Guide Note
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is an online mini-series from director Joss Whedon. The show is a musical tale about a villain played by Neil Patrick Harris.
Fast Facts
- Internet Mini-series
- Episodes: 3
- First aired: July 15, 2008
- Available free through July 20, 2008
- Created by: Joss Whedon
- Can be viewed on the official site
- Can also be viewed on YouTube
- Available for download late summer 2008
Cast Information
Act I - Recap
Act I is a 14 minute segment that introduces several characters. The segment begins with super-villain Dr. Horrible practicing his evil laugh. He mentions that he disapproves of the system, stating that "the world is a mess" and that he wishes to "change the world" by "ruling" it.1
He loves a "fellow laundry person," Penny, but can't build up the courage to talk to her. During a heist attempt, Penny approaches him about signing a petition. She distracts him from the heist and his enemy Captain Hammer intervenes, carelessly risks Penny's life and then saves her by pushing her into a pile of garbage. Dr. Horrible finishes the heist while the two are talking.1
Act II - Recap
Act II is a 13 minute segment that begins with Dr. Horrible singing from his loss of Penny to Captain Hammer. After the song, Captain Hammer and the L.A.P.D. are viewers of Horrible's video blog and discover Horrible's only way into the Evil League of Evil is to murder someone. While trying to decide who it should be, Horrible visits the laundromat and encounters Penny. Horrible and Penny spend some time together and then Hammer shows up. Hammer quietly tells Horrible that he's going to date Penny to hurt him. With this threat, Horrible decides who he will murder.2
Made for the Internet
Joss Whedon conceived the idea of a super-villain musical during the 2007 - 2008 writers strike. In order to circumvent the restrictions of the strike, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was written for initial distribution on the Internet. Whedon partnered with "everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met,"3 including Felicia Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Nathan Fillion (Firefly.)4
Air Dates
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is available to view for free from its debut on July 15, 2008 through midnight on July 20, 2008. After that date, the mini-series will be removed from distribution pending a for-pay version and possible DVD edition.
Site Crashes
On the launch of Act One of the series on July 15, 2008, the official site hosting the show crashed. The following message was found on the site:
- "We love you for crashing the site, we really do. In the meantime, those of you who have iTunes capabilities can go there and get your fix. Our site should be up and running again in a few hours. Your support is warming our hearts and kicking our asses. So thank you thank you." J, M, J, Z [writers and exec producers Joss Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon & Zack Whedon]5
Quotes
"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.)"—Joss Whedon3
"More talented writers of prose and music cannot be found. I can’t stop singing these songs, even the ones I’m not in."—Felicia Day6
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