Okay, so this news item is about a month old but my boy Darion sent it to me on the off-chance that I missed seeing it when it came out and, wouldn’t you know it, I did miss it when it came out in early December. It’s such a great read that I felt it was worth sharing on the off-chance that some of you missed it too. Joss Whedon gave a great interview to the Chicago Tribune, excerpted below from the SciFiWire, wherein he talks in great detail as to why Dollhouse ended up getting canceled. Long story short, it’s Fox‘s fault and now that the show is dunzo he can say so publicly. Read on …
“The problems that the show encountered weren’t standalone versus mythology [episodes],” Whedon said. “Basically, the show didn’t really get off the ground because the network pretty much wanted to back away from the concept five minutes after they bought it. And then ultimately, the show itself is also kind of odd and difficult to market. I actually think they did a good job, but it’s just not a slam-dunk concept.”
“We got the espionage that the network wants, but it’s the questions about identity that we want,” he noted. “There are other things about the show that never came back, and I didn’t really realize it until the second season—[there were] things that we were ultimately sort of dancing around. … We always found ourselves sort of moving away from what had been part of the original spark of the show and that ultimately just makes it really hard to write these stories.”
“People responded to ['Dollhouse' by saying], ‘This is trafficking. This is sex for money.’ It wasn’t just sex,” Whedon said. Part of the problem was “the other implications of what was originally supposed to be somewhat more of a fantasy. The real-world version of [this kind of activity] was I think what made the network really twitchy and I can’t really fault them for that. I just thought when I went in and pitched it …you know, it frightened me too [but I thought] we all got that that was what we were doing.”
Once he’s done making “Dollhouse,” he’ll continue to work with Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon on a “Dr. Horrible” sequel, the title of which Whedon declined to reveal. He will say that he expects to corral star Neil Patrick Harris and “the rest of the gang” from the first “Dr. Horrible” for the second installment of the Internet musical.
“What we need to do is get enough time to really solidify what we’ve got, really get the [script] in shape, and then it all becomes about Neil and his availability. We’ve been basically telling him, ‘Do whatever you want,’ which he clearly took to mean, ‘Do everything there is,’” Whedon said with a laugh. “But we were like, until we have a script, we can’t really think of a schedule or a venue or how we’re going to do this and what size it will be, if we’re going to get any kind of any kind of backing from a studio or an independent.”
I sincerely hope for Whedon‘s sake (and for the countless sakes of his legions of fans) that he no longer works with Fox again on another TV series. I don’t think I could take the promise of a new Whedon show on Fox again only to live in fear of when the network will decide to eventually kill the show. Joss Whedon needs to be on a TV network that appreciates him … one that fans will be able to pay back with ratings. I hope that union will happen someday. Until then, I’m sure we’ll be looking to the Internets for new Whedon projects. Blah … it’s just so crappy. I’ll be over here watching my Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs if you need me :(
[Source via Source, thanks Darion]
I love Joss and his shows, and I too am sorry that Dollhouse is leaving (although the first few episodes of season 1 almost did me in). That said, I cannot get behind the Fox dissing that comes from Joss and from many, many of his fans. Everyone I know who watches the show has blamed every bad thing about it on Fox — when in other interviews, Joss himself gave them credit for a lot of the good ideas.
The bottom line is that Fox gave it two seasons. It didn’t pick up the volume to justify keeping it, but they gave it a chance. If not enough people watched it, that can’t be blamed on the network. They’re a business and attracting large amounts of viewers is how they make money.
I do think a cable network would be better for Joss — they don’t need as many numbers and are open to more esoteric concepts. Some of my fave shows are on cable. Hopefully Joss will consider that venue in the future.
And I am totally stoked about Dr. Horrible 2. Good news!
He’s an auteur, he belongs on cable…AMC, Showtime, HBO, etc…
FOX sucks balls..They let a brilliant show like Arrested Development fall to the wayside so that they could bring us horseshit like Til Death..They didn’t market it enough and I guess figured most of the American public wants their jokes handed to them on a platter..They can suck it!
fox = fail…
Faye – I would say that Fox really didn’t give it a chance by putting it on Friday night when it’s primary demographic sure isn’t home Friday nights. I am not going to stay home and watch television when I can be out hanging with my friends and I still don’t think they count Hulu as real viewers. If they gave it a chance it would be on after Fringe (if that’s even on Fox), but same concept and good timeframe. Yes, it wasn’t as great as a show as it could have been, but I think it’s got a lot of potential and much better than most primetime television shows.
I couldn’t watch the show to begin with. It kept setting of my feminist buzzer. And nothing ever sets off my feminist buzzer. There’s something about it that was so anti-fem. I don’t know. Fox can suck it.
Hahaha I love Joss Whedon! I will support him no matter what!
He will find a network that will allow him to catch his stride. We have to remember that Buffy didnt really take off until season 2 either.
Im pretty sure my buffy dvds are getting worn out! I watch that show sooo often!
Love Joss. Love all of his work. That said, i agree that he can not continue to blame Fox for all the failures. No other networks even give his stuff play…Fox gave him Friday night? So what. No other network gave him any night.
Joss, as brilliant as he is, is a niche and we are it. Instead of banging on Fox, who plays in the safe realm of network tv and ratings-driven, lowest common denominator programming, he needs to continue looking to the future of media…the internet or some sort of direct-to-viewer medium. Cut out the middle man and come straight to us. I’ll buy whatever he’s selling.
@mdf — Joss (or was it Eliza) had a contract with Fox that they wouldn’t let him out of AND they still decided to go ahead with Dollhouse — then as he said, they started backpeddling almost immediately after they gave the greenlight. I’m not sure if Dollhouse finally satisfied his contract with Fox but I hope to the GODS that he is free of them now.
Eliza Dushku can’t act!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s why the show failed.
I can’t stand that Joss always blames Fox. I am a fan of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Dr. Horrible and so many other Joss Whedon creations. His fans need to wake up and realize that FOX (like Faye said above), is a business and sucky ratings = shows getting canceled. I personally was not a fan of Dollhouse. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Dollhouse was a brilliant concept but it was executed poorly. It could’ve been an incredible show with someone different behind it. Not that Joss isn’t a genius, but he and his fans need to understand that not all his ideas are easily grasped by a broad fanbase. It happens and there’s no use crying over spilt milk.
If I recall correctly, it was Dushku who had a contract with Fox and she wanted Whedon to do the show. The show definitely didn’t fail because of Fox, but rather because Dushku is such a horribly wooden actor. You’ll not that all of the better episodes had very little Dushku in them.
@Sooth: you are correct. It was Dushku who had the development deal with Fox (God knows why; to me, she is the weakest link on the show), and she brought in Joss to create/develop the show. I believe she even says this on interviews on the Season 1 DVD, so I would say it’s a confirmed fact.
@OceanWonderland — Why is Fox obligated to put it on another night? Why should they move popular shows when Dollhouse hasn’t proven itself? Ugly Betty got bumped to Friday night because it sucked for two seasons. They improved the show vastly, ratings improved, and now they’re getting moved back to Wed. There’s no earthly reason Joss’s work should get special treatment just because we his fans like him.
I do agree it’s a problem that Hulu viewers aren’t counted, but then that same problem exists for all shows on Hulu or other legit Internet venues.
I’m not sure how I found myself in the role of network apologist :) — I really don’t care about Fox one way or the other, I suppose I just want people to be fair. And I doubt this is the last we’ve seen of TV Joss. I remember him declaring several years ago he was done with television forever! Yet we saw him back on Dollhouse. I do think cable is the best place for his work, and I would gladly watch another of his shows there or on another venue.
I would love it if Joss took Dollhouse to SyFy, they are open to shows that are a different, and to be honest I started altering my Friday night plans around Dollhouse just to make sure I got to see it.
I hope that Joss can find a network that is open to the ideas he has and is willing to give his shows a fair shot. I think his relationship with Fox should have ended awhile ago as it does not seem to benefit him or anyone that works with him on his shows very much (since Firefly and now Dollhouse have been cancelled).
To be honest, Dollhouse, House and Bones are the only reasons I watch Fox (I always miss Glee so will have to wait till it’s on DVD). I think Fox should admit they either made a mistake buying the show in the first place or they should admit they put it on the worst night of the week (even Sunday at 9pm would have been better!).
-IMHO
I believe it was Dusku who had the deal w/ Fox too, but they still screwed over Joss. And, Chuck, Fox does deserve some of the blame here (not all of it, but some). The first few episodes are the ones that really suck and Fox made Joss make those stand alone epsiodes to kick off the show. They messed w/ his creative vision, which is what he is talking about here. The only good thing about Fox here is that they gave the show a second season so they could actually do what they had wanted to in the first place. The second season has been a thousand times better than the beginning of the first season.
@Ally — Ah yes, I think you are right about Eliza’s contract. Thanks!
Okey i loved True calling and i will admit i liked buffy and angel but dollhouse was so freaking boring, dull and messy
Joss needs to get Showtime or HBO interested in carrying on the Dollhouse franchise. I think it would fare well network like that. It would definitely give him more artistic freedom.
I’m seriously gonna miss Dollhouse. Dammit.
Fox always does this. I try so hard not to get hooked on new Fox shows because they always do this. I’m just glad that they are finishing up the episode for this season and not jut ending it with no answers. So excited that its back on tonight!!!
while i agree with others who say it wasn’t joss or fox’s fault, I still believe that dushku, who i loved as faith was the weakest link. the episodes with summer are fantastic, though she continues to play a very similar character throughout her career that i’m aware of. this doesn’t make summer a bad actress, or dushku a poor actress. stick to what your best at!
I always thought the show sucked. It didn’t get an audience and thus got canned. And a LOT later than a lot of other shows get canned nowadays.
And about the Friday issue… Moot to me. Ugly Betty got bumped to Friday when the ratings sucked, and they actually IMPROVED. Go figure.
How can we get HBO, Showtime or someone else to pick up the show? I don’t want to see it go either. In my opinion its the only show on t.v. that’s interesting and makes you REALLY think. So let’s put our heads together and THINK! Or Trent, you have friends in high places, get them to talk to Joss about taking Dollhouse to HBO or Showtime…please?!