"Dollhouse" took the character Sierra (Dichen Lachman, L) to dark places in "Belonging," which aired on Oct. 23. (©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Adam Taylor/FOX)

It’s a good news/bad news kind of announcement: Fox is canceling “Dollhouse.” In spite of storytelling that picked up in the last half of season one, the show’s ratings have been poor, even with DVR results factored in. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone. As if reports that Joss Whedon would be treating the season finale as a series finale weren’t enough, the show went on hiatus during November sweeps — presumably so it wouldn’t pull down Fox’s average.  The good news (if you’re a “Dollhouse” fan) is that the network plans to air all 13 episodes of the second season after the show returns from its hiatus.

In a way, I’m glad that Fox has decided to cancel the show. Some of our water cooler talk about “Dollhouse” has brought up on the idea that the show’s scope and structure can’t really hold up over the long term. This is especially true in light of “Epitaph One,” the unaired 13^th episode of the first season. It was, at that point, the best thing to come out of the show. But seeing a glimpse of a TV show’s future puts some limits on where it can go and how long it can take to get there. (That’s also why I’m having trouble staying interested in “FlashForward.”)

At the same time, there have been some really interesting things going on with “Dollhouse” this season. “Belonging,” the last episode to air pre-hiatus, took the show into some really tricky and complex moral territory. And, unlike the series’ first episodes, which drew the ire of critics who called it anti-feminist, it showed some clear consequences to immoral actions. My hope is that the nine episodes left to go will follow this trajectory.

And, if you’re sad about “Dollhouse” but are a fan of show choir, you’ll be glad to know that Whedon has signed on to direct an episode of “Glee.”

More at HowStuffWorks.com:
Is “Dollhouse” anti-feminist?
“Epitaph One”: Revisiting Feminism in “Dollhouse”
How do television ratings work?
Who puts together a television network schedule?
How TV Production Works