Nice to see Tru Calling on there, that was unexpected.

JAYROCK | November 16, 00:31 CET

Lots of Joss love in this one!

Where's Dark Angel? I loved that shows premise. And Jessica Alba.

alexreager | November 16, 00:34 CET

"Whedon's bad luck continues with the recent announcement that Fox is pulling the plug on 'Dollhouse,' a series that had enough of a following -- and potential -- to warrant another season."

I understand that Dollhouse had the potential, but did it really have the ratings/following?

sonofyork | November 16, 00:41 CET

I'm always a little surprised when I see "Angel" on Gone Too Soon lists. Don't get me wrong, I love the show and definitely would have liked to see more, but 5 seasons is a good run for a show...or maybe I've just grown accustomed to a great deal of shows I like only lasting a season or two.

ItsOnlyCody | November 16, 01:04 CET

In five years time, I firmly believe Dollhouse will be held in higher regard than it is now. Not sure what I'm basing this on, but I think its respect will only rise (plus, more people will inevitably see it.) So, Yeah. It has THE following (us) currently, but we can only get bigger, right?

Jaymii | November 16, 01:05 CET

@ItsOnlyCody Well, at least, in this case, the author qualified the comment by saying that Angel, despite having five seasons, was just coming into its own. And, for myself, I have to agree that it was cut down in its prime--even if I'm thankful for the five seasons it did have.

I was surprised, too, by the "following" line re: Dollhouse. If it had had the following, we wouldn't all be depressed this week.

palehorse | November 16, 01:10 CET

@sonofyork: It's following fairly substantial, and it's growing all the time! I've converted at least seven new Dollhouse fans myself, and I'm sure everyone else in the fandom is doing the same by spreading it with word-of-mouth, lending DVDs and directing people to it on Hulu/Amazon/iTunes - just like with Firefly! It's fame will grow exponentially after the fact.

It seems Joss Whedon shows are kind of like artists. They reach their peak of fame after they're dead.

CZGoldEdition | November 16, 01:20 CET

@palehorse
I completely agree. Season 5 was great in that it made a lot of turns and changes narratively and took some big risks, but it was all the better for it and featured some of the best episodes and classic moments in the entire Whedonverse.

ItsOnlyCody | November 16, 01:29 CET

I'm always hoping to see the excellent "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." on lists like these, but in all fairness, it was more of a Western with Sci-Fi elements rather than the reverse.

Great to see all the Joss shows of course. Thanks very much for the link!

Risch22 | November 16, 01:38 CET

I think this idea that Joss has some terrible bad luck is a little over blown. His first two shows were quite successful - and I'm one of those that thinks 5 seasons is a success - and the only other shows he's had since are Firefly and Dollhouse. I loved the premise and moments of Dollhouse, but I think it had some flaws in execution and for me it's the weakest of Joss's shows. (Of course I'd still watch it over something like Smallville any day. How has that show lasted??) And heck, they did give it a second season.

If you want to discuss unlucky let's look at Tim Minear. Heck Drive was canceled after what? 3 episodes?

I'm willing to bet there's other show runners that have had much more failures yet are still seen as successful due to what successes they have had. Seems to me trying to get a show on TV is a lot like playing the lottery. With luck you'll hit those magic ratings numbers.

ilion | November 16, 07:56 CET

Yeah, when I think of "Angel" in the fifth season...sigh. Quiet a story Joss had going there. Damn, so much promise. Did I sigh already? sigh

Anyhoo, I suspect "Dollhouse' will fall into the same. Wonderful story cut down way too soon. Hmm, guess we'll have to make up the rest on our own.

Madhatter | November 16, 08:29 CET

Guess I'll have to write that fic after all where a well-to-do businessman (Played by Tony Head) hires Echo to be his daughter, because they've been estranged for 10 years and he's got a terminal illness. And Echo "glitches" - she tracks down the actual daughter (Amber Benson) and arranges to have her meet with the father for their final meeting.

Anyone think the Mutant Enemy will cry after the last episode?

ShadowQuest | November 16, 08:49 CET

Nice to see "Brimstone" in the list but "Birds of Prey"? Seriously?
"Freedom" should be a much more wise decision.

Brasilian Chaos Man | November 16, 12:40 CET

I was also going to say it's great to see a mention for Brimstone. My list would also include Now and Again and Drive (which I'm still a little cross about now, I really loved Drive).

spooforbrains | November 16, 14:16 CET

No 'Journeyman' ? Epic fail. In 13 episodes it was already head and shoulders above 'Tru Calling', 'Lone Gunmen', 'Bionic Woman' and 'Birds of Prey' IMO. It left a hole approaching 'Firefly' proportions when it was canned, one that probably has no chance of being even partially filled with a film (or even a DVD set).

And nope, Joss doesn't really have bad luck, 12+ seasons of critically acclaimed TV that people are still talking about 5+ years after they left the air isn't unlucky, it is in fact much, much more than most TV writers could hope for. And he's only in his early to mid 40s.

Saje | November 16, 14:28 CET

Breaking a bit from the focus of the rest of the comments here, I'd really like to know who thought it would be a good idea to dub "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" over the Firefly montage.

Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner | November 16, 18:31 CET

The first thing i thought of after Firefly was Journeyman too, i also really liked New Amsterdam too before that got the axe.

cdm22 | November 16, 18:43 CET

No 'Journeyman' ? Epic fail.

Agreed. I don't understand why when it seems like everything gets released on dvd these days, shows like this and The Inside fall through the cracks. Not like I don't have the episodes, but I'm willing to give them cashy money for a real release.

hacksaway | November 16, 19:02 CET

"Wonderfalls" obviously should be in that list too. It's not Sci-Fi, but it's always important to cry about that show.

Brasilian Chaos Man | November 16, 19:03 CET