Television

The Known Dollhouse Schedule

In Television on 14 October 2009 with 4 comments

Note: As of Wednesday, October 21, the below no longer is accurate, as per the announcement of Dollhouse going on hiatus for the November sweeps period.

It’s time once again for people to become confused about the future of Dollhouse and it’s airing schedule, due to there being no episode this Friday. So here’s what we know right now regarding the coming months.

• This week, and this one week only, Dollhouse is preempted by a postseason Major League Baseball game. This has been known for months and is entirely expected.
• Dollhouse returns next Friday, October 23, with “Belonging”, a Sierra-centric episode written by Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon, and directed by Jonathan Frakes.
• The following Friday, October 30, is “The Public Eye” the first of a two parter and the first episode featuring guest star Summer Glau.
• As far as we know, the second part of that story, “The Left Hand” airs the following Friday, November 6. I don’t recall offhand if this is specifically listed somewhere, but I haven’t heard otherwise either.
• November is sweeps, and FOX’s scheduler recently told The Hollywood Reporter that there might need to be some preemption in favor of more popular programs in order to boost ratings for the month. Of course, if Dollhouse’s own ratings improve enough, all bets are off on that count. (This is the same article in which it was said that FOX intends to air all 13 episodes of its current order for Dollhouse.)
• In FOX’s just-announced holiday schedule, there is a new Dollhouse episode listed for December 18, and back-to-back encore presentations (read: reruns) on Christmas Day, December 25. I’ll link this once I actually see it posted somewhere.

That we have a sense of December and not a sense of November doesn’t mean anything at this point, because it’s simply that FOX just announced their holiday schedule.

Also, the fact that said schedule announcement didn’t mention episodes on other Fridays in December doesn’t mean anything either. Since the holiday schedule announcement only discusses nights where there are holiday-themed programs airing, or other special events such as Fall finale episodes, it only needed to mention December 18 (when Dollhouse’s lead-ins have holiday episodes) and December 25 (which is Christmas itself).

As far as I know, that’s where the known Dollhouse schedule currently stands. As of this particular moment, it’s apparently relatively stable. Mainly, the wait is for the network’s decision on November (the month, not the Active).

None of this, of course, means to be complacent about continuing to avail yourselves of sites such as Activate Dollhouse, Why I Watch, Is DOLLHOUSE Back Yet? (disclosure: that one’s mine) and others, or about generally continuing to support and promote the show.

If you’re a Nielsen family, live is best, DVR second best. And all viewers should be buying episodes on iTunes or Amazon and re-watching via Hulu or FOX.com itself.

There Is No Dollhouse Death Watch

In Television on 26 September 2009 with Comments Off

After being proven fools for using the normal comparative yardstick regarding Dollhouse ratings last season, everyone appears to have jumped right back into doing it again anyway this season. So let me go on the record here with my own stance. Sort of a compilation of what I’ve been saying elsewhere.

The ratings for the season two premiere are determinative of absolutely nothing when it comes to the show’s future. Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice, for better or for worse, are playing the long game. That much was made clear when they renewed the show to begin with, dashing the predictions of everyone using the normal comparative yardstick.

They negotiated a reduction in the show’s budget (not that you can tell). They reportedly got the studio to pick up more of the tab. They’re fully aware that the various issues surrounding last season were going to hurt them going into this one. And, not being an obvious mainstream hit, it wasn’t a show that was going to get a big advertising spend.

FOX Broadcasting knows all of this, and they know what all of this does to the notion of expectations and the premise of having patience. The various ratings stories using words like “disappointing” baffle me because, all things considered, the proper and more accurate term would be “expected” — or “not really unexpected”, if you prefer.

There’s simply nothing to see in these ratings. They tell us only what everyone should have already known going in: This is going to take time. It defies logic that anyone in any position of relevance at the network is looking at this and going, “Well, this is a surprise.”

Even stating that “these aren’t good ratings to relaunch to” is a construction that doesn’t reflect the situation. Given the long game Reilly and Rice are playing, technically these aren’t “bad ratings to relaunch to” either, because they understand the context surrounding them. All the harping on “these aren’t good ratings” misses what FOX is going to be paying attention to, and when they’re going to be paying attention to it. And it just, even if inadvertently, feeds the new “Dollhouse death watch” frenzy.

If I believed for one moment that Reilly and Rice were sitting around expecting even “Omega”-sized overnights, maybe “these aren’t good ratings to relaunch to” would make sense to me. But since I happen to believe this likely is entirely expected, I refuse to pass on these numbers using the normal comparative yardstick.

There’s simply nothing to see here. Nothing matters but what happens over time. And, as shown last year despite everyone ignoring it, the metrics here have changed. Does that mean Dollhouse is a lock for renewal? Of course not. But it also means the premiere’s ratings are almost entirely irrelevant.

I Do, Still

In Television on 20 September 2009 with Comments Off

An addendum of sorts to my earlier unspoilery thoughts on this coming Friday’s season premiere of Dollhouse, “Vows”.

• Everything you might have heard elsewhere about Amy Acker’s performance is correct. If you think “hype” is a word that indicates false praise, then what you’re hearing isn’t hype.
• I’m still unsure just how much of a rough cut this is, so I hope one thing that survives is how long Whedon lets various characters just talk to each other. Real, character-driven conversations that proceed at an organic pace. Remember how the Paul Ballard conversation with Joel Mynor was allowed to just unfold? In a sense, there’s more of that sort of thing. Please let it stay.
• He’s gotten some mention along with Acker, and it’s deserved. Fran Kranz gives another top performance on the heels of being pushed pretty far in “Epitaph One”. Some people had problems watching Topher last season. Regardless of whether or not you like Topher as a person, after this you won’t be able to (wrongly) blame Kranz’ performance.

Meanwhile, this site will let you know every day this week whether or not Dollhouse is back yet.

I Do

In Television on 17 September 2009 with 3 comments

Some brief, unspoilery thoughts about “Vows”, the season premiere of Dollhouse, airing next Friday.

Courtesy iTunes’ Sneak Peek

• The show looks fantastic, and the Dollhouse itself moreso than ever before. The move from film to HD is paying off.
• In tone, season two definitely picks up where season one left off, not where it began.
• As much as the review copies might be a rough cut, look for the premiere’s pacing to be pretty efficient.
• While there’s definitely a degree of playing as an introduction, it also doesn’t waste time getting right into threads left over from last season.
• In many ways, Echo’s engagement in the premiere can be viewed as the B story, with the life of the Dollhouse itself being the A.
• Overall, it does very much feel like a less job-stressed Whedon who was able just to relax and go where his writing wanted to take him.

In the end, I’m even more anxious than I was before for next Friday to arrive. Do I like “Vows”, the season two premiere of Dollhouse? I do.