Where are all the Buffy, Angel, and Firefly fans? It would seem they have better things to do on Friday nights than to support the most recent entry in what is unofficially known as the "Whedonverse" (all series and characters created by Joss Whedon). The ratings for Dollhouse have been steadily decreasing for the last three episodes, which includes the finale of season one, and that aired May 2009! Not even a summer break and the DVD release of the excellent Epitaph One episode seem to have increased word of mouth buzzl.
A Quick Primer on Nielsen Ratings
The Nielsen ratings are determined by data collected from the television viewing habits of what are called "Nielsen Families". These are households selected completely at random that (in theory) accurately represent a cross-section of the entire viewing demographic. There are currently an estimated 25,000 families in the United States. Many simply keep meticulous "diaries" of all their viewing habits. For the rest, devices attached to the families' TV sets track all activity (including DVR recording and watching). All this information is sent to the Nielsen company, where it is analyzed and separated into the all-important demographic categories (the main one being ages18-49). This information is then used to determine the money value of advertising time during the shows.
Dollhouse Ad Time Should Be Pretty Cheap
According to Nielsen, 2.8 million viewers watched "Omega", the Dollhouse season one finale, earning a ratings point of 1.0 in that 18-49 category. This means approximately 1 percent of all TV-watching 18-49 year-olds were tuned in. Compare this to episodes of the American Idol juggernaut, which on average score in the 8-10 point range.
The season two premiere, "Vows", didn't even get any boosts from the presence of guest star Jamie Bamber (Lee Adama on Syfy's successful Battlestar Galactica reboot), or Joss Whedon alumn Alexis Denisof (Wesley Windham-Pryce on Buffy and Angel). It had 2.6 million viewers, and the same 1.0 percent point.
Episode two, "Instinct", got 2.1 million viewers, and a .8 percent point, an all-time low for the series.
The End of Joss Whedon TV?
Whedon has stated several times since Firefly that he is increasingly frustrated with producing for television, and is inclined never to do it again. The success of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, created by Whedon during the TV and film writers' strike a few years ago, is evidence of greener pastures in the world of internet-exclusive content. And Fox TV certainly isn't helping change his mind. Even the same executives who liked Dollhouse enough to renew it for a second season didn't see fit to move it from its deathly time slot on Friday nights. Nor did they seem to consider the show that leads into it; it's called Brothers, a sitcom starring Michael Strahan. Yes, the football player.
If this downward trend keeps going, it may be difficult for Fox to justify keeping it around. It's very hard for serialized shows like this to attract new viewers, as the mythology is just too deep, and it's hard to catch up. Pretty soon, the only way to view Eliza Dushku may be this creepy "Virtual Echo" widget for your desktop.
Dollhouse airs, for the time being, Friday nights at 9PM on Fox.
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