+ Dollhouse +

Wow, I'm suddenly less than confused about why Dollhouse never got more of a following or longer running series. It's a great show, but it got dark pretty fast. Similar to the way Dark Angel progressed - while the storylines are pretty amazing it's easy to see why the mass majority of people might not find either of the series to be something mindless to watch. And we all know the masses love their mindless television. Just look at the majority of the channels - we got trash reality tv. Why can't amazing pieces of cinematic art gain enough of a following to keep them? No, instead we get more 16 and Pregnant, Bad Girls Club, Toddlers and Tiaras, Americas Next Top Model, American Idol, Survivor, and Jersey Shore... while great shows that make you think and be in awe get the boot off the networks' air (and yes... before you ask I dislike all of the above reality shows. I just think reality television is a waste of time and mental capacity).

With Dark Angel the reason it probably got the boot was because it wasn't a show that you could just pick up on without having already been watching the show. A lot was going on and it had multiple story lines going that if you missed two episodes in a row you could be rather baffled. Not many people like shows that you have to keep following up on. It also began going dark, the virus Max got injected with to kill Eyes Only, the hatred and prejudice against the transgenics, and the human experimentation in that of Joshua, the mermaid girl, and the other animal-spliced humans that look more like monsters than people. Just heavy topics that not many kids would have been into, nor would random adults be into had they decided to flip through the channels. I loved the first season as a nine year old, but my attention span was lacking and I'm fairly certain I never continued to watch after that season. I had started watching my own shows. It wasn't until five years later I rekindled my love for Dark Angel. And by then the series had already been cancelled to make room for Firefly which didn't even make a full season (so I've been told).

I think there are similar issues that went on with Dollhouse. It was an amazing show, dystopia-esque... And we all know I love me some dystopias. Dollhouse also began going dark with the brain washing/mind control, apocalypse, zombies (I think that's what they're supposed to be...except perhaps they're not undead), experimentation with viruses and corporate espionage...Another kind of show that it's doubtful that kids or older adults would be interested in the complicated storylines and characters. I mean the characterization, like with Dark Angel, is amazing. The cast also is phenomenal and bring the characters to life in a way that is very real and easy to root for.

However, despite the plot lines, lovable characters, dystopic nature of setting, and dark over-arching themes I'm still convinced that the biggest kiss of death for both of these shows is the fact they aired on FOX. It seems that no show lasts for long when placed on Fox, and certainly not when they are given the crappiest time slot - the one slot that is always death for a show. I'm not sure if Dollhouse had that time slot - but I know Dark Angel did. Friday 9pm. I'm convinced that had it been on CBS or almost any other station they might have thrived. Even Syfy they would have done well on, especially because with the case of Dark Angel at least they still air there. It would have had the right demographics to continue the series - in theory.

It's just a shame that these kinds of shows put on fox always seem to die out too soon. I'm just so unsatisfied with the endings. Really... You just had to kill poor Topher!? And then Paul? Lame.

However, at least Dollhouse got an ending aired. Dark Angel just stopped with no real ending - unless you read the three ending novels, which were okay at best. With the limited pages to tell the story in plotlines got ignored and you were left wondering too much still.