Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Posted on 12 August 2008 by Jessica Fritsche
Joss Whedon is known for forging new frontiers in television—he’s made us care about a girl who fought things that go bump in the night, a vampire with a soul, and a band of space pirates fighting the good fight. But now he’s crossed over to an even geekier medium and has taken the Internet by storm with his online project, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.”
Whedon and friends conceived Dr. Horrible during the writer’s strike, when they grew frustrated by the work stoppage and set out to change the face of entertainment by circumventing “the system.” It was a project made of a lot of heart, very little money, and as Joss puts it, “very mid-life-crisisy.”
Neil Patrick Harris stars as Dr. Horrible, an up-and-coming villain with his eyes on the big leagues—the Evil League of Evil. Dr. Horrible plots his new world order via his video blog, while his real-life alter ego Billy pines for Penny (Felicia Day), the beautiful girl at the laundromat that he can’t work up the courage to talk to. Standing in Dr. Horrible’s way—both personally and professionally—is Captain Hammer, the resident superhero, played by Whedon-favorite Nathan Fillion. And just so you know…his fists? They’re not the hammer.
The show—or “Internet miniseries event,” as Whedon refers to it—lives up to its name thanks to the catchy musical numbers interspersed throughout the action. Everyone gets a tune, with many songs showcasing Harris’ impressive vocal chops and Day’s lovely soprano. This is not Whedon’s first musical foray—he wrote a musical episode in season six of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” that has gained a wide cult following since the show went off the air, and he even penned the theme song to his short-lived hit show “Firefly.” His songwriting is simple and effective, drawing cues from traditional musical theater and leaving you humming the songs hours after you’ve watched the show.
Dr. Horrible is available for download on iTunes and for streaming on Hulu.com According to the website, a DVD and cast recording CD will be forthcoming later this year. For the latest news on all that is Horrible, visit the website at www.drhorrible.com or follow @drhorrible on www.twitter.com.
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August 12th, 2008 at 11:36 am
*sob* not available on Hulu OR iTunes outside of the US.
August 12th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I got a notification about this through my Daily Candy emails a few weeks ago, and I left the info as myspace comments on two fellow Whedon-ites pages, but I never checked it out myself. I guess I better. I never watched Buffy or Angel (can’t stand Sarah Michelle Gellar, and I’m not a huge fan of David Boreanaz), but I LOVED Firefly. I own the DVD collection and everything…so sad that Fox screwed that show over
August 12th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Oh, and I do adore Nathan Fillion…yummy!