Intresting title, huh? I’m not even going to explain it. You’ll just have to watch Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.
Dr. Horrible is the latest creation from Buffy the Vampire Slayercreator Joss Whedon. Like all the rest of his work Dr. Horrible is chock full of the mix of humor and memorable characters that have made his work so unforgettable. Whedon alum Nathan Fillion delivers another classic performance as the ‘hero’ Captain Hammer, and has really become one of my favorite actors. There of course can be no forgetting NPH’s performance as the title charactrer.
I think my favorite aspect of the ‘blog’ is the fact that it was created during the writer’s strike. Joss preduced this project witout any studio backing and it was released free on the interweb in three installements this summer. I really would love to see more autuers go down this independent route more often. It is really refreshing to see people like Whedon who make films and television becasue they love doing it, not because they get paid to do so. A fourth installment is planned for the future, along with an eventual DVD release. If you enjoy Dr. Horrible go out and buy the DVD when it is released, support Joss and hopefully we can expect to see him explore this outlet for his creativity more.
Here is Joss’s intro to Dr. Horrible:
A LETTER FROM JOSS WHEDON
Dear Friends,
At last the time has come to reveal to you our Master Plan. BEWARE! Those with weak hearts should log off lest they be terrified by the twisted genius of our schemes! Also pregnant women and the elderly should consider reading only certain sentences. Do not mix with other blogs. Do not operate heavy machinery while reading this blog. You must be this tall to read. ‘Kay?
It is time for us to change the face of Show Business as we know it. You know the old adage, “It’s Show Business – not Show Friends”? Well now it’s Show Friends. We did that. To Show Business. To show Show Business we mean business. (Also, there are now other businesses like it.)
ONE WEEK ONLY! AN INTERNET MINISERIES EVENT!
“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” will be streamed, LIVE (that part’s not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically:
ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th.
ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th.
ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th.
All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.)
And now to answers a few Frequently (soon to be) Asked Questions:
1) Why, Joss? Why? Why now, why free, why us?
Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system.
Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.
The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.
2) What happens when it goes away? Does it go to a happy farm for always like Fluffy did when mommy was crying and the neighbor kept washing his fender?
No, Dr horrible will live on. We intend to make it available for download soon after it’s published. This would be for a nominal fee, which we’re hoping people will embrace instead of getting all piratey. We have big dreams, people, and one of them is paying our crew.
And somewhat later, we will put the complete short epic out on DVD – with the finest and bravest extras in all the land. We’ll go into greater detail about that at Comiccon, but we’re changing the face of Show Friendliness a second time with that crazy DVD.
3) Joss, you are so kind, and generous, and your forehead is like, huge, like SCARY, like I think I can see Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint hanging off it… what can WE do to help this musical extravanganza?
What you always do, peeps! What you’re already doing. Spread the word. Rock some banners, widgets, diggs… let people know who wouldn’t ordinarily know. It wouldn’t hurt if this really was an event. Good for the business, good for the community – communitIES: Hollywood, internet, artists around the world, comic-book fans, musical fans (and even the rather vocal community of people who hate both but will still dig on this). Proving we can turn Dr Horrible into a viable economic proposition as well as an awesome goof will only inspire more people to lay themselves out in the same way. It’s time for the dissemination of the artistic process. Create more for less. You are the ones that can make that happen.
Wow. I had no idea how important you guys were. I’m a little afraid of you.
4) Joss, do you ever answer a question simply or coherently?
Shledzguohn?
There’ll be more questions, and more long, long answers, but for now I’m just excited that we’re actually making this happen. We (and a lot of other people — gushing to commence soon) worked very hard on the show and we hope/think you guys will be pleased.
Until July 15th , I remain, yours truly, -j, of the firm j, j, m & z.
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Colonel Tigh's Sitrep 
Awesome.
I remember watching this a while back–and loved it. I loved the Firefly series and of course the movie Serenity, so it was only natural to get excited when I saw that Whedon was doing a project (which I believe was during the writer’s strike) that was low cost and had not only Fillion, but NPH as well. I think NPH was the perfect role of the villain; I actually watched/listened to this entire show at least 9-10+ times. Beyond the general witty humor that is so common in Whedon’s productions, it was really surprising to me to hear how well Fillion and NPH actually sang. Not only were the songs catchy and well sung, but they also were absolutely littered with humor and pithy statements.
I really hope they come out with a sequel, or at least a new production. After seeing NPH put on the red suit and join the Evil League of Evil I am only able to sit on the edge of my seat and beg for more.