Does anyone else see a longevity issue?

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PurplePoof

Surgeon Of Mean
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The premise of this show isn't as appealing to me on first glance as Whedon's other shows...however I have full faith that with Joss behind it it will easily match the high expectations I have for it.

But problem with the premise...much like Pushing Daisies or Veronica Mars (for example), I can't see this being a show that lasts several seasons. It's probably too early to say that without having seen the pilot, but based on what I've read and the few clips I've seen...I don't see many places this show could go...and I also don't see an overwhelming level of character development in a series where the protagonist is assuming different skillsets and personalities in every episode...
 
She starts to become self-aware as soon as the first episode so how is there not going to be character development? She'll become more and more aware as the show progresses, not to mention the fact not every main character is a Doll.

I can see this show lasting five seasons without a problem, it seems to me like there's lots of things they could do, and like you mentioned, none of us have seen the pilot, so we don't yet know the world of this show to see what could happen.

Although unfortunately, none of this will probably matter, as we'll be extremely fortunate to get a second season.
 
Randy Giles said:
I can see this show lasting five seasons without a problem
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How?

I am kinda with Purplepoof on this, but you now have either picked an arbitary number from the heavens or you can imagine a defined character progression for 5 seasons.

If its the former than your comment is completely irrelevent as I can say that about any premise.
'What, the story is of a man watching shoelaces all day - well I can see this show lasting 5 seasons without a problem'.

If however it is the latter, please enlighten us.

The problem with the premise from my POV is that if you make her self aware too slowly people will tune off and not watch as this is the central theme - this is at best 2 seasons, and when I say at best I mean already losing people.
If you do it too fast then you have nowhere to go.

I can see 'at best' season 1 being about the Doll becoming self-aware, season 2 dealing with the consequences AND season 3 the Doll liberating other Dolls (though in fairness that to me is stretching as it seems a season 2 thing).

I will watch this show but I am not expecting anywhere near Buffy length series, heck I don't even think we will get Angel.
 
I only said five because that's the number of seasons most shows try to get to, if they're on broadcast television. A show usually reaches 100 episodes in its fifth season, and if Dollhouse were to get four more seasons, at 22 episodes each, that's 101 episodes. And I believe most networks ask the showrunners how they plan to keep the story going over multiple years.

If the show doesn't at least reach four seasons it's unlikely the show will turn a profit for the studio.
 
Thanks Bored...I'm glad I'm not the only one. I guess the real question is if her growing self-awareness can have enough dimension to it that it can remain interesting over an extended period of time and continually develop and take sharp, unexpected turns...hopefully Joss will wow us.
 
Joss tends to have these things planned out well in advance. im sure he knows where itd go should it be picked up for season 2 and even 3.
 
This whole self aware, compartmentalized personalities thing... I hope it has more longevity than "my own worst enemy" I liked that show, but my wife said it was alittle hard to follow. This could be a problem for Dollhouse too.

I wonder if enough people have the time or desire necessary to really appreciate this show and give it the numbers it will need. I hope so.

With all the possibilities of different personalities/ roles of the dolls and clients, handlers, etc. there is plenty of idea fodder to play with...almost to much!

I can see it going for along time if Joss keeps his interest in it and more importantly....it gets those fickled ratings.
 
I dont, I've drawn a connection between Dollhouse and Alias, for some reason, I could see this lasting 5 years, loads of story opportunity's!
 
I'm sure Joss has thought of this, he is known for planning things out years in advance. I just hope he gets the oppurtunity to have five seasons. But I doubt it.🙁
 
Fox will make a profit on Dollhouse whether it dies a short quick death or lingers for more than one season. How you may ask?

Well, for one thing all of our American cousins will be watching on premier night (why Fox chose Friday February 13th is beyond me from what I've read about the timeslot where shows go to die in the US) as will we on this side of the pond - if Dollhouse makes it this far of course.

Secondly, Fox will make sure that it comes out on DVD or pay-to-watch on the net or something similar - and of course, just like the half season of Firefly (God, I miss that show) everyone will flock to buy it as they will do for the movie that will be commissioned to clear up the current story arc(s) - again, like Firefly.

From re-runs to dvd release you can guarantee that Fox will make it's money back on the show within 5 years and I even suspect prior to that they'll be in the black with Dollhouse and by the time it's 5th anniversary arrives they'll actually have made a very substantial profit on the show.

As for the show making it to five seasons? No, I doubt that very much as Fox have given it the slot of doom on Friday night television. I've read so many things regarding Friday night's in the US it makes my hair curl. In my humble opinion (and I hope to God that I'm wrong here) I don't reckon Dollhouse will get past Season 1 on Fox.
 
willow23 said:
Wouldn't you have said something similar about the limited possibilities of the premise of Buffy?
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Only if Buffy ONLY fought Vampires, however it was made clear in the press and the episodes by episode 3) that Buffy would face more than just Vampires which opens up other possibilities - I stand by my earlier comment in this thread.
 
episode three...oh! that was witch, right? with Amy's mum? I guess if you have the patience nessacary to get through the first season. don't ask me, I only remember watching S6 - S7 as they aired. My mum started watching when I was 2, ya know!

anyway, i really like the idea of Dollhouse, now I'm just waiting for Jonothan Woodward to show up XD ooh, and Nathan Fillion, Joss is incredibly loyal to his actors.

I honestly couldn't say anything about ratings. I know nothing and If I tried to sound like I did...well, it wouldn't be pretty *shudder*

I just hope that it gets at least 3 seasons, half a season's already been signed on, right? oh, yeah!!! Box set here i come!
 
I was excited about the show but after watching a short clip of it on the internet i'm less excited. It looked good but i can't see who they could make it fresh every week becuase the first few episode echo will be having her mind "wiped" for us to see how it works? right?.

Then i presume its going to take a while for Echo to realize whats going on and act of anything, then after she's realized whats been happening what then? i can't see much else? but you never know with some shows it might be a massive world wide hit! :tongue:
 
I think the premise sounds interesting, but I do see a problem with keeping it going. Really there are two factors working against Dollhouse's Longevity:

#1 is FOX, unlike some other networks, they often don't give shows time to find an audience. It's really foolish especially since even mainstream mega-hits like NBC's Seinfeld tool well over a year to find their audience.

#2 is Joss himself. Joss has probably produced more of my favorite pieces of entertainment than anyone else, but it's obvious that he hates any form of stagnation. I was disappointed when he changed the direction of Angel from an "investigation of the week" into a less episodic series. I still enjoyed the show, but I think I may have liked it better if it had stayed on track with weekly investigations and gradual character development rather than being ~100% character driven. I'd be surprised if he doesn't shy away from the initially intended formula of Dollhouse within the first ~50 episodes, which may go well or not.
 
R
Randy Giles
I feel like season one was by far Angel's weakest season...it got better when it became a serialized story.
PurplePoof said:
But problem with the premise...much like Pushing Daisies or Veronica Mars (for example), I can't see this being a show that lasts several seasons.
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Let's give it a chance first. You could also make the argument that a show about a teenage girl who slays vampires and demons is a show that couldn't last several seasons.
 
dagojr said:
Let's give it a chance first. You could also make the argument that a show about a teenage girl who slays vampires and demons is a show that couldn't last several seasons.
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Well it couldn't, but Buffy was about the characters more than the slayage. Buffy first seems to have embraced being a slayer in Season Eight. Even at the end of S7 she said that she still hates being the one that was chosen to fight evil.
 
Buffyverse Fan said:
Well it couldn't, but Buffy was about the characters more than the slayage. Buffy first seems to have embraced being a slayer in Season Eight. Even at the end of S7 she said that she still hates being the one that was chosen to fight evil.
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well what makes you think Dollhouse wont be about the characters as no1 priority? Can you think of any Joss show that isnt solely about character growth
 
Buffyverse Fan said:
Well it couldn't, but Buffy was about the characters more than the slayage. Buffy first seems to have embraced being a slayer in Season Eight. Even at the end of S7 she said that she still hates being the one that was chosen to fight evil.
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This is kind of my point.

In the same way that Buffy was more about characters than slayage (and in fact, most of Joss' work is about characters), I believe that Dollhouse will be more about characters than activeyness. In the same way that Buffy reached beyond its basic premise, I believe that Dollhouse will reach beyond it's basic premise.
 
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