Dollhouse / Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Just when you thought the future was looking limited for Fox’s Friday night sci-fi actioner’s Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, along comes hope -- in the form of DVR.

According to The Hollywood Reporter both Dollhouse and Terminator have racked up huge ratings gains after a full week of post premiere DVR viewings are taken into account.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

According to Live+7 DVR data, the “Dollhouse” premiere episode’s rating increased 30% after post-premiere-date viewing was included. “Dollhouse” went from a 2.0 adult demo number to a 2.6.

The show’s lead-in, “Terminator,” gained even more — 36%.

By comparison, Friday’s most popular show, “Ghost Whisperer,” gained 21%, while fellow CBS shows “Flashpoint” (11%) and “Numbers” (14%) also rose significantly.

The “Terminator” and “Dollhouse” gains are considered very high increases for time-shifted viewing, even for a Friday night.

Disappointing ratings for both of these series have factored into speculation that both series might find themselves on the chopping block.   But with such massive ratings gains overall, it’s almost certain that Fox will have to reconsider its renewal plans, particularly in the case of Terminator as it boasted the largest viewership gain of all.

With the recent news that the final block of Season 2 episodes in Terminator are the best so far and contain more story development and action, it’s almost certain that Terminator will continue to gain ratings as the Season comes to completion.  It seems things are suddenly looking good for Terminator - and so they should be, the series is excellent.

Watch the preview for the next episode (Season 2, Episode 17) of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, ‘Ourselves Alone’:

Watch the preview for the next episode (Season 1, Episode 4) of Dollhouse, ‘Gray Hour’:

Eliza Dushku Maxim Cover Shoot

With Joss Whedon’s latest sci-fi series Dollhouse capturing a lot of attention, I’ve noticed there are squillions of Eliza Dushku fans out there.   I’m sure many of them will enjoy this video featurette of her latest escapade – a sexy cover shoot for Maxim magazine. Watch it now:

I’ve scoured the net reading many reviews of Joss Whedon’s latest Dollhouse episode, ‘Stage Fright’.  There were many, many mixed opinions on this one.   Yet whether or not the review was negative or positive, there was an underlying theme to the majority of them, and this was summed up no better anywhere than in this comic strip from the Penny Arcade titled ‘The Whedonite’s Dilemma’:

The Whedonite’s Dilemma

Click on the image to see a larger version

That said, in the interests of balanced reporting, it’s only fair I place a couple of links to these ‘mixed’ reviews.

Graeme McMillan over at io9 suggests that the core problem is the limited lifespan of the show’s core idea in:  What if a show shouldn’t be a show?

IF Magazine refer to it as an unfocussed mess in:  TV Review: Dollhouse -- Season 1 -- ‘Stage Fright’

Tracy Morris at Firefox News keeps her focus on the storyline and as a result is keen for the next episode in:  Dollhouse review: 1.03 Stage Fright

Scott Johnson at Comic Book.com suggests the show won’t last another 4 episodes in:  Dollhouse Review: Stage Fright

And Den of Geek sees the promise in Dollhouse and feels Stage Fright has shown more of that promise than any episode so far:  Dollhouse episode 3 review

And here’s the trailer for next week’s episode:

Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse has gotten off to a shaky start but it seems most people preferred episode 2 over the premiere.   With dancing and singing in the next episode titled ‘Stage Fright’, I’m wondering if the trend will continue.  Here’s the trailer which in all honesty doesn’t look too bad.

Stage Fright will air on Fox on Friday 27th Feb.

Dollhouse off to a shaky start

I feel for Joss Whedon.  Before Dollhouse premiered it was getting a lot of bad publicity with many pundits speculating Dollhouse would be axed before it had a chance to get off the ground.

Whedon was forced to urge viewers to give the series a chance.  In an interview with Sci Fi Wire he said, “All the speculation is just that.  People actually start deconstructing the show before they’ve seen it…It’s not a seamless birthing process.  But … it seldom is.  For me, never.  And it’s been hard, and I’ve had despair, and I’ve had joy and excitement.”

Now that people have given Dollhouse a chance it seems nothing much has changed, except that now most people are beginning to realize the speculation was justified.  I feel for him because no doubt right about now Whedon is back to despair.

In a review of the latest episode, USA Today claim Whedon is wasting his time on a series with a premise that can be described as “an empty vessel.”  Reviewer Robert Bianco goes on to say lead actress Eliza Dushku lacks the versatility needed for the role whilst Fran Kranz (the genius imprinter) is just plain annoying.  Rick Porter over at Zap2It,  who has seen the third episode, is already counselling casual fans for patience to “ride out the initial bumps”.   Then we have Dave on Demand who, when Fox announced Dollhouse was the network’s ‘highest-rated Friday series premiere in four years’, called the announcement ‘damning with faint praise’.   No need to read between the lines there.  I could post more – as there are more scathing reviews – but you get the picture.

Yes, perhaps these particular reviewer comments are a bit selective on my part.  There are definitely some forgiving and even some praising reviews out there, but sadly I concede my thoughts mirror those that aren’t so forgiving.   Understand that I’m the first to admit that I am a fan of Joss Whedon, thanks mainly to Firefly and Serenity.   But I have to  say that Dollhouse doesn’t strike me as being a Whedon production.   As I’ve watched each episode I’ve been compelled to think that it isn’t as much Whedon’s work as it is Fox’s.   It’s no secret that Fox tampered with Whedon’s creative intention, imposing script rewrites and re-editing to suit the tastes of the bean counters.  Whedon wanted a story arc, Fox wanted self contained episodes.  We know the damage such opposing positions create.   I might be off mark, but it seems to me that Dollhouse is, to a large extent, a reflection of this damage.

Jennifer Thomas over at Pioneer Local wrote a review in which she said, “Here’s how I maintain hope — I think this is just a show that’s going to take a little while to find its footing — especially given the mandate from Fox that the episodes all be self-contained — and it’s still Whedon behind the wheel.”  Personally I don’t have time in my schedule to ‘hope’ and I would find it difficult to do so because I think there’s more to the woes of Dollhouse than just Whedon not having a complete grip on the way the series unfolds.   I think on top of that issue you’ve got a story with a limited premise presented with a few crucial roles cast wrong.  I agree with Robert Bianco’s sentiments as far as the acting goes.

To be honest, I’ve been so disappointed with the first two episodes that I doubt I can bring myself to endure episode 3.  That said, I hope Jennifer Thomas is right and that as the series progresses it undergoes a magical transformation because, well as I said, I’m a Whedon fan and I want him to reap the success a man of his talent deserves.  Unfortunately I’ll have to find out secondhand that it’s happened.  Last week Martin Anderson (Den of Geek) said, “Dollhouse has got one more episode, and then it’s history for me.”   Anderson’s comments virtually echo (forgive the pun) my own comments after watching the premiere. Unfortunately for Dollhouse, now that I’ve seen episode 2 that’s how I still feel.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles debuted last week for the first time in a Friday time slot and the result wasn’t entirely good – it only managed 3.71 million viewers which equates to a 35% drop from what it achieved with its previous episode.

A drop of 2 million viewers is pretty monumental to say the least, although some pundits are playing down the drop as being semi-typical of what is to be expected on a Friday night.  Semi-typical or not, cleary Fox was hoping for better results and its unlikely Fox will play the results down.  The fact that it came in third behind the ABC and CBS is enough to raise Fox’s concerns.

Terminator was aired behind the premiere of Dollhouse – Joss Whedon’s new sci-fi drama.  Dollhouse achieved better ratings than Terminator, pulling in 4.7 million viewers in its premiere and, for its time slot, bringing Fox to number two in the ratings battle.  Some claim this was a good result for a Friday.  But none are claiming the same for the results of Terminator.   Still, was this really a good result for Dollhouse?

It seems whilst season 2 of Terminator hasn’t tickled everyone’s fancy, the series at least received thumbs up for its premiere.  Not so for Dollhouse.   Dollhouse has really gotten off to a bad start, suffering mixed and even caning reviews – some didn’t like it, some hated it, others thought it had potential – the odd person liked it enough to tune in next week.  From a quick read around it seems more people thought less of it than thought more, so the question begs, could poor reception for Dollhouse have materially impacted Terminator’s first Friday night results?

Having watched both episodes back to back, the quality difference between Dollhouse and Terminator was pretty clear – Terminator was clearly the superior show.  But since it failed to top Dollhouse’s ratings, it may be a fair assumption to say that some people flipped channels because of Dollhouse.

Either way, ratings for both series weren’t spectacular and so right now, question marks hang over their future viability.  This is a sad situation because Terminator is a very good series and, with a few tweaks, could be exceptional.  News over the past couple of months has indicated a pace pickup and more action will occur as the season unfolds, so perhaps the exceptional factor will emerge as some have indicated.   Let’s hope so, and above all else make sure you tune in for it – otherwise it’ll become just one of many cool series that’s gone the way of the dodo.

Joss Whedon has appeared on TV Guide answering a few questions regarding his new sci fi series, Dollhouse.  It’s a four part interview but as yet only part one has been posted.  Watch it to gain a fair bit of insight into Whedon’s ideas for the characters, particularly the main character as played by Eliza Dushku.

Caprica - In what I think is a brilliant move, Caprica is coming to DVD before it will air on the Sci Fi Channel.  I’d be hazarding a guess that it will be a huge success and no doubt lead to future premieres being slated for DVD before airing.  It’s a good move for the fans, and a good move to test the viability of a potential new series.  Not that that really matters for Caprica which has already had its first season green-lit.  It will be available in April.

Dollhouse – Joss Whedon has stated he intends his new Sci Fi series Dollhouse to make viewers uncomfortable.  Whedon has said, “Part of the mandate of the show is to make people nervous, to make them identify with people they don’t like and get into situations they don’t approve of and also look at some of the heroic side of things and wonder if maybe they were wrong about what motivated those as well.”  I like the sound of that.  Dollhouse premieres on Feb 13.

Green Lantern – Casino Royale director Martin Campbell is in negotiations with Warner Bros to direct the Green Lantern live-action feature film.  Although many people thought this movie was on hold and would possibly never be made, it seems Warner Bros are intent on moving it forward.  The script has been remodeled something like three times, and according to Michael Green (the third screenwriter) Warner Bros is now happy with the script. Green told IGN, “Warner Bros. doesn’t do green-lights the way a lot of places do. They sort of always inch towards it, so there’s never a day where they’re like, ‘Boom! Magic bomb! We’re green-lit!’  But we’ve had very good conversations with them. From what I’m told, they really like the last script we gave them and are hoping to find a way to make it, which would be thrilling.”  If Campbell can make a super hero movie with action like the opening ten minutes of Casino Royale, then I’m all for it.  However the rest of Casino Royale makes me worry… Read the rest of this entry »

Trailer to Joss Whedon’s new series, Dollhouse.

Joss Whedon is a sci fi genius.  In my view Firefly was one of the best science fiction television series ever produced.  No, I was never into Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Alien: Resurrection, but Angel was cool and I loved the animated Titan A.E.  And, of course, Serenity was simply mind blowing.  So when I heard that Whedon was working on an all new sci fi series called Dollhouse, I got really excited.

To be honest, I still am – but I’m apprehensive.  You see, whilst there are incredibly imaginative creative talents like Whedon around, there are also incredibly un-creative bean counters who can see nothing in creativity except financial risk vs benefit.  Unfortunately, these fools are the people that fund the production of what the geniuses of our creative world come up with and because they have such power, they also get to drive the direction of production.  Read the rest of this entry »