Dollhouse Cancelled: Fox Will Show All Of Season 2

If there's one person who has proven over the last few years that networks have no patience, it's Joss Whedon.

The Fox Broadcasting Network has picked up half seasons of his shows for the last two series he's been involved with - Firefly and Dollhouse.

Dollhouse was the result of a development deal Fox signed with Eliza Dushku, she was the one who brought Joss aboard. A good idea, since she seemed right at home in the Dollhouse.

There was difficulty when the show first premiered. The first few scripts for season 1 weren't all that Joss Whedon wanted them to be, and it took a while for the series to find its legs. That led to Fox not ordering more episodes once the first 12 had been made. The 13th episode, Epitaph One, was a sweat equity investment, with a low budget and many friends of Joss Whedon jumping in to play parts that were written to deliver a story that takes place many years in the future. I thought it was fantastic, and many fans agree. It never aired, but was used to fulfill the DVD order of 13 Dollhouse episodes.

Fox ordered a second season. Their initial order was 13 episodes, which will be completed. The remainder of season 2 will air in December 2009 and early 2010. Expect some closure since they're wrapping episode eleven now and they'll have time to rewrite episode thirteen to give us a great big ending.

Joss Whedon has already mentioned that he's working on something else, and the excitement for Cabin in the Woods is steadily building. I've also heard a rumor that he'll be directing an episode of Glee, which would be fun to view.

Does his new found freedom mean there's a chance Firefly could be resurrected? No, not according to the breakfast round table with Joss, Nathan Fillion, Andy Tudyk and Ron Glass that came as a special feature on the Blu-Ray edition of Firefly. During their lively discussion, they break the news to the fans gently; there will be no more Firefly. Sad, but we, and Joss, will have to move on.

All we can do is look for the actors and show runners from Dollhouse elsewhere, wish them the best, and support their good work when it hits the boob tube, silver screen, or interweb.

RL

Television Cancellations 2008: The Official List

As we ramp up for the summer blockbuster season, E! Online has done us all a favor and compiled a complete list of all the shows that have been cancelled this year. Keep in mind that shows that ran 3 episodes or less are not included.

I'll keep my commentary short and sour. Networks don't know how to weather a storm. The writer's strike hit like a million megaton bomb and the corporate heads running things behind the scenes acted without patience in one short sighted move after another. They cancelled shows that didn't get a chance at winning an audience, changed their schedules around, misused advertising dollars and overall botched damage control all around.

If you want an example of how it can be done right, go take a look at the BBC's summer schedule, then check back in the fall. You'll see some of the best world class programming spanning several publicly funded channels. North American broadcasting has a lot to learn, here's the proof.

ABC

Big Shots
Carpoolers
Cashmere Mafia
Cavemen
Just for Laughs
Men in Trees
Miss/Guided
Notes From the Underbelly
October Road
Oprah's Big Give
Women's Murder Club


CBS

Cane
Jericho
Kid Nation
Moonlight
Power of 10
Secret Talents of the Stars
Shark
Viva Laughlin
Welcome to the Captain


CW

Aliens in America
Beauty and the Geek
Crowned
CW Now
Girlfriends
Life Is Wild
Online Nation
Pussycat Dolls Present


Fox

Back to You
Canterbury's Law
K-Ville
Nashville
New Amsterdam
The Next Great American Band
The Return of Jezebel James
Unhitched

NBC

1 vs. 100
Amne$ia
Bionic Woman
Clash of the Choirs
Journeyman
Las Vegas
My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad
Phenomenon
Quarterlife
The Singing Bee

I agree that some of these shows are turkeys, there are a few every year. However, if you watch television at all and have checked out a few of the new shows I bet there are a few cancellations that burn a little.

RL

RIP Carpoolers 2007-2008, and Other Shows That Didn't Make It.

I haven't spoken of this concept before, it was just too early. You had to get to know me a little, realize that I'm generally a nice, sane person who has some long sighted dreams and short sighted notions.

Now that you've gotten to know me a bit, it's time to reveal a shocking idea I firmly believe in. I believe that television shows should get at least half a season, more if at all possible, to find an audience and become a staple in a network's lineup. It doesn't count if the network changes the time slot every couple episiodes. I know, it's shocking, we can get through it.

On to what I'm really here to write about. Carpoolers. Not the energy savvy, vehicle sharing commuters, but the television show. The series is about four professionals who carpool, each show begins with them, yes; carpooling. They sing along with a random song on the radio, their air guitar and percussion skills barely contained by their sensible cars.

The show also features members of their family, including puritain and real estate agent wives, and most notably a deeply neurotic son named Marmeduke. He's my favorite character. Every episode features a bit with him and at least another family member. This is a formula show and it's a good one. Ahh, formula shows, when they're bad they're terrible. When they're good (like this one), they tend to be hilarious, improving after a season or two. Friends, Gilligan's Island, and Cheers were formula shows and they kept us entertained for decades.

Much like those other shows, Carpoolers is getting funnier as time goes on. The best episode so far was the 10th which focused on handicapped parking and karma. Sadly, ABC doesn't seem very interested in renewing Carpoolers. Like everything else, they're blaming it on the writer's strike. Frankly, that's cheap.

What it really comes down to is a network seeing a chance to cut and run from a series that they never really dedicated themselves to. The advertising was sparse, a lot of people never even heard of it, and frankly they only ever ordered half a season. I wish I could tell you that there was a way to effectively campaign for the return of the show but with the Networks playing the 'The writer's strike did it!' card, they don't feel accountable. The best way to support the show is to watch a rerun if you see one on television, then talk about it online in a visible forum (such as on ABC.com). It might not change anything, but it's a fair effort.

As of this posting here is a list of confirmed cancellations: Cavemen, Eli Stone, Big Shots, The 4400, Anchorwoman, The Dead Zone, Journeyman, On The Lot, The Showbiz Show with David Spade, Traveler, Bionic Woman, Extras, Girlfriends, Jericho, K-Ville, Las Vegas, Life Is Wild, Nashville, Online Nation, Quarterlife, Welcome To The Captain, The Wire.

Keep in mind, this list does not include television shows that were not renewed, or ended as part of a creative decision. Examples of these shows include Life on Mars and Battlestar Galactica that are both going straight to DVD after their last episodes air. In the case of both of these series the show runners wanted to end things strong so the fans would have a solid set of episodes and a good story line to enjoy.

I'm sure that the networks aren't finished shielding themselves behind the writer's strike excuse, just as I'm sure that some of these shows were cancelled because they actually were terrible. Regardless, I'd love to see the networks put some faith behind a few series and actually run them for a whole season, let's face it, not every show finds it's audience right away.

RL