Now, sure it's a great story, a hilarious comedy and a beautiful tragedy all at once.  And unlike most of the musical things on the Internet, the music is wonderfully written and presented, right down to the top notch harmonies between the various characters.  Other people are talking about those things, however, and I want to talk about how this fits in with the world of Mad Scientist Stories.

The Mad Scientist has always been one of my favorite sub-archetypes of character in storytelling.  They show up all throughout the history of literature as characters who seek perfection and dream dreams.  The modern mad scientist misses a lot of this.  Nowadays, they're pretty much just goofy people in exaggerated lab coats, goggles and gloves who can tinker just about any gizmo together, and wind up shouting "Life! Life!" a lot.  This is okay, but fewer and fewer modern mad scientists talk about the loss of one's dreams due to their work (such as Dr. Frankenstein), the ironic loss as the indirect result of taking one's art to dizzying heights (such as the death of Icharus, who used one of his father's inventions to fly too near the Sun and died), or even the occasional acheivement of the dream, but the realization that for all the accomplishments he will ultimately remain mortal and need to identify with the humanity he came from (that was my convoluted attempt to put Willy Wonka into the mad scientist territory.  I have more stable grounds for that classification, but no time to expound upon it just now.)

Dr. Horrible manages to be both, however.  He's a supervillain mad scientist in the same style as those who populated DC's Oolong Island not too long ago, and he's also a classic mad scientist who has to make decisions between his "simple" and "grand" dreams.  He wears a goofy lab coat and works on his freeze ray, while also wishing that he could be courting Penny under different circumstances.

In one respect, you could argue that he's a classic mad scientist through and through.  However, instead of a specific science to excel in (candy, reanimating dead tissue, or time machiens to look at the classic literary examples), his chosen art is Mad Science Supervillainy itself.  After all, he ultimately must choose between his mad science and his humanity.

And also like a classic mad scientist, he was doomed from just about the start.  The moment he failed with his first test of his freeze ray, he was locked in: either get into the Evil League of Evil, or be killed by Bad Horse and crew.  Imagine if Dr. Frankenstein had reacted differently when reunited with his creature.  If instead of blaming the creature he had hugged it and said, "Oh, thank goodness, I've been looking for you for years!  How did you find me?  Hurry, though, there's someone crawling around trying to kill members of my family, you may be next!"  It would've put an entirely different spin on the entire novel (plus Frankenstein's monster would've had a massive guilt issue to work with.)  When mad scientists try to run from their problems, it always catches up to them, just as it did with Dr. Horrible.

In the end, Dr. Horrible just accepts his fate.  Honestly, there's nothing else he can do.  Might's well enjoy it, even though it's clearly tearing him up inside.

Having said that, if you haven't seen it yet, go watch it.  Yes, I know you just read the spoilers I warned you about.  Doesn't matter.  There's still plenty with which to surprise and delight you.

I was browsing over IMDB and saw that Joss Whedon is busy filming another TV series, "Doll House", which will star Eliza Dushku. You would remember Eliza from her series Tru Calling and in her roll as Faith Lehane - Faith is so hot! - in Whedon's earlier series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

Amy Acker, who we've seen in Alias, but know better as Winifred 'Fred' Burkle in Angel will also have a roll, as well as Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) and Harry J. Lennix (24), we should see performances from Raphael Sbarge, Clayton Rohner and Maury Sterling.

The plot is much the same as we expect from Whedon, crime and love stories in futuristic packaging. Although I have yet to see an episode the plot descriptions I've read feel like Dark Angel meets Tru Calling.

If it's Whedon, it's something to look forward to.

technorati tags: joss, whedon, television, tv, dushku, elizadushku, acker, amyacker

Woah, it has been over a month. Bad Jordan. Eh, nobody reads this anyway but here we go.

I come to you, oh nonexistent readers, to implore you to watch the greatest superhero-antihero-musical-online thing ever. It is called Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and it was made by Joss Whedon. (May His name be praised.) For you Philistines who don't know who Joss the Boss is, hover over his name there for his IMDB page. Chances are you still don't know who I'm talking about. Okay, stupid, scroll down the page. Keep going, past my embarissingly long review of Indy 4: George Has Betrayed Us Again, to the imbedded Youtube link. That post, WAYYY at the bottom describes my unending love for a show called Firefly. (You know how most every girl I know has a disturbing love of Twilight? [Or for the people who refuse to let go, Harry Potter.] That is the way I feel about Firefly. But that is okay because it is awesome. Why am I rehashing this? Oh, right, Joss made that show. You've probably never heard of Firefly either, but Joss also made Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Heard of that one? Good. Ever seen it? No? You should, but I'll save that for the "Wag of the Finger" portion. Okay, now that you know (sort-of) who Joss is, on to stuff about the web-show.

"Dr. Horrible" stars Neil Patrick Harris (that guy from Doogie Howser, M.D., a show that was on before I was born) as the title character, a third or fourth-tier supervillain who has a crush on the girl at the laundromat. Really, I'm serious. And there's singing. Good singing. Music was a collaboration between Joss and his brother Jed, and I would have to say that the songs are more Broadway-style than the previous Whedon musical outing, the sixth season musical Buffy episode "Once More With Feeling", which is also excellent. The girl at the laundromat is Penny, played by Felicia Day from.... nothing. Really she was in 8 episodes of the last season of Buffy and nothing else I've ever heard of. Anyways, she works with the homeless. Blech. Rounding out the main cast is "superhero" and nemesis of Dr. Horrible, Captain Hammer, played by my favorite Canadian (and you can quote me on that) Nathan Fillion, aka Captain Mal Reynolds from Firefly. Yes, he sings too, and his introduction is full on singing while surfing on top of a van. Everyone sings and it is awesome. Just go watch it. You can see the whole thing here: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog You will be glad you did.

In case you couldn't tell, that was the "Tip of the Hat" portion. Now for the Wag of the Finger. My topic today, and I will probably bring the wrath of nearly every female (and Jon who reads them too) I know down on me, is the Twilight series. Note how I said that so I don't have to italicize it, thus giving it the status of a book. First off, I will say that I haven't read them. This is for two reasons: 1. I'm not a girl. 2. I don't hate myself that darn much. Now you (for the remainder of this section, "you" refers to the rabid fangirls of this wretched phenomonon) will say, "But you haven't read them, how can you say anything negative?". My answer to this is that they have ticked me off throughly without me needing to read them.

Why do I detest them so? Well, first off I hate chick-lit in any and all forms. Secondly, all I've ever heard people talk about when they speak of it is how perfect that Edward guy is and how they wish they could be Bella Swan. (Isn't that the name of Keira Knightley's character in Pirates? Wait, that's Elizabeth Swann. With two N's. Nevermind.) Swooning over fictional characters is creepy (I'm looking at you, Ms. McLean). I've discussed this throughly and determined that guys don't do that. Guys, when they are attracted to a character, skip straight to the actress in question. Yes, this only happens in TV/movies, not in books. If you are going to idolize someone let it be the attractive real person behind the character. Still pathetic, oh yes, but less creepy.

The other problem I have is the books fundamental disregard for anything about vampires ever. (Disclaimer: I am sourcing this straight from Wikipedia, if any of it is wrong, correct me and I will find something else to grouse about.) If I may quote, "they have very few weaknesses – they are not harmed by holy water, garlic, stakes, crosses, or even the sun." Really? REALLY? I can see not being harmed by garlic, that is kind of lame and also delicious but sunlight and stakes not doing anything? Speaking of sunlight, Wikipedia says they can go into the light but avoid it because, get this, they SPARKLE! What the hell? Sparkly male-model vampires? Who writes this stuff? Oh, a housewife from Utah. Figures. I will admit that my primary comparison is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show obviously about dispatching the demons of the night, but having an anything in a book without weaknesses is silly and doesn't allow for much excitement does it?

I would implore you, Twilight-people, to take a look at the Buffy DVDs. It has human-vampire romance! Really, I swear! I'm willing to bet that Angel is at least 3x as brooding as Edward ever wanted to be. Plus, brooding aside, he is pretty hardcore, especially when he loses his soul. Evil Angel > regular Angel. It is hillarious and clever and well worth your time, as is anything by Joss. Just don't watch the original Buffy movie. It is just BAD. (Joss didn't make it.)

In other news, I met my reading goal last week. Wheee. One more Tip of the Hat: Dune. Go read it if you haven't already. Please.

Jordan Keagle has a Ph.D in Horribleness.

The entire series is presented as one movie, so you can watch the whole thing in one sitting. But you better be quick. Just like last time, Dr. Horrible will only be available on Hulu for a week for four months. Whedon even wrote the introductory blog post for the vid site:

"Point being, HULU hosted Dr. Horrible for free for a week, which we, the mushortio-makers, are forever grateful for, and now you can stream it for free on their site. How awesome is that? I know, you're humbled. Stop groveling. Just remember: the more you watch it, the more you will understand about life and the universe and hydroponics. You'll laugh, you'll cry.... and you just might learn long division. With songs! PLEASE watch it. We're so lonely..."

And since we're catching up with the Horrible crew, ReelPop Blog reports that Felicia Day, who played Penny in the series, will write and star in a new online series for Machinima.com. The comedy will take place inside a video game with individual episodes eventually packed together to form a half-hour pilot. (Guess we should add that to the list of sci-fi shows storming the web.)

And there are obviously like, hundreds more where that came from. Okay, a hundred. But if you want anything specific, feel free to ask!

Worth that and more!  Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion are fabulous in this unique musical.  Support Joss Whedon and his Master Plan-- download Dr. Horrible from iTunes!

I must admit that I'm a Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Serenity) fan ever since seeing Firefly, a most excellent bit of television that was badly mishandled by Fox.

In the pause created by the writer strike last winter he took the time to create a made-for-the-internet musical comedy called "Dr Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog" starring Neil Patrick Harris (Doogey howser, How I met Your Mother), Nathan Fillion (Firely, Serenity) and Felicia Day.

As I understand it the show is available via Hulu online for a limited time, or via iTunes. A DVD release is anticipated eventually. The show is three acts, a total of 42 minutes. It's really cute stuff.  Highly recommended.

Here's a Whedon-unrelated update, I added a new page to my blog.

So is the Horrible Blog as predecent for an ongoing webcomic? I haven't read all the blurb (my other half has), I've been clearing the decks for the third assignment, be nice if it were a writing job, and it is in a way, but its unpaid and based in the world of molecular biology instead of the world of fiction.

Then let me know if you're surprised that Neil Patrick Harris can sing.  I was.

This is possibly the most amazing direct to internet superhero musical that I've ever seen.  And it's only available until midnight tonight.  Probably EST.  Because that's how things usually go.

While that article had some interesting points, I couldn't help but note this growing annoyance in me as I worked my way through it. It wasn't 'til I got to this quote by Ira Steven Behr, holder of the "creative reins" with his team of writers (according to the article), that I understood its source (my emphasis):

"When Winn became the Kai, it came as a total shock to us. It was one of those epiphanies that we had. It seemed so clear all of a sudden; what were we doing? We were moving in this one direction: Bareil must become the Kai. Then we think, "What the hell would we get from Bareil being the Kai? Just terms of drama, just in terms of a TV show that has to have 170-odd episodes, where does that help us?"

Now, I understand that authors can be surprised by the turns their stories take while they're writing them, but could you imagine Joss Whedon or JMS saying that about a major twist in their shows while they were in production? This is at the heart of what I've called the 'institution' problem in television.

If you've been guaranteed a number of seasons (and I couldn't have conceived that the number could be as high as 170 prior to reading this article) on nothing more than concepts, I would suggest your chances of producing greatness are considerably reduced. There's little fear of the end; no fire under your seat, as it were. Plus, worst of all, you're happy with open-ended story lines that wander ad infinitum as a fail-safe when the dramatic story arcs don't come to you.

Oh well, no Star Trek series is on the air now, so one could say I'm railing against a problem that's been solved. Really, I think I'm just lamenting the loss of Firefly, and the seven years' worth of material in Whedon's head.

"What a crazy random happenstance."

"Like cavemen fear thunder, I still have to wonder, can you really hear me?"

That was not the ending I was expecting. The humour and irony of the first two acts set up the viewer for the final act in a predictable fashion. The girl would come to her senses, Dr Horrible would give up his evil ways and the hero would be exposed and maybe learn a valuable lesson too, though I'm not sure anything would have made it through Captain Hammer's ego.

And that's not what happened.

As a concept I loved it, it rocked, the acting was brilliant, the music stunning and the little asides humourous, but as an ending I hated it. That's okay, I'm not supposed to like it. It was a happy little set-up and everything was going to turn out just fine!

Except things don't work that way. The girl died, the hero ran and cried, and the sheep turned right round and started idolising the villian with the broken heart who finally had his victory, hollow as it was. No one won, it was a miserable ending and the world didn't turn out for the better; if the very end is any kind of omen it actually took a turn for the worse.

Ringing a bell anyone?

Maybe Joss Whedon didn't intend any deeper meaning to the Sing-a-Long Blog, but it had one nontheless. It was a an excellent piece of work, and I was stunned at the end of the first viewing. Worthy of a second viewing, and more, there's plenty of little things going on to notice the more you watch it, and of course, there's memorising the lyrics!

Go visit the site (click picture above) and add your thoughts on their myspace page. It'll be coming out in DVD soon and I intend to pick myself up a copy, I haven't gotten all the words quite down pat yet.

It follows a wannabe super villain, Dr. Horrible, as he tries to join a league of other bad guys. It's filled with drama, laughter, action and Neil Patrick Harris. Yes, fucking, Neil Patrick Harris, playing an evil doctor. Oh, and did I mention it's also a musical? If any of those interest you at all, you really need to check this out. If you didn't already catch the link in one of the automatic del.icio.us link updates, click the banner.

Oh, and watch while the watchin' is good. All signs point to this costing money to see in the near future. Not that it isn't worth it, though. Follow on Facebook or Twitter as well.

UPDATE: Oh, great news. Dr. Horrible is still available for free to watch, with limited commercial interruption, over at Hulu.com. So really, why aren't you checking it out yet?

This 'Net event, for lack of a better word, is a bit campy and starts off a little slow, but by the end of Act I you're definitely laughing and enjoying the off-Broadway-esque music.  Act II is even better.  It's free for awhile (till midnight on Jul.20) then the people must pay...sounds like a model we all know, eh?

[editor added later] As usual, leave it up to the "community" and surprising things start to happen.

Do you think Dr. Horrible is a hit or a miss...??

Update!: Watch it all right here right now!

That's Neil Patrick Harris dressed up as a mad scientist supervillain singing a song in a Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Serenity and the upcoming FOX series Dollhouse) written and directed free web series. Did I just die and go to nerd heaven? I think I did. If you're not already there now (the website, not nerd heaven), you should watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and then come back and read why you did what you just did.

The Setup: Joss Whedon (from all those credits above) wrote these three musical webisodes with his brothers Zack and Jed earlier this year during the writers strike.

Neil Patrick Harris (best known for being Doogie Howser but I bet he hates that) stars as the titular Dr. Horrible who is trying to sum up the courage to speak to the girl of his dreams (Felicia Day - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Guild) who he met/saw from afar at the laundromat, defeat his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer (A cheesy on  the outside Nathan Fillion - Captain Mal on Firefly) and gain entrance into the 'Evil League of Evil' (for which he submitted an application).

According to Joss, Dr. Horrible is kind of an experiment in finding a new medium in which to tell stories that differs from the current system which is subject to crippling strikes every few years. He gives an analogy here on his FAQ for Dr. Horrible.

Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system. 

Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few. 

The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first. 

The Good: It's quirky, it's fun, it's hilarious and the music is even good (actually very good - especially in Act II - but that's all I've seen so far). NPH is both comic and tragic and so likable as the villain in the story, as Fillion does an excellent job of being both heroic and smarmy. Day is a good tempering balance between the two and everyone sings well. It's quite the treat. An in-depth analysis really doesn't do Dr. Horrible justice. It's full of wit, heartedness (of the light variety), laughs and funny new takes on the comic-book genre. Really, I love it.

The Bad: Honestly, I can't think of any downside except for the fact that it's only going to be online for a week. The first Act debuted on the 15th, the second today - the 17th and the third and final act will be on Saturday the 19th. Then it all comes offline on the 20th. So you need to catch it quick before it goes away. (But it will still be available on iTunes and there is going to be a DVD release later according to Mr. Whedon.)

The Skinny: Watch it! Watch it now! When I do, I can't help but with that someone would give it money and make this into an ongoing TV series because I could watch this stuff all day (but then that would undermind the whole point of the exercise). It hits me in just the right spot and it's so much fun and it's got a' Ph.D in Horribleness'.

9.85/10 (I'd give it a 10 if it were going to stay online longer.)

Watch it Online: Check out the whole series on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (drhorrible.com) or click on the image below!

Also, if you want to know more about how this series works and who is involved. This blog has gathered an inhuman amount of information about it. Whatup!

http://www.drhorrible.com/act_I.html

http://www.drhorrible.com/act_II.html

Yes, there is singing. They'll probably have the soundtrack out soon like they did for the Buffy musical episode.  I think that one is still Katie's favorite Buffy episode.