Dollhouse and Terminator Moved to Fox Friday Death Slot

Posted on November 7, 2008  12:44 am by doug
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It has begun. Ever since Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse was announced, fans have been sending messages to Fox, begging the network to not cancel the show, even before a single frame of film was shot. Why? Because it’s going to air on Fox. At first, such an act seemed a little excessive and unnecessary. But with the announcement that Dollhouse will now premiere on FRIDAYS starting in February, our fears seem to be well-founded.

Friday nights, particularly on Fox, is known as the dead zone for any show scheduled there. It’s where Fox sends it’s shows to die, either brand new ones they don’t have faith in or existing ones that are under-performing, allowing them to sputter out their final episodes in peace, unwatched by the masses, but filling an available schedule slot. The only notable series to ever survive that slot was the X-Files, but that was during the early days of Fox, when they were hungry for original programming… before they were considered a “real” network (something the CW still struggles with). But even the X-Files moved onto a better, safer slot on Sunday nights when it became a bonafide hit. Other shows, like Lone Gunmen, Harsh Realm, Sliders, Dark Angel, Millennium, and Whedon’s own Firefly all met early graves when shoved to the Friday graveyard.

Dollhouse, starring Buffy vet Eliza Dushku, was originally scheduled to air back-to-back with 24 on Monday nights, but with the Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles getting a last minute reprieve despite its flagging ratings, something had to go. Surprisingly, both Dollhouse and Terminator will lose their Monday home come 2009, because Terminator will be joining Dollhouse on Friday nights. Oh boy. This allows House to move to Mondays when American Idol returns to needlessly take over 66% of the network in January.

So Dollhouse and Terminator both need to attract more than die-hard Firefly fans (Terminator’s Cameron is played by former Firefly cast member Summer Glau) on Friday night in order to survive. Sure, there’s a chance that both could bolster each other’s viewership and create a week-ending juggernaut, but it’s highly unlikely. People go out on Friday nights… to the movies… maybe on dates. Even Joss Whedon fans. (Hey, it could happen.)

Assuming both shows last beyond May without getting cancelled due to low ratings (hmm, I wonder why?), here’s hoping that they find a more stable slot come Fall 2009. (There’s no more strikes scheduled for next fall, right?)

Dollhouse premieres Friday, February 13th on Fox (that bodes well, doesn’t it?)

Take a peek at an all-new Dollhouse promo here:

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