Comments on: The Long Tail of Fandom: Why this time Joss Whedon’s show isn’t cancelled http://thelearnedfangirl.com/2009/05/18/long-tail-of-fandom/ About Online Culture and Fandom Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:53:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: M-shel http://thelearnedfangirl.com/2009/05/18/long-tail-of-fandom/#comment-867 M-shel Mon, 18 May 2009 18:43:54 +0000 http://thelearnedfangirl.com/?p=771#comment-867 Bottom line...those .com and DVR watchers are the weight that dropped the teeter-totter to the 'renew' side. Now that the Big 3(4) are willing to look at those viewers as a viable fan-base I think there's going to be a definite switch in how the networks are deciding on what to and what not to renew. As far as diminished returns...I don't feel that way. Buffy was pretty much ass in the first season--not a cohesive show. Firefly the same way. Angel gets a pass because it was a spin-off that already had the fan-base and growing pains out of the way when it comes to character development. Whedon is TVs version of a cross-country runner as opposed to a sprinter. He's not fantastic coming off the line, but the longer he goes, the more momentum he builds. I think Dollhouse has the potential to be a really great show not in spite of its differences to his other shows, but because of that difference, the last few episodes, regardless of the numbers in the viewing audience, proved that to a lot of long-time Whedon fans. Bottom line…those .com and DVR watchers are the weight that dropped the teeter-totter to the ‘renew’ side. Now that the Big 3(4) are willing to look at those viewers as a viable fan-base I think there’s going to be a definite switch in how the networks are deciding on what to and what not to renew.

As far as diminished returns…I don’t feel that way. Buffy was pretty much ass in the first season–not a cohesive show. Firefly the same way. Angel gets a pass because it was a spin-off that already had the fan-base and growing pains out of the way when it comes to character development. Whedon is TVs version of a cross-country runner as opposed to a sprinter. He’s not fantastic coming off the line, but the longer he goes, the more momentum he builds.

I think Dollhouse has the potential to be a really great show not in spite of its differences to his other shows, but because of that difference, the last few episodes, regardless of the numbers in the viewing audience, proved that to a lot of long-time Whedon fans.

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