In case you haven’t noticed, Dollhouse is tanking. It’s second season premiere didn’t perform well in the ratings, and last Friday’s episode did even worse — Stargate Universe kicked it in the cortex. Dollhouse is in very real danger of being canceled. Why isn’t it doing better? Where did Joss Whedon and company go wrong? Perhaps that isn’t fair — the blame can’t be put on Whedon’s shoulders alone. There is Fox’s decision to leave Dollhouse on Friday nights, bereft of any real advertising support — a programming block of one. If Fox really wanted to give Dollhouse a chance, they’d have paired it with Bones or Fringe, and not after a pair of sitcoms (one of which stars Michael Strahan) that no one is watching. Stargate Universe did well because Syfy Channel has been pushing it relentlessly, hammering it into their audience that something new is coming down the pike. But the thing you can level at the Dollhouse writers and producers is the middling way the show came out of the gate. Whedon has always been great at ending TV seasons — Buffy and Angel have tons of memorable season finales, and Dollhouse’s S1 ultimatum was terrific — but not so great at starting them. Listen, I’m all for Joss taking his time to build his universe and layer his stories with emotional substance topped with an action frosting. But anyone looking objectively at the Dollhouse situation for the season would have to see that the show has its back against the wall. It’s the fourth quarter and Team Dollhouse is down by a whole mess of points — it’s not the time to do slow burn undercovery episodes. Dollhouse needed to score, early and often, and it didn’t. Is it too late? I fear that it might be. Whedon and company are telling the stories they want to tell — and unless those stories suddenly bring the whup-ass in the next couple of weeks, they might not get to tell them for much longer. The saddest part of it is that I desperately want Whedon and Dollhouse to succeed — I want smart genre content to work on broadcast television, so that networks will continue to take risks on programming that doesn’t have a host. I just hope that it gets the chance.

I am in 100% agreement … Fox has done NOTHING to promote a show that they have exiled to a night that no one is home to watch TV (and the people who are at home on a Friday night are not the people that would watch a show like Dollhouse no matter what night it aired). AND, the show itself has yet to deliver an episode that would WOW a casual viewer. The show does great with Joss Whedon fans but I don’t know that it has yet to really pull in new viewers … yes, it’s tough to get people to watch your show on Friday night but if Whedon and the gang were to deliver a slew of kick-ass episodes then it would at least pull in some new viewers, which would help their sinking ratings. Since the ratings are going down, it sounds like even the Whedon fans are watching less and less. But … I’m not sure what more can be done at this point. Fox has continually dropped the ball in promoting the show and it is prolly too late to turn it all around. Eliza, for her part, has been championing the show as best she can … after the jump, watch video of her interview with David Letterman on The Late Show last night …

Madonna has laughed off rumours she is preparing to marry her toyboy lover Jesus Luz. The 51-year-old singer, who has been dating the Brazilian model for nine months, says she’d rather get ‘run over by a train’ than walk down the aisle again. It follows claims by Madonna’s biographer Randy Taraborrelli that she hoped to make the 22-year-old the next Mr Madonna before the end of the year. Madonna scotched the idea on the David Letterman show last night, for which she arrived riding in on the shoulders of the ice-hockey team NY Rangers. The interview didn’t get off to a great start, with Letterman saying: ‘Listen Madonna, Madge, how are you?’ She replied: ‘You know that’s one of the reasons I left England, so I don’t have to hear the word Madge again. ‘People say it means two different things. Some say it is a colloquialism for a boring middle-aged housewife – others say it is short for majesty.’ It was Madonna’s eighth appearance on show, which includes an infamous 1994 encounter in which she branded Letterman a ’sick f***’ and told him the only reason she had come on stage was because there was ‘no escape.’ Madonna said of the incident: ‘Every time I’m on the show I feel like a different person. ‘I think I may have made a fool of myself once or twice on your show but it wasn’t because I was excited about you – I think it may have had something to do with the joint I smoked before I came out.’ Promoting her new best of hits collection Celebration, which was released this week, the star spoke briefly about how things had changed since her last appearance in 2007. ‘Last time I was on I had three kids and I was married and you had one kid and weren’t married,’ Madonna said. Letterman said: ‘You were married eight years right?’ Madonna replied: ‘Yeah – the Bush years. It was a good time to be out of America.’ Asked if she would ever consider getting married for a third time, she said: ‘I think Id rather get run over by a train. ‘That said I do miss things about being married. Being a single parent means you’re in charge of everything. ‘You can’t say, “Hey can you give the kids a bath.” There’s no job sharing.’ Letterman asked the singer whether she thought she would fall in love again. ‘I’ve lost perspective, I don’t know,’ she replied. The pop star also refused to comment about last years rumours that she was dating New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. Letterman said: ‘Here in New York City there was a time we came to associate you with a professional spots star?’ Joked Madonna: ‘Only one?’ Referring to Letterman’s recent scandal over a joke he made about Sarah Palin’s daughter and A-Rod, she added: ‘Didn’t you almost get arrested for bringing up A-Rod’s name?’ Letterman later quizzed the Madonna about being a parent. ‘If you had to be one thing in your life, in this world would you just want to be a parent?’ Madonna replied: ‘No, yikes. I mean it’s a challenging job to be a parent. Letterman said: ‘It’s the most important job isn’t it?’ Maddonna said: ‘Yes – that’s the politically correct answer. It’s a great job. I wouldn’t change my job as a parent for anything but its also extremely challenging. Teenagers right?’ The interview ended with both Letterman and Madonna going to a New York pizza parlor, where the macrobiotic singer sampled her very first pizza.

‘What do you like on your pie?’ asked Letterman. Replied Madonna: ‘I’m not a cheese person. That’s a very personal question. You mean what do you like on top?’ The pair eventually settled on a cheese-free pizza with tomato sauce and black olives.

Yeah … I don’t know that I really believe that Madonna, the Italian princess that she is, has never had pizza before … but, hey, it made for a great way to end the interview. After the jump, check out video of Madonna’s appearance on The Late Show last night to see her hijinks for yourselves …

As soon as Aly mentioned her darling daughter Satyana, Dave shared a new previously unseen photo of the little doll:

OY!! Ain’t she the cutest?? Love that little girl … and her mommy. Alyson’s segment on the show last night was very short but, in fine Aly style, was very funny and cute. After the jump, check out video of Aly’s interview with David Letterman last night …

Bikini-clad and lookin’ fab, Brit Brit delivered the Top 10 Ways The Country Would Be Different If Britney Spears Were President including #10: She’d be the first President to wear eye shadow since Nixon. LOL!! After the jump, check out the full video of our dear Britney delivering the Top 10 List on The Late Show last night …

I’m sure Beyoncé was anxious to perform so that she could dispel the validity of that fake recording. In case you missed it, you can find a link to the clip HERE … I ain’t gonna lie, it’s funny as hell — fake or not. After the jump, check out video of Beyoncé performing Halo …

She has just bared almost every inch of her body on the cover of a men’s magazine. But if David Letterman was hoping to catch Jennifer Aniston in an equally revealing mood, he was sadly mistaken. The former Friends actress appeared as a guest on the US star’s late night chat show to promote her new film Marley and Me on Wednesday night. However, it was not long before the topic quite naturally turned to the star’s love life. And it was at that moment that things turned a little awkward between the pair. Dressed in a pink mini jumper-dress which only just managed to skim the tops of her thighs, Aniston inexplicably came over all coy as the host fired off a series of questions about her guitarist boyfriend John Mayer. The actress quickly replied: “I think it’s all been said at this point.” But Letterman dutifully plugged away, asking why she thought people were interested in her personal life. “I don’t know. Just ask yourself why you asked the question,” Aniston shot back. The 39-year-old eventually told him that they met at a Hollywood party, but was clearly uncomfortable as the host kept asking more questions. She attempted to end the conversation by giving short answers and laughing off Letterman’s remarks. Finally, he admitted defeat as Aniston continued to clam up. “I’m an idiot,” he said. “I can’t even go any further with this.” But the awkwardness was not over. The host then ogled pictures of the naked actress writhing with male models in her recent GQ shoot. The actress, who has appeared naked in several magazines over the years including another cover-shoot for GQ in 2005, shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She again looked far from impressed as the pictures were held up to the audience. “Oh Dave what else are you gonna pull out of that basket?” she said as she desperately tried to deflect attention away from the pictures, the most famous of which features her posing provocatively in a striped necktie. “You’ve got some explaining to do here,” he said. Again trying to change the subject, Aniston reached behind her chair to get “an early Christmas present”, producing the same tie that she wore for the shoot. Letterman immediately ripped off his own tie and as his band played strippers’ music, put on Aniston’s gift. “Oh this is exciting – I’m dressing Dave!” Aniston said as she helped him. “This is an historic moment in my career. That was fantastic!”

Okay … so technically, Dave grilled Jen before she gave him that fabulous gift but, I must say, she handled herself like a champ. I suppose I don’t understand why a celebrity would choose to clam up about personal questions when they appear on national television even if they are there to talk about non-personal things. I mean, seriously … but, then again, when you’re as big a star as Jennifer Aniston is you can really get away with stonewalling as much as you want. Personally, I think it was damn cool of Jen to give Dave that now-infamous Brooks Brothers tie (tho, I suspect it wasn’t the actual tie she wore for the shoot). Incidentally, if YOU would like to buy this tie for yourself or for someone you love, you can order it online from the company directly HERE. It’s on sale from $150 to $112.50 — what a bargain! After the jump and for those of you who missed watching it on TV, check out Jen’s full interview with David Letterman last night …

Part 1:

On the actual show itself, Shannen wore a completely different outfit (tho, I think I prefer this one) … and she managed to pull off a very charming interview, I thought. She talks about, among other things, her Catholic-inspired tattoo, the trials and tribulations of living in Malibu, CA and, of course, 90210. After the jump, check out video of Shannen’s Late Show appearance …

They were classmates at a posh L.A. high school – and Mary-Kate Olsen doesn’t have fond memories of Spencer Pratt. “He does not have a good temper,” Olsen, 22, told David Letterman, during an appearance to promote her film The Wackness … “He used to play on the soccer team … (and) he walked out of a few games. He would walk off the field.” When Letterman pressed her for more stories on The Hills’s 24-year-old villain (whom Letterman called “wormy” and “oily”), Olsen just giggled and said, “The Wackness is a great film!” As for the rest of young Hollywood, Olsen simply advised: “Wear underwear! Wear your panties.”

The interview is interesting to watch, Mary-Kate seems regretful that she even started talking about Spencer in a negative way in the first place because she remained mum on spilling any further deets the more that David Letterman pressed her. After the jump, check out video of MK’s interview with Letterman …