Right, then. Let’s talk Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.
It’s fairly certain that no 13-minute Internet video has ever received quite so many blog inches in the history of the Internet, and I was as guilty as anyone of hyperbole and over-excitement. In theory, it sounded like, quite possibly, the greatest thing ever. So how did it stack up in reality?
Well, it was damn good, wasn’t it? Whedon excels at combining the mundane with the fantastic, and beginning the episode with the titular character composing a video blog entry was vintage Whedon — even evil must respond to email from time to time, I’m sure. The show’s quirks (such as the superhero sidekick Moist, whose power involves making things soggy) were never too quirky, and occasionally were downright brilliant. The singing cowboys might have made the episode for me. As for the music, while it wasn’t nearly as strong as the songs composed for Buffy’s “Once More With Feeling,” the ditties were fun and served to maintain the whimsical nature of the show. Unlike a full Whedon series, this episode doesn’t offer a dollop of angst on top of the fantasy pie. Everyone is just there to have fun.
And yet, it’s also too good to be dismissed as a piece of fluff, and we can thank Neil Patrick Harris for that. I hope all of Hollywood is ashamed for having pigeon-holed the actor in his teens, as the man has completely shed Doogie Howser in his career renaissance. He’s been a revelation as Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, and his Dr. Horrible is a wonderfully subtle creation, full of uncertainty, neurosis and just a wee bit of evil. Plus, he’s pretty handy with an iPhone. Nathan Fillion embraces his role of the cocksure superhero, Captain Hammer (some might remove the “sure” from that adjective), and though I spent most of the time he was on screen marveling at the size of his arms, I’m certain he did quite a good job.
It was exactly what Whedon does best: a story of human emotions and fears coated in a layer of silliness and fantasy. And though it might not have been the best thing ever, it was really, really good. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s Act II, that’s for sure. Maybe we’ll even meet Bad Horse and the Evil League of Evil.
What did you think? Did the 13 minutes live up to the hype, or were you left wanting?
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July 16th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I’d managed to avoid the hype and didn’t really know what to expect. But I liked it. It was sweet and funny and NPH was great! Yay for Joss!
July 16th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I loved it! The Bad Horse singalong letter made me laugh so much I had to hit pause in case I missed the next scene. And the entire cast was perfect.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
NPH’s “freeze ray” song was pure genius. Even supervillains have to do their laundry. I loved it.
July 16th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I was really disappointed by the wussiness of the female lead’s voice - it sounded so wimpy and overprocessed, and there isn’t the excuse of having to use the original actors for a musical episode this time.
But I adore NPH, especially when he sings, and the whole thing was highly entertaining.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
did you recognize the female lead? i had to imdb her because it was bothering me so much that i couldn’t place her. she was one of the slayerettes from seventh season buffy.
and yes, she can’t sing. but the wussy voice pretty much matched the wussy character. i’m hoping she’ll have a more active role in the next two episodes. of course, this is from joss whedon, king of kick-ass empowered female characters, so i’ll be pretty disappointed if she remains merely a prize for horrible & hammer to fight over.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Erica, thank you! I definitely spent the entire time she was on screen thinking she looked highly familiar.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Erica and Rachel, I agree about Felicia Day being the weak link, though I thought her voice was a bit stronger in Act II. She should stick to her lower register and avoid that paper-thin soprano she uses sometimes.
She was one of the Slayerettes, wasn’t she? I have tried to block them all from my memory, so much did I hate that plot development, but I knew she looked familiar.