A call to arms

[exsequar]

Why I Watch Dollhouse

Please, if you've given up on this show, or never gave it a try, please click on that link and have a look around. Listen to the beautiful, haunting music taken right from the show, look at the amazing slideshow brought up when you click on "Friday @ 9/8C", read "Why I Watch" and feel compelled to give this brilliant underdog show a chance.

You can watch the current season of Dollhouse, and the last two episodes of last season, for free on Hulu. If you start with episode 1x11, you may very well be completely sucked in - it's one of the best episodes of anything I've ever seen. (here's a lure: Alan Tudyk!) In fact, PLEASE watch on Hulu, because Fox knows about those views, and our little show is limping along dangerously so every little bit helps.

Please. Please don't let this turn into another Firefly. A brilliant, thought-provoking show, filled with new and sparkling talent, is struggling RIGHT NOW. Please don't come around to it two years from now, when it's too late. Please give Dollhouse a shot.

Thank you. :)

Comments

[calicokat.livejournal.com]

Mind if I retweet this to my journal? And by RT I mean C&P preceded by "From exsequar." Dollhouse is the only TV show airing right now that my household can watch without brutally mocking on writing and editing flubs at least three times if not many more during an episode. T_T

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

Of course my dear!! Spread the word!

I'm glad to hear your household approves, hee. I love it SO MUCH, and I love Joss SO MUCH. He needs to stay on my TV!

[calicokat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You put it extremely well here. :) Dollhouse is incredible. The current ratings are a sad statement about the American viewing audience.

[calicokat.livejournal.com]

You know, while it's on my mind I'm not sure that Dollhouse isn't tanking so bad in the ratings because it's a show about women's issues -- about the appropriation of the body by society, about women being forced to be a "different person" in different aspects of their lives.

I was reading the article linked by parcae, and more specifically the comments, and a commenter named Michael says "Nobody wants to tune it to a show to watch rapists get away with it and be portrayed sympathetically" and a few others bring up similar arguments (while others just bash it out of hand).

I think the Polanski trial has brought to the fore the amount of rape apology in our society, but the fact that Dollhouse is a show about consensual and non-consensual deprevations of personhood obviously, if one watches it at all, doesn't make it pro-rape or rape-apologist. In fact, it examines why people want to look at Polanski and say "Oh, but he's such a nice man! What he did couldn't have been that bad!"

Apparently, there's no room for that dialog in the mainstream. But it's okay! We can all turn to popular soap television like Grey's Anatomy where horrible things happen to characters in mind boggling ways that will never be addressed by the program. (I swear I've never sat in the room while my mom watched that show and not been staggered by something offensive.)

[tiltingheartand]

Seconding the "mind if I repost?"

Also, ugh, did you hear that it might not be coming back week after next? :| *frets*

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

Go go repost repost!!!

Ugh what nooooooo. ;_____;

[tiltingheartand]

*goes*

Yeah, twistomatic was telling me (idk how reliable she is as a source, but she's usually right) that I guess if it didn't get "enough" viewers this past week, it might get canceled? (Which, actually, is a slightly different situation than I implied earlier, sorry, but still :|.) Or something ridiculous and awful to that effect. Ughhhhhhh.

[tiltingheartand]

Found it.

[candidlily.livejournal.com]

I've been leaving the latest episode up on Hulu when I'm not at my computer so that it'll have more views. I don't have time yet to watch it all, but since it counts as a view just to leave it up, I've been doing that. I hope it doesn't get canceled!

[darlas-mom.livejournal.com]

"Dollhouse" really made me uncomfortable the first couple times I tried it. :-/ I guess I can try it again, for you, but...don't hate me if I don't get sucked in?

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I think that's kind of the point. To bring us face to face with a really ugly side of humanity, and to question a lot of really comfortable ideas and assumptions. But I would recommend you try 1x11, maybe - it's not an episodic one but rather an in depth look at the guts of the Dollhouse itself, which always makes for the best stories in this show. It's got phenomenal acting and is really squirmy making, but in a totally rockin way.

It's totally fine if it's not your bag! But if you could maybe pull up the latest ep on Hulu and just let it play in the background on mute for an extra number in the ratings? That would be awesome. :D

[darlas-mom.livejournal.com]

Well, I do understand that that's the point. :-) I think that's why it just doesn't work for me. I like questioning those ideas and assumptions in my fiction, I just prefer it when there's more ambiguity to it. Not when the conclusion I'm supposed to arrive at is directly handed to me and I have to think about what I've been told. I like it when the subtext is there for me to pull at and examine and figure out on my own, when the darkness and ugliness is more subtle. I'm more interested in what I can learn about society through what its media accidentally says, not what I'm bludgeoned over the head with, with skull-crushing force. Does that make sense?

But if you could maybe pull up the latest ep on Hulu and just let it play in the background on mute for an extra number in the ratings? That would be awesome. :D

Sure, that I can do. :-) Would you mind doing the same with "Heroes" at some point? I'm pretty nervous about it getting canceled, too. A bunch of people in the fandom are taking it as a foregone conclusion that this season is the last season, and this makes me go D-:

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sorry. There probably isn't a way that I will give it another chance. A good friend of mine is still a fan (if only for Victor), but I was disgusted by the few episodes I did watch of season one. I didn't feel like it was dialog on a difficult subject, I felt it basically played with prurient interests in an occasionally offensive way - though I get that its POINT may have been to discuss the issues in a uncomfortable but decent way, I just PERSONALLY don't think it managed to do so judging by the episodes I've seen.

Of course, this doesn't mean I hate it so much that I'd want it to die despite it's fans. I definitely feel we are all entitled to be able to watch the shows we want. Fox has a habit of killing off everything Whedon though :-(

[humdrumtown.livejournal.com]

Ooops, apparently I wasn't logged in.

But anyway, I mean to say is...I definitely dislike the show, but GOOD LUCK on your campaign! We have so many fandoms in common that I'm on your side regardless ;-)

[ohfreckle.livejournal.com]

I always try but never get around to watching, and I even have the S1 DVDs.
Being a Non-American me watching (means downloading) wouldn't help, but I hope it gets enough viewers, everything Whedon deserves a chance.