Shall it go now?: "Dollhouse" reportedly canceled

As you may have heard, Fox has reportedly opted not to renew its fine, but abysmally rated, drama "Dollhouse" for a third season. The series will finish out the 13 episodes of its second season, with the last episode reportedly slated to air Jan. 22 (according to the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan).
Well, it's not a tremendous shock, is it? Everyone and his mother has been reporting how crummy the show's ratings are, and Fox pulled the series off the air for November sweeps (it returns Dec. 4). But it's a shame nonetheless, because "Dollhouse" has really hit its stride creatively this season.
"Dollhouse," as fans know, is about a company that provides "dolls" (human beings imprinted with customized personalities) to wealthy clients for everything from sexual encounters to philanthropic pursuits. One "doll," called Echo (Eliza Dushku), is slowly discovering traces of her true identity, and the Dollhouse itself is under attack from a crusading politician. That's a pretty basic description of what's come to be a very a complex show.
Though the series, created by "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" mastermind Joss Whedon, started slow, it's matured into one of the most fascinating shows on TV. The last episode aired before the pre-sweeps yanking was the excellent "Belonging," which showed us how Echo's fellow doll Sierra (Dichen Lachman)came to the Dollhouse. It was everything good TV should be -- emotional, exciting and quietly devastating. If the remainder of the season's episodes are anywhere near as good, well, I'll just be grateful that Fox has agreed to air the whole second season.
But I'll miss it. A lot.