The Dollhouse Uncertainty Principle and ep. 6 Ratings/Deathwatch Update

As some people might already know, I've been struggling with "Dollhouse" for some time. Let me be clear, I'm not talking about the quality of acting, writing, sets, editing, music, or any other creative part of the thing....not at the moment anyway. That's not the largest issue for me. Much like not knowing what's good/bad, real/unreal in the show, I'm having an issue with what's good/bad, real/unreal outside of the show. I don't know what I feel as I've been overly influenced. I'm talking about being a part of the Cult of Whedon and it's unsavory effects on my psyche. I'm talking about the Dollhouse Uncertainty Principle.

Unofficial 4th blogger Ryan and I talked a little quantum physics earlier today. He was explaining Schrödinger's cat and long story short, I, of course, brought it back to Whedonville. I'm sorry Ry, but to be fair...you were right there with me. And it was then that I realized maybe I could speak about Dollhouse on this blog again. All you Whedon fans out there are likely suffering the same disorder I am and may not even realize it.

Before the "Dollhouse" hype machine started we only had Schroedinger's Dollhouse which made it both a great show and a terrible show at the same time. Anything was possible and we were unaware. Then, stories of Gouda Pizza-induced brainstorming sessions in fancy Hollywood eateries, Eliza Dushku's Fox deal, casting, network problems, re-written pilots and everything else we learned, not to mention simply being Whedon-addicts, started to confuse us. Was this actually an already flimsy plot thought up on a whim and made even more forced because of network interference or is it the usual Whedon genius?

We will never know the answer to that question because now that "Dollhouse" is out we are faced with Heisenberg's Dollhouse a.k.a the Dollhouse Uncertainty Principal. This means we can never tell whether it's great or terrible because the measuring changes the outcome. Technically, this is a double Heisenberg because some people who might normally love it now dislike it only because they know too much about behind the scenes, spoilers, etc. - while other people who wouldn't normally watch it at all because they think it sucks subconsciously feel they need to love it anyway because they are a part of the Cult of Whedon. I have no idea which camp I'm in. I'll never know.

There is no way of measuring ratings that can determine the quality of the show and none of us can be certain as to why we like or dislike it. We are all tainted. If we went back in time and never learned a thing about Whedon and stumbled upon this show on a Friday night because we loved "Connor Chronicles" and watched what followed, then we can form an untainted opinion.

Actually, that's a great segue into Connor Chron. I love that show. A lot. I know I love it and there is no confused feeling. There is no SCC Uncertainty Principle. It's really a great feeling. Unfortunately, that feeling is followed by a feeling of doom due to its impending cancellation (Note from Ryan: A Sarah Connor Uncertainty Principle probably exists for long time fans of the Terminator franchise, of which Tara is not. This is not to be confused with the Terminator Uncertainty Principle, which is a theory about whether time-traveling robots can change the future).

Next time, Ryan and I plan on discussing Bell's Theorem where the shows Buffy and Angel are always connected in quality and cannot be separated. But that's next time.

In the mean, "Dollhouse" scored a 2.6/5 in the ratings to move FOX ahead of NBC this past Friday night with overly promoted episode 6: Man on the Street, though it's viewership was actually down from last week. Here's the updated Dollhouse Death Watch.

And the optimism continues! If next week's ep actually airs (which seems almost certain) then Bitsy's group is out and it's down to Michelle vs. Me (the realists versus the delusionals!)

If you want to share an opinion of what you think is Dollhouse's fate and be added to the list above, see the following options and leave your choice of group in the comments:

Bitsy's Group (the S&M hard-core skeptics) - who's sure Dollhouse will not even make it to the 7th episode. (next week's ep!)

Tara's Group (the bitter realists) - thinks FOX will show all 13 episodes ordered, but will then cancel it and thus, Dollhouse will not make it to season 2. What can I say? We're jaded.


Michelle's Group (the starry-eyed optimists) - who believe that Dollhouse will show all episodes and even get renewed for a second season.