Whedon fans vow to save Dollhouse from cancellation -- eight months before initial airdate

Joss Whedon fans have already organized a campaign to stop his new show, Dollhouse, from being cancelled, even though the first episode won't air for another eight months. Whedonistas have witnessed so many kick-ass TV shows cancelled by callous goons from teeveeland, they're girding their loins for the inevitable fight and not waiting around for the disappointment before working up a good head of bitter outrage. Good on 'em! Preemptive strikes are just defense as practiced by precogs.

DollhouseForums' trailblazing leader Nathan posted the following as a call to arms: "After seeing some of my favorite television shows get canceled in the past -- as well as the 'save this show' campaigns that followed -- I had the idea that a fan campaign BEFORE the show begins may be the best thing to do."
A Facebook fan page dedicated to the online campaign already has nearly 1,500 members.

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I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Xopher

Joanna, what was it about the end of Serenity that offended you so deeply? Wash?
D3

This publicity stunt seems to be working.
jere7my

I agree with Twig. “Teenage blonde girl fights vampires in Southern California” and “spaghetti Western meets space opera” sound like pretty bad ideas too, but somehow I’m willing to give Whedon the benefit of the doubt until I’ve seen the (doubtless extremely staid) show.
Ernunnos

#1.

No, it’s perfect. Whedon is the kind of bad writer who forces his characters to conform to the desired plot of the week rather than allowing the plot to rise naturally from the nature of the characters. He must have gotten tired of being criticized for it, so he finally made a show where that’s the whole premise. It’s really rather clever.
Doug Nelson

I liked Buffy and Angel and Firefly mostly because of the humor. All the Dollhouse clips so far are dry as toast. I suspect Dushku is the problem, since even when she appeared in series I enjoyed she didn’t get so much as a smile from me.

If they succeed in keeping Dollhouse on the air even if it’s as morose and grim as the shows its already being compared to, it will do Whedon more harm than good in the long run.
Roach

Or maybe they could just think, “Hey, I bet audiences and critics and executives will like it!”

Firefly got a crap deal, sure, but Buffy got 7 seasons and Angel got more than I was personally willing to watch. Oh well, craziness > balance once again.
bxrguy

#1 – I’m in your camp. I find the whole concept way to close to “brainwashed prostitutes” to be anything other than creepy. (Creepy in a disgusting old man in a trench coat way, not a ‘Get the hell out of there, Buffy’ way.)

Of course, if FOX is looking at it in the same light, they’ll probably let it run it’s course.
dangeroo

Also @ #1

Dude, have you tried writing down the premise to Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Wouldn’t that sound awful too?
Chevan

But…

What if it’s crap?
Takuan

art demands risk
scottfree

Well, there was only so long Buffy and Angel could plausibly continue in that medium. Vampires aren’t meant to age remember, but by the end Angel had definitely put on a few pounds and Spike wasn’t exactly the teenage punk rebel any more [I always hated that he went from punk to goth during the show]. Even so, there’s the new Ripper film coming out based on Giles, and I’m still waiting for the Spike [mini-]series, while there’s no reason to think either the new Buffy or Angel comics will stop coming out. It really isn’t a bad time to be a Whedon fan.
scottfree

BLASPHEMER!!!!!1!
Matthew Miller

#10: What a weird thing to say. Is it opposite day or something?
JSG

I’m starting a pre cancellation effort now for a show entitled “Fire Down Below” it premieres in 2020 and the creator is currently in jr. high. It’s going to be a rollicking good time.

In all fairness, this type of thing rarely works, the best way to keep the shows that you are watching on the air is to watch them, tell your friends about them, and buy the products advertised on the program. Becoming a Nielsen Media researcher helps as well, though it is strictly by chance.

A needlessly long link: http://www.nielsenmedia.com/nc/portal/site/Public/menuitem.55dc65b4a7d5adff3f65936147a062a0/?vgnextoid=1204c00e606c5010VgnVCM100000880a260aRCRD
Xopher

Well, I have to say that this post is the first I’ve heard of the show. Could be a good idea.
Battlehobo4000

REMEMBER BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER? Me either.
holtt

So this is like a prenup?
Anonymous

There’s a new article that gives an outside-the-Nielsen-box perspective and discusses this whole save my show trend and where US television is headed:

http://www.cinemarealm.com/2008/05/25/blood-peanuts-and-the-future-of-television/

I loved Buffy, Angel and Firefly (to a degree) and I’m not really worried that Whedon won’t deliver the goods this time too. If a fan campaign can get Dollhouse enough PR in the blogosphere, I say go for it.
LeavingHalfway

every Buffy episode I’ve seen (and I admit there haven’t been many) have made me mildly nauseous, but I love firefly. Conclusions? Wait and see.

Of course then I’d have to get cable first. Hmm. It’s seeming less likely; I’ll have to wait until it’s canceled, then released on dvd, and then see whether it was worth saving.
t3knomanser

Am I the only scifi nerd that thinks the premise for this show sounds awful?
twig

#1

It’s Whedon. Even if it’s bad it can’t be bad.
Church

This is genius.

And because it’s (going to be) on FOX, this is necessary…
Ian Mackereth

Sadly, even if the show is complete garbage, the Whedonista will still try to save it, squandering whatever credibility still remains in fans’ outrage campaigns.

There’s only so many times you can point to Star Trek as an example of a cash cow saved by the fans…
wil9000

Trying to pre-empt FOX network logic is kind of pointless, but we must do it anyway. The logic that sunk Firefly is that they said people weren’t watching it, WHEN IT WAS NOT ON. When it was pushed from the schedule by whatever sports they put up against it, they complained that it wasn’t pulling in the ratings that the sponsors wanted. Don’t try to analyze it. Hopefully, FOX won’t put Dollhouse on in a slot where it will be pushed out, this time. Oh , the naive hope of the foolish fan (me). I’m signing up, a loyal browncoat ’til the end.
Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Gearing up in advance makes perfect sense, for the same reason that you can bet that both the Obama and McCain organizations both have “transition” teams already at work on what to do once they win the election. Advance work matters.
Antinous

I think that you might be projecting your own level of organization onto the candidates. I’m not sure that they even have plans for the day after tomorrow. I was reading today that one of the candidates doesn’t even have campaign offices in every state yet!
joanna

The Wikipedia page says that the characters live in a “life-size dollhouse.” Er, wouldn’t that just be a house?
I probably won’t be tuning in – I’ve been boycotting Whedon since I saw the end of Serenity. Feh.
StefanMcTierney

There were “save Lost” campaigns that started up the summer before Lost premiered, so this is nothing new. Of course, I doubt Dollhouse will end up as a huge success out of the gate like Lost, so it may actually need the support.
Hayduke

Hm, it looks more like a well produced adolescent fantasy than anything else. The trailer had enough cleavage to make hearing the words nearly impossible. Then again, I never thought Firefly was anything more than simply amusing either, although it did have very humorous moments.
jjasper

I’m with simplehuman. Broadcast TV is dying. In the immortal words of Captain James T Kirk, “Let them die.”
Enochrewt

Great, is there a worthless internet petition I can sign? I love wasting my time!

Why do people insist on doing this type of thing? The only thing that speaks to TV exec types is dollah dollah bills y’all. Not fanboy sentimentalism.
Takuan

digression: “The Internet Petition”. Like “Untitled 1″. Is there?
simplehuman

All these campaigns to save really staid genre tv are just sad. Why not put that effort into creating something new or saving something more substantive than a tv show?

Trying to convince television networks not to be big dumb machines of FAIL is cursing the river for running.