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April 16 2009

(SPOILER) Dollhouse panel report- Joss hopeful for season 2. FearNet has highlights of last night's PaleyFest panel. A lot of info, including an explanation of tonight's optimism for season two. No new spoilers, but the same Epitaph One stuff revealed before is in here. The Hollywood Reporter has a thorough write-up as does the futon critic.

Perhaps other Paley reports can be compiled here? Or we can just combine this with the other thread. I just thought this was noteworthy enough to be its own link.

Jobo | Dollhouse | 06:27 CET | 53 comments total | tags: hope, dollhouse, joss, paley

I was going to post it in the other paley thread in response to your post about doubting the optimic. :P

Hope the other reports say the same.

Rhodey | April 16, 06:30 CET

Oh, the hope. It's back. Thanks Joss! And wow, Eliza looks amazing in that blurry picture. The woman is utterly gorgeous.

Joss talking is always good. And the optimism about the demo is nice to hear from FOX via Joss.

Emmie | April 16, 06:40 CET

And the hope just continues to rise. Glad to hear FOX realizes soft numbers don't always equal an unsuccessful tv show.

Tessa | April 16, 07:11 CET

that's great news - thanks for posting this Jobo.

ladygrey | April 16, 07:16 CET

Apparently comes from a group interview Joss did last night

Yes? No? I think it's from the panel itself so I've invoked the Lovecraft Delta option and tweaked the entry and added a THR link.

Simon | April 16, 07:20 CET

“They’re waiting to see what happens,” he said, adding Fox has said the “numbers have been solid and the demographic is wonderful and the DVR ratings have been great.” “So right now I’ve gone from a sort of place of ‘You don’t even care, nobody loves me’ [laughs] to a place of God, I can’t believe I’m saying this ... hope.

Oh crap! Hope! Stop fluttering, heart.

jkalderash | April 16, 07:28 CET

I am so glad to her (read!) that FOX made a point of calling Joss to give him hope for the show. He (and many others connected with the show) has been quite down about the future of Dollhouse as of late so this is lovely news. We live in hope.

TartFuel | April 16, 07:39 CET

You know in threads here I've been saying now isn't the time to write letters to execs wailing about cancellation, I've pointed out I haven't called time of death this thing, I've said they're looking at moving it across night, they're talking about renewal etc?

It's all true. I'm trying not to give false hope, because I hate that, but I know there's key execs at FOX and 20th who want the show back. They're doing anything they can to swing the finances of it. That's very important. And been the situation for a few weeks.

And, yes, since joss has outright said it now - episode 13 may also air.

gossi | April 16, 08:08 CET

Joss, stop getting my hopes up! You tease you!

SteppeMerc | April 16, 08:12 CET

gossi is smart (on this one topic). Listen to gossi.

TamaraC | April 16, 08:20 CET

I'm thinking the chances of "Dollhouse" getting picked-up for a second season are very good at this point. And even in a better time slot no less! See, my crystal ball turns this certain color when....oh, nevermind. Still keeping my fingers crossed:)

Madhatter | April 16, 08:21 CET

You know in threads here I've been saying now isn't the time to write letters to execs wailing about cancellation,

There doesn't seem to be a push to write letters. People were miffed about the 13th episode and wrote to Fox about it to complain and rightly so. But there's no indication of a groundswell for a movement to stop the show from being cancelled.

Simon | April 16, 08:23 CET

Simon, there was talk about it in a thread here last night.

gossi | April 16, 08:25 CET

I read that thread, still not seeing the birth of a save Dollhouse movement.

Simon | April 16, 08:27 CET

All births start with a squirt somewhere.

Also, I am LOLing at Tamara. She wins the league of cute.

gossi | April 16, 08:30 CET

Get a room!

But not mine because I am busy in here pulling 900+ panel photos from my Nikon.

The One True b!X | April 16, 08:36 CET

Also I am really effing hosed on margaritas right now.

The One True b!X | April 16, 08:37 CET

You're not the only one. What we have people is hope. Eat it. Suck it up. Deal with it. Its real and so is the news. Now excuse me while I make more drunk posts.

korkster | April 16, 08:44 CET

I was skeptical, but hearing Joss talk about how proud he is of the 13th episode really makes me want to watch it now!!!

Also feeling a bit of...dare I say it? Hope for a second season.

What's with us whedonesquers tonight and the booze? I'm also blitzed.

ShanshuBugaboo | April 16, 08:54 CET

FOX must have called Joss telling him that the show wasn't cancelled yet (keyword: yet) sometime after the Dr. Horrible panel the night before since his attitude about the prospects of a second season seem to have changed remarkably. This makes me feel slightly more hopeful but...I'm still eyeing FOX suspiciously. I hope they know this will make or break their network as far as I'm concerned.

jiggyfly | April 16, 08:55 CET

What's with us whedonesquers tonight and the booze? I'm also blitzed.

I can't speak for you, but I don't come to LA to panel stuff and then not go drink. To prove it, I even made a video while sitting here, but I'm not coherent enough to make sure it uploads properly.

The One True b!X | April 16, 08:56 CET

What's with the margarita business, ~~drunkards~~ guys? Is it 2-4-1 night at La Cantina, or something? ;-)

I was one of the ones last night who recommended waiting til today to see if Joss sent out the Mayday call.
He hasn't.
So all we can do is keep watching (if you're in the US) ...and waiting patiently (regardless of where you live).

missb | April 16, 08:59 CET

FOX specifically calling Joss to tell him that the show is not dead is amazing news. While that is no guarantee for renewal, I am sure they wouldn't call him if cancelation was more likely than renewal.

Michael | April 16, 08:59 CET

I can't speak for you, but I don't come to LA to panel stuff and then not go drink.

Ah, yes. See if I wasn't drunk (too much wine at family gathering) I would have deduced that ;) I wish I had known about this panel beforehand. I am actually near LA now and would have loved to have gone. Oh well. Glad you are having fun! Can't wait to see the vid :)

ShanshuBugaboo | April 16, 09:00 CET

Gossi, I don't think I saw letter writing, I saw some fans trying to organise a campaign to get people to watch the show, including a catch-up video. Surely that's a good? Any uptick in the numbers will help cement the chances of a second season, especially if key people are already looking at it.

flugufrelsarinn | April 16, 09:08 CET

Oh god hope all over again :D

I think that's pretty great that FOX actually called Joss to tell him that. IMO that shows that this has a real chance of coming back and yay for them mentioning the DVR numbers! Now we know for sure they do matter (weren't people thinking perhaps they didn't because people skip over the adverts or something?) and Eliza also mentioned Hulu as well :D What lovely news. Fingers crossed.

I really hope they air the 13th episode as well, it sounds awesome.

vampmogs | April 16, 10:54 CET

I was glad to hear Joss comment on the positive DVR numbers.

Some of our threads have discounted the importance of them since you can skip the commercials. While that's true, it seems that FOX is still monitoring this number as a (secondary) indicator of viewership. Hopefully their thinking is, "Some of these DVR viewers will watch the show 'live' if we move it to a better night."

SteveP | April 16, 10:57 CET

That's what I was thinking SteveP.

It makes sense for them to at least try it on another night and see if all those people watching it on Hulu or DVR will tune in. Since Friday night is known for it's low numbers it's kind of proof that people are watching it, just not in the death slot.

vampmogs | April 16, 11:08 CET

I agree, I see DVR playing in role in the night-changing scenario. Because, you know, the first 6 episodes of Dollhouse are averaging a 2.2 in the demo after 7 days of DVR. Now, that might not count for any ads this season, but Fox can think along the lines of: "The core audience of this show is a 2.2 in the demo." Moving it to a different night, this rating moves with it and probably switches to live watching, since it's gone from the dreadful Friday. So basically, the second season starts out with a Live+SD-core of say 2.0. No new show can guarantee you that. Plus you get new sampling, new viewers, a better lead-in, more promo and there you have pretty good chances of pulling anything between 2.5 and 5.0. Lie to me, which most certainly will be renewed, pulled a 2.5 last week before Idol - winning the timeslot! Yes, it is the worst number so far, but it indicates that Dollhouse could have pretty good chance out there. That's what they're looking for.

So, while the DVR numbers are certainly not helpful in the present, they are a possible key factor for the future.

wiesengrund | April 16, 11:16 CET

I hope you are right wiesengrund but like many have said on various threads that makes the big assumption that the DVRing viewers make the switch to watching dollhouse live when it's moved to a different night, and don't continue to DVR it. And I don't think anyone will know whether that will or won't happen until it does get moved to another night with more viewers, but also a lot more competition.

Bluey | April 16, 12:19 CET

If Dollhouse moved to a different night, it would naturally pick up more viewers because more viewers watch than on Friday night live casually. That, plus hopeful DVR transition, is a solid business argument.

I wasn't at all suggesting a fan thing is a bad idea by the way. Show the love. Not the hate. I've had to delete a few death threats to execs off Dollverse, so I'm a bit sensitive to negativity, is all.

[ edited by gossi on 2009-04-16 12:45 ]

gossi | April 16, 12:45 CET

I like the way you think, wiesengrund! Bluey's right, of course, that not all the DVR viewers will switch to watching live, but I would hope it could pick up some casual viewers, too.

Speaking of what's competing with DH in its timeslot, what will be competing with it once it comes back with a new lead-in next week? I know that Friday Night Lights is over, and as someone that watched DH live and FNL on DVR, I bet there are some people who watched FNL live and DH on DVR that will watch it live now.

(As for Fox calling Joss, it's cool and all, but I'm perhaps a little less thrilled by it than others. I suppose it depends on if the phone call was genuine or more of the "stop talking about cancellation or you'll hurt the numbers for this season, which would really screw you for next season" veiled threat/promise kind of thing.)

ETF my horrendous html.

[ edited by Septimus on 2009-04-16 12:50 ]

Septimus | April 16, 12:49 CET

Ooh, and this from The Hollywood Reporter was really interesting, especially for the kind of insight it gives as to the type/quality of some executives' input:

“For me, the original concept was that these are absolutely private engagements, they really don’t know,” Whedon said. “They (the Dollhouse masterminds) have a database that knows and they do things the way do so that nobody ever has to tell anybody what it is that they want or need. It really is a confessional.

“Peter Chernin, who was running (Fox parent) News Corp. said, ‘What if we didn’t do that. What if they are collecting the information and there was more going on?’ And it turned out to be very useful because it does add another layer, and that’s something that we explore in Episode 13.”

Septimus | April 16, 12:59 CET

Yes I saw that as well. I like Peter's imagination.

Simon | April 16, 13:04 CET

Sometimes you need someone to come up with the "what would a truly evil corporation do with this?" idea...

Septimus | April 16, 14:09 CET

Glad that there is more hope for a season 2 now.I still wouldn't be surprised if they tried pairing the show with Fringe.

Buffyfantic | April 16, 14:12 CET

it's kind of like how google keeps people searches stored somewhere.. maybe the dollhouse's main purpose is to keep people's info on file so they can sell it to companies who want to know people's desires... wait, no, that's stupid. They'd get that info from google already.

mortimer | April 16, 14:27 CET

Google stores people searches? Yikes, so much for all the times I've ~~looked up an ex~~ ego surfed!

missb | April 16, 14:43 CET

Wait... So, my 3 dreams where ~~Adelle messaged me to say that~~ Dollhouse was renewed may actually come true? :D

I like this hope thing.

Braeden Fireheart | April 16, 14:46 CET

I really like that they called Joss. And just in time for his next public appearance, too. I think this might be the first time we've seen Fox do some good PR for a change :). For which: yay!

Other than that: nothing really new there. We pretty much knew everything Joss has been saying, but having it confirmed by him and - indirectly - by FOX is nice.

Other thing these transcipts have made me realise: we haven't had many interviews with the cast, have we? I'm so used to "knowing" the actors in Joss' shows from all the various interviews that get linked here, it's odd to not quite "know" these new people. Did we get interviews with cast members during Buffy, Angel and Firefly's first season? I can't quite seem to remember. Anyway: it was nice reading some of their comments.

As for the closing few episodes as well as episode 13: really looking forward to those. If they can maintain the level 'Spy' set, we're in for an awesome few weeks.

GVH | April 16, 15:42 CET

I was there last night as well. It was a blast, as was the cast and Joss, too. If anyone thought it was going to be a bit of a wake, the audience knew there was life in the body yet. Hopefully Fox will agree.

impalergeneral | April 16, 16:04 CET

How many people were there?

Simon | April 16, 16:05 CET

If anyone thought it was going to be a bit of a wake, the audience knew there was life in the body yet. Hopefully Fox will agree.

I think you might be doing wakes wrong ;).

(or is that just a Scots/Irish thing ?)

Saje | April 16, 16:06 CET

I was VERY unfair in my previous critique of Dollhouse as a series based on the premiere episode.

I would like to eat crow, tail between legs, and voice my support for a 2nd season. The show deserves it :)

How could I have ever doubted Joss Whedon?

The Host | April 16, 16:39 CET

Still, a report of events would be nice.

BTW, who was minding the water last night? Pretty good stuff because my head's still dancing around and the ole' feet are following its lead!

Wait...oh, that's just plain happiness:)

Madhatter | April 16, 17:45 CET

There is no "save the show" thing. Just some "share the show" ideas.

Sunfire | April 16, 18:40 CET

I've only been able to upload one photo so far, so it's a teaser image from the 900+ I took.

The One True b!X | April 16, 19:50 CET

as my username says, I love Joss Whedon!

luv4whedon | April 16, 23:54 CET

When Joss was talking about Ep. 13, what did the phrase "half pattern" mean? I am unfamiliar with that one...

Tarae | April 17, 05:37 CET

I wasn't sure either, Tarae, and Google revealed nothing. But he's said before that it cost half as much as a regular episode, so I'm thinking that's what he means here.

Jobo | April 17, 06:06 CET

Still uploading, but here's my photo set from the Dollhouse panel.

The One True b!X | April 17, 07:24 CET

Help, help, America's colour is broken !

Nice photos, ta. Turns out good-looking people are still good-looking people even in black and white, I think there's deep knowledge in there somewhere.

Saje | April 17, 10:54 CET

You got some really lovely shots Bix. Thanks for sharing.

DaisyButtercup | April 17, 22:42 CET

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