Dollhouse Cancelled

"Dollhouse," "Eastwick," and "Hank" Get Sh*tcanned

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (32)

It’s hard to say that any of these cancellations come as much of a surprise. Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” really had no business being picked up for a second season (based on last year’s ratings), but Fox will be kind enough to let the show run out its 13-episode order. Look for the series finale in December. I know that some of you stuck with it, partially out of loyalty to Whedon, so this may actually come as a relief. You don’t have to blame yourself (and Fox is doing Whedon another solid — he’s set to direct an episode of “Glee” in the spring).

There’s no such mixed feelings when it comes to ABC’s “Hank,” which was perhaps the worst sitcom of the season. Kelsey Grammer will go back into the TV pilot mill, and will undoubtedly reappear next season with another traditional, laugh-track sitcom about a wealthy man struggling somehow. ABC will fill the slot with reruns and holiday specials. No word on if or when the remaining episodes in the can will be burned off, though my guess is that they will find a home on a Saturday night block sometime over the holiday break.

Also, the woefully underperforming “Eastwick” has also gotten the ax. I doubt many tears will be shed, although online petitions to save the show have already surfaced (really?). The remaining episodes will air through the rest of the year.

However, ABC’s “The Forgotten,” which is also underperforming, has nevertheless gotten an extra five episodes added to its slate. A new showrunner is also expected to come aboard.

Finally, one last TV note: It looks like a lot of folks agreed with Steven’s assessment of “V,” as the series fell a sharp 30 percent from its first week — the biggest one-week loss off of a premiere episode of any show this season.

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Comments

It's too bad "Dollhouse" wasn't really that good. I watched the first 4-5 episodes and then my DVR lost a bunch at some point and I never bothered to go back and find those episodes so I could watch the last few. It's too bad, since I heard the show improved quite a bit right around the episodes I stopped watching.

I started to DVR it again this year and stopped. I had no interest.

I am currently not watching any hour long shows. Once "Lost" come backs, I'll have that for 16 seasons, but after that...

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at November 11, 2009 5:06 PM

I guess we're not going to be able to get to the Epitah 1 world. darn it.

Posted by: dene at November 11, 2009 5:08 PM

There’s no such mixed feelings when it comes to ABC’s “Hank,” which was ~~perhaps~~ the worst sitcom of the season.

I fixed that for you. Note: I have not actually seen that show, only the commercials, and I could still tell it's the worst sitcom this season.

Posted by: MM at November 11, 2009 5:24 PM

The real question is: How long will it take Whedon to get another potentially interesting concept into primetime Fox only to half-ass it and Dushku-it to oblivion?

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at November 11, 2009 5:30 PM

Dear Joss Whedon:

Please, for the sake of my poor wounded heart, pitch your next brilliant idea to Showtime or HBO. Or at least AMC or FX. Or even (*shudder*) SyFy.

But not FOX.

Please, let this madness end. FOX just ain't no good for you, Joss. Watch that Rihanna interview--there's a message in there for you.

Love, Jerce + probably about another sixteen million of your fans

Posted by: Jerce at November 11, 2009 5:44 PM

Now that Kelsey Grammer is free again, it's time to revisit my online petition to bring back Back To You.

There's still hope! Look at what happened with Family Guy! Subway sandwiches are on me!

Posted by: Daniel Hall at November 11, 2009 5:49 PM

I haven't even watched any of Dollhouse this season. The format of the show just... Is too odd and seems to take too long setting up the dominoes for them to pay off in a manner that's satisfying enough. I mean, I LIKE the show, but... I don't love it.

At the same time, I liked Firefly but didn't love it. So far Whedon's only really gotten Buffy, Angel and Horrible love from me. Mostly Angel. God I loved that show.

I'm sad that people aren't liking V yet. I like it a lot so far, though I think it's building up a bit too slow when there's only 4 episodes for the fall season. The dialogue seems to have gotten a bit less clunky on last night's episode, and my huge crush on Elizabeth Mitchell and her amazing acting chops does a lot for keeping me tuned in.

Posted by: spideychris at November 11, 2009 5:52 PM

I didn't need to watch the pilot for V to know that it sucked. All it took was the commercials to bore me to nauseous tears.

Nauseous tears are not pretty, folks.

Posted by: Jelinas at November 11, 2009 6:00 PM

No, Jerce ... it should read like this:
"Dear Joss Whedon,
Please, for the sake of better storytelling, try developing a better show that actually lets you get to know THE CHARACTERS. Firefly and Dollhouse were both mildly interesting, but you didn't let us get close to the characters, which should be most of what drives the premise anyway.
Maybe then you can get a show to stick on FOX or any other network for that matter.
Otherwise, you're just going to end up being a one-vampire pony, and to be fair, you didn't create the whole Buffy thing from scratch to begin with.
Better luck next time!

Posted by: Andy Geisel at November 11, 2009 6:22 PM

Now we do the happy dance.

Posted by: Jim Doggie at November 11, 2009 6:28 PM

HA! Suck it, Whedon. Give it up, man.

Posted by: figgy at November 11, 2009 6:32 PM

Hopefully, after this, Eliza Dushku will stop getting work and fade into oblivion - a girl can dream, right?

Posted by: michaelceratops at November 11, 2009 6:39 PM

I've never seen the original V, but I know the big plot points. My boyfriend and I have been watching the new series and talking about it, and it seem like the biggest mistake they've been making is going too fast. We don't know the characters, we don't have any investment in anyone, and we just don't care. The plot is speeding along so fast, it feels like you've missed something when you haven't. I don't like it when shows go nowhere, or take 6 weeks to advance the plot at all, but they're going at breakneck speed at the expense of character development and tension. It's like they think making it sparkly and casting so many scifi actors guarantees a built in audience, so they're not even trying. The anti Obama undertones are kinda gag worthy, too....you know, now that I'm writing this all out, I don't know why the hell we watch it.

I watched Dollhouse religiously last year(mostly live, but a few times on Hulu), but this season, I've been busy on Fridays, and just couldn't get into the mood to watch the episodes I've missed on Hulu. I'll watch them sometime, but it's definitely not something I'll make sure to catch live. I am excited to see how the writers utilize the great guest stars, though.

Posted by: Christina at November 11, 2009 7:04 PM

Dollhouse is a really uneven show. I can tell which episodes Joss did for FOX and which ones he did for himself (and us).

Eastwick is good news/bad news. On the one hand, I won't get to see Paul Gross every week (naked half the time, too). On the other hand, it frees him up to do something decent. I hope the rest of Hollywood noticed him, otherwise it's back to my Slings and Arrows DVDs.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at November 11, 2009 7:19 PM

Dushku: noun. see Dushku, Eliza

Dushku: verb. to cast an actor whose talents do not match the material, ultimately leading to fall-on-face failure. Said actor may be a blank pretty face, past his/her prime, or simply not good.

examples; "How long will it take Whedon to get another potentially interesting concept into primetime Fox only to half-ass it and Dushku-it to oblivion?" --BSlim

also see; Ashley Simpson in 90210, Pacino/De Niro in Righteous Kill, Paul Walker in Everything

Posted by: D-Day at November 11, 2009 8:31 PM

No, Andy Geisel, it should read like this:

Dear Joss Whedon,
Please, for the love of God, stop using Eliza Dushku! She was all right in Buffy, mostly because Faith was basically an excuse to get some hot leather-wearing ass on that show. But sex alone can't sell, as Dollhouse has demonstrated. Instead of trying another distinctly mediocre show on FOX, why not re-launch the oh-so-brilliant Firefly as a webseries? I bet you could recruit all those actors. You basically own their souls (and careers).
With perpetual love,
esme

Posted by: esme at November 11, 2009 9:18 PM

Dollhouse S2 still hasn't made here, now I don't think I'll bother if/when it does. It was hard enough watching S2 of Terminator knowing it was grinding to a halt and that was a worthwhile show.

Joss: what Jerce said. Pitch to someone who knows how to promote your work instead of someone who just wants you to make Buffy again.

Posted by: Squirrelgripper at November 11, 2009 9:33 PM

On Dollhouse: it was a concept with no clear direction. At first you were supposed to follow Echo. Unfortunately her story was very shallow and straightforward. So they started saying that the real story was about the people hunting for the Dolls -- which makes having the Dushku as the focal point as odd.

Tbf, this is a case where cancellation was not only predictable, but appropriate.

As for Joss Whedon, he should give himself some time and focus on what stories he wants to tell next and seek to work on a cable network like AMC or F/X, where the best shows are going now.

Posted by: Fredo at November 11, 2009 10:16 PM

Bittersweet news on "Eastwick". It really wasn't that interesting and I only watched it because Lindsay Price was on it......but DAMN, she never looked better!

I'm worried. I love her so but she is becoming the female Ted McGinley. Lindsay Price + series = cancellation.

If someone can work on sending her to my apartment once a week for an hour, we can save our TV airwaves and make everyone happy (particularly me!)

Posted by: swingdude at November 11, 2009 11:16 PM

"As for Joss Whedon, he should give himself some time and focus on what stories he wants to tell next and seek to work on a cable network like AMC or F/X, where the best shows are going now." Fredo

Awesome suggestion, although I'm sure the budget of any show on these networks is far below FOX (correct me if I'm wrong).

Just take some time off Jossy ole boy, write some comics, regroup, and then make the live action X-Men series you can control. Preferably with myself cast in a guest spot as Nate Grey (NERD ALERT!!)

Posted by: D-Day at November 11, 2009 11:33 PM

So Dushku is now available for mustache rides?

Bring it on.

Posted by: , (TCFKAB) at November 12, 2009 1:49 AM

aw crap. i liked dollhouse. I didn't want to, it sounded like a fucktarded premise. i really enjoyed the moral dilemma's of each of the staff in the dollhouse, and the slow revelations about the parent corporation. I liked the way the 'dolls' were slowly evolving despite the mind wipes.

ah well, sci-fi tv, two types of show: comic/ episodic formula shows, and shows that get canceled just as they are getting their dramatic and conceptual legs under them.

Posted by: idleprimate at November 12, 2009 1:51 AM

Awesome suggestion, although I'm sure the budget of any show on these networks is far below FOX (correct me if I'm wrong).D-Day

I don't think so. At one point perhaps, but given the success of shows like The Shield, Breaking Bad, Monk, Mad Men, Damages, Burn Notice, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck and others both critically and commercially, cable networks is where the best drama is being put togehter. Heck, with It's Always Sunny and The League F/X is making a play for taking the best sitcoms' title too...though not yet.

It just seems as if, afraid of taking risks, the big networks will only approve spin-offs of past successes or the traditional cops/doctors/lawyers procedurals or reality TV, leaving the drama for the cable networks, who can put most of their money in them as the rest of their line-up tends to be repeats of T2 and Road House.

Posted by: Fredo at November 12, 2009 2:33 AM

Right Big Daddy,
Because it was her busy acting career that was a major impediment to your relationship.

Posted by: Lindsey with an 'e' at November 12, 2009 3:26 AM

I actually really like Dollhouse's second season so far. Too bad.

Posted by: Thijs at November 12, 2009 5:56 AM

I gave up on Dollhouse despite my love for Whedon. His other shows featured characters that I could love and root for (Firefly especially), but I couldn't care less about the dolls, the handlers or any of the outsiders. The premise alone made it impossible to know most of them, or to like the ones you did know since they were fairly bad people.

I finally caught "V" on Hulu--meh. It felt like everything interesting or important had already been shown in the trailer. The episode added nothing. And humanity's reaction to the aliens arrival was ridiculous. Barely anyone is skeptical or worried? Now we're all full of hope and joy? What bullshit.

Posted by: DeadBessie at November 12, 2009 8:40 AM

Obviously. And it's you and your melting hotness living in Oregon and having a job and an SO and a life and me living in West by-God and having a job and a wonderful wife and a life that's keeping US apart.

Posted by: , (TCFKAB) at November 12, 2009 10:27 AM

NO! I loved Dollhouse! This broke my heart, damn it!

Posted by: h at November 12, 2009 12:05 PM

That isn't what's keeping us apart.

Posted by: Lindsey with an 'e' at November 12, 2009 2:30 PM

"Dollhouse" being cancelled... half hearted cry of slight annoyance. Wheedon dropped the ball on Dollhouse in a major way, and seriously of all the episodes in the first season only 2 episodes were better than average/amazing, the rest were meh. And the second season beginning with one of the worst episodes of the series (any series at all) really sealed the deal. But sadly all the episodes after that have been getting continuously better with the last episode being one of the best episode I have ever seen from ANY show on tv.

Posted by: Simon at November 12, 2009 3:08 PM

"Otherwise, you're just going to end up being a one-vampire pony, and to be fair, you didn't create the whole Buffy thing from scratch to begin with.
Better luck next time!"

To Andy Geisel...Joss did create Buffy from scratch. If you are referring to the show being a spin-off from a film, check the finer details and you will see that the film's screenplay was written by Joss and directed (poorly) by someone with skills that are extremely subpar.

Joss Whedon is God. Fox is the one-vampire pony.

Go to HBO Joss. Suck it Fox.

Posted by: obwanderer at December 5, 2009 12:59 AM

No, the beautiful and talented Eliza Dushku was not the problem. In fact all the actors on the show are tremendously gifted at their craft. Josh Wheedon may be too brilliant for the idiots at Fox to appreciate to the point that they wanted Dollhouse to die simply because they hated that it dared to portray a form of prostitution but that doesn't mean that this canelation doesn't massively suck.

They only thing that could make this right is if some better network picks up the show because recently it was demonstrating signs of becoming something truly amazing.

Posted by: CassandraT at December 6, 2009 4:06 AM

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"Dollhouse," "Eastwick," and "Hank" Get Sh*tcanned

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