#9 is awesome. Some gilmore-fication of Gossip Girl would be amazing. Make it happen tv people!

I'd love to see Rob Thomas replace Hart Hanson over at Bones. Thomas knows how to make a snappy female protagonist likeable (Hi, Veronica Mars!), he knows (vaguely) how to write for characters in a relationship, and more importantly, he can write an overarcing seasonlong mystery without stomping on the characterization of everything that moves.

Dollhouse sucks ass. Whedon should make another new series. Or continue BUFFY!

Castle is great just like it is. I hope for many more Castle episodes!

1. JJ Abrams is the most overrated metteur en scene out there in my opinion. Some of his stuff (I use the term his advisedly since most of what he does are genre retreads and TV remakes) does make money (apparently) and that is all that matters in a world where art equals commerce,

2. Dollhouse, again imo, is perhaps Whedon's most interesting work yet with all its Hitchcockian complicity. It is certainly his most Hitchcockian work to date. He has made this his own. He has this wonderful ability to take Anthony Mann, Hitchcock, Shakespeare, Sondhem, etc,. and make it Joss. Abrams, on the other hand, is simply a cypher of all he rips off.

I'd love to Russell T. Davies take on Smallville. Wake up the mythology and bring back Lex and the Clex.

I like the Ron Moore suggestion on Smallville, but I just don't get the J. J. Abrams worship. Whedon's worst show is better than Abrams's best (unless you count Lost, on which Abrams barely worked).

Look at it another way. How many academic articles, books, and conferences have been held on shows by J. J. Abrams? Answer: Virtually none. (Again, unless you count Lost. But even then there isn't that much). How many academic essays, books, and conferences on Whedon shows? Almost countless. There are, in fact, more academic works on Buffy than any other TV series ever. Maybe more than the next 2 or 3 shows combined. The point is that there is a depth to Whedon's work completely lacking in Abrams. I like Abrams; I am entranced by Whedon.

JJ Abrams is the most overrated, mainstream pandering showrunner in history. His shows are all shallow tripe and emotionally manipulative and hollow. I can't stand the mysogyinistic portrayal of women in all his shows. Falling head over heels for the "hot and sexy" and totally bland male protagonists.

I think Dollhouse is kind of average overall, but it obliterates any of Abrams awful dramas in quality and thematic depth. JJ would turn it into another dumb as bricks mythology drama with no semblance of good character writing.

Suggesting Aaron Sorkin take over The Office is just retarded, so why not go FULL retard and suggest he run 30 Rock?

I wonder if you noticed that Dollhouse is about emotional resonance, and character morality and a deep philosophical conflict in the Dollhouse itself. JJ Abrams makes great conspiracies and stories that aren't about character, but about mythology. Why you think that would serve Dollhouse better is beyond me.

Also, just because a Showrunner did one thing on one show doesn't mean he will do the same on another... Ron Moore did something different on DS9 and Voyager and Carnivale than he did on Battlestar Galactica or will on Caprica. Stretch your mind a bit.

Moving Shonda over to "Ghost Whisperer" sounds good. While we're at it, I'd replace her on "Grey's Anatomy" with Aaron Sorkin, rather than send him to "The Office".

I couldn't disagree with MsFeasance more! Who in the H.E Double Hockey Sticks is Rob Thomas? Isn't he the singer of some lame band? Bones is perfect the way it is! Did you happen to see "Double Trouble in the Panhandle"? Maybe Hart Hanson could take over Castle instead. The show deserves better than what it's got. I really do love Castle, it's like an extra episode of Bones each week with added Super Bonus: Nathan Fillion. Besides, we need to keep Joss where he is. JJ Abrams may have brought Trek back to life but is still no replacment for Joss. Not even close.

The reason Dollhouse has been all sucky is because Eliza Dushku is one of the producers. Also, she can't act. Nothing to do with Joss.

Who is J.J. Abrams?

Apart from the unoriginal piling-on aspect of #1 given all the death-match articles in recent days, the list is actually quite funny.

The reboot of Fringe in its finale makes its season 2 opener a must-see for me. I hadn't seen much to recommend the show until then. Dollhouse rose from the ashes four incredible times in its twelve episode run, and if the end is an indication of what's to come, I'm a lock for that one too.

Everybody should check out Veronica Mars during the summer break. You'll be hooked by episode three.

I agree with the Send JJ to Dollhouse crowd. I'm a Buffy-loving Browncoat, but I've really tried, and I really hate that show, and I have a suspicion that most of its male viewers (and some female) probably watch it with the sound turned down and a bottle of lotion close by.

Abrams could only help.

Meanwhile, I love Castle - it's not Macbeth, but it's fun and funny, with great characters and talented players. Would I love to see it 'Whedonized?' Maybe for one episode. With an option for more.

I agree with the previous posters that Abrams in for Whedon is a joke. Abrams has never successfully finished a show - they all turn to shit in the end. (Not counting Lost here, a show with which he hasn't been creatively involved since the first season) He starts out with a good idea, makes it palatable for the masses (which is fine, he's been successful, and good on him for it but Two and a Half Men is successful - doesn't mean it's good), but has no idea of what makes good, long-term storytelling. Alias turned into the quest for the next Rambaldi device, which led to the next Rambaldi device, which led to the next Rambaldi device... that's not storytelling, that's running in place. And it's funny you should mention his pathetic attempts at comedy. Whedon seamlessly blends comedy into his shows, coming from all characters and based on the emotional and historical situation of the characters. Abrams inserts one character that's quirky and that's his funny? Oh look, Walter's talking about food again! So funny!

Sorry, but the comparison is frustrating. You're basic argument is "successful is better." The Wire wasn't nearly as successful as CSI: Miami, I guess David Simon should be replaced by whoever runs that pile of &*%#.

Although I will agree with Beth that Whedon's show do not have mass appeal and he's better suited to smaller networks or cable. Whedon on HBO or Showtime? Yes please!

Whoops, sorry about the double post.

Also, Cathy F - hilarious! Yes Rob Thomas is the name of the band member, but the one discussed here was the showrunner for Veronica Mars. Not that I'm arguing he should run Bones (I don't watch it, although I know many people who love it the way it is). But check out Veronica Mars this summer - it is so amazing - and you may start to appreciate the Thomas love.

Meh. I'm a fan of Joss, however I think Dollhouse is his weakest project to date. Even talented people can suffer creative failures.

That said, at least Dollhouse is an *interesting* failure, with potential to actually become good in a second season.

I find J.J. shows to be mildly entertaining, but I've never become emotionally invested in any of them. Sure he could turn Dollhouse into a fun action show, but that's not what it was designed to be. I don't think Joss has given the show the depth it needs, but if J.J. were in charge, it would become even shallower.

I don't get the Whedon/J.J. comparisons. They both work in genre television, dabble in screen writing, and have large fanbases. That's it. Their styles and approaches to show-running are wildly different. Joss is more concerned with creating interesting characters and deep, long-form plotting, while J.J. seems to enjoy action-and-plot driven shows that are fun but don't really say much. There's nothing wrong with shows like that, except there seems to be an undercurrent that runs through his shows that suggests we're supposed take them more seriously. I find a better comparison to be J.J. and Chris Carter, in that both can create decent entertainment so long as they keep things simple. Neither can sustain anything complicated without it devolving into a retcon/abandon-characters-in-favor-of-plotting/make-it-up-as-we-go mess.

Sorkin on The Office would be a dream come true.

unbelievable are people really in this much denial over dollhouse being a overall failure. i mean 4 alright episodes out of a 12 and a inherently flawed premise that does not lead itself to the over hyped never delivered "potential". Its just frustrating because if you take the JJ Abram's seasons from Lost or Alias or Felicity you'd see a show runner that understands character far better than he understands plot. The mythology is always incomplete and unnecessary, the stories move forward on the strength of solid characterization. JJ Abrams storytelling is EXACTLY the kind of reversal a show like dollhouse needs.

Smallville by Ron Moore. Yes I would love that more then I can say. Then again I was one of the people who liked the series finale.

Plus Chloe with a cigar and possibly a drinking problem ...priceless

Did you happen to see "Double Trouble in the Panhandle"?
I did; to my own detriment. I found it a hackneyed piece of contrived crap with no emotional resonance whatsoever; and here’s 1 reason why: when was the last time you saw a bestselling author, whose photograph frequently accompanies her name in print, go undercover, anywhere? All that would’ve been needed to blow Brennan’s cover in that situation was that one person at the carnival would buy her last book.
The writers clearly have no idea where they’re going with any of their plot points in the long term. They got Hodgins and Angela together and didn’t know where to take it, so, breakup time! (And, that was the most immature breakup EVER. I’ve seen more mature breakup scenes take place on elementary school playgrounds.) They turned Zack into a killer—except the fans got pissed, so not really! Our bad! Brennan suddenly catches the baby rabies, going counter to EVERY characterization point she's ever had—except Booth forgot who she is! Ha ha! Hilarious!

This show used to have astonishing verisimilitude. Now I’m convinced that Rob Thomas the bandmember could do a better job. Hart Hansen is a hack, pure and simple.

While I think J.J. did a good job with Star Trek, and directing the Lost Pilot, he gets way too much credit for Lost and Fringe. Lost is driven by perhaps the best writing team in televeision, Lindeloff and Cuse; and Fringe has Kurtzman and Orci.

Joss has created 3 distinct worlds in "Buffy," "Firefly," and "Dollhouse." J.J. updated the X-Files and turned it into Fringe; and he jumped on Lindeloff's idea and took more credit than he deserved.

The second half of the Gossip Girl season has been...not great. Maybe if a new exec came they would feel less attached to the lame characters and we'd be rid of Vanessa/Dan (VD) and Rufus/Lily. I'd get behind that.

OK so I'll give JJ his props, he obviously knows his stuff. I'm not even remotely a fan of any of his shows (to say I despise Lost would be putting it mildly) but the fan-bases for the shows seem to speak for themselves.

My major krink in reading this list though is the idea that he could be even half as funny as Whedon. I mean there is a reason why Whedon's shows have sprouted widely used forms of speach. Dollhouse, I'll agreee, is a tad lacking in that catagory. On the other hand, I have been forced to sit through the first two seasons of Lost, and Dollhouse has more funny in one episode than Lost has in a whole season. So to say that we wouldn't loose any of the humor because JJ can do Hurley is something I find just straight up insulting.

Brilliant crowd pleaser JJ may be, but if he were to ever take over Dollhouse here's one fan who would be changing the channel.(along with every other Whedon fan)

I'll be honest, if that's the most clever mythology you've ever seen, then you need to watch some more television. Try Battlestar Galactica. That's got an excellent mythology and storyline.

Also, I would like to see what JJ Abrams would do with Dollhouse. I enjoyed Alias, gotten tired of LOST, and started to love Fringe. Oh, and don't forget Star Trek. Or Cloverfield. Dollhouse has been really up and down, and not just at the start of the series. The last few episodes weren't all that great, and it doesn't help that the main character (Caroline) is one of the most aggravating and annoying characters I've seen on television.

Joss and JJ have one thing in common, they are both waaaay overrated. I will give Joss a bit more credit, in that his work has some more substance for it. But JJ has no long term ideas at all, which explains why most of his shows, especially Lost and Alias and maybe now Fringe, need to reboot each season to keep people interested.

We already have another show runner switch; I remember reading a writer or producer from the Gilmore Girls will be the new show runner for 90210, so she should bring the Gilmore Girls attitude to that show, not Gossip Girl.

While most of this list is a joke, there are some good ideas, but here's one I'd like to offer: Joss on Heroes. I know, you said Heroes has become a white-bread X-men, and granted, his Astonishing X-men run was decent but not great, but it can't be any worse than what Heroes as become. I can actually see him doing some good stuff with this show.