for greenlighting horrible genre shows that develop tiny obsessive fanbases that would hate FOX forever if they canceled said show after TEN seasons.

And how’s that paying off for them?

Kind of makes you figure they had it right the first time, don’t it?

Where it would have a demo rating of about 0.1

I’ve been thinking the same thing–Fox originally said the show would air during November sweeps–they even sent out the schedules–but then they abruptly changed their mind. No reason they can’t change their minds now too. And the less Dollhouse episodes that air, the more House reruns (or whatever) they can air instead to higher ratings. And of course the less Dollhouse episodes that air, the higher potential sales of the season two DVD could be.

A show that finishes out its season and simply not brought back for next may be CONSIDERED cancelled, but actually it’s done okay overall. It’s done well early on – at least well enough for the full complement of episodes to be aired – but not well enough at the end to earn a renewal for next season.

It seems to me a new show making it to Season Two is an exception rather than the rule, so if I like a show and it makes it to Season Two I consider it a bonus. But I guess it’s how you choose look at it.

Wait…that sounded wrong.

Last week’s episode was clearly a fairly lame attempt to address the “rape” complaint a lot of people have about the show. And it didn’t come close. Nor, in my view, was it worth even trying since it will sway no one.

They should have busted out of the gate with major conspiracy stuff about Rossum, the more malevolent uses of the technology, made use of Alexis Denisoff, etc. Instead, they blew four episodes.

Doomed. No way to save this show now. Bad as TSCC was bad at the end.

Joss, call me. Got a much better series concept in mind. You can even cast Summer and Eliza in it.

Simon – If a series has an announced end date than its considered ending but if a series is pulled or even finishes out its season but not brought back, its considered cancelled. For example, Lost has been announced in May 2007 has being planned to end in May 2010 so the series wouldnt be cancelled because we’ve known about the ending for so long same as last year’s Boston Legal.