Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: Difference between revisions
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*[http://www.hulu.com/hd#9472211 Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in HD Free Streaming on Hulu] |
*[http://www.hulu.com/hd#9472211 Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in HD Free Streaming on Hulu] |
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*[http://www.doctorhorrible.net/ Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Official fan site] |
*[http://www.doctorhorrible.net/ Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Official fan site] |
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*[http://www.drhorrible.com/linernotes.html Lyrics] |
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{{Joss Whedon}} |
{{Joss Whedon}} |
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Revision as of 08:37, 2 September 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 43-minute musical film produced exclusively for Internet distribution. It tells the story of Dr. Horrible, the aspiring supervillain alter ego of Billy; Captain Hammer, his nemesis; and Penny, their mutual love interest. 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 acts of approximately 14 minutes each. They were first released online as individual episodes, with two day intervals between each release.
Act I
Dr. Horrible is filming an entry for his blog, giving updates on his schemes and responding to various emails from his viewers. When asked about the "her" that he often mentions, he launches into song about Penny, the girl he likes from the laundromat. ("My Freeze Ray")
The song is cut short by his friend Moist, who delivers a letter from Bad Horse, the leader of the Evil League of Evil. ("Bad Horse Chorus") The letter informs Dr. Horrible that his application for entry into the League will be evaluated, and that they will be watching for his next heinous crime.
The following day, Horrible prepares to steal a case of wonderflonium for his Freeze Ray, by remotely commandeering the courier van. Penny happens to be on the same street ("Caring Hands"), and appears asking to sign a petition to turn a city building into a homeless shelter. However, Horrible's distraction over configuring the remote control results in him appearing uninterested. 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.
When Horrible begins the heist, Captain Hammer appears and destroys the remote control receiver, causing the van to veer towards Penny. Hammer pushes her out of the way just as Horrible regains control of the van and stops it. The two confront each other, but Penny emerges to thank Hammer, making him forget about attacking Dr. Horrible. As Hammer and Penny serenade each other, Horrible makes off with the wonderflonium.
Act II
Dr. Horrible stalks Penny and Captain Hammer on their date; Horrible sings of the misery of the human condition, and Penny sings of hope and the possibility of redemption. ("My Eyes") Penny and Horrible (known to her as Billy) begin to talk openly as friends at the laundromat.
On his blog, Horrible reveals that his Freeze Ray has been completed, and plans to use it the next day. The following blog post reveals that he has failed, as Hammer and the LAPD watch his posts. He then receives a phone call from Bad Horse and is reprimanded, saying that the only way to be inducted now is to commit a murder. ("Bad Horse Chorus" (reprise)) Horrible is conflicted and can't decide on a victim.
While Billy chats with Penny over frozen yogurt about his problems ("Penny's Song"), Penny 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. They feign ignorance on recognizing each other, but when Penny leaves them alone, Hammer proceeds to taunt Horrible about his crush on Penny. As a result, Horrible decides upon Hammer as his victim. ("Brand New Day")
Act III
Los Angeles is abuzz with Captain Hammer's crusade to help the homeless, while Dr. Horrible constructs a Death Ray. ("So They Say") At the opening for the new homeless shelter, Captain Hammer makes a speech and inadvertently embarrasses Penny by claiming "Everyone's a Hero". Penny tries to leave, but is stopped by the appearance of Dr. Horrible. Captain Hammer is frozen by the Freeze Ray but Dr. Horrible hesitates when trying to kill him ("Slipping"), and the Freeze Ray unexpectedly fails. Hammer knocks him across the room and sends the Death Ray flying, damaging it. Hammer then turns the damaged death ray on Horrible, but it explodes in his hands.
Captain Hammer flees, this being his first time experiencing pain, and Penny is killed by shrapnel. ("Everything You Ever") In the wake of the death of Penny and the defeat of Captain Hammer, Horrible becomes a member of the League. Afterwards, Billy posts on the blog that he feels nothing, despite achieving his goal.
Cast
- Neil Patrick Harris as "Billy / Dr. Horrible": A supervillain of the mad scientist variety with "a Ph.D in Horribleness." He desires to become a member of Bad Horse's Evil League of Evil and use his inventions to take over the world and enact social change for the betterment of humanity, whom he sees as ignorant to the problems of the world. As Billy, he struggles to make a romantic connection with Penny.
- Felicia Day as "Penny": Dr. Horrible's love interest, whom he sees at the coin laundromat. She is idealistic and generous and volunteers for a homeless shelter. Her optimism clashes vividly with Billy's cynicism and misanthropy.
- Nathan Fillion as "Captain Hammer": Dr. Horrible's arch-nemesis, he's a self-centered superhero possessing super-human strength. He enjoys harassing Dr. Horrible even when the situation does not warrant it. Ostensibly, Hammer is a superhero in the vein of Superman, with shallow sensibilities and a skewed sense of heroism that go largely unnoticed by the public.
- Simon Helberg as "Moist": Dr. Horrible's friend, who has the underwhelming ability to dampen things. Unlike Dr. Horrible, Moist is a member of the Henchman's Union.
Colleagues of Joss Whedon have cameo roles in the series. Marti Noxon, a co-executive producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrays a newsreader alongside Buffy writer David Fury. 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 superhero/supervillain groupie. Members of the Dr. Horrible crew also play small roles.
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] Some of the music was influenced by Sondheim, among others.[5]
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.[6]
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[7] with a further release on DVD, with some "amazing extras".[8]
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.[9]
Episodes aired at the Official Dr. Horrible website, hosted on Hulu and 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!, a musical commentary track with entirely new numbers performed by the cast and crew.[10] Additionally, Jed Whedon announced during an interview at Comic-Con International that they will accept video entries from fans for the Evil League of Evil. The producers' ten favorite submissions will be added to the DVD.[11]
On July 28, 2008 the film became available again online for free viewing internationally, but has since been restricted to the United States only.[12]
Soundtrack
The musical contains 14 songs, including credits and reprises, but at the time of broadcast the song titles were not identified. The soundtrack was released through the iTunes Store on September 2, 2008[13] and will be released on CD at a later date.[14]
Songs are:
- Horrible Theme — Instrumental
- My Freeze Ray — Neil Patrick Harris
- Bad Horse Chorus — Jed, Joss & Zack Whedon
- Caring Hands — Felicia Day
- A Man's Gotta Do — Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion
- My Eyes — Felicia Day, Neil Patrick Harris
- Bad Horse Chorus (Reprise) — Jed, Joss & Zack Whedon
- Penny's Song — Felicia Day
- Brand New Day — Neil Patrick Harris
- So They Say — Ensemble
- Everyone's a Hero — Nathan Fillion and Ensemble
- Slipping — Neil Patrick Harris
- Everything You Ever — Neil Patrick Harris
- Horrible Credits — Instrumental
References
- ^ a b Joss Whedon (2008-06-28). "Comment on "Doctor Horrible website is live"". Whedonesque.com. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ a b Roush, Matt (2008-06-30). "Exclusive: First Look at Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible"". Roush Dispatch. TV Guide. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Nussbaum, Emily (2008-07-21). "Joss Whedon on 'Dr. Horrible,' Stephen Sondheim, and Bad Horse". NY Magazine. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
- ^ "Captain Hammer". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Dr. Horrible Writers, Hot Zombie Love, ARG Mania". Epic Fu. 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- ^ Sharma, Arjun (2008-07-29). "'Dr. Horrible' Free Again on Hulu, Shortly After Fourth Part Confirmed". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ^ http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/08/29/dr-horrible-sings-again-gets-moist/
- ^ "Exclusive Interview: Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen". DoctorHorrible.net. 2008-07-1. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
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External links
