I have to admit, I was no big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the movie or the TV show. When I happened to catch the all-singing, all-dancing episode of the Buffy series, I remember saying to myself, "This is bloody horrible," before switching it off. Since then, I have become a fan of Whedon's Firefly series and its big-screen counterpart Serenity, thanks largely to my wife, who is a devoted "Browncoat."
So, when we heard about Whedon's latest venture, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, we were intrigued, to say the least. Concieved during the writer's strike, this comic musical fantasy stars Neil Patrick Harris in the title role as a lovelorn mad scientist, and Firefly's Nathan Fillion as his nemesis, Captain Hammer.
The songs are well-crafted little show tunes that are woven into the plot effortlessly, in contrast to what I rememeber of that Buffy episode. Harris is very funny in the role, and shows a nice singing voice. Fillion plays the role of an egomaniacal superhero, who ends up dating the object of Dr. Horrible's affections, with obvious relish.
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a testament to not only Whedon's creativity, but to his frustration with the current mechanisms in place for distribution of his intellectual property. While the Studios were playing hardball with the Writer's Guild, Joss and his collaborators executed this low-budget blow against the empire, as if to say, "We don't need no stinkin' networks!"
Available for free for a limited time at drhorrible.com, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog will then be available through iTunes.
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