As you’ve probably seen over the past few days, the rumors have flown fast and furious over whether or not Joss Whedon’s show Dollhouse will be picked up by Fox for a second season.
Well, while a final decision still hasn’t been made by studio execs, the show’s creator seemed a bit skeptical in an interview with Sci Fi Wire:
“[The chances are] not very good but in limbo. ,.. Obviously our numbers are pretty soft, and there it is, but we live in hope. I’m really proud of the episodes that are coming out. More than that, I can’t really ask.”
He also discussed how cost-cutting resulted in his post-apocalyptic episode Epitaph One:
“The decision had to do with the studio saying, ‘We need another episode for our package, and we can’t afford one. … ‘Can you do a clip show? Can we show the unaired pilot?’ I’m like, ‘No, you can’t. It wouldn’t make any sense. Besides, we cannibalized it for parts. Most of it’s in other episodes.’ And they were like, ‘Well, we really have to have 13 for foreign.’ And I said, ‘I’ll tell you what. I’ll shoot a post-apocalyptic thriller that’s all on our sets in six days with a cast of four other people, then we’ll pepper it with different bits from our regular cast, and we can do it all during the schedule. It’ll cost you half. I can do this.’ And I was so in love with the idea that I just came up with off the top of my head, and that’s what it turned into. It’s one of the best episodes we’ve ever made.”
So anyway, discuss amongst yourselves. Fox has obviously kept mum about everything, but is scheduled to make a final decision in May.
April 15th, 2009 at 9:49 am
“And I said, ‘I’ll tell you what. I’ll shoot a post-apocalyptic thriller that’s all on our sets in six days with a cast of four other people, then we’ll pepper it with different bits from our regular cast, and we can do it all during the schedule. It’ll cost you half. I can do this.’ And I was so in love with the idea that I just came up with off the top of my head, and that’s what it turned into. It’s one of the best episodes we’ve ever made.””
not for nothin’, but if i was an exec and heard this, i’d flip my lid. if one of your best episodes was shot for half the money, maybe if we gave you 1/4 of the money you could make the very best episode ever. face it fans, this guy is a cult phenomenon and basically a one hit wonder. stick to webisodes, josh, not a mass medium like tv.
April 15th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Who is Josh?
April 15th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Once a dominant online video on demand site takes hold and really starts generating revenue, I’m excited for series with younger cult followings becoming network independent. Imagine for example, in a few years, Dollhouse Season 2, exclusively on hulu.com.
TV series that are online exclusive, with smaller budgets, that no longer need network executives hanging over them like a dictator. It’s the next natural evolution of the podcast.
April 15th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I just have to wonder what made Whedon decide to work with FOX again… I can’t imagine that he, or anyone else, is surprised by this.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Unbelievable…that’s typical Fox for you, keep around a decaying piece of crap show like “Family Guy” and let a potentially genius show like “Dollhouse” go after one season. I mean, the thing really has long-term potential: the amount of unanswered questions, and the twists that have already come up in season one have made for really compelling TV, and something a little more mature in a intellectual than a show that’s based off of jokes completely unrelated to the actual storyline….
If Fox knows what’s good for them, they’ll keep Dollhouse around. We don’t want another Firefly on our hands, let’s see what Whedon can do.