On the Bookshelf

My mind has been set on the creations of Joss Whedon seeing as just today it was announced that his television show Dollhouse has not been renewed for a third season. One thing lead to another and I found myself revisiting Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Dr. Horrible came into being thanks to the writer's strike in 2008. Joss, along with his brothers Jed and Zach, called on Neil Patrick Harris (squee!), Felicia Day (squee!), and Nathan Fillion (OMG! Squee!) to help bring their musical vision to the screen.

Your computer screen that is.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is an internet musical television show comprising of three segments, and coming in at just under forty-five minutes all together. It tells the story of Billy, or Dr. Horrible as he is better known, an aspiring super villain who blogs about his ambitions to join the Evil League of Evil, fix all the problems in the world by being the one who rules it, and winning the affections of the kind hearted and community minded Penny. Standing in Billy's way is Captain Tightpants, I mean, ahem, Captain Hammer (wrong Nathan Fillion show, sorry) who not only keeps thwarting Billy's criminal attempts to impress Bad Horse and earn a place within the ELE, but steals Billy's love interest!

The dialogue packs all of the usual Whedon humour and wit, which I love. The characters are just delightful with NPH as the not so horrible wannabe villain Dr. Horrible and Fillion as the obnoxious, cocky, and not always the brightest, self styled super hero, Captain Hammer.

The music is catchy and I always end up singing along and then later humming the tunes back to myself. I find it impossible to pick a favourite song. I'll be listening to one song and be thinking that song is the best but then the next will start and I am instantly in love with that one. Owner's of the DVD while be delighted to find that even the commentary is a musical. In Commentary! The Musical the actors sing about the show, their refusal to sing about the show, who is better, and games on their phones. Even the extras get to jump in and share in the spotlight and Moist (Simon Helberg) finally gets to sing his piece. Again, I find it hard to pick a favourite song but it did get me playing Ninja Ropes.

Funny, tragic, and entertaining all in one, Dr. Horribe's Sing-Along Blog is quite possibly the best thing that resulted from the writer's strike. Go to the Dr. Horrible website for more information on how you can view the show!

Terra