Dollhouse was cancelled because Fox didn't want to deal with the show to begin with, and did everything in their power to make sure it went away. They did the same thing to Firefly. All they want to do is appeal to the mindless sex 'n' violence market and give people their bubblegum. Whedon is NOT for the masses and never has been.
He needs to find a station who recognizes his talent, will air his next show and will treat his works with the respect they deserve. I think that the biggest scifi killer right now is Syfy, ironically enough. It's called bowing to the in-crowd, which I had hoped they would be above. But alas, they are not. Seems to be the only good scifi I can find is on the so-called "men's" channel Spike. I guess I need to turn in my extra "x" chromosome. ~ "Where love and magic meet" ~ http://www.adriannebrennan.com Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html On Sun, Dec 20, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Tracey de Morsella < tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com> wrote: > > > With the recent cancellations of Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” and ABC’s > “Defying Gravity,” we are reminded yet again that > television<http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960>is not a gentle mistress for > science-fiction programming. > > In fact, this is a bad time to be a sci-fi show. Television audiences just > are not as forgiving and patient as they used to be. They do not want to > wait for storylines to be slowly developed and then unpeeled layer after > layer. They just want to have the onion cracked right open and to see what > is inside. Alas, the only thing inside is but a nugget of what the real > story is about. Just like a human life is not just about how a person died, > a sci-fi story is not just about the last 15 minutes. A life is a journey. > And that is what makes a story interesting –- getting there is not just half > the fun, it is the fun. > > So when I hear people say that they could not follow “Lost” or just want to > know all the answers to the questions posed, I am astounded. What good is it > to list a set of answers to questions if it is not given some kind of > framework to illustrate the importance or significance of the questions and > the answers to each. One of the biggest and best questions from “Lost” has > been: What is the monster? One day they just may tell us and we are going to > be disappointed. > > It is like pulling back the curtain in the “Wizard of Oz” and finding there > is only an old man pulling all the levers. The story was much more exciting > when Dorothy thought there was this magnificent Wizard of Oz who was the > most powerful and magical being in the realm. And one day we will finally > find out if Sylar is a good guy or bad guy on “Heroes” and we will feel just > as unsatisfied with that answer as well. For it has been a rollercoaster of > a ride wondering what the hell Sylar would do next. Was he going to help > them or kill them in the end? > > And one day Lex Luthor will rise up and be the notorious villain of > comic-book lore. But watching the past 9 seasons of “Smallville,” I am > grateful for the chance to see how Lex and Clark may have once been friends > and how that disintegrated as Lex became more and more greedy and suspicious > of what Clark may be hiding. > > No, in sci-fi, it is the journey that is the most fascinating aspect of the > story. One cannot simply read a book’s introduction and the last two pages, > and in television, one cannot just have the opening credits and the closing > scene. Nothing would make sense. We would not have the privilege and joy of > discovering each character, their backstory and their path of self-discovery > and see the importance of how they relate to one another. Life is not just > about beginnings and endings. It is all the stuff in between that counts. > > Yet more and more, television audiences are refusing to be satisfied with > anything more than just the beginning and end. It is as if they were > corrupted by the MTV era and anything longer that seven minutes is just too > long and their inherent inability to sit still demands that they turn the > channel or move on to the next pretty, shiny toy. However, seven minutes > just is not enough to tell a story properly. > > If you look back at any great television series (whether sci-fi or not), it > was not just the first episode that was great or even the last episode. > Somewhere in between there were these moments of greatness that no one ever > saw coming. For “Heroes,” it was “Company Man.” For “Lost,” it was “Through > the Looking Glass.” For “Battlestar Galactica,” it was “33.” And for > virtually every show there is, you could name the one standout episode that > was somewhere in the middle of that show’s journey. > > But that one episode would have been nothing but for the episodes leading > up to it. Each had carefully laid the foundation of the characters and how > they related to one another that made those episodes all that much more > climatic and amazing. No, the art of storytelling is laying the foundation. > Just like a house cannot exist with just a hanging chandelier; for it must > have a solid foundation, sturdy walls, a weatherproof roof and a few > glistening windows. > > In sci-fi, a clever story has all the same elements. It has a strong > foundation (the initial premise of the show), sturdy walls (the bare bones > or turning points of the story), a weatherproof roof (an overall arcing > story of where it is going), glistening windows (an array of interesting > characters) and a whole lot of nails, boards, drywall and paint. All these > ingredients are necessary to build a home and all are just as equally > necessary to build a sci-fi television series. If you leave one out or skimp > on the quality, all you have then is a shoddy home, or no home at all if the > building inspectors deem it unfit for habitation. > > These days the viewing audience is simply too impatient to allow for proper > “homebuilding” (e.g., storytelling). We are the children of the > “Me-generation” and the “I want it right now” generation. No patience. It is > all about instant gratification. But nothing worthwhile can be achieved so > quickly or by taking shortcuts. > > Recent examples would be the new television > shows<http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960>“FlashForward” and “V.” It is > astounding how quickly viewers turned the > channel once they realized they were not getting any fast answers. They > wanted it right now, or they just tuned out. It is appalling. > > One of the most highly regarded books of all time is Tolstoy’s “War and > Peace.” It is 1,475 pages long. God forbid someone ever told Tolstoy that > people simply never take the time to read a book that long and he needed to > shorten it to an acceptable length – like maybe 200 pages. > > I posit that science-fiction storytelling requires the same patience. It > takes time to develop great stories and epic characters. It is only by > taking the long journey with them that we appreciate all the exquisite > attributes and their contributions along the way. It is also because we > undertook the long arduous journey together that the pay off is that more > rewarding. There is simply no greater joy than when finally reaching the end > after a momentous journey. > > So for all the impatient “I’ve got to have it now” television viewers I say > this: you are missing out on the greatest story(ies) you’ll ever know simply > because you had no patience to wait and discover where it went. > > It is like opening your Christmas > gifts<http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960>the day after Thanksgiving. There > is no joy in rushing things. Let the > holidays <http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960> unfold and wait patiently > for Christmas morning. Watching all those glittering packages sit under the > tree just builds the anticipation. And so it is with a sci-fi show, enjoy > peeling back each exquisite layer. Cherish each and every character. > Practice patience. Only then will you reap the reward having savored each > and every moment of it. > > So as we continue to hold wakes for the shows of yester year, mourning the > loss of beloved “friends” that brought joy to our lives, we sit at sci-fi’s > deathbed. For surely, shows like “Heroes,” “Fringe,” “V” and “FlashForward” > will be next on the chopping block. Viewer erosion is a surefire way to > foretell imminent cancellation. And with “Heroes” having fallen from a once > regular viewership of 13 million to 5 million, “Fringe” from 12 million to 7 > million, “V” from 14 million to 9 million and “FlashForward” from 11 million > to 6 million, it is not hard to see the writing on the wall. Say your > prayers or send you last-ditch pleas to networks, as I can hear the sound of > the death bells tolling. Sci-fi television is surely at death’s door. > > It is too soon to tell for such series, like “Stargate Universe,” > “Sanctuary,” “Smallville,” or “Supernatural.” But, like “Lost” which closes > the book on its six-year journey next May, perhaps “Smallville” (which will > be ending its ninth season) and “Supernatural” (which will be ending its > fifth season) will also bow gracefully into the night. > > That leaves shows such as “Stargate Universe,” “Sanctuary,” “Doctor Who,” > “Torchwood,” “Eureka,” and “Warehouse 13” being the last holdouts of the > sci-fi television era. We can only hope and pray that “Caprica” (the > “Battlestar Galactica” prequel) captures enough of an audience to give it > some legs. There is a sci-fi legacy that needs to be upheld. Let’s not have > 2010 be the year that sci-fi television died. > > http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960 > > >
