Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Plot synopsis:
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog consists of three acts of approximately 14 minutes each. They were first released online in July 2008 as individual episodes, with two-day intervals between each release.
=== Act I ===
Dr. Horrible is filming an entry for his video blog, giving updates on his schemes and responding to various emails from his viewers. Asked about the "her" that he often mentions, he launches into a song about Penny, the girl he likes from the laundromat ("My Freeze Ray").
The song is cut short by his "evil moisture buddy" Moist, who brings up a letter from Bad Horse, the leader of the Evil League of Evil. 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 ("Bad Horse Chorus").
The following day, Horrible prepares to steal a case of wonderflonium for his time-stopping Freeze Ray by commandeering the courier van using a remote control device. Penny happens to be on the same street ("Caring Hands"), and appears asking him to sign a petition to turn a condemned city building into a homeless shelter. However, the remote requires his attention, and he appears uninterested in her and her cause. 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' ("A Man's Gotta Do").
When Horrible remotely drives the van away, Captain Hammer appears and takes over Horrible's song, smashing the remote control receiver and inadvertently causing the van to veer towards Penny. Hammer pushes her out of the way (into a pile of garbage) just as Horrible regains control of the van and stops it, making it appear that Captain Hammer stopped the van with his bare hands. The two confront each other, with Hammer slamming Horrible's head on the van's hood, but Penny emerges to thank Hammer, making him forget about beating up Dr. Horrible. As Hammer and Penny serenade each other, Horrible glares at them while he makes off with the wonderflonium.
=== Act II ===
Dr. Horrible stalks Penny and Captain Hammer on their dates; 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.
On his blog, Horrible reveals that his Freeze Ray has been completed, and that he plans to use it the next day. The following post reveals that he has failed, as Hammer and the LAPD watch his blog, and they were ready for him. He then receives a phone call from Bad Horse and is reprimanded, saying that the only way to be inducted now is to commit an assassination ("Bad Horse Chorus (Reprise)"). Horrible is conflicted and can't decide on a victim, or even if he wants to commit a murder at all, even though the League will deny his application if he doesn't.
Billy chats with Penny over frozen yogurt, at the laundromat, about his problems ("Penny's Song"). As they grow closer, Penny mentions that Captain Hammer is planning to drop by. 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 reveals that he recognizes Billy as Dr. Horrible. Captain Hammer then taunts Dr. Horrible about his crush on Penny, happy to be taking the thing that Dr. Horrible wants most. It becomes obvious that Hammer doesn't really care about Penny but just wants to sleep with her to spite Horrible. Horrible decides to kill Hammer as his heinous crime for admission to Bad Horse's Evil League of Evil ("Brand New Day").
=== Act III ===
The city is abuzz with Captain Hammer's crusade to help the homeless and he is considered the city's new hero; Penny ponders her relationship with Captain Hammer, waiting at the laundromat to share frozen yogurt with an absent Billy; and Dr. Horrible goes into seclusion while obsessively constructing a Death Ray to kill Captain Hammer once and for all ("So They Say").
At the opening for the new homeless shelter, where a statue of Captain Hammer will be unveiled, Captain Hammer begins a speech of encouragement to the homeless, but it degenerates into self-centered, condescending praise of his own excellence and relationship with Penny ("Everyone's a Hero"). Penny, embarrassed and disillusioned, quietly tries to leave as the crowd joins in singing Hammer's song, but they are interrupted by the appearance of Dr. Horrible, who uses the Freeze Ray on Captain Hammer, cutting his song short. Dr. Horrible taunts the shocked crowd and declares that they cannot recognize that Hammer's disguise is "slipping", and he reveals a second, more lethal laser gun: his completed Death Ray ("Slipping").
At last, Horrible aims the lethal weapon at the frozen form of Captain Hammer, but hesitates. At that moment the Freeze Ray unexpectedly fails, and a suddenly revived Hammer punches Horrible across the room. The Death Ray falls from his hands, damaging it. Hammer then picks up the Death Ray, turns it on Horrible, and triumphantly completes the final note of his prior song. However, ignoring Dr. Horrible's warnings, Hammer pulls the trigger and the damaged Death Ray misfires. The weapon explodes in Hammer's hands, injuring him and causing him to feel pain, apparently for the first time in his life. He flees, a wailing wreck, asking for "someone maternal". Dr. Horrible realizes suddenly that he has succeeded in vanquishing his nemesis, but still having not committed the murder required by the League. Unfortunately, he discovers Penny slumped against a wall, impaled by shrapnel from the exploding weapon. Tragically, she dies in Horrible's arms, deliriously reassuring him that Captain Hammer will save them.
Dr. Horrible declares a Pyrrhic victory, with "the world [he] wanted, at [his] feet", seeing that her death is ironically the murder he required. In the aftermath, Horrible gains infamy and is free to commit additional crimes unfettered by Captain Hammer. Horrible becomes a member of the League, striding into a party in celebration of his induction, attended by Moist and the villains Pink Pummeller and Purple Pimp. Meanwhile, Captain Hammer is seen on a psychiatric couch sobbing to his therapist.
Dr. Horrible, donning a new outfit – red coat, black gloves and his goggles covering his eyes – takes his seat at the League, composed of fellow super-villains Tie-Die, Snake Bite, Professor Normal, Dead Bowie, Fake Thomas Jefferson, Fury Leika, and Bad Horse (who proves to be an actual horse). He addresses the camera, saying, "now the nightmare's real", and in working "to make the whole world kneel", that "[He] won't feel...". He completes the line "...a thing" in a final blog post as Billy, out of costume, looking numb and lost in the midst of his lab. ("Everything You Ever")

Tags: romantic, comedy, entertaining

Review:
I read Joss Whedon and his brother's were bored during the Writer's Strike last season and came up with the idea for Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog.
If you simply enjoy being entertained, this enchantingly short trio of episodes sheer is perfection itself.Congratulations to Joss Wheedon for giving his planet such a very sweet little gift.i'm not much of a fan of musicals as a rule, but this one plays so cheekily on all things geeky it's hard to resist.Too often these days, performances rarely reveal that the cast absolutely enjoyed their rolls so much.
Knowing that these people all performed for free and for friendship makes this one all the more enjoyable to watch.So many Directors with so much money & talent at their disposal really do miss the point, and the point is to put your heart into it.So obviously made with love, and the help of friends, Dr Horrible will make you smile over & over!.
For 'Buffy' fans, "Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is similar to the famous 'Once More With Feeling' musical episode, exploring familiar Whedon territory with some favourite Whedon stars: Nathon Fillion from 'Firefly', Felicia Day also from the last series of 'Buffy', plus Neil Patrick Harris and cameos galore: is the good guy good, is the hero the heroine with a day-job, and does the bad guy *want* to be horrible?
Or, to put it another way, it's about the nerdy guy wanting the girl and the beefy upstart with an ego the size of a blimp is hogging her for himself.That's the gist of it, anyway, but to say this is all Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is about is to do a total disservice to Whedon and his large fan-base.
One is thrust into that sharp, laconic, and joyously obvious sense of humor that reveals Whedon as someone who is a kind of curious master of musical comedy with those appropriate doses of barbed satire.At the same time, as one who may have watched their share of Buffy and even Firefly knows, Whedon is also a hopeless romantic (hopeless in that he can't seem to put people together without *something* going wrong, which is the point of all drama one supposes), and his tale of Dr. Horrible, done through songs that reveal the characters' souls, heartfelt and adorable and totally meat-headed (the Captain's final song at the podium with his award is next to Godliness), and at the same time a cheap joke (random cowboys singing along from the sides of the frame) or a catchy number (the "Man's gotta do" song is far more wondrous than about 99.9% of stuff on the radio now) isn't sacrificed for the sake of what little plot there is.And lest not forget the acting, or at least the awesome musical prowess.
Neal Patrick Harris and Nathan Filion are just about perfect in their roles, as is the woman who plays Penny (the red-headed girl Dr. Horrible meets at the Coin Mart), with Filion especially juicy in a somewhat campy turn where he takes all those heroic qualities of his Firefly character and reveals the dark side ("And yes, we had sex").
Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog is about as close to romantic-comedy-musical-satire amazement as one could hope for, or maybe not expect, from Whedon, particularly as a free web-series running just about the length of a full short film (or an extremely short feature)..
As preposterous as it sounds, this thing actually works and I wouldn't be shocked at all to hear that Whedon's little experiment yields a profit on DVD revenues."Dr. Horrible" is about a man with that very name played by NPH who considers himself a villain and is only waiting to receive his official acceptance into a league of villains, though to do that he must succeed at an evil plan or most specifically, kill someone, neither of which he has been able to do.
In classic fashion, it is over-cocky hero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion who worked with Whedon on "Firefly") who seems to always interfere with both of Dr. Horrible's objectives: being evil and Penny.The music in this serial was probably the most surprising thing about it.
In Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog," you will find a lovable antagonist (Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible) trying to make his way into the "company of Evil" as a villain that is unwilling to actually harm people, yet wants to be viewed as dangerous.
His love interest, Penny (Felicia Day, head-writer of "The Guild"), is a benevolent free spirit that wishes to help the homeless people of America, while "Captain Hammer" (Nathan Fillion, the captain in "Firefly") manages to woo her as a "Corporate tool" superhero that supposedly saves lives.This comedy web-series/musical/drama, which has been stated by Joss Whedon as being inspired by "The Guild," another popular web-show, is full of wonderful songs that can make you laugh or almost move you to tears despite the obvious satirical influences.
Neil Patrick Harris is really wonderful in the lead role - showing the angst, insecurity and loneliness of a evil villain who "wants to rule the world" - and has a crush on a lovely girl in the laundromat he frequents.
Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) has two goals: get inducted into the Evil League of Evil, and win the heart of his laundromat crush, Penny (Felicia Day).
However, all this was worth it as the strike allowed Joss Whedon to have the time needed to make this 45 minute masterpiece, Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog.
Better yet, just like Whedon and the rest of the cast, Harris seems to love making every minute of this movie, making the characters both more believable and more likable.
When he's not working on his freeze ray he's pining after Penny, the girl of his dreams, and avoiding beat downs from his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer (who is dickish enough to make us hate him too).The backstory of this three act mini movie is really just as interesting as the movie itself.
The result is a great little musical about a D list villain named Dr. Horrible trying to gain respect and his way into the Evil League of Evil.
if you have doubts over watching this then don't, it may seem a little weird and you may be a bit inclined to turn it off in the first few moments but don't, because this is one of Whedon's best pieces of work and it gets better and better and leaves you wondering what he will do next with this great creationwatch this no matter what, especially if you love NPH or the awkward and quirky type of humour 10/10 just magnificent.
I absolutely love this series.With Felicia Day, NPH, and Nathan Fillion starring in this how could it go wrong?Led by the fantastic Duo of Jed and Joss Whedon this series tugs at your heart strings is strewn with comedy and most of all makes you side with the bad guys.Definitely check this one out..
Entertainment Weekley says: "The songs are kinda perfectthe thing is dam*ed funny."The film Stars Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, How I Met Your Mother) as a lovestruck wannabe supervillain, with Nathan Fillion (Serenity, Castle) as the self-absorbed superhero smitten with the same girl.
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" was a three part internet series created by Joss Whedon during the Writer's Strike.
Even people who are not fans of the musical genre can enjoy the quirkiness and humor of "Dr. Horrible's Sing- Along Blog" I'm a huge fan of Neil Patrick Harris, and he certainly did not disappoint.
Also watch for songs you'll find yourself singing in the shower like My Freeze Ray, A Man's Gotta Do and Brand New Day.The story is nothing special at a first (nerd trying to conquer the jock and win the girl) but is clever enough to keep the show going until the freaking brilliant ending.
Act three was mostly good for Nathan Fillion's character's arrogance and the cast's improved confidence with the singing, particularly Neil Patrick Harris.
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" created by Joss Whedon is an action- packed musical with lots of humor.
The main character, "Dr. Horrible" is a super villain who acts like a normal person but has a plan to "rule the world" with Penny, a woman he loves at the local laundromat.
Combining two seemingly discordant movie themes such as a theatrical, offbeat musical and a superhero flick may seem like cinematic suicide to some, but Joss Whedon's low-budget production Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog meshes the two genres seamlessly, creating something new and enjoyable for both musical and superhero fans, alike.Dr. Horrible, played by Neil Patrick Harris, is portrayed as a sad excuse for a villain, as his values are genuine and his attempts at badness are mostly foiled.
Dr. Horrible records his feeble evil efforts on an online blog where he reveals his latest evil attempts and his unwavering love for a girl named Penny, portrayed by Felicia Day, who he has quietly adored from afar at the local Laundromat.
Captain Hammer's said Hammer is his penis (as revealed in a conversation with Dr. Horrible)...and its all downhill from there.The absolute worst thing about this film (and that says a lot) is Felicia Day. I know that she was probably trying but she had no chemistry with Billy and no chemistry with Captain Hammer and to top it all off, her singing voice is as weak as the jokes.
I mean okay, Dr. Horrible comes off as creepy, even in his "Billy" secret identity and Captain Hammer comes off as "I'm 100% perfect" type assholes, don't get me wrong that was the intention but if someone had to choose between these two, I sincerely hope to God that they'd choose neither.There are only 2 things salvageable about this film - it has a few halfway decent songs (Well...the first and last of the second act) and Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer but thats because he plays it so over the top and even though he couldn't save the movie, he does provide the film with a leg to stand on outside of "the songs".
Anything else, the writing, Neil Patrick Harris, the visual effects, the rest of the songs, the direction...it either ranges from awful to they looked like they had none of this to they looked like they were trying but not even they could save this (This last one only applies to NPH).Overall if you like this film, GREAT, I wont judge you but for me...this was 40 minutes of not caring, not being entertained and not laughing at any joke it was throwing at me.
Dr. Horrible: Cheesy and I like it When I first heard Joss Whedon had directed a sing-along blog, my first reaction was, no way!
The singing maybe horrible, the acting maybe cheesy, but put it all together and it is awesome.First we have Dr. Horrible played by Neil Patrick Harris; he's trying to earn his way into the "Evil League of Evil".
This slow-paced, weak-humored, poorly-scripted Comedy/Musical was the absolute dregs of "horrible" filmmaking.Yes. Horrible.The dumb, easily-forgettable songs were horrible.Superhero, Captain Hammer was horrible with his despicable mind-set on laying every woman that he possibly could.Precious Penny, the do-gooder, was horrible with her self-righteous crusade to help the homeless.And, last, but not least, the petty, sniveling, little stalker, Dr. Horrible was the most horrible one of all, with his boring, unfunny monologues and his pure vanity-boy, frost-tipped hair.This episode was only 45 minutes in length, but it dragged on with its horrible stupidity for what seemed like an eternity.Horrible.....
Dr. Horrible who poses as an evil scientist, Captain Hammer who poses as the good guy, AKA, superhero and Penny who is comes across as very immature.
Dr. Horrible actually stopped the van.Captain Hammer and Penny started dating and that is when I thought the movie got cheesy.
I really did not see Penny dieing as the way the blog would end and Dr. Horrible acting like nothing else mattered without her.
As the film comes to an end, the two face off in a duel for power and the affection of Penny, which ends badly for one of the two.ReactionAs I sat in class, watching Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog, I couldn't help but enjoy myself.
Each person played his or her role perfectly; with Neil Patrick Harris playing the love stricken Villain, Nathan Fillion playing the conceded, poor excuse for a Super hero, and Felicia Day playing the secret lover fought over by both characters.
Oddly touching, absolutely hilarious, and even beautiful, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is a blast of pure fun from Joss Whedon and Neil Patrick Harris!.
Directed by Joss Whedon (from a script he co-wrote with brothers Jed and Zack, and actress/writer Maurissa Tancharoen) and starring the fantastic Neil Patrick Harris, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is a dash of pure fun, released in 2008 originally as a web-series, and subsequently released as a sort-of short film on DVD and Blu-Ray.A musical "tragicomedy", the story follows Harris as Billy aka "Dr. Horrible" an aspiring super-villain, who boasts and teases his work via a video-blog online.
He yearns to be a part of the "Evil League of Evil" (run by super-villain "Bad Horse"), and secretly desires the affections of Penny (the gorgeous and hilarious Felicia Day from "The Guild"), the girl of his dreams who he sees frequently at his local laundromat.However, he is at odds with several factors working against him, including the egotistical and somewhat sociopathic superhero of the city, Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillian), his own conflicted emotions (he must pull a major crime to join the league, but detests murder and death), and other factors.Eventually, he decides to heist "Wonderflonium", a fictitious element that he needs to complete his time-stopping Freeze-Ray, but the heist goes sour and he inadvertently causes Penny and his nemesis Captain Hammer to meet.
Day is a lot of fun as Penny, and Fillian is a blast as the hero, who is more of a villain due to his ego than even Dr. Horrible.The real star, arguably though, are the musical numbers.
Fillion's "Captain Hammer" is the shallow superhero nemesis of Neil Patrick Harris's Dr. Horrible, the latest in a long line of villains who have somehow had time to get their doctorate.
Something that I have always felt,that has made all of Whedons classic TV shows stand out,is how they all break out of any of the so-called rules of the genre,by having "The dumb blonde" be smart & sassy (Buffy),a vampire who takes on a bunch of lawyers (Angel),a John Ford western set in space (firefly),and giving a personality to a very empty character (Dollhouse).When I was hearing about this short film,I went looking round like crazy to find it in a DVD shop near me.Sadly,I discovered that the DVD has not come out in the UK,which made me decide that I would try to import the disc in a few weeks.Luckaly for me,a friend of my dads surprisingly passed me the DVD,to keep!Whilst it does not reach the (almost) unreachable heights of Whedons stunning shows,I found it to be a fun short film.The Plot:Dr Horrible is a wannabe super-villain,who is desperate to become a member of the Evil League of Evil.To become a member,he makes a decision that he should build a death Rey to kill the local,macho egotistical super-hero Captain Hammer.Shockingly for Horrible,as he is gathering all the parts to the Rey gun,the girl from the laundrette (who he has had a big crush on for along time)seems to be getting very keen on hum...View on the film:Due to this film having inevitable problem of being compared to the incredible Once More with Feeling episode of Buffy.I feel that Whedon (who also co-wrote the film with his three brothers and Maurissa Tancharoen)dose a great attempt at equalling that episode,with an interesting use of electronic music mixed into the piano-led songs.Joss has also,very pleasingly,put his great funny dialogue into the script (the part where it is revealed why the super-hero is called Captain Hammer is very hard to forget!)The only parts that I think could have been a bit improved upon,would have been to give the laundrette girl a few more scenes,and for the ending to have been slightly longer,and not so rushed.Final view on the film:An entraining short film,with likable songs and a very good enjoyable script with some great Whedon dialogue..
This was partly inspired by Felica Day's great web show "The Guild" and for that reason and many others she stars as Penny.The main plot is Dr Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) is trying to get into the League of Evil, as well as win over his crush Penny.
For example Captain Hammer (played by Nathan Fillian) was clearly used to getting everything he wants, and for Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris) things never turn out the way they are supposed to.
Neil Patrick Harris plays Billy also known as Dr. Horrible who is a wannabe villain that has a need to be esteemed by Penny and Bad Horse.
I did like Niel Patrick Harris' acting as Dr Horrible and Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer...
Felicia Day as Penny needed some more material, I mean as an audience we are given little to no reason why Dr Horrible would be in love with her.The other thing I really like about this is the music.
Shortly after this, Hammer and Penny start singing to each other.In the next act, Dr. Horrible is watching them while they are on their dates.
Often breaking into song through out the movie, Captain Hammer gets the girl, leaving Dr. Horrible heartbroken.
Dr. Horrible's sing along Blog is an amazing web series/short for many reasons, the acting performances are wonderful as well as the vocals, the songs are great (my personal favourite is on the rise), good directing, and most of all for me, the writing.