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As I cruise the 'net, I hear a familiar cry carrying from site to site - "Burn in Hell Fox!"

This particular cry has been seen and heard for two decades, uttered by genre fans for perceived unfair treatment their favorite shows have received at the network. Fox has been blamed for the cancellation and ruination of many genre-related series for as long as the network has been in existence.

And yes, they have canceled many series, failed to renew many more, and micromanaged shows into pale copies of their original selves. But that was the Fox of old. The executives who mishandled "Firefly," for example, are no longer with the network. The time an exec stays with a network is like the lifetime of a mosquito, very short.

The latest series to cause fans to scream for the damnation of the network is, of course, "Dollhouse." Announced before the writer's strike of 2008, it premiered in Spring 2009 to decent ratings, which dropped off quickly. Those early episodes may be the only real fault Fox can take in "Dollhouse's" problems.

From the beginning, the network and producers had different ideas about what the show was, and like any good producer, the show was adjusted to fit the network's ideas. Standalone episodes were produced, which turned off many viewers looking for a bit more from producer Joss Whedon.

After six or so episodes, Whedon and his staff began producing the show they envisioned, and the show we got was better for it.

"Dollhouse" has always been a "bubble" show, and when it came time for Fox to announce their fall schedule last spring, many were surprised to find "Dollhouse" has been renewed. The show’s ratings were worse than "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," which was canceled. By the way, "Sarah Connor" had two seasons to make its mark, and never drew an audience necessary to cover its cost.

"Dollhouse" premiered to poor ratings in the 2009 season, and has slid lower with each episode aired. Even stacking the show with genre favorite guest stars like Jamie Bamber, Alexis Denisof and Michael Hogan didn’t help. Perhaps new addition Summer Glau will be of more help to the floundering series.

Fox has given "Dollhouse" every chance to survive, but the truth of the matter is simple: the audience didn’t follow the show to Friday nights, and has been decreasing steadily. As much as I am enjoying aspects of the show, as a whole, it’s not delivering.

Fox has been bringing viewers interesting genre shows for years now, and I look forward to their next show, because "Dollhouse" is on its way out. Only a miracle called huge ratings can save it now.

Development Watch

While genre programming doesn’t appear to be successful on network television, they keep on trying. Three new shows are in development or in our future.

The first of which is the space-themed "Plymouth Rock," from Rob Thomas, writer and producer of "Veronica Mars." Thomas is set to executive produce along with Danielle Stokdyk, Jennifer Gwartz and Dan Etheridge.

The show centers on a group of “young people on a ship traveling to a distant planet in order to colonize and save the human race.“

Next is "Nola," from writer Diane Ademu-John of "Medium." The show “revolves around a down-on-his-luck private investigator and a charismatic ex-con capable of being inhabited by ghosts who become unlikely partners to help solve the problems of New Orleans citizens, living or dead.”

The show has Teri Weinberg in the executive producer seat through her company Yellow Brick Road. Ademu-John and Alex Hertzberg are co-executive producers.

Syfy is bringing an American version of the BBC hit "Being Human." Syfy placed a 13-episode order of the series, which “revolves around three twenty-something roommates -- who happen to be a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf -- as they help one another navigate the complexities of living double lives.”

The original series was produced by Touchpaper TV, a subsidiary of U.S. producer RDF Media USA. Its success on BBC Three earned it a renewal on main network BBC.