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 PTG Episode 68 [67:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Originally posted at PrimeTimeGeek.com

PTG Episode 68 is brought to you by bitter cynicism. After all, what else are we Joss Whedon fans supposed to feel when it comes to FOX continuing to screw him (and us) over? By now, you’ve probably heard the news first brought to us Wednesday by Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello, that FOX announced it was canceling Dollhouse, choosing to air its remaining episodes and then let the show go, rather than picking up the “back 9″ episodes in order to complete the season. Along with the finality that comes from knowing the end is definitely in sight, here’s what else we know:

• eight episodes remain unaired, and those will begin airing in December, following the November sweeps period. Throughout December, episodes will air in back-to-back two-hour blocks, then air as single episodes through January;

• Before the cancellation of the series became official, Whedon told TV Guide that Episode 13 would be written as a series finale, reminding everyone that doing so was not out of the ordinary for him: “People forget but I did this every year with Buffy. That’s just insurance. I didn’t do it with Firefly and look what happened. I went mad as a March hare and made a movie.”;

• In the same interview, Whedon revealed that both Alan Tudyk (Alpha), Amy Acker (Dr. Saunders), and Felicia Day (who appeared in the unaired “Epitaph One” episode) would be returning before the big finale.

So there’s lots to look forward to as we near the end of Dollhouse’s journey, and it remains to be seen whether it will join Firefly as a series where we wonder about “what might have been” had it been allowed to continue. By December I’m sure I’ll feel more optimistic and positive about what we’re getting. But right now, despite the fact that it isn’t much of a surprise, well, to say it’s a disappointment is a massive understatement. As for Joss himself, he had this to say on his blog at Whedonesque.com:

I don’t have a lot to say. I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.

I’m off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I’ve read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear.

Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again. -j.

In this episode we talk about the end of something else that may or may not be near and dear to your hearts. Lots of lots of Blockbuster stores will be closing over the next year, as the irresistible force of change led by Netflix and Redbox drive the once-mighty brick-and-mortar video rental chain into irrelevance and extinction. Blockbuster was a big part of my life for a very long time, so as you might imagine, I have a lot to say about its slow demise. Also, we bring you Flash TV Reviews of Heroes, FlashForward, and the premiere episode of the new V series, which packs a whole heckuva lot into one hour of television to get us primed for a full season of alien invasion resistance. We wrap up the hour with last week’s top comic picks from Marvel, including new issues of Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America Reborn, and the new limited series focused on long-time X-Men fan-favorite Psylocke. Enjoy!