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As the creative and financial forces vie for dominance, the direction of the show is often in the hands of the viewers. When Lost became the phenom it became, ABC was far more willing to let Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof take the narrative in new and daring directions. On the other hand, once ABC realized Alias wasn't the ratings powerhouse it had hoped, they enforced a more episodic approach on the show's fourth season, resulting in what most fans consider to be its creative nadir.

At first, FOX wanted to give Dollhouse a more episodic approach, which doesn't really play to Whedon's strengths. As we few faithful know, the real Whedon creativity started poking its way through in the sixth episode, and the show is much better for it. In fact, now that the show is a lame duck, it seems that Whedon's stopped trying to please FOX at all. This last run of double episodes in December has been so brilliant and daring, I'd put them up against the best of Buffy, Angel and Firefly.

Problem is, by the time the show started getting good, it was too late. It never had what would be considered good numbers, but had the word-of-mouth in the early going been better, it might have built a small, dedicated, demographically desirable audience, allowing it a solid life span. Well, it was not to be. Against all odds, Dollhouse got a second season, and the result is a grand total of 26 episodes, more of them good than bad. The potential is there for much more story, the world and themes of the show are so rich, but chances are, we'll have to settle for the 26.

As with most low-rated shows with hardcore followings, a save the show campaign is underway, hoping to persuade FOX to order a third season after all, or maybe allow it a new life on a different network like FX. Doesn't look hopeful. There are no rumblings I know of for any possibility of a future for Dollhouse, not even in comic book form, as Joss's other properties have enjoyed. It's a shame. Rumor is, Joss is disgruntled enough by the whole experience, so much so that he's not interested in returning to television. This may be the comic book world's gain, but for we champions of TV as an art form, it's a devastating blow. He's one of the artists giving TV a good name, and we need to nurture such talent if we hope to continue to find brilliance amongst the reality show muck.

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