Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

A friend of mine who sat next to me in computer class quoted Dr. Horrible left and right for nearly a week after watching it. Lo and behold, he told me that I too must watch this web creation. My friend is an avid Joss Whedon fan. I had never heard of the guy until that moment. He liked musicals, I was pretty impartial to them. After being bugged for long enough, I finally decided to watch it, merely to calm him down.

I certainly judged this too soon. I was captivated right from the evil laugh "you know... coming along". It was very interesting the way Whedon made the protagonist the villain, and the antagonist the hero. The songs are very addicting and humorous, as well as portrayed with talent. I enjoyed the subtle humor. The ending was sad, but well thought out. I almost hope for a sequel, but I also worry that it might lessen the effect this movie had.

What's left to say? You were right and I was wrong, Tyler.

... 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).

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.

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.

If you are a Whedon fan, you'll enjoy this little gem. If you don't know who Joss Whedon is, you need to get out more.

This short, internet film was made on a very limited budget-namely, Joss Whedon's own money-using friends and family to help him complete it. It was written and largely produced during the WGA strike. Why? Well, a man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do.

The vid is fun and funny, yes. It also has wonderfully appropriate, cleverly written songs. So, singing, jokes, and fun. Well, yes, and then again, Mr. Whedon can't leave anything as simply fun. It also contains tragedy combined with sufficient pathos and a touch of probing insight into the human condition. This qualifies "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog a bit more than a simple, goofball musical comedy exercise.

Of course, it works just fine on that level, too. Be sure you watch it more than once.