So much out there right now about Joss Whedon's midseason Fox show Dollhouse because the network has done the equivalent of what you do when people are at your home and you want to go to sleep.
Seriously, they are stretching and yawning and looking at the front door. They're also making references to the early meeting they have the next morning. And how much cleanup there is to do, if you catch my drift.
Okay, they're not really, they're just putting the show on Fridays. But the effect is the same.
The Whedonverse is aghast, of course. They remember what happened to Firefly, it wasn't that long ago, folks.
Of course, whenever I do something on a Joss show, I start with Whedeonesque, the Joss shrine on the web. They send me this AM to a Joe Adalian article at TV Week where he talks to Preston Beckman, their schedule guru:
While “Dollhouse” has been plagued by production shutdowns and
rumors that Fox executives are uncertain about its commercial appeal,
Mr. Beckman said scheduling the show on Friday is simply a byproduct of
trying to design the strongest possible schedule for the network.
Mr. Beckman doesn’t pretend that “Dollhouse” and “Terminator” have
an easy path ahead of them. But, particularly in the case of
“Dollhouse,” Mr. Beckman thinks the less competitive Friday night will
give the show a better chance to build an audience than a more
high-profile night.
“If we put it on Monday and it didn’t do well, we might have to yank
it,” he said. But because Fox’s winter lineup should be solid on
Saturday through Thursday nights, “We can afford to let these shows run
their course. We can give them 12 or 13 weeks to find an audience.”
That's just a difficult line to buy, isn't it? Because who in the demo is gonna find this show on Friday night? Unless they DVR it and watch it later. And hopefully, that happens in the three days after it airs (which includes the weekend) or the rating numbers don't update for DVR usage.
Hmm.
How do the rabid Joss fans feel? Let's go to Livejournal user Dreamlyfe for the end of an imagined conversation between blogger and fanboy/girl demigod:
Me: Um. Joss? JOSS? They're putting it on FRIDAY? Joss, that's
where they put Firefly! That's the X-Files timeslot of No Return! Not
even the X-Files stayed there, and they were a HUGE hit! Joss? What's
happening, Joss? What are they doing to you?
Joss ::: silence:::
Me:
Joss? I'm scared, Joss. I know I said I'd be happy with anything, but
this is outright sabotage. It is, isn't it? Joss? JOSS?
Awaiting Joss's response to this one...
Finally, our pal Robert Seidman at TVBytheNumbers.com has this analysis:
I’m not very optimistic for Dollhouse on Fridays, though I
agree with those who suggest that Fox can be more patient with it on
Fridays than it could if it put it on as the lead-in for 24. But with
the goal of making the most money, expensive scripted shows like Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
don’t seem well married with Friday nights (and though I am a TSCC fan,
I am not optimistic for a 3rd season of TSCC regardless of when Fox
airs it).
And what do I think? I think Fox should have left Joss alone and let him make the show that he sold them, not the show that they thought they were buying:
They bought something somewhat different than what I was selling them,
which is not that uncommon in this business. Their desires were not
surprising: up the stakes, make the episodes more stand-alone, stop
talking about relationships and cut to the chase. Oh, and add a chase.
That you can cut to. Nothing I hadn't heard before on my other shows
(apparently my learning curve has no bendy part) but frustrating as
hell given our circumstances - a pilot shot, scripts written, everybody
marching together/gainfully employed... and then a shutdown. Glad I was
for the breathing room, but it's hardly auspicious. So back into the
writer cave I went, wondering why I put up with this when I can make
literally dozens of dollars making internet movies.
Because I trust Joss' brain a lot more than any of the MBAs who line the halls of power at the network.
Hey, sorry I had no Around the Horn this weekend. I got really lazy.
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