Now that it’s all over, let’s talk some more about Dr. Horrible.
First thing’s first. I’ve got to eat some crow. After Act I, I said, “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.” Lawdy, was I wrong. Full spoilerific thoughts after the jump.
How did I not see that ending coming? How? This is Joss Whedon. Someone is going to die. It’s just a rule, isn’t it? Still, I somehow thought that there would be a happy ending of one kind or another, a lighthearted conclusion to what was, up till Act III, a rollicking good time. I should have known better.
In fact, Act III played out nearly like an opera. It was almost exclusively sung, and Penny’s tragic death, Captain Hammer’s weaknesses and, of course, Dr. Horrible’s achievement-at-a-price were all operatic in theme. Even though the ending made me a bit sniffly, it also reminded me why I am an unabashed Whedon fan. The man combines the ridiculous humor of the Evil League of Evil, complete with supervillains Bad Horse and Dead Bowie, with the genuinely sad finale of Horrible gaining his ambition at the cost of the one thing he loved. Offhand, I can’t think of another writer working in television today with that same deft touch.
The final two acts also showcased Whedon’s knack for lyrics far more than the first segment did. I still catch myself humming along with “I Cannot Believe My Eyes.” How can you not, with such gems as “Any dolt with half a brain can see that humankind has gone insane. To the point where I don’t know if I’ll upset the status quo if I throw poison in the water main.”? It’s a surefire hit!
However, Whedon’s real lyrical skill lies the blending of multiple voices. Just as he works so well with a cast of characters that merge and play off each other, his songs work best when they involve a wide range of characters. The man is a born story-teller, and his songs are no exception. When the singing newscasters (played by Whedon writers David Fury and Marti Noxon) and rabid fangirls join Hammer as he sings about doing the weird stuff, it is clear that Whedon has created an entire world in a mere 42 minutes, and it’s a world that I don’t want to say goodbye to.
In fact, that is my biggest problem with the episode. It’s the same reason I prefer novels to short stories, and TV to film. I don’t want my characters to disappear as soon as I get to like them, and sadly, Horrible, Hammer and the rest have now vanished back into the Internet, only to live on through iTunes and DVD. We’ll never hear Bad Horse’s evil whinny now. Vague plans for a sequel aside, this was it, and it turns out, I’m a bit sad that it’s over.
Now that you’ve seen the whole thing, what do you think of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog? And what song can you not stop singing?
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July 21st, 2008 at 2:50 pm
The one at the end of Act II, umm…but I don’t really know the words so I’m just humming it. It has ‘You’ve shown me the light’ somewhere in it.
I liked it. I hadn’t even considered it wouldn’t have a happy ending. I was Jossed. I thought the same really, oh here’s a light hearted comedy, it’ll have some sort of warm message heavy ending. Who did I think I was watching!?
That last scene of Dr Horrible and his ‘Nothing’ was so sad.
July 21st, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I watched it all at once, so I didn’t give myself much time to digest each act. But near the end of Act II, it was occurring to me that I wasn’t sure what exactly a happy ending could be. Would it be Penny with Captain Hammer? He’s kind of a dink, so no. Would it be Dr. Horrible? He’s still evil, so no.
I guess she could have ended up alone and happy, but it didn’t seem like it was going in that direction, either. So I wasn’t particularly shocked when she died.
Anyway, I did love it! The Act III closer song is in my head, and I loved the cowboys who sang the phone calls. That was hilarious.
July 21st, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I can’t stop singing the “with my freeze ray i will stop the world” song from part one. So catchy! And I basically agree with everything you said – I was totally floored by that ending, and I thought it worked fantastically well. Pure Whedon!
July 21st, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I didn’t see it coming either, but she had to die; when men engage in a power play, women suffer.
Dr. Horrible reminds me of the nerd trio from Buffy, but more sympathetic. The thing is, no matter how sympathetic someone is, if their basic fantasy world is an evil one, it can’t go well.
I kind of hope this turns into a Dr. Horrible comic book, because that was one of the better origin stories I’ve seen. And I haven’t even read the Buffy comic yet.
July 21st, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I guess I was somehow naively hoping that Billy, who is clearly a sweet guy at heart, would give up his Evil Plans in the face of Twu Wuv. I’m sure Penny could have accepted him as a henchman.
Shelly, there’s already an online comic and talk of more.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:09 am
I absolutely adore this short little show, and I’ll definitely buy it when it comes out on DVD. My favorite song of the whole show is ‘Slipping’ in Act III. It has such great lines like “it’s amazing how sheeple show up for the slaughter.” There is also this part where he grabs the Asian fangirl’s face and says “I bring you pain, the kind you can’t suffer quietly.” It was such an interesting intimate moment in the middle of him blowing things up and terrorizing the crowd, and that entire song sequence is definitely my favorite part of the entire show.
When Penny died, I started to feel all sniffly and sad, but I don’t think the show would have been so good if she had lived. It *needs* that tragic element to really grab the viewers emotions.