The Dollhouse show was a drama on Fox in 2009, and was a critical and commercial failure. The show had a great premise – a young girl who gets a mysterious box with dolls inside. But the storyline fell flat. The reruns of the first two episodes were watched by more viewers than the premiere episodes, and they did not even draw the same amount of viewers. The ratings were so poor that the network had no choice but to cancel the show. However, a review by Entertainment Weekly suggests that Whedon might have been after a larger theme than this.
Dollhouse is an original concept created by Joss Whedon during lunch with actress Eliza Dushku, during which they came up with the idea of a hired fantasy actor. They pitched the idea to Fox before the 2007-2008 WGA strike, and the show was ordered for seven episodes without a pilot episode. The show’s success was further aided by the fact that the actress had already remembered who she was working with Whedon on scripts. While Whedon was able to complete the “Echo” episode, he also worked on casting sides and the “Echo” script. The episode marked the series’ ascent into a true superhero.
The show’s themes were rich in complexity, making it a challenging successor to Buffy. Its creator, Joss Whedon, remarked in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that “Dollhouse” “is a fascinating show” but that “the audience for intelligent television shows is so small,” the critics urged him to stick with his project. The Dollhouse finale explored the intersection of technology and identity, and the impact of the production on the audience.