As well as the cancellation of two shows I don’t think anybody much cares about - Hank and Eastwick - today has also seen the axe fall on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. Inevitable? Maybe. A shame? Of course… but that’s not to say the series hasn’t let us down, time and again.

There will have been two seasons of thirteen episodes a piece screened by the time the series goes off air for the final time, which together make up 26 of the show’s chapters, the 27th centre piece chapter being a special, DVD only installment that has perversely managed to be the best of the lot so far. Had everything been as great as that episode, the instant fan favourite Epitaph 1, I think there would be fists flying right now. Instead, there’s just a muted wave of civil disobedience in cyberspace with a surge of commentary on Twitter, Facebook and the like.

What will fans be stuffing into envelopes and mailing to the Fox suits, do you reckon? Dolls? Or maybe they’ll not bother, because I don’t think anybody can really believe there’s any chance of bringing this one back from the dead.

Hollywood Reporter seemed to get the news out first with this promise of closure:

The sci-fi series, which is filming episode 11, is expected to finish its 13-episode order. Whedon is said to be on board and plans to give the show a proper ending with a big finale.

I fear that Whedon and co. trying to seque into their endgame in just two episodes could leave the wrap-up feeling a little bumpy. All the same, it’s a better option than sudden silence and plot threads flapping in the wind.

HitFix have published a tentative schedule for the airing of the remaining episodes which would have the finale screening on January 22nd.

Here are some of my favourite responses from the Twittersphere so far:

@syfy: Looks like Fox finally canceled Dollhouse. (No, I don’t think we’ll pick it up.)

@stayingin: Least surprising news ever.

@RoushTVGuideMag: We’ll always have Epitaph One. (On DVD, not on Fox.)

@jennifergodwin: Contrarian POV: Fans should not attempt to save #Dollhouse but instead push Enver Gjokaj, Dichen Lachmann, etc for new, better jobs.

@IMDbTV Completely agree w/ @Memles: As much as I admired Dollhouse, I easily shift my interest to seeing what Whedon does next.

My hunch is “what Whedon does next” won’t be on TV, and I don’t just mean the Dr. Horrible sequel. Picture this: Whedon and the internetz running towards each other on a sunset beach, in slow-motion and with Erc Satie playing in the background. It’s a match made in heaven…

Update: Over at Whedonesque, Joss’ official statement finds him looking forwards, not backwards. He says:

By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is.

There’s at least silver lining.