Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

What in the world is a sing-along blog? That’s probably your first question. And your second is probably the more fearful thought: "Does it involve ABBA?" The answer to that one is thankfully no. In fact, describing what Dr. Horrible involves is no easy task. Imagine if you will an episode of The Tick with singing and dancing. This assumes you have watched The Tick at some point but if you haven’t, consider this a bonus Shiny Thing suggestion for the week. Animated or live action, it makes no difference to me. Both are great.

But I digress.

The world’s first sing-along blog is the newest magical realm invented by Joss Whedon. This is a place where stories are sung, quips are made (every eight seconds on average), and the good guy is so impossibly self-absorbed that the viewer begins to wish ill fortune upon him. In this world, a horse replaces Lex Luthor, The Joker and Chairface Chippendale as the figurehead of evil-doing. This mischievous equine nicknamed the Thoroughbred of Sin is the Sarah Jessica Parker-styled face of the Evil League of Evil, a powerful group of anarchists super-villains. Our anti-hero, the titular Dr. Horrible, seeks to join their ranks but this is not his only ambition.

Horrible also seeks to find the courage to speak to the girl of his dreams, a redheaded do-gooder named Penny (former Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Felicia Day) he watches at the Laundromat. She wants to help the homeless, while he wants to be brave enough to say hello. She is not averse to conversing with the goggle-bound scientist’s alter ego, but as a lifelong nerd, he struggles in talking to the opposite sex. His mortal enemy (no, Johnny Snow, not you) is exactly the sort of jock who terrorized him in school and now sleeps with all the best women since they are drawn to his heroic machismo. This man is Captain Hammer (BOP fave Nathan Fillion), and Act I (of three) sees the would-be evil-doer accidentally introduce Hammer to his beloved Penny. Acts II and III involve attempts to make her realize that the good guy is, well, a stupid tool.

The story of Dr. Horrible is less important than the fact that there is singing. This may sound crazy to some of you but give me a bit of leeway here. Joss Whedon did so well on the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that theaters across the country started running midnight showings of it a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show...before the studio’s execs proved once and for all that they were pinheads by shutting it down. Whedon has demonstrated some skill in the field of musical comedy, and the Ben Edlund-flavored storyline allows for some genuinely odd jokes on his part. My particular favorite is a random aside about the benefits of not having a one night stand. It’ll make sense once you download the episodes and this is exactly what I am strongly recommending.

On sale now at iTunes for the price of only $3.99, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog has proven to be one of the most unusual entertainment success stories in recent memory. At a few intermittent points this week, the three individual acts of this online play have comprised the top three spots on iTunes’ sales charts for television. Glowing word-of-mouth from Whedon’s devout fan-base (including BOP) has continued to prop up sales to the point that a DVD release is expected for the approximately 45 minutes of content. This is one of the best usages of new technology/entertainment delivery in recent memory and we heartily encourage you to take advantage by being on the cutting edge. Come on, give it a try. It’s less than four dollars! (David Mumpower/BOP)