Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) stars as Billy, A.K.A. Dr. Horrible, a budding super-villain whose plans for world domination continually go awry. His two goals: getting accepted into the Evil League of Evil, and working up the guts to speak to his laundromat crush Penny, played by Felicia Day (The Guild). The only thing standing in his way is Captain Hammer, Billy's superhero arch-nemesis played by Nathan Fillion (Firefly). With one big score, Billy could get into the E.L.E. and earn the respect of Penny, but only if he can keep her away from the dashing Captain Hammer...
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Conceived as an "online miniseries event" during the 2008 writers' strike, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 42-minute musical romp that bears the distinctive stamp of Joss Whedon. Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) plays the title character, who video-blogs about his twin goals to join the Evil League of Evil and to woo the fair Penny (Felicia Day, of Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Web series The Guild), a woman he met at the local laundromat. Dr. Horrible is foiled on both fronts, however, by his arch-nemesis, the self-absorbed superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion, Whedon's Firefly).
Dr. Horrible was written by Whedon, his brothers Zack and Jed, and Jed's fiancee Maurissa Tancharoen, and the songs were written by Joss and Jed (who also produced, orchestrated, played, etc.) with some lyrics by Tancharoen. (Jed and Tancharoen have backup singing roles.) The offbeat, off-the-cuff humor is laugh-out-loud funny, and just like Dr. Horrible wants to take over the world, the songs will take over your head: they're engaging ("My Freeze Ray"), stirring ("My Eyes"), and sweet ("Penny's Song"). "So They Say" is particularly evocative of Jonathan Larson's Rent, but as with Joss Whedon's musical episode of Buffy, "Once More with Feeling," the influences are diverse. It's hard to imagine a better cast. Harris, who's sung Sondheim on Broadway, is a great lead and clearly the best singer, Day is completely charming, and who better than Captain Tightpants to play the pompous superhero? One could argue about the ending, and the independent budget shows, but Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a complete hoot for people who enjoy musicals with quirky humor. Plan on watching it multiple times. --David Horiuchi
On the DVD Even if you've already watched or downloaded Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a number of bonus features might entice you. There are two commentary tracks: Harris, the three Whedons, Tancharoen, Day, and Fillion recorded a spirited track discussing the movie, and there's also "Commentary! The Musical" in which they ignore the movie and sing about the writers' strike and each other (e.g., Fillion sings "I'm Better than Neil")--the songs aren't as good as the Horrible songs, but it's good silly fun. A 20-minute making-of discusses the cast, the recording sessions, and how the movie became a phenomenon, and 10 videos (a half-hour total) were recorded by fans who want to join the Evil League of Evil. And when's the last time you wanted to pause the FBI warning? --David Horiuchi
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
An Absolute Treat!:
I've been a long time fan of Neil Patrick Harris, ever since his child-star days. He truly shines in this amazing work, in both acting and singing, as Dr. Horrible. The supporting cast does an amazing job as well, as Captain Hammer, and Penny. Don't miss this one, it's one of my favorites!
A must have for anyone...:
This DVD is a definite must have for anyone, anywhere. It doesn't matter if you prefer comedy, drama or sci fi, Dr. Horrible (and company) has it all. And don't let the fact that it is done all in song scare you away, it's done so well that my friends who hate musicals with every fiber of their being LOVED it because the actors were all on top of their game, the plot grips your attention and because it was an hour of plain old fun. Even the special features are hilarious...and there's even a second... more info
Fun and Catchy!:
"Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is a musical about a mad scientist (Doctor Horrible) who wants to make it into this evil league, but so far all of his plots have been foiled by Captain Hammer. We end up seeing two plot lines that twist together in this story, as Doctor Horrible's actually a normal guy named Billy when he's not bent on causing evil. Billy has fallen in love with Penny and wants to get into the evil league and take over the world. He figures that it'll be easy enough, but Captain Hammer... more info
If you like Joss Whedon, you must own this:
The songs are great; my kids downloaded every single one from iTunes. The story is fun but not without meaning. Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia day are fantastic. Contains Joss Whedon's trademark combination of humor and tragedy.
