A bookcase holding my innumerable DVD box sets has a special shelf that should probably be labeled ""The Boneyard."" It holds the complete series sets of ""Dead Like Me,"" ""Freaks and Geeks"" and ""Undeclared,"" to name a few of the remnants of once-great TV series cancelled before their time. And while a few of those fallen series were axed in momentary lapses of judgment on the part of HBO or ABC, one network stands bloody axe in hand as a serial killer of great television—Rupert Murdoch's Fox Broadcasting Company.
Fox has been responsible for the deaths of such gems as ""Family Guy,"" ""Futurama,"" Bryan Fuller's ""Wonderfalls,"" ""Arrested Development,"" ""Firefly,"" ""Dark Angel"" and countless others.
The network's ritual is always the same. Executives will move shows around in the programming schedule endlessly, shaking any following of viewers from knowing when new episodes will air. New ""Futurama"" episodes were scheduled after football games and frequently got bumped in favor of post-game coverage.
Then we begin to see long, unexpected breaks between episodes—that's what did ""Family Guy"" in during its original run.
Finally, the victim is dealt the dreaded Friday night timeslot—given to shows that network executives doubt any normal person would watch. This was the home of sci-fi series like ""Firefly"" and ""Dark Angel,"" and unsurprisingly, was the home of another show that recently fell under Murdoch's guillotine—""Dollhouse.""
Yes, Joss Whedon's ""Dollhouse"" felt the burn of cancellation last week due to low ratings. The show is getting squashed five episodes into the second season, with the remainder of the episodes in production slated to air in bursts throughout December and January. Despite the show's fervent following, overall viewership has been down from last season under the double jeopardy of the Friday timeslot and sporadic episode breaks.
Frankly, this show has been doomed from the get-go. Fox execs weren't impressed with the deeper philosophical themes that Whedon wanted the show to be centered on and tinkered with early episodes to make them a bit more ""Charlie's Angels""-esque. Naturally, those were the least interesting episodes of the first season—formulaic, cheesy and insubstantial. The show seemed to be strangled in the cradle.
Fortunately, ratings picked up towards the end of the first season when shit started to hit the fan. There was some hope that the show would stick around when Fox opted to renew for a second season due to strong DVR numbers (since the only people watching were watching recorded episodes), but Fox quickly turned on the show when it didn't blow up in the second season premiere.
Rest in peace, ""Dollhouse."" I can't claim I'm not at fault as much as any fan of the show. I never watched the show on Friday nights and have yet to watch a single episode this season—sorry folks, I have a life to live despite the impression given by this column. But despite the modern convenience of DVR, Hulu and other time-shifting measures, the lesson of ""Dollhouse"" is that broadcasters are stuck in the Nielsen-fueled past.
Without a dedicated group of viewers who actually watch the show when aired, cancellation is only around the corner, particularly if the show is on Fox. How will these networks adapt as all TV audiences turn to time-shifting to fit the shows they want into their daily schedules? If you're Rupert Murdoch, apparently the answer will be to leave nothing for them to watch.
If you know what Torgo's Executive Powder is, e-mail Mark at mriechers@wisc.edu. It's good for everything except for saving a dead TV series.
