to the attic, then

As we all learned this previous week, Dollhouse is no more, according to Fox (frak you, Fox). Yes, the numbers weren't great, and the critics less than enthusiastic, and this just sealed that foreboding feeling of inevitability.

The biggest issue I have with Dollhouse is that it just wasn't... Whedon-y enough. It wasn't funny enough, it wasn't dark enough, it wasn't... It wasn't enough. The magic of Joss Whedon's shows has always been the characters, that somehow, even in the most limited run (see: Firefly, Dr. Horrible), the writing gets the viewers to care about the characters.

Which is weird, because when (SPOILER!) Dr. Saunders discovers she's an Active, we were as shocked as she was. We also adored November just fine. So...

So my humble opinion is that it was the leads.

Dushku wasn't badass enough. Other blogs have noted that Eliza's a bad actress, which I opine is not true. Other writers have said that maybe she's only good at playing The Bad Girl. But I remember Dushku playing Buffy-in-Faith's body (long story) and she was awesome. I hated Tru Calling, but Dushku can't be good at playing just one role... I love Faith, I do, but surely there's more to Eliza? I know there is, I just don't know why so little of her talent is shining through in Dollhouse.

And then... Helo Tahmoh wasn't... Oh, all right: Tahmoh wasn't Karl C. Agathon, he was Paul Ballard, which is a whole other headache.

It says plenty when non-Joss fans I coerced into watching Dollhouse preferred Adelle, Sierra, Victor, Boyd, Topher, November and Whiskey(!) to the leads. Topher! The evil evil tech genius. Over Tahmoh.

I wanted to love it, but in the pantheon of Whedon series, it ranks as the least favored of all, because the truly brilliant episodes were few and far between. Epitaph One, particularly, shows how truly great this show could be.

But, just like BSG and its episode The Woman King, there will be missteps. Sometimes they are forgivable, sometimes they are not. I am willing to forgive, because while there was Beer Bad, there was also The Wish (which is still far from being the greatest Buffy episode there is).

Let's face it: Dollhouse had little to no chance. As Adelle DeWitt Olivia Williams herself puts it, she (they)

"...stepped into the combined piranha pit and cess-pool that is the American viewing figures. We were given what is known as the 'Friday Death Slot', which is 9.30pm on a Friday night..."

Alright, this time you can't totally fault programming, because at least they gave the show a chance for its audience to find them (which was spectacularly difficult with other Tim Minear projects, whose schedule got shifted around a lot).

This... did not break my heart as much as the cancellation of Pushing Daisies did. Maybe because it always had the threat of cancellation hanging over its head from day one. I don't know. Maybe my affection for the show disappeared with November and Whiskey.

Not even Mark Sheppard (that's President Romo Lampkin to you) and Alexis Denisof (that's Head Boy Wyndam-Pryce to you) could get me riveted to the second season.

On DVD, no doubt, this series will make a killing. I, for one, will adore the DVDs when they come my way (hint, hint).

Or maybe all those nekkid promos was too much?

P.S. But I still look forward to the appearance of Summer Glau.