“rightly or wrongly, Fox has become infamous for canceling shows before they’ve hit their stride”

There are two possible responses to this; first is that “hitting the stride” is what the pilot is for; second is that shows shouldn’t demand that we as viewers nor producers of studios wait around while they “hit their stride.” Both boil down to the fact that strides should be hit as soon as the gun goes off.

“To put it another way, if you can look at anything from the first few seasons and NOT come to the conclusion that House and Wilson are married, I don’t know what show you’re watching.”

I don’t know what show you managed to watch, but the first season of “House” involved no wedding between House and Wilson, nor even their cohabitation, dating, or hanky-panky. This is because, of course, they’re not actually married. You can find a box-set of the first season on Amazon pretty cheap; I suggest you rewatch it, and this time make sure you’ve got the right show.

To respond more seriously: one could make an extra-textual argument to the effect, but it would be remarkably less effective than the argument that their close relationship is a deliberate allusion to the two literary characters they are so closely based on as to quite nearly share their names, Holmes and Watson.

“Sadly, for all its flaws, Dollhouse was still probably the best genre show on TV this season (obviously Lost not airing makes a difference here).”

That’d be “Supernatural,” which has become nearly Shakespearean in how good it has remained over the course of five seasons-as-acts, barring some very notable examples of hitting the wrong notes. Other great genre shows: the aforementioned “House” (mystery disguised as medical drama) and “Castle” (crime).

“There’s more to what qualifies a text as “genre” than simply a cursory, “are there spaceships, yes or no” evaluation of its content.”

This is just a quote I agreed with. As well as much of the rest of the post to which it belongs. It’s why, having only experienced David Tennant as the Doctor, “Doctor Who” doesn’t play as science fiction for me, mainly because there’s no actual science in it (“time goes wibbly-wobbly” doesn’t count as science); it’s just a time machine effectively used to tell stories that are generally more dramatic/action-adventure-oriented than its ostensible genre belies.

In fact, I’d say that when most regular people think “fanfic”, they think sex

I usually think, “How the fuck did I end up here? Where’s the back button?! Ahhhhh!”

What DOLLHOUSE ran into was that it was, as said above, a creepy premise, and characters who were all on one level or another morally compromised. There was no safety/comfort element, no nice baseline from which creepy shit could then happen. I enjoyed it, but there was no way it was gonna go mainstream.

You make an interesting point. But I really think what puts this show at risk is the fact that it’s only available to a limited audience (Canadians, Soapnet watchers) and not that it’s secretly a science fiction targeted at women.

The “flip” side of fanfics — exploring, ahem, “character interactions” — has been well-known for a long time. In fact, I’d say that when most regular people think “fanfic”, they think sex, a la the famous Kirk and Spock fics that started it all. It’s not a completely balanced representation of fanfics, but it’s a little seedy, so it sticks in people’s minds.

So I’m not sure your explanation applies to MGK’s expression of horror. I’m fairly sure he’s more referring to the fact that many women out there can publicly share wildly elaborate, intense sexual fantasies about Hugh Laurie — something that many regular dudes just do not understand. That includes my boyfriend (“But he’s so old!”).

“However, most of the House fanfic I’ve read has involved little to no actual medical practice.”

Teehee. I must admit I’d kind of smile and think, “Aw, how cute” if someone told me that was what they were expecting when they opened a House fanfic.