Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: Difference between revisions
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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*[[Neil Patrick Harris]] as '''Billy / Dr. Horrible''': A [[supervillain]] of the [[mad scientist]] variety. Uses a claim of "a PhD in Horribleness" as a catchphrase, and aspires to be a member of Bad Horse's Evil League of Evil. |
*[[Neil Patrick Harris]] as '''Billy / Dr. Horrible''': A [[supervillain]] of the [[mad scientist]] variety. Uses a claim of "a PhD in Horribleness" as a catchphrase, and aspires to be a member of Bad Horse's Evil League of Evil. |
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*[[Nathan Fillion]] as '''Captain Hammer''': A [[superhero]] and Dr. Horrible's [[arch-nemesis]]. Enjoys beating up and generally harassing Dr. Horrible, even when the situation does not warrant it. The Dark Horse comic suggests he harbors an unnatural hatred towards "[[goths]], [[nerd]]s, social outcasts, and ''especially'' anyone that genuinely enjoys math and science". |
*[[Nathan Fillion]] as '''Captain Hammer''': A [[superhero]] and Dr. Horrible's [[arch-nemesis]]. Enjoys beating up and generally harassing Dr. Horrible, even when the situation does not warrant it. The Dark Horse comic suggests he harbors an unnatural hatred towards "[[goths]], [[nerd]]s, social outcasts, and ''especially'' anyone that genuinely enjoys math and science". The hammer is his penis. |
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*[[Felicia Day]] as '''Penny''': Dr. Horrible's [[love interest]] and volunteer for the Caring Hands homeless shelter. |
*[[Felicia Day]] as '''Penny''': Dr. Horrible's [[love interest]] and volunteer for the Caring Hands homeless shelter. |
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*[[Simon Helberg]] as '''Moist''': Dr. Horrible's friend, who has the ability to dampen things and is a member of the Henchman's Union. |
*[[Simon Helberg]] as '''Moist''': Dr. Horrible's friend, who has the ability to dampen things and is a member of the Henchman's Union. |
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Revision as of 17:45, 21 July 2008
| Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog | |
|---|---|
 Promotional image | |
| Created by | Joss Whedon Jed Whedon Zack Whedon Maurissa Tancharoen |
| Written by | Joss Whedon Jed Whedon Zack Whedon Maurissa Tancharoen |
| Directed by | Joss Whedon |
| Starring | Neil Patrick Harris Felicia Day Nathan Fillion Simon Helberg |
| Music by | Joss Whedon Jed Whedon |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Producers | David Burns Michael Boretz |
| Running time | 43 min. (approx.) |
| Original release | |
| Release | July 15, 2008 – July 20, 2008 |
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 40-minute, 3-part musical comedy produced for the Internet, telling the story of a low-rent supervillain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he's too shy to talk to. The movie was written by writer/director Joss Whedon; his brothers Zack Whedon (a television writer) and Jed Whedon (a composer), and Jed's fiancée, actress Maurissa Tancharoen. The writing team penned the musical during the WGA writers' strike. The idea was to create something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the strike.[1][2]
Episodes
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog consists of three webisodes or acts of approximately 14 minutes each.
Act I
Dr. Horrible is filming an entry for his video blog, responding to emails from his viewers, boasting of his less-than-successful exploits, and mocking his nemesis, Captain Hammer. When a reader asks Dr. Horrible about the "her" that he often mentions, he launches into song about Penny, the girl he likes from the laundromat.
Suddenly, Horrible's friend Moist arrives bringing Horrible a letter from Bad Horse, the head of the Evil League of Evil. Bad Horse's letter informs Dr. Horrible that his application for entry into the League is being considered, but he must prove himself worthy of being accepted soon. Dr. Horrible is pleased, since he is planning on stealing the final ingredient for his time-stopping Freeze Ray—a case of wonderflonium—the next day.
The next day, Horrible prepares to steal the Wonderflonium by attaching a remote control device on top of the courier van. While Horrible attempts to remotely configure the device on his iPhone, Penny shows up asking for signatures for a petition to turn a city building into a homeless shelter. However, Horrible's distraction over configuring the remote control results in him appearing disinterested in her cause. As Penny leaves, Horrible is conflicted, but opts to steal the wonderflonium, telling himself that "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do".
Although the plan begins smoothly and Horrible remotely commandeers the courier van, Captain Hammer appears on the scene and smashes Horrible's remote control device, causing the van to veer towards Penny. As Dr. Horrible struggles to stop the van, Captain Hammer throws Penny (violently) out of the van's path. At the last second, Dr. Horrible succeeds in stopping the van; Dr. Horrible attempts to verbally confront Hammer but is attacked instead. As Hammer chokes Horrible, Penny emerges to thank Hammer, causing Hammer to forget all about Dr. Horrible and release him. As Hammer and Penny serenade each other, Horrible sulks over his bad luck, but, with Hammer distracted, Horrible steals the wonderflonium.
Act II
Dr. Horrible stalks Penny and Captain Hammer on a date at the homeless shelter; Horrible sings of the misery of the human condition, and Penny sings of hope and the possibility of redemption. The next day Penny and Billy meet at the laundromat and begin talking openly as friends.
On his blog, Horrible reveals his plan to use his Freeze Ray at the mayor's dedication of the Superhero Memorial Bridge, but his plan fails when Captain Hammer and the LAPD (who regularly watch Horrible's blog) intercept him. He then receives a phone message from Bad Horse, who was not impressed with Horrible's failed evil mission: the only act of evil that would allow Horrible to join the League would be for Horrible to kill someone. This raises a serious moral dilemma for Horrible, who finds himself unable to even decide on a potential victim were he to go through with it.
The next day at the laundromat, Billy chats with Penny over frozen yogurt; when she mentions that Captain Hammer is planning to drop by the laundromat, Billy panics and tries to leave, only to run into Hammer as he walks in. Hammer seems to not recognize Horrible as Penny greets him and then goes to grab her laundry, leaving the two men alone. Hammer reveals that he recognizes Horrible and goes on to explain that he's only interested in Penny because he knows Horrible likes her. Driven over the brink by Captain Hammer's taunts, Horrible decides that his moral dilemma over killing is solved, and he will satisfy Bad Horse by killing Hammer.
Act III
Los Angeles is abuzz with Captain Hammer's crusade to help the homeless, while Dr. Horrible finishes his Death Ray. At the opening for the new homeless shelter, Captain Hammer makes a speech and inadvertently embarrasses Penny, before Dr. Horrible freezes him with the Freeze Ray and prepares to kill him. But Dr. Horrible hesitates, and the Freeze Ray powers down before he can shoot Captain Hammer. Hammer punches Dr. Horrible, knocking him across the room, then picks up the death ray, stating his intention to use it to kill Dr. Horrible. Dr. Horrible, realizing his gun has broken, tells Captain Hammer not to fire, but Hammer pulls the trigger anyway, causing the gun to explode.
Captain Hammer runs out of the room crying (from feeling pain for the first time), leaving Penny impaled by debris from the explosion. Dr. Horrible rushes to her side where she recognizes him as Billy. Before she expires she tells him not to worry, that Captain Hammer will save them, all the while unaware that Billy's device malfunctioning in the hands of Captain Hammer caused her death. Dr. Horrible carries her body to a stretcher as reporters ask him why he killed her.
Due to the successful, albeit inadvertant, completion of an act of evil that was requested by Bad Horse, Horrible rapidly rises to power as a supervillain and is inducted into the Evil League of Evil. However, despite having accomplished all he wanted as a villain, Billy sits in his basement, alone and feeling empty.
Cast
- Neil Patrick Harris as Billy / Dr. Horrible: A supervillain of the mad scientist variety. Uses a claim of "a PhD in Horribleness" as a catchphrase, and aspires to be a member of Bad Horse's Evil League of Evil.
- Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer: A superhero and Dr. Horrible's arch-nemesis. Enjoys beating up and generally harassing Dr. Horrible, even when the situation does not warrant it. The Dark Horse comic suggests he harbors an unnatural hatred towards "goths, nerds, social outcasts, and especially anyone that genuinely enjoys math and science". The hammer is his penis.
- Felicia Day as Penny: Dr. Horrible's love interest and volunteer for the Caring Hands homeless shelter.
- Simon Helberg as Moist: Dr. Horrible's friend, who has the ability to dampen things and is a member of the Henchman's Union.
Friends of Joss Whedon also take up many smaller cameo roles in the series. Joss's co-executive producer Marti Noxon on Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrays a newsreader alongside Buffy writer David Fury (both also cameoed in Buffy musical episode "Once More, with Feeling"). Buffy writers Doug Petrie and Drew Goddard cameo as supervillains Professor Normal and Fake Thomas Jefferson. Jed Whedon cameos both as a member of Bad Horse's chorus, and as the supervillain Dead Bowie, while Maurissa Tancharoen plays a groupie of Captain Hammer's (and later Dr. Horrible's). Many members of the Dr. Horrible crew also play small acting roles in the musical.
Production
Whedon funded the project himself (in the "low six figures" according to NPR)[3] and enjoyed the independence of acting as his own studio. “Freedom is glorious,” he comments. “And the fact is, I’ve had very good relationships with studios, and I’ve worked with a lot of smart executives. But there is a difference when you can just go ahead and do something.” As a web show, there were fewer constraints imposed on the project, and Whedon had the “freedom to just let the dictates of the story say how long it’s gonna be. We didn’t have to cram everything in—there is a lot in there—but we put in the amount of story that we wanted to and let the time work around that. We aimed for thirty minutes, we came out at forty two, and that’s not a problem.”[4]
A Captain Hammer (Nemesis of Dr. Horrible) online comic tie-in was also made available. It will be printed later this year in a Dark Horse Presents graphic novel.
Distribution
Whedon says plans are being made to find a venue for the series that will enable it to earn its money back and pay the crew, with a first release on the Internet, then iTunes[5] with a further release on DVD, with some "amazing extras".[6]
According to TV Week,[7] the musical's fansite launched in March 2008 despite the official site containing nothing more than a poster. The teaser trailer was released on the web three months later on June 25, 2008.
Episodes aired at the Official Dr. Horrible Website and were available for free viewing until July 20. They were hosted on Hulu, and despite Hulu not normally being available outside the U.S., were accessible internationally. The episodes are available on iTunes in Canada and the United States, and will be released on DVD at a later date.[1][2] Planned DVD extras include Commentary! – The Musical, with entirely new numbers performed by the cast and crew.[8]
Soundtrack
The episodes contain 15 songs, including the credits and reprises, but at the time of broadcast the official song titles have not been released. Co-writer Maurissa Tancharoen has stated that the current speculation on song titles "tickles [her] little heart".[9]
An official soundtrack will be released on through the iTunes Store and on CD "as fast as possible".[9]
References
- ^ a b Joss Whedon (2008-06-28). "Comment on "Doctor Horrible website is live"". Whedonesque.com. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ a b Matt Roush (2008-06-30). "Exclusive: First Look at Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible"". Roush Dispatch. TV Guide. Retrieved 2006-08-30.
- ^ Sydell, Laura (2008-07-14). "'Buffy' Creator Proves Doogie Howser Can Sing". NPR. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ Baldwin, Drew (2008-07-14). "Joss Whedon Interview: The Web Has Been Wonderful For "Horrible"". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ Spelling, Ian (2008-05-19). "Whedon's Dr. Horrible Almost Done". SCI FI Wire. SCI FI. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ Spelling, Ian (2008-06-02). "Joss Whedon offers a sneak peak at his brand-new Dollhouse". SCI FI Wire. SCI FI. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ Gelman, Vlada (2008-06-25). "Whedon's 'Horrible' Trailer". Television Week: Blink. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help); Unknown parameter|Publisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ Davis, Erick (2008-07-01). "Joss Whedon To Record First Ever Musical DVD Commentary". Cinematical. Weblogs Inc. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ a b "Exclusive Interview: Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen". DoctorHorrible.net. 2008-07-1. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
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External links
