Dollhouse: hit or miss on DVD?

Increasingly, it's not just a TV show's performance in the ratings that affects its longevity, but the success of its DVD sales. That's what brought Family Guy and Futurama back to our screens, after all. Dollhouse already got a reprieve from cancellation because of its PVR and iTunes success, so I'm sure the suits are keeping an eye on how Joss Whedon's show has sold on DVD and Blu-ray...

The answer is: not that great. Dollhouse Season 1 was top of Amazon.com's pre-order list, but upon release it had to settle for second place in the week's best-sellers TV chart. It was beaten by the second part of Battlestar Galactica's final season box-set. BSG made $5.5 million by selling 173,000 units, whereas Dollhouse made $1.8 million with 67,000 box-sets sold.

It's not a disastrous flop, but it's another sign that Dollhouse's popularity perhaps isn't as strong as its fans like to think. And if season 2 underperforms this year, nobody can point to the DVD sales as a valid reason for Fox to continue its investment. The fact Dollhouse's box-set also included a well-publicized "missing episode" not broadcast in the US, only added to the disappointment. I can't remember another time when a box-set had such a superb reason for those who had SEEN it to make a purchase. Or did the fans just torrent that episode weeks ago?