dr. horrible's sing-along blog

The well-publicized Writers' Strike of 2007 and 2008 was both a gift and a curse to the television and film industry.

Curse: Every scripted show halted production for four months, resulting in the subjective boost in reality programming.

Gift: Conan O'Brien delivered the most entertaining hours of late night ever. And he grew a beard.

Curse: Thousands of makeup artists and sound technicians and other odd job workers were forced into temporary unemployment.

Gift: Joss Whedon defied the strike and wrote a musical, and he made Neil Patrick Harris the lead.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was born.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a short musical film starring Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion. Dr. Horrible, played by Harris, is an aspiring villian with a soft spot for laundry and his burgeoning love interest, Penny. His nemesis is the classic superhero Captain Hammer, played by Fillion.


For such an inexpensive and hasty production, Dr. Horrible is a gem. Joss Whedon has a knack for throwing a thick layer of realism and wit onto tragic sagas, as seen in the dearly-departed Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the gone-too-soon Dollhouse. He knows how to make you laugh. Dr. Horrible is no exception. The story was executed so naturally that it felt like the top-tier finale of a series. Everything came to a head and a major character was accidentally killed in the crossfire. As someone who watched Buffy from the beginning to the end, I found myself completely dumbfounded at Penny's death. It was right up Whedon's alley but I was so honed in that I didn't see it coming.

The music was catchy. I didn't expect anything more than that, so I was pleasantly pleased. Harris delivered when it came to vocals, though Penny, played by the underrated Felicia Day, seemed particularly flat throughout.

What impressed me the most about Dr. Horrible was its tenacity. It was rightfully campy and made no apologies. And it was original. The Writers' Strike gave the writers who didn't boycott the pen the chance to create whatever the hell they wanted with no corporate input or executive shadow. That was the Strike's biggest gift...the gift of freedom.