As for DH – yep, I REALLY hope they don’t go back to the stand-alone method. They can’t afford to tred water next season.

In regards to Dollhouse, is 1.09 Spy In The House Of Love? If so, then it’s in the top 2 episodes of the series. If it’s the strange murder mystery one, then it’s another (though better, thankfully) trip down Persona-of-the-week lane. Hopefully Dollhouse can pull things together for itself in the next season, and to be honest I could see it happening. They’ve laid the groundwork down and set up the themes, and they have the entire next season to themselves (by which I mean: without the 5 fox-ordered pilot things). Hopefully they can continue with the mythology they started in some of season 1′s episodes.

It’s a shame that quality “hard” sci-fi is such a tough brand for a network to sell these days, but the whole 40 year old virgin geek in grandma’s basement stereotype is so pervasive that those who really should know better-who get paid to know better/see: Gina Bellafonte’s New York Times review-often work to marginalize potential viewers even further than they already are. There’s also the fact that the primary demo for a show like ‘Virtuality’ stays away from the TV in droves on Friday night.

It’s easy to blame FOX given their track record, but at least Kevin Reilly had the grace to screen the pilot on something other than July 4th weekend. I’d just wish they’d realize that with netflix, the internet, live streaming on your x-box, opening weekend-take-all theatrical releases, and the all important ‘gettin’ plastered at your fine local drinking establishment’, that the target demo for growing a genre show (e.g. ‘The X-Files’) on Friday night just doesn’t exist anymore, and likely never will again.

I guess I don’t understand why things that ‘take risks’ aren’t aired in time slots where the appropriate demos will be around to take advantage of them–like Thursday’s at 9. And if FOX wants to create an audience for scripted programming on Friday’s, why not commission the next ‘Matlock’, or just dump ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ into a Friday slot with a demographic carry-over. Otherwise you risk flushing an expensive, difficult to market, but ultimately very high quality piece of work like Virtuality down the toilet at a place and time that dooms it to oblivion.

That said, they ‘might’ give it a chance if enough people are interested/tuned in last night. I haven’t seen it myself yet so I can’t judge, but it will be interesting to see the feedback it receives.