Whedon's Dollhouse

Joss "don't call me Josh" Whedon is premiering a new TV show, Dollhouse with the delectable Eliza Dushku (Faith from Buffy). (I liked her show Tru Calling).

I thought at first that this would be another web-only show like Dr. Horrible, but it's real TV. (!)

Funny enough, I had just been thinking about something, because I got a note on YouTube that LisaNova has a new webisode up: I realized that even with creators I greatly admire, I'm not all that likely to be very interested in video shows made just for the web, meaning made on a shoe-string budget.

I'm not saying great shows can't be made that way, but I'm not sure I have yet seen any. Not ones that are consistently watchable anyway. It's usually something filmed poorly in somebody's back yard, with cheap-ass customes and so on. Making a good film or show takes a lot of talent, work, and money. And if the money is missing, you have to make up for it with even more work and talent. So, not easy!

Of course this doesn't change the fact that digital production and distribution has made the entry level far lower than ever before, and that's wonderful. And I think it's only a matter of time before we see really professionally produced shows and films made primarily for Net distribution. I see no reason something has to have a TV or DVD release in order to be commercially successful, except that the bandwidth needed for Net distribution is a very new event yet, and the interface and mentality for it are very shaky yet.