Cute, but it wasn't a choice between the two and saying Dollhouse was the longer shot is not exactly true. TSCC had dropped from an double digit millions to not much over three and its DVR and Hulu/iTunes numbers, while impressive, were trounced by Dollhouse's. Dollhouse also brought in an audience that advertisers specifically loved. TSCC was partially on the air for S2 because of Warner's 1/2 price sale to Fox. That said, I never missed an ep of TSCC and you would not believe some of the things people are saying about Dollhouse who blame it (unfairly) for TSCC's cancellation. The two things are not related and should not be conflated. Just say no to inter-fandom fighting (Edward Norton agrees with me!)!

zeitgeist | May 21, 05:39 CET

Relax z: it's supposed to be funny - in a morbid and creepifying sort of way. :)

What I'd like to know? Which character is depicted on each chair?

[ edited by brinderwalt on 2009-05-21 05:55 ]

brinderwalt | May 21, 05:54 CET

My guess? Echo is the one without shoes.

CrazyKidBen | May 21, 06:12 CET

Well, brinderwalt, that's the confusing part for me. I THINK the character on the left chair is supposed to be Echo in her sleepwear and it's Cameron in the skirt, T-shirt and jacket on the right. However, it could be the reverse, where it's "Cameron" on the left (but honestly looks more like River based on the dress and lack of footwear, if it's not Echo) and Echo on the right.

And zeitgest? Is it really surprising that people are getting all kinds of bitter about Dollhouse getting the renewal nod, while Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles gets dumped into the metaphorical smelting crucible (a la T2)? Much as I am seriously happy the former got the nod, I don't agree with Fox & WB's decision even if I recognize as business related. Even if there's only basic crossover between the series and T4 (mainly characters played by completely different people in a separate timeline from the one created by Cameron's arrival in the past), they're related properties. Then again, WB and Fox also yanked Birds of Prey after a less than perfect first season a relatively short while before Batman Begins re-energized the franchise.

BlueEyedBrigadier | May 21, 06:24 CET

Actually, zeitgeist seems to have been responding more to the news post that is paired with the comic, and to the decidedly nasty comments in the relevant accompanying section, rather than to the comic itself. I'm fairly sure he has a sense of humor. And to respond to BlueEyedBrigadier, I suspect that most people who call for peace are like I, and are depressed over (rather than surprised at) the tendency for misdirected rage. The point zeitgeist made most salient to this consisted of his very first words: "it wasn't a choice between the two [shows]". Dollhouse's renewal and Terminator's lack thereof have no strong causal relationship.

To conclude, I agree with CrazyKidBen; Echo is probably on our left of the frame, given the other's outfit, which is classically Cameron. It's funny that you phrase it like that, though, since Summer definitely has some barefooted experience.

Mercenary | May 21, 06:34 CET

I too grasped what zeitgeist was trying to convey, Mercenary, in that it wasn't just Fox simply choosing between two shows BUT about both the production company and the network deciding what's been aired is enough. That and the anger aimed at Dollhouse was misdirected.

I was just trying to note that it's not personally surprising to see misdirected rage or bitterness because I have seen it or felt it personally with other shows before. That and apparently similar decisions were made in the past with another program I liked based off a licenced property.

And I too honestly think it's supposed to be Echo in her sleepwear on the left and Cameron on the right, but one never knows ;)

BlueEyedBrigadier | May 21, 06:54 CET

I find this really offensive.

dulce_serenidad | May 21, 07:02 CET

brinderwalt: you might want to hold back on telling posters how they should act.

Simon | May 21, 07:24 CET

I can appreciate that you find this offensive, dulce. I am now reflecting on how desensitized I have become. And I see that the comic references "Sophie's Choice," as noted in the title ("SciFi’s Choice.")

peacemonger | May 21, 07:56 CET

hahaha... not about this one, but the one involving Kevin Reilly as a kid with an Astronaut

mortimer | May 21, 08:10 CET

Okay, cool. I just realized that I probably sound fairly preachy when the subtext is removed from my hypermultisyllabic words; if I come across as condescending in any way, please know that it is unintentional and does not reflect my feelings, but rather my (irrational) unwillingness to use softening emoticons.

Mercenary | May 21, 08:46 CET

*happy sigh* I so love me some HE.

QingTing | May 21, 09:16 CET

Yeah, it was more about the news post and the comments than the comic. I'm not surprised about the bitterness, nor the inappropriate lashing out at Dollhouse, but a small part of my brain was hoping for better.

zeitgeist | May 21, 12:30 CET

There was supposed to be a friendly, re-assuring, pat-on-the-back followed by a "Stay cool man. Don't let it bug ya too much." mentality behind my first comment; sorry if it didn't come through that way.

As for the rest: Didn't even notice any attached news articles or what-not. I was just responding to the
comic itself.

Update: I see that it looks like everyone (I'm including non-whedonesquers in this) made the same assumption I did: The characters in the chairs are Echo/Cameron NOT Echo/Sarah Connor... Folks looking for a reason why one show failed and the other didn't might want to start right there.

[ edited by brinderwalt on 2009-05-21 13:23 ]

brinderwalt | May 21, 13:01 CET

Yeah, if it had been called Terminator: The Cameron Kicks Ass & Looks Good Doing It Chronicles (Wet Hot American Terminator?) we wouldn't be so sad right now ;).

zeitgeist | May 21, 14:15 CET

...or Terminator: The Summer Glau Chronicles - what fans/reviewers (only half) jokingly started calling it after the airing of the episode "Allison from Palmdale".

brinderwalt | May 21, 14:22 CET

Yeah, funny how the title character was absent more often than Cameron... although technically Terminator comes first in the name and Cameron is a Terminator :).

zeitgeist | May 21, 14:30 CET

I don't recall anyone ever wearing a red slip dress on T:SCC. And Sarah and Cameron always wore boots. So this one was easy.

madmolly | May 21, 14:49 CET

...which was itself the result of executive meddling (in my opinion one of the few positive examples). It was originally supposed to be called just The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but Fox wouldn't go with it.

Brinderwalt's single-sentence T:SCC post-mortem: Brilliant, but too flawed to last.

[ edited by brinderwalt on 2009-05-21 14:58 ]

brinderwalt | May 21, 14:57 CET

You mean you really liked Birds Of Prey?
At this moment I wanted to remember a line about people throwing birds.

Brasilian Chaos Man | May 21, 15:43 CET

I certainly enjoyed the series when it aired, Brasilian Chaos Man, but I am quite aware of what it was: an earlier attempt by the same people as Smallville - pretty sure Birds of Prey was a Tollin-Robbins project as well - to eye candy up interest in a DC Comics property through attractive characters and less than complex plotlines. I enjoy Smallville in basically the same way...'brain at the door' entertainment :)

And while it does appear that the majority of the people who viewed the comic identified the bound & blindfolded figures in the background as Echo and Cameron respectively, geek logic would need to have Sarah Connor bound cuz Cameron would have snapped her bindings if she was even halfway functional ;)

Also, while Lena Headey is certainly very attractive, I wouldn't say her Sarah Connor had a recognizable sartorial style that would translate to something a reader would clue into quickly, unlike with how Cameron usually dressed ;D

BlueEyedBrigadier | May 21, 16:48 CET

(Edward Norton agrees with me!)!

Well, if that's the case, zeitgeist, then it must be true! Edward Norton is the unofficial god of the underground. :)

Can you tell I <3 him?

korkster | May 21, 18:08 CET

Not to go offtopic, but I was specifically referencing the big nonsense that happened with Dr. Steel and Dr. Horrible back in "The Day" as the kids call it. I made this at the time :).

zeitgeist | May 22, 04:02 CET

Ah, yes zeitgeist! Thanks for bringing back all of the fan-favorite memories! :D

korkster | May 22, 18:58 CET