Dollhouse

[Sindatur]

Originally Posted by vacantlook

I was going to ask similarly about Hulu. I don't know much at all about it, but I have seen the Hulu advertisements featuring Eliza Dushku. I just looked up Hulu on wikipedia, and I would think that Fox gets some level of money from it. It says Hulu is commercial-supported and was created as joint venture between NBC and Fox.

And lets not forget the need to account for Network Site streaming of episodes (not sure if Fox does this, but, for the debate in general) which generally include the commercials, and some pretty much force you to watch, similar to DVDs that won't boot straight to the Menu (or respond to the Menu button), you have to shuck and Jive through the previews to get to the menu without watching them.

Again, all of these alternative viewing methods, suggest that if the show is properly plotted and ends with a resolution, there is DVD set and Syndication/Foreign Market revenue potential, So if you choose to cancel a series, and you have an "On the bubble of being cancelled" audience size, you ought to think about making a few more episodes to properly end it, because it can mean alot in "After Sales Revenue".

[Recoil]

Originally Posted by Sindatur

While it's true that those other methods don't sell ads, they should infuluence projections for DVD set sales.

Once again, not relevant to the Broadcasting company. Fox TV doesn't see a freakin dime of DVD sales. They just don't care. The production houses that sell the TV show to the networks are the ones who get the DVD revenue.

[Sindatur]

Originally Posted by Recoil

Once again, not relevant to the Broadcasting company. Fox TV doesn't see a freakin dime of DVD sales. They just don't care. The production houses that sell the TV show to the networks are the ones who get the DVD revenue.

They get the revenue for selling broadcast rights, though

[MartinRoth]

Originally Posted by Recoil

Once again, not relevant to the Broadcasting company. Fox TV doesn't see a freakin dime of DVD sales. They just don't care. The production houses that sell the TV show to the networks are the ones who get the DVD revenue.

Quite frequently these days, the production houses are owned by the same parent companies as the networks that air the shows. And Hulu is largely owned by the parent companies of the NBC and Fox networks.

But that's separate from the issue of the ratings, which is what I was addressing. Anything other than the network broadcast with advertising reasonably intact is not and should not be included in the TV ratings, from Nielsen or any other source.

There are ways to measure the audience of online viewing for separate ad sales, pay-per-view revenue is easy to track, and they can estimate what a DVD release is likely to earn, so these are certainly additional factors in determining a show's fate, especially when there's the common network/studio ownership. But so far, these additional elements are far less important than the broadcast revenues.

[vacantlook]

Here's hoping.

Joss, speaking at an appearance yesterday, said:

We also talked about next season, they called me specifically to say we've been hearing you sound a little despondent, being very clear about this, the show is not cancelled. The numbers have been soft, but the demographic is wonderful. DVR is great, they [FOX] are big fans of the show and they're waiting to see what happens, so now I've gone from a place that's sort of ehhhhhh, they don't even care, no one loves me, to a place of - God, I can't believe I'm saying this...hope.

[vacantlook]

Also, here's Eliza Dushku talking about it all.

"There've been some changes inside Fox I don't know if you're aware of," Dushku said. "I think Friday nights were a difficult night. Now we have Prison Break coming in, and we've been keeping our audience. It's not just a Nielsen world anymore. They factor in DVR. They factor in iTunes and Hulu, and we seem to have a pretty rich, pretty strong fan base. People are really getting into the show and [creating good] word of mouth, and the shows are getting more and more complicated and twisted. I feel like people are talking about it even more, and hopefully that gets back to the folks at Fox."

[Sindatur]

WooHoo, thanks VL, you're my hero

[Jade Jaguar]

It's the only fictional series that has a place on my DVR...

[vacantlook]

Ok, I need some help.

I missed tonight's episode due to familial circumstances (much to my very significant annoyance), and I need a question answered by those who watched tonight's episode, if you please. Did anything really significant happen tonight that I would need to know about before next week's first part of the big two-episode finale begins?

I have no means by which I can watch tonight's episode (thanks to having a super-slow internet speed). I ask, is there anything -- without telling me what it is -- that I would've gotten out of tonight's episode that is mandatory for the two final episodes to come that I should know before watching them? I'm trying to decide if I should watch next week, without having seen tonight's episode, or if I should avoid next week and the week thereafter and just catch it all on DVD when it's released.

[Cell]

There will be spoilers below,



So yesterday's episode was a perfect example of the mediocrity I see in this show, and it all boils down to Joss' failed attempts at moralizing. He tries to play Adelle's friends plight as a sympathetic one, but when you are cheating death by taking over the body of an unwilling woman I don't find you or your plight sympathetic. The final scene where Adelle cries while holding Echo/friends hand was especially bad, because why do I care if a pimp is crying, go and sell another one of your whores, that will make you happy. Then there is Topher, a character that is annoying, not the least bit funny, and once again used by Joss as some sort of morality play. Oh, feel for Topher, he's all alone on his birthday. But, ignore the fact that he mindrapes innocent men and women every day and gets a kick out of it, also ignore the fact that he's all alone on his birthday because he's such a creep. Hey, Langton, keep on pining for Echo, she's got a new pimp now, you're in the clear buddy!

But, this is balanced out by the plight of the dolls themselves where the show does at least keep up the idea that they have no choice over what is happening to them and therefore they are sympathetic characters. Plus, I really love where they are going with Ballard's character, he's the only honest one on the whole show. He knows he's a creep and unhinged, he realizes he's crossed that line and is no better than anyone who works at the dollhouse or contracts from the Dollhouse. It's maddening that this show can present a complex character like Ballard and nail him completely, but get so much else wrong. And before everyone says if you don't like it then don't watch it, I do love certain aspects of it and that's what makes it so maddening, there is potential there but Joss and Co. keep screwing it all up in major areas while getting other ones completely right.