The Wonderful, Terrible Life of Dr. Horrible
As an enormous Buffy fan, I can't believe I hadn't heard about this until now. In July, Joss Whedon released an internet-only 45-minute musical named Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It's in the spirit of the immortal "Once More With Feeling" episode of Buffy, but much more "low-tech."
I say that because it's an interesting story. Whedon got so bored during the writer's strike in Hollywood that he started writing this musical. He gathered people to help out and decided it would be a completely self-produced thing he would put on the internet. After the strike they filmed it in only six days, so much of it is decidedly produced, but not produced, having a guerilla, "we're shooting this now, permit or no permit" feel to it. And Whedon financed the whole thing out of his own pocket, "in the low six-figures," he has said. Yet, he got his crew to work on it for free on promises and he got his old CGI crew to do a couple of things, so it still has that "Whedon look" to it.
My verdict? I loved it.
The main characters are played by Neil Patrick Harris and Whedon veterans Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day (who played Vi in the last season of Buffy). But there are lots of cameos from other Whedon vets, all producer/writers it seems: David Fury, Marti Noxon, Drew Goddard, and David Petrie. Unlike other projects by Whedon, this is a family affair with both of his brothers and a future sister-in-law playing significant roles in the writing and having camera time as well.
I don't want to give too much away about the plot or the songs, but I can say a couple of things. First, this is clearly inspired by Whedon's well-known obsession with comic books. It's a mucial about a really silly world of superheroes. The songs are solid and in a couple of cases, truly inspired. From a song and excitement point-of-view, the second of its three "acts" is the best. But this brings me to the thing I really wanted to say.
Whedon has a special touch of being funny and satirical at one hand, and incredibly touching and serious on the other. Dr. Horrible is no different. Act Three ends unexpectedly for people raised on typical TV plots. Reading the internet reviews of the film, this caused some consternation. This is where I come to think that most people who blog about TV are really stupid twits.
Because the fact that Whedon chose to organize his internet film in "acts," I think, is telling: this is Shakespearean. All of Shakespeare's plays take place in five acts, and unlike nowadays, where the climax of drama takes place at the end of the plot, in Shakespeare, it was always in Act Three. In the tragedies, for example, it was always in Act Three where the protagonist makes the flawed choice that eventually leads to the tragic downfall: that's the techical climax. The climax to Dr. Horrible takes place in Act Two, and that leads to its tragic, and inevitable, conclusion. And the blog wienies who don't like it should go take some theater classes.
The characters are great and good singers. It's fun and interesting. Some of it had me roaring with laughter. Whedon at his best. Check it out. You can find it on Hulu.com.
P.S. I'm fully aware that all scriptwriters refer to their writing in "acts." But I can't remember a TV show specifically referring to that on screen since Barnaby Jones and the Jack Webb Mark VI shows in the early 70s. Well, I wouldn't put it past Whedon to be referring to those, but I stand by my analysis.
I say that because it's an interesting story. Whedon got so bored during the writer's strike in Hollywood that he started writing this musical. He gathered people to help out and decided it would be a completely self-produced thing he would put on the internet. After the strike they filmed it in only six days, so much of it is decidedly produced, but not produced, having a guerilla, "we're shooting this now, permit or no permit" feel to it. And Whedon financed the whole thing out of his own pocket, "in the low six-figures," he has said. Yet, he got his crew to work on it for free on promises and he got his old CGI crew to do a couple of things, so it still has that "Whedon look" to it.
My verdict? I loved it.
The main characters are played by Neil Patrick Harris and Whedon veterans Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day (who played Vi in the last season of Buffy). But there are lots of cameos from other Whedon vets, all producer/writers it seems: David Fury, Marti Noxon, Drew Goddard, and David Petrie. Unlike other projects by Whedon, this is a family affair with both of his brothers and a future sister-in-law playing significant roles in the writing and having camera time as well.
I don't want to give too much away about the plot or the songs, but I can say a couple of things. First, this is clearly inspired by Whedon's well-known obsession with comic books. It's a mucial about a really silly world of superheroes. The songs are solid and in a couple of cases, truly inspired. From a song and excitement point-of-view, the second of its three "acts" is the best. But this brings me to the thing I really wanted to say.
Whedon has a special touch of being funny and satirical at one hand, and incredibly touching and serious on the other. Dr. Horrible is no different. Act Three ends unexpectedly for people raised on typical TV plots. Reading the internet reviews of the film, this caused some consternation. This is where I come to think that most people who blog about TV are really stupid twits.
Because the fact that Whedon chose to organize his internet film in "acts," I think, is telling: this is Shakespearean. All of Shakespeare's plays take place in five acts, and unlike nowadays, where the climax of drama takes place at the end of the plot, in Shakespeare, it was always in Act Three. In the tragedies, for example, it was always in Act Three where the protagonist makes the flawed choice that eventually leads to the tragic downfall: that's the techical climax. The climax to Dr. Horrible takes place in Act Two, and that leads to its tragic, and inevitable, conclusion. And the blog wienies who don't like it should go take some theater classes.
The characters are great and good singers. It's fun and interesting. Some of it had me roaring with laughter. Whedon at his best. Check it out. You can find it on Hulu.com.
P.S. I'm fully aware that all scriptwriters refer to their writing in "acts." But I can't remember a TV show specifically referring to that on screen since Barnaby Jones and the Jack Webb Mark VI shows in the early 70s. Well, I wouldn't put it past Whedon to be referring to those, but I stand by my analysis.
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