I was perusing the upcoming schedule notes from FOX, including the series finale of Prison Break on May 15, and I noticed a curious thing. FOX lists the May 8th episode as Omega, the twelfth episode of Dollhouse, as its season finale.
I’ve seen other sites list Epitaph One, the thirteenth episode as the finale that would air on May 15. Clearly that isn’t happening because Prison Break’s finale on May 15th is two hours.
The May schedule information only goes through May Sweeps which end on Thursday May 20, 2009, so I’m not sure what the schedule for beyond that looks like, but for now it looks like they only plan to air 12 episodes of Dollhouse with the season finale on May 8th.
So either I’m wrong (very possible), the information I’m looking at is wrong (possible, but less likely) or it looks like we’re only getting twelve episodes of Dollhouse, and if they’ve actually made 13…
Update: Note, the finale of Prison Break is only the FOX finale, apparently the actual series finale will only be available on the season four DVD set which will include another two hours that FOX does not plan to air (see comment below from “Wheeler”. This has me and others wondering if the same will be true for Dollhouse’s 13th episode.
I’ll see what I can find out.
Update 2: (hat tip to Chris in the comments). Felicia Day who played the heroine in Whedon’s Dr. Horrible and also had a part in the 13th episode said on Twitter that Fox wasn’t airing it.
Update 3: via James Hibberd:
One might argue that from Fox’s point of view, the entire season order was fulfilled because Whedon reshot the pilot — otherwise the network would have paid for 14 hours instead of 13. Sources also maintain the story in the “Omega” season finale is Whedon’s original vision for how the season would end, so fans watching the show to the very end will not feel as if the storyline was cut short. Except, of course, that there is another episode, whose fate is unknown.
Despite Day’s comment that “Epitaph One” will appear on the DVD, sources say nothing has been decided yet. Unaired episodes do tend to see daylight nowadays between DVD and online streaming, however, so the content will probably surface somewhere provided the studio decides to pay for postproduction.
All parties also insist the network has not cancelled Dollhouse, though obviously the network declining to air an episode isn’t encouraging.
But wait there’s MORE (bonus update from Alan Seppinwall):
Long story short, because this is convoluted: Fox network ordered 13 episodes of the show. Joss Whedon shot a pilot, and then the pilot was scrapped in favor of a new pilot, but for contractual purposes, that unaired pilot counted as part of the 13-episode order — which means Fox only had 12 episodes to deal with. Eight of those have aired, and four more are still to come, all of which have been scheduled, with the last of those — with the very finale-ish title of “Omega” — set to air May 8.
Day’s episode, called “Epitaph One,” was apparently filmed by the studio independent of the agreement — or, at least, independent of what Fox network considers to be in the agreement — and does not seem to be tied in to the story in “Omega.” In other words, if there’s a cliffhanger in “Omega” (and I don’t know if there is), it’s not going to be resolved in “Epitaph One.”
Here are the schedule blurbs for Fridays from FOX, don’t read on if you don’t want any spoilers at all!:
FOX Friday goes into overdrive with back-to-back thrill rides PRISON BREAK and DOLLHOUSE, including the incredible two-hour series finale of PRISON BREAK.
Friday, April 24
PRISON BREAK (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) – “Vs.” – Time Period Premiere
Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) square off; Christina (guest star Kathleen Quinlan) sets her plan in motion; and Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) makes a surprising discovery.
DOLLHOUSE (9:01-10:00 PM ET/PT) – “Haunted”
When Adelle’s (Olivia Williams) wealthy friend mysteriously dies, Echo (Eliza Dushku) is implanted with the friend’s memories and personality in order to solve the murder. Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) looks into Mellie’s (Miracle Laurie) past, and Topher (Fran Kranz) secretly programs Sierra (Dichen Lachman).
Friday, May 1
PRISON BREAK (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) – “S.O.B.”
Michael has an uneasy reunion with Christina, who drops a bombshell regarding Lincoln. While Lincoln runs into Christina’s deadly trap, T-Bag (Robert Knepper) sets out to prove he can become a Company man.
DOLLHOUSE (9:01-10:00 PM ET/PT) – “Briar Rose”
Ballard’s investigation leads him to the agoraphobic designer of the Dollhouse (guest star Alan Tudyk); Echo helps a young girl deal with her traumatic past; Adelle goes to the Attic in search of answers; and Alpha reveals himself to set his end game in motion.
Friday, May 8
PRISON BREAK (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) – “Cowboys & Indians”
Pandemonium erupts at the hotel following an assassination at the global energy conference, and Michael must choose between saving either Sara or Lincoln.
DOLLHOUSE (9:01-10:00 PM ET/PT) – “Omega” – Season Finale
Alpha’s reign of terror continues as his obsession with Echo endangers Caroline’s survival; Ballard must make a life-changing decision; and one Doll is permanently deactivated while another’s shocking past is revealed.
Friday, May 15
PRISON BREAK (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) – “Rate of Exchange” / “Killing Your Number” – Series Finale
Familiar faces return to help Michael end his quest to bring down The Company once and for all.
I just noticed this myself and came here to see if you guys had any additional info… but I guess we’re all in the dark as to what FOX is doing
Let the freaking out begin…
What’s the deal? I thought we were at least assured that we’d get all 13 episodes aired before Fox cancels Dollhouse. Maybe they decided to make the 13th episode a DVD exclusive to juice the sales of this soon to be canceled series?
bonu$ epi$ode for the complete series dvd $et
It’s not like Whedon fans wouldn’t buy the DVD…
It should be noted that the 2-hour ‘Finale’ (episodes 21 and 22) of Prison Break on May 15 is only the FOX finale of the show. The season 4 DVD will be out on June 2nd and will include episodes 23 and 24 which are the series finale.
I believe “Mental” premieres in the 9pm slot on 5/29, so that leaves 5/22 still available.
If that’s true about PB (the finale being on the DVD), is this some new FOX marketing thing where canceled shows have their finales confined to the DVD in order to milk more immediate money from the fans?
According to Spoiler TV all 13 episodes are definitly going to be shown including Epitaph 1 – the finale. But it does say that Prison Break is going to Pre-empt the Dollhouse finale, so maybe it will be shown the following week.
The Prison Break situation is different. FOX only ordered 22 episodes. The production company decided to make two more to give it a proper finale when FOX said they were cancelling it.
Whoops –
Here is the link: http://spoilertv.blogspot.com/2009/03/dollhouse-all-episodes-to-air.html
That last sounds reasonable to me. Again, it’s stupid to break the momentum of the show by having a break between the next to last episode and the last, but there you have the program schedulers, who have nothing whatever to do with the people who produce the show or even the execs who oversee the show – and don’t give a damn.
So the rogue Doll “Alpha” only appears in the last three episodes. We can already guess Mellie’s background from last week’s episode and her dead child.
Kudos to Joss for bringing in Firefly alumni Tudyk! After the brutal way he went out in Serenity, Joss owes him one.
Russell, the post you link to was from last month. The info above is from today (and directly from FOX). I’m not sure about what will happen with the 13th episode, but I am absolutely sure that FOX listed the 12th episode as the season finale, and Dollhouse will definitely not air an episode on May 15, when the 2 hour PB finale occurs.
My suspicion (prediction?) is that they will not air Epitaph One, instead screening it at Comic-Con as promotion for the 7/28 release of the Dollhouse DVD set.
The One, I think something like that is likely. FOX is also producing the show and they’ll likely sell more DVDs if they hold the episode back. Of course that also would mean the show is done, but it has seemed like that since FOX first announced the move to Fridays.
Thinking they might know more, I headed over to Whedonesque.com. They were definitely a couple of hours ahead but as of yet did not have anything definitive.
It sort of hit WHEDONesque right about the time that no one could get ahold of any Fox PR people for clarification, I think.
Perhaps they’re saving Episode 13 for the DVD set…and maybe it will be televised as a sort-of-premiere for Season 2 (we all know it’s coming back regardless of ratings)
Richard Steven Hack says:
“That last sounds reasonable to me.”
So let it be written, so let it be done.
Some good news for Dollhouse fans: the DVD set will contain all 13 episodes, plus the original unaired pilot, and lots of bonus material.
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Dollhouse-Season-1/11651
Ha ha ha! What are whedon fans gonna say to make themselve believe dollhouse is gonna live…
This is total BS. Just air it on a Saturday or something, or into June.
i think that fox is starting to mess up why make us buy the dvd of pb to see the final 2 hours when they should air it on tv i say that you fox should get some new brains to help you pull out of this cause all you have been doing this season is ending high rated shows what you gonna do next seasons end 24 and house just as you did with pb and dh come on fox make a chance
Two more examples of why FOX is the worst broadcast network when it comes to promoting and nurturing its shows. It wasn’t that long ago when FOX was giving the red carpet treatment to PB – what happened? I guess the FOX shows that get the red carpet treatment are American Idol and animations. I luv Prison Break (since season 2) and really like Dollhouse, but I wish for declining ratings for both series.
Question 1: Don’t the execs at FOX realize that the world is in a depression?
Question 2: How much influence does Whedon have over the promotion of Dollhouse?
Whedon has NO influence on the promotion for dollhouse. Fox chooses when to air spots for previews of upcoming episodes for shows. And what kind of question is does FOX realize the economy is bad? Huh?
People will just illegal download the show and fuck over Fox for being idiots yet again. The Fox will come out and say that illegal downloading is a huge issue and it’s not their stupidity that is the real problem.
This doesn’t make any sense – it was only two days ago that Fox pushed back the premiere of Mental by one week. If it wasn’t to squeeze the last episode of Dollhouse in there, then what was the point?
If Dollhouse were getting canceled, wouldn’t they call it a series finale…there’s only a few weeks left, now less becuase of the thirteenth cut, IF it’s real…we’ll just have to wait and see
They wont call it a series finale so they can keep as many viewers as possible. (The 3 million that watch it)
Josh, No, they wouldn’t. Networks rarely announce that a show is canceled.
a said:
“It wasn’t that long ago when FOX was giving the red carpet treatment to PB – what happened?”
Viewers grew tired of it, and everyone realized that it probably would’ve worked better as a miniseries of some sort.
This is my opinion, and for the record I don’t watch Dollhouse:
I think this is fantastic business strategy by Fox. Every one of the however many million people that watch the show will buy this DVD simply for the season finale. They’re going to make a good bit of money off this, and i’m kind of wondering if they’re having a hard time selling ad space for their Friday night block because the ratings are so god awful. Because if they’re struggling to fill that ad time, this is a great way to recoup those losses.
regarding Prison Break episodes 23 / 24 AKA The Gretchen Morgan Files those episodes were not ordered by FOX the tv network they were shot by FOX the production company (that does international sales / dvd sales) episode 22 IS the season 4 finale the two extra episodes are really independent of season 4 they are set later and are mostly about a women’s prison (though the main characters all appear to some degree but Jodi Lyn O’Keefe’s Gretchen will be at the center) i think the production company wanted DVD sales profit / international profit + it also serves as a pilot for a Gretchen Morgan spinoff for other networks (FOX obviously is not interested)
I am curious to know what the 13th episode is like
Is it a cliffhanger or did Joss whedon look at the ratings make it an open ending.
No Josh, they wouldn’t call it a series finale. They generally only do that when a series has been popular and is ending naturally, rather than a single season that failed.
About the best you can spin this would be that the show wasn’t canceled, FOX just didn’t order any more episodes. lol
Since Fox have pushed back MENTAL a week to May 29, does anyone know what Fox will air on May 22?
why you only talk about Dollhouse?
it’s the worst show i see for a long time!
DMM: is it ‘the worst show you see for a long time’? is porn included into your collection little nerd??
DMM watches to little TV. Kudos. It is not the worse in a long time.
Just because this mid-season gave the TV gods gave us Cupid.
13th episode of DollHouse is like the 13th Cylon — in fact …..
terminator is a lot better, and no one seems worried about its end
I think Wheeler might be wrong about the 2 hour finale being on the DVD. This is from the fox site: http://www.foxstore.com/detail.php?item=6304 and it only lists episode 22 as the last episode on the DVD followed by 2 DVD extras.
I don’t think so. I think Dollhouse is much better than Terminator.
Ricardo: say that to tv.com
TSCC: 8,8
Dollhouse: 7,9
i’m wondering if Dollhouse would be this popular if it wasn’t from the creator of Firefly
Im not sure what to make of the extra 2 Prison Break episodes! Il wait and see what happens
Good riddance, Dollhouse.
Cant stand Dollhouse – now if the Dolls turned out to be Cylons and started taking over the Earth, then maybe I might watch it. Tried watching it twice and got bored after 15 minutes.
Whedon hasnt produced anything Id watch since Angel, including the overhyped FIREFLY, a show only a fanboy could love. ANGEL was fairly good, Buffy was ok. But since then? Nothing.
Well, good job i was planning to buy the DVD set anyway.
I’m wondering whether they’ll have two editions, the “Standard Edition DVD set” containing just the 13 episodes, and the “Special Dollhouse Collectors Platinum DVD Set”, costing a little more, containing just Episodes 6 onwards…
Fox must likely going to air the season (series) finale. also the schedule above is wrong bc it has fox airing seven episode of prison break bc it airs two on april 17 and two on may 15 and one on each week in between equaling 7. plus did anyone notice that on fox newest promo commericial it states 5 final episode when clearly it has 6 not including the proper 2 hour series finale that they wont air possibly.
i meant the season (series) finale of dollhouse in my first sentence in my first post. lol
Bad Robot: I agree! but i liked Firefly! Dollhouse is boring!
I read somewhere that the UK will get all 8 ( which inc ep 23 & 24) remaining episodes of Prison Break!
well, terminator is out, wonder when dollhouse will get the axe
[link deleted]
RIP, was a great show.
“well, terminator is out, wonder when dollhouse will get the axe
[link deleted]
RIP, was a great show.”
FYI, that entire blog was shit-kicked into oblivion by multiple and completely reliable sources. The blogger made it all up so she could reap the publicity and get massive hits on her site. TSCC isn’t cancelled… yet.
no it wasn’t, it’s done. Read the comments
Well, this seems odd: http://twitter.com/feliciaday/status/1485047992
Per Felicia Day via Twitter: “Found out my Dollhouse ep, #13 isn’t gonna air. Only on DVD. Such a great part too. Thx Fox.
”
compared to NBC, whose shows seem to die on the table, FOX seems to actively murder theirs. crazy
PB returns on the 17th, not on the 24th
Confirmed by Jed Whedon and Maurissa via thier drhorrible tweet. (They also helped write the episode, I believe). However, this does not surprise me in the least. Fox slipped the “Friday night Death Slot” news before a weekend as well. This time it’s a long weekend with no one in the PR dept. answering anything and to let specultion run amuck.
Dollhouse may not have been everyone’s favorite show but there is no doubt (in my mind, at least)that Fox are devious twats.
Possible Felicia was responding to the Spoiler TV Twitter of this news?
Also confirmed by Live Feed, to whom Fox responded to with a “no comment”.
Well, we can peg this down at reason #117 for Whedon fans to hate FOX. This is just sheer stupidity. How many more people could this actually entice to buy the DVDs that weren’t going to already? So droves of people are going to head out and buy the DVD just for that one episode? How about you air all the episodes and take your poor ratings like a man FOX, instead of doing the asinine, wimpy thing of holding back the last episode. Sales will go up by a whopping 10 DVDs! *rolls eyes*
new update (included above) from Alan Sepinwall sheds more light…
Tim Minear, producer on the show and writer/director of episode 12, has commented on whedonesque on the matter:
“Okay. So maybe I can help clarify this somewhat. Because we scrapped the original pilot — and in fact cannibalized some of its parts for other eps — we really ended up with 12 episodes. But the studio makes DVD and other deals based on the original 13 number. So we created a standalone kind of coda episode. Which is the mythical new episode 13. The network had already paid for 13 episodes, and this included the one they agreed to let us scrap for parts. It does not include the one we made to bring the number back up to 13 for the studio side and its obligations. We always knew it would be for the DVD for sure, but we also think Fox should air it because it’s awesome.”
Based on Tim Minnear’s comments and those at E! Online, it looks like Epitaph One (the “13th episode”) was always intended as a boost for DVD sales, they were just hoping that Fox would also decide to air it.
And looking at the cast list, there’s a lot of guessing going on that it involves for the first time Dolls from one of the other Dollhouses as well. And it’s been described by Minnear and others as a “standalone episode.”
So it may be that, plotwise, it’s a bonus feature set in the same universe, sort of like the ewoks Christmas special.
If Dollhouse had been going great, Fox would probably have been happy to show it. If Fox hasn’t made up its mind about S2 yet, no harm, no foul–they can tie up S1 with a good episode (Omega), Epitaph One can help boost S1 DVD sales and they can go on with a S2 if they like.
Prison Break : The Final Break
The shocking series conclusion was just the beginning. Secrets revealed and mysteries solved. The truth will blow you away.
Available on both DVD and high-def Blu-ray Disc starting July 21st, this 88-minute feature will put the exclamation point at the end of a four-year-long
This is a convoluted situation.
From what I can see Fox Studios and/or the Dollhouse production team were obligated to shoot 13 episodes because that’s the DVD license that’s been sold and that’s the season that was/is being sold to international markets. Meanwhile Fox when they picked the show up agreed to finance 13 episodes, which when you included the aborted pilot they’ve done. As it was either Fox’s decision to abort the pilot (or at the very least they agreed to it) its included in their original 13 episode order.
The problem arises in that because a new pilot was shot and aspects of the old pilot have since been incorporated into later episodes it can’t be sold as part of the 13 episode season that Fox Studios have sold elsewhere. So Fox Studios had to produce a 13th episode to meet their obligations to international markets and the DVD distribution. But because Fox (the network) aren’t obligated to finance the episode and aren’t committed to airing it (as far as they’re concerned they already have their 13 episode order) the decision is made to make it a standalone episode that has no real impact on the show as a whole.
Episode 13 does however become important for Dollhouse fans now because it gives a fairly clear indication about how Fox feels about the show. If they air this 13th episode they’ll have to pay a fee of some kind for it (because for them it will actually be a 14th episode, one more than they originally paid for). The fact that Fox don’t seem overly keen to air it suggests that they aren’t overly keen on the shows numbers.
Alex, I believe that is the reasonable conclusion. That is my conclusion. But that won’t stop all the “will they/won’t they” between now and FOX’s upfront. If FOX announces cancellation sooner, I’ll consider that just as much of a miracle as if the show is renewed.
That actually makes sense, nice work everyone
It all makes sense, except for the fact that Reilly was quoted by everyone at the TCAs saying, “we’re going to let the show play out for 13 episodes and hopefully it will catch on.” Not 12. 13.
http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/01/fox-executive-session-kevin-reilly.html
All this talk of 13 this, and 14 that is just a rather hapless attempt at obscuring the actual issue. When Reilly made that statement, the network probably had every intention of popping for the 13th/14th episode. But then, Dollhouse didn’t exactly “catch on.” And after watching the show get its ass handed to it by frickin Supernanny week after week, the network exercised the option not to pay for that last episode to pull a couple bucks back out of the sinkhole.
Sparx, assuming that it all goes down the way it’s currently lined-up, I’d add to that for FOX as a whole, it makes sense to do it the way they are doing it if the show isn’t coming back. Sure, Fox Broadcasting will forego extra fees of paying for a “fourteenth” episode, but Fox Studios will also likely sell more DVDs as a result of that episode never airing. Net of everything, that might be the better fiscal move for the News Corp mothership.
SparkX makes a point, but I’d also caution that relying on what the Fox exec said as being accurate in the number is perhaps risky. He might have said 13 knowing they paid for 13, but ignored the mixup with reusing the first pilot in other episodes and then creating a new 13th episode. Rather than explain all that, he may have just used “13″ to mean “all the episodes we intend to air”.
Spartx I don’t think many people are burying their head in the sands regarding Fox not being keen to pick up the new 13th episode and it being a bad sign for the shows future. However its worth pointing out that Fox haven’t ‘cut’ the 13th episode, they never picked it up. The space is there in the schedule for them to air it (if Dollhouse improves) but I don’t think they’re going to.
I’ll throw in what I’ve heard:
FOX is considering renewing DOLLHOUSE. They haven’t bought the episode Epitaph One yet. The episode is not a finale (technically the 12th episode is) and is considered “stand alone.” So FOX is considering buying it for the second season as part of another 13 episode order.
If they renew the show it will be the season 2 premier. If they don’t it will just be on the DVD set.
The show has not been canceled. It is still technically on the bubble.
“I’ll throw in what I’ve heard:
FOX is considering renewing DOLLHOUSE. They haven’t bought the episode Epitaph One yet. The episode is not a finale (technically the 12th episode is) and is considered “stand alone.” So FOX is considering buying it for the second season as part of another 13 episode order.”
Seriously? I doubt it.
I’m not buying a DVD box set for one episode. No thanks.
It’s a somewhat entertaining show, but I don’t see myself watching them more than once.
*SPOILER* From Kristin (and she’s unreliable a lot, but this feels accurate.) A source whispers to me that “Epitaph One”’s a totally non-finale-ish stand-alone episode, and—here’s the crazy part—it’s apparently set in the future, after the apocalypse, amidst total anarchy *SPOILER*
just FYI, that was from Kristin’s site, but she’s on maternity leave (a baby boy!) and I think that post was from the hard working Jennifer Godwin.
@Bad Robot !
Funny how you say something stupid about Firefly to many people, including those who didn’t know who Joss Whedon is and didn’t care for sci-fi, and they’ve all loved it.
And some were girls.
So, yeah, I think it’s more a problem with you than with the show.
There’s an “apocalypse” in Dollhouse? Where has that been telegraphed? Is Whedon channeling Friedman now?
By the way, saw tonight’s episode, It was about as well done as episode 6 – quite good, actually. Best part was the emphasis on Adelle DeWitt, my favorite character on the show. She got to play “hottie” more than usual.
And the fight between Echo and DeWitt’s chief of security was cool.
http://www.tv.com/story/13828.html?tag=hotspot;gumball;1
Here you are, the reason, and the what.
Episode 12 is designed to be the season finale, the 13th episode is a stand alone episode ordered in the 13 episodes.
Fox feeled like they didn’t had to release the 13th episode
i’m a huge Whedon fan an i personally think dollhouse is missing the “it” factor bit i still watch it’s very original but written, well i won’t say it bad but it is like plain bread…. u catch my drift. I does have more staying power than prison break, i mean how long does it take to break out of any prison, last i saw it wasn’t Alcatraz. Oh well, guess i’ll just watch and see. Like i have any choice in the matter. Hey fox you guys get stuck? e-mail me i’ll help.