Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Exceptional dialog, music, humor, pathos...yes, one of those again! Whedon and crew are reshaping "television" into the 21st Century and hopefully will carry the "industry" along with them in their wake (I know...I'm mixing metaphors but what the hell!). I can't wait for the next episode (I pray one will follow)!

Each of the main actors brings with them a unique "graphic novel" ambiance to the three-part episode. Nathan Fillion delivers just the right balance of likability and swarminess. Neil Patrick Harris brings an exquisite mix of illusion and reality - enough that we can touch his human side (and connect with it), while still laughing along with his illusory attempts at superhero-ness. And Felecia Day provides a perfect target of the two male leads' affections. The songwriting is catchy and endearing and the songs delivered with clarity and feeling.

For the past three days I have found myself unintentionally singing lines from the show as I drive, shop for groceries, shower, walk the dogs, cook dinner . . . you name it! They are that catchy!

You won't regret downloading and sitting through the 40 minutes of exceptional film-making!

For 'Buffy' fans, "Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is similar to the famous 'Once More With Feeling' musical episode, exploring familiar Whedon territory with some favourite Whedon stars: Nathon Fillion from 'Firefly', Felicia Day also from the last series of 'Buffy', plus Neil Patrick Harris and cameos galore: is the good guy good, is the hero the heroine with a day-job, and does the bad guy *want* to be horrible? Lots of fun, with some good music and clever, thoughtful lyrics and some surprising performances; you start believing! I lol'd at the groupies and the baddies, and stay around for the credits.

Available on I-tunes for purchase.

And yes, I know what a hammer is.

I honestly didn't know what I was getting myself into when I first sat down at my computer to watch this. I had heard that Joss Whedon had created it, and I was a fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, but I didn't know what it was about or anything.

Forty Five minutes later, I was completely blown away. The songs, writing, and acting are just amazing. It made me laugh, and nearly cry. It's so creative, and has superheroes in it, which I love.

If you're someone who isn't sure about it, just watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog anyway. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Dr. Horrible has a P.h.D. in horribleness, and awesomeness.

... I say this though as a quasi-Whedon ignorant; I've only seen about two seasons worth of Buffy, no Angel, and all of Firefly and Serenity. Joss Whedon's sense of humor is playful, crude, warped, and everything one might love from a skewering of superheroes. Hancock, take note, this is how it's done with consistency! The premise of Dr. Horrible can be summed up in one sentence: Boy (Dr. Horrible) with nerdy powers finds and wants girl, boy loses girl to arch nemesis boy Captain Hammer, boy plots revenge, boy finds things end on a pretty bitter and sad note. Or, to put it another way, it's about the nerdy guy wanting the girl and the beefy upstart with an ego the size of a blimp is hogging her for himself.

That's the gist of it, anyway, but to say this is all Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is about is to do a total disservice to Whedon and his large fan-base. This is a musical not quite unlike the Buffy classic "Once More, with Feeling" only without that pesky 'you have to know a and b and c are going on in the series and season' logic. One is thrust into that sharp, laconic, and joyously obvious sense of humor that reveals Whedon as someone who is a kind of curious master of musical comedy with those appropriate doses of barbed satire.

At the same time, as one who may have watched their share of Buffy and even Firefly knows, Whedon is also a hopeless romantic (hopeless in that he can't seem to put people together without *something* going wrong, which is the point of all drama one supposes), and his tale of Dr. Horrible, done through songs that reveal the characters' souls, heartfelt and adorable and totally meat-headed (the Captain's final song at the podium with his award is next to Godliness), and at the same time a cheap joke (random cowboys singing along from the sides of the frame) or a catchy number (the "Man's gotta do" song is far more wondrous than about 99.9% of stuff on the radio now) isn't sacrificed for the sake of what little plot there is.

And lest not forget the acting, or at least the awesome musical prowess. Neal Patrick Harris and Nathan Filion are just about perfect in their roles, as is the woman who plays Penny (the red-headed girl Dr. Horrible meets at the Coin Mart), with Filion especially juicy in a somewhat campy turn where he takes all those heroic qualities of his Firefly character and reveals the dark side ("And yes, we had sex"). Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog is about as close to romantic-comedy-musical-satire amazement as one could hope for, or maybe not expect, from Whedon, particularly as a free web-series running just about the length of a full short film (or an extremely short feature).

If you simply enjoy being entertained, this enchantingly short trio of episodes sheer is perfection itself.

Congratulations to Joss Wheedon for giving his planet such a very sweet little gift.

i'm not much of a fan of musicals as a rule, but this one plays so cheekily on all things geeky it's hard to resist.

Too often these days, performances rarely reveal that the cast absolutely enjoyed their rolls so much. Knowing that these people all performed for free and for friendship makes this one all the more enjoyable to watch.

So many Directors with so much money & talent at their disposal really do miss the point, and the point is to put your heart into it.

So obviously made with love, and the help of friends, Dr Horrible will make you smile over & over!