TV Lowdown » cancelled

Dollhouse to go on month-long hiatus

thetvlowdown — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:12:30 +0000

Dollhouse is leaving our screens. Yes, only for a month, but it’s probably just a taste of a much longer absence. Like, forever.

Fox have announced that following tomorrow nights episode, the apparently Sierra-centric 2×04, no more new episodes of Dollhouse will air during November sweeps, with repeats of House expected to take its place.

Instead, Dollhouse will return in December where it will be shown in double episode slots. Yep, looks like they’re rushing out the remaining episodes to honour their commitment, and then washing their hands of the show.

It’s a real shame; S2 just hasn’t yet followed through on the promise of late S1, and I wish Joss and Co. had taken a few more risks when they had the chance. Of course, I could be speaking prematurely, but I have a feeling I’m not…

Dollhouse guaranteed 13 episode run – but beyond that…?

thetvlowdown — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:54:15 +0000

Dollhouse viewers can rest slightly easier today with the assurance that all of the 13 episodes currently ordered for Season 2 will indeed be aired. For the last few weeks rumours have been floating around that, due to the rather less than impressive ratings the first few episodes of the second season received, Fox may yank the show off the air completely.

Luckily, that won’t be the case. Preston Beckman, head honcho of scheduling at Fox, said: “We’re going to run all the episodes. We’re not saying we’re happy with those numbers, or accept them, but we don’t have to overreact. During [November] sweeps we might have to jack up the numbers a little [with other programming], but we plan on completing the order for this show.”

Hmm. “Completing the order for this show” does seem to suggest that a full-length second season probably isn’t on the cards, and that the show will draw to a close after just 26 episodes. Even Joss Whedon himself seems slightly resigned to the fact that they may have to wrap up the show shortly:

“We’ll definitely have closure, but will leave some doors open,” said Whedon, who’s currently shooting the eighth episode. “When we got our first numbers, which were bad, the first thing [Fox president of entertainment] Kevin Reilly said was, ‘You’ll have all 13,’ which was great. They’re not going to pull the rug out from under us.”

Still, at least this does mean that the writers have an opportunity to resolve some issues. I’m going to try and stay optimistic, but I think Dollhouse fans may have to begin preparing themselves for bad news.

Monday poll; when should Dexter conclude?

thetvlowdown — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:16:56 +0000

In last week’s poll we asked which your favourite new shows of the Fall 2009 season were, and the results are in! Your top 3 were Stargate Universe (26%), Glee (23%) and FlashForward (16%). Well, two out of three ain’t bad, in my opinion…

Here’s how the rest of the shows stacked up.Now onto this week’s poll…

Showtime’s Dexter, telling the tale of a serial killer who only preys on those who “deserve it”, has been one of the more surprising successes of the last few years, and for good reason. It’s dark, witty, gruesome and engaging, with an almost perfectly cast group of actors and a glossy aesthetic. Whilst some episodes can be noticeably weaker than others the show is, for the most part, very consistently entertaining.

The question is, how much longer can that go on for? The premise of Dexter requires that the police department who employ Dexter never learn of the truth, and presumably the same could be said for his wife Rita and sister Deb. But is it feasible for the show to carry on much longer without (it has to be said) an increasingly sloppy Dexter making a fatal mistake and revealing himself to the wrong person?

The show is currently in its fourth season, and has already been assured of a fifth. Would you happily see the show draw to an end with the finale of its fifth season, or do you think there’s more mileage to Dexter’s story? I personally hope the fifth season is the last, simply so that the show can go out on top and not risk a decline in quality.

What do you think?

Big Brother axed by Channel 4; Parliament announces official 3 day celebration

tvlowdown — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:09:52 +0000

Sadly, the second part of that headline was a lie, but rejoice! The first part was true! Big Brother has been lumbering to it’s death like a drunken elephant staggering towards a cliff face for several years now and, thanks to the plummeting ratings and complete disinterest from the tabloids, next year’s Big Brother will be the very last one.

I’m not usually one to celebrate a show getting the axe. I always argue that hey, if you don’t enjoy a show, just don’t watch it. But reality TV is something very different. It’s tacky, and easy, and cheap. It’s a way for broadcasters to avoid having to pay all those annoying costs (like, oh, writers and actors and directors and special effects artists and the like) and just fill their schedules with programming whose sole purpose is to attract advertisers. The more reality TV appears, the less we see decent scripted material on television; hopefully, if reality TV starts to die off, we might see things shift the other way.

Of course, I’m probably speaking too soon. Just because Channel 4 aren’t extending the show doesn’t mean that Five or Sky One won’t try to pick up the rights and welcome another mob of media-hungry attention-hounds into the Bungalow of the Damned (thanks to Marina Hyde for that one.)