Editor’s Rant: Stop the MADNESS!

I guess it's time to finally mention that this whole "Save Dollhouse before it even airs" campaign business is friggin' ridiculous.

As a fan, I know all too well that Fox likes to knock off shows with potential (Firefly, Wonderfalls, etc), but starting a campaign 7 months before a series even begins is a bit…well….obsessed. There's a creep factor to it, like when people stalk Nathan Fillion or James Marsters. Somewhere there has to be a line that shouldn't be crossed. This is touching said line to an extent.

Why to an extent?  Well, the fans behind this campaign have a point in all of the madness. Fox DOES cancel shows very, very quickly. It especially likes to cancel serials that normally take a little longer to get going. You can't just air the pilot of Firefly, banking on your "cowboys in space" advertising as a way to get 10 million folks to tune in the next week — that's just not going to (pardon the pun) fly.

But on the other hand, Whedon fans, Joss love them, have issues with restraint; and this could be one of those times when the restraint issue clouds over the purpose for which they're campaigning. TVSquad recently ran an op-ed article on the campaign, and while the writer of the article mentioned that it could be a clever idea, most of the piece dwelled on the sillyness of the fans to come up with such an idea long before the series even debuts. And herein lies the problem: will the distraction of the over-the-top fandom craziness of the idea outshine the reason for them being crazy in the first place? All roads thus far point to yes. 

According to Joss, Fox is very much behind the show. Sure, they said the same thing about Firefly, but you also have to remember that there are new people in charge. You have to give Joss the benefit of the doubt in this situation. He believes they are honest about how they feel about the show. Why can't we as fans just trust that and move on? I mean, it's airing the same night as the 24 premiere! It doesn't get much better than that.

Please….stop being crazy.