Why Isn’t Dollhouse A Bigger Hit?

Fox decided to pull Dollhouse from the schedule during November sweeps, choosing to air reruns of House in that timeslot instead. What does Fox see as a result? A 62% increase in ratings. With a rerun. (The rerun also trumped ratings for new episodes of Brothers and ‘Til Death, but I don’t watch them so I don’t really care.)

I really like Dollhouse and think this season has been promising so far with some excellent guest casting and intriguing stories. The timeslot is a problem for me, but I DVR it and watch it over the weekend along with my other Friday night shows like Psych and Ugly Betty. Fox seems to be one of the few networks who thinks DVRing is a good thing, and I’m not a Nielsen family, so I don’t feel guilty about it. I’ve had the opportunity to sit in on conference calls with Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku, saw them and other show folks at Comic Con, and they all seem like nice people with loads of talent. So what’s the deal? Why isn’t the show a bigger hit? I don’t have the answers, but I have some possibilities.

1. The Fox/Whedon Combo: are fans of Firefly scared to trust Fox with Joss Whedon’s new creation? Fox gave Dollhouse a second season in a move that even surprised Whedon considering season 1’s low ratings. With a vote of confidence like that, shouldn’t Whedon’s fans be willing to have faith in Fox?

2. Darker Content: Dollhouse is arguably Whedon’s darkest series yet, although every series he’s created is rooted in a disturbing foundation (vampires and demons abound, The Man wants to experiment on anyone with special aiblities, aliens want to wear your skin, etc.). Dollhouse does have the least amount of humor, however. Do we need that levity to make the show accessible?

3. The Fan Campaign: months before Dollhouse premiered on Fox, a fan campaign to save the show sprouted up online. It was an innovative idea, attempting to rally the fans before the show was actually in danger, but did it have the reverse affect? If the idea is already planted that the show is in danger, will potential viewers simply decide not to waste their time and opt not to tune in at all?

What do you think? Is it the network? The content? The fans? What gives?