Writer-producer Joss Whedon told SCIFI Wire that he hadn’t yet considered how his upcoming Fox SF series Dollhouse will be affected by the network’s decision to air episodes with far fewer commercials and in-house promos than most shows.
Dollhouse and J.J. Abrams’ in-the-works Fringe are both part of Fox’s Remote-Free TV experiment, which is designed to deter viewers from reaching for the remote control.
One unforeseen consequence: Producers will need to deliver extra minutes in each episode for its initial broadcast, then cut those minutes for the episode’s reruns, which will presumably carry more commercial interruptions.
“That’s a good point,” Whedon said when asked about it in New York last week at Fox’s upfront presentation to advertisers. “They didn’t bring up the repeats. But we have always had to cut out a couple of minutes for repeats. That’s always been the way. I don’t really deal with that that much. But they’ve also said, ‘We want longer versions for the DVD.’ So, ultimately, I tend to shoot long. Our shows tend to go long. Some come in short. It will happen. But generally they go long. So this just means a little less heartache in the editing room.”
