''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' is a 2008
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
in three
acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
, produced exclusively for
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
distribution. Filmed and set in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, the show tells the story of Dr. Horrible (played by
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...
), an aspiring
supervillain
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are oft ...
; Captain Hammer (
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...
), his superheroic nemesis; and Penny (
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
), a charity worker and their shared love interest.
The series was written by writer/director
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
, his brothers
Zack Whedon
Zachary Adam Whedon (born August 14, 1979) is an American screenwriter, film director, and comic book writer.
Early life
Whedon is from a family of writers: he is the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and t ...
(a television writer) and
Jed Whedon
Jed Tucker Whedon (born July 18, 1975) is an American screenwriter and musician, and the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and the brother of screenwriter Zack Whedon and of filmmaker Joss Whedon.
Career
...
(a composer), and writer/actress
Maurissa Tancharoen
Maurissa Tancharoen () in Los Angeles, California)[Maurissa Tancharoen](_blank)
biographical inf ...
. The team wrote the musical during the
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The idea was to create something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the strike. Reception has been overwhelmingly positive. On October 31, 2008,
''Time'' magazine named it #15 in ''Times Top 50 Inventions of 2008. It also won the
People's Choice Award
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
for "Favorite Online Sensation", and the 2009
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...
. In the inaugural 2009
Streamy Awards
The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ...
for web television, ''Dr. Horrible'' won seven awards: Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series, Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series, Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series, Best Male Actor in a Comedy Web Series (Harris), Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Music. It also won a 2009
Creative Arts Emmy Award
The Creative Arts Emmys are a class of Emmy Awards presented in recognition of technical and other similar achievements in American television programming. They are commonly awarded to behind-the-scenes personnel such as production designers, set ...
for Outstanding Special Class – Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs.
Plot
''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
A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in ...
, 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 when his "evil moisture buddy" Moist 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").
As 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 repeatedly 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 jealously 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
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
watch his blog, and they were ready for him with Hammer giving him a black eye. 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 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
A Pyrrhic victory ( ) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Such a victory negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress.
The phrase originates from a quote from P ...
, with "the world
ewanted, at
isfeet", 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, who is seen on a psychiatric couch sobbing to his therapist. 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.
Dr. Horrible, donning a new outfitred coat, black gloves and his goggles covering his eyestakes 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 "
ewon't feel...". He completes the line "...a thing" in a final blog post as Billy, out of costume, staring into the camera. ("Everything You Ever").
Soundtrack
The musical contains 14 songs, including credits and reprises, but at the time of broadcast the song titles were not identified. The soundtrack was released through the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
on September 1, 2008 and was released on CD in the US on December 15, 2008.
''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' Soundtrack made the top 40 Album list on release, despite being a digital exclusive only available on iTunes.
Musical numbers
;Act I
*"Dr. Horrible Theme" – Instrumental
*"My Freeze Ray" – Dr. Horrible
*"Bad Horse Chorus" – Bad Horse Chorus
*"Caring Hands" – Penny
*"A Man's Gotta Do" – Dr. Horrible, Penny & Captain Hammer
;Act II
*"Dr. Horrible Theme" – Instrumental
*"My Eyes" – Dr. Horrible & Penny
*"Bad Horse Chorus (Reprise)" – Bad Horse Chorus
*"Penny's Song" – Penny
*"Brand New Day" – Dr. Horrible
;Act III
*"Dr. Horrible Theme" – Instrumental
*"So They Say" – Movers, Captain Hammer Groupies, Penny, Captain Hammer, News Anchors & Dr. Horrible
*"Everyone's a Hero" – Captain Hammer & Groupies
*"Slipping" – Dr. Horrible
*"Everything You Ever/Finale" – Dr. Horrible & Groupies
*"End Credits" – Instrumental
Cast
*
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...
as Billy/Dr. Horrible: An aspiring
supervillain
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are oft ...
of the
mad scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...
variety with the catchphrase "I've got a Ph.D. in Horribleness". He desires to become a member of Bad Horse's Evil League of Evil and use his inventions to take over the world and enact social change for the betterment of humanity. His socio-political beliefs include the paradoxical idea of
autocratic
Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...
anarchy
Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...
: "The world is a mess, and I just... need to rule it". As Billy, he struggles to make a romantic connection with Penny.
*
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...
as Captain Hammer: Dr. Horrible's
archenemy
In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero's, most prominent and most-known enemy.
Etymology
The word ''archenemy'' sometim ...
, a superhero who possesses super-human strength and near-invulnerability. Hammer is self-centered and enjoys harassing Dr. Horrible even when the situation does not warrant it.
*
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
as Penny: Dr. Horrible's
love interest
''Gli Innamorati'' (, meaning "The Lovers") were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the Lovers in some regard. These dramatic and pos ...
. She is idealistic, generous, and volunteers at a homeless shelter.
*
Simon Helberg
Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Howard Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Sup ...
as Moist: Dr. Horrible's friend and sidekick, who has the underwhelming ability to dampen things. Dr. Horrible calls him "my evil moisture buddy".
Several colleagues of
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
have
cameo role
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
s in the series.
Marti Noxon
Martha Mills Noxon (born August 25, 1964) is an American television and film writer, director, and producer. She is best known for her work as a screenwriter and executive producer on the supernatural drama series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1 ...
, an executive producer on ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
'', portrays a newsreader alongside ''Buffy'' and ''Angel'' writer
David Fury
David Fury is an American television writer, producer, actor and director.
Career
He is well known for his work on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Angel'', ''Lost'', '' 24'', ''Fringe,'' ''Tyrant'' and ''The Tick''.
Fury was a co-executive ...
. ''Buffy'' and ''Angel'' writers
Doug Petrie
Douglas Petrie is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Best known as a writer, director, and co-executive producer on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. He co-wrote the screenplays for the ''Fantastic Four'' film and ''Harriet the Spy'' ...
and
Drew Goddard
Andrew Brion Hogan Goddard (born February 26, 1975) is an American filmmaker. He began his career writing episodes for the television shows ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Angel'', ''Alias'', and ''Lost''. After moving into screenwriting in fi ...
cameo as supervillains Professor Normal and Fake
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, respectively.
Jed
Jed or JED may refer to:
Places
* Jed River, New Zealand
* Jed Water, a river in Scotland
* Jed, West Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community
People and fictional characters
* Jed (given name), a list of people and fictional charact ...
, Joss, and
Zack Whedon
Zachary Adam Whedon (born August 14, 1979) is an American screenwriter, film director, and comic book writer.
Early life
Whedon is from a family of writers: he is the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and t ...
all provide the singing voices of Bad Horse Chorus. Zack also plays the man who rolls the gurney with Penny on it out of frame, and Jed Whedon also appears as the supervillain Dead
Bowie, while
Maurissa Tancharoen
Maurissa Tancharoen () in Los Angeles, California)[Maurissa Tancharoen](_blank)
biographical inf ...
and Stacy Shirk play superhero/supervillain groupies; Tancharoen also performs the background voice on "Everything You Ever".
Production
Joss Whedon funded the project himself (at just over $200,000) and enjoyed the independence of acting as his own studio. "Freedom is glorious," he comments. "And the fact is, I've had very good relationships with studios, and I've worked with a lot of smart executives. But there is a difference when you can just go ahead and do something." As a web show, there were fewer constraints imposed on the project, and Whedon had the "freedom to just let the dictates of the story say how long it's gonna be. We didn't have to cram everything in—there is a lot in there—but we put in the amount of story that we wanted to and let the time work around that. We aimed for thirty minutes, we came out at forty two, and that's not a problem." Some of the music was influenced by
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
.
The production of the DVD included a contest, announced at
Comic-Con
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events ...
, in which fans submitted a three-minute video explaining why they should be inducted into the Evil League of Evil. Ten winning submissions have been added to the DVD release.
Recording locations
The songs were recorded in a small studio set up in Joss Whedon's loft. ''Dr. Horrible'' was shot in Los Angeles, with five locations on one soundstage, and one day of filming at the
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
backlot street set, including the scenes of the van heist, and the giant Dr. Horrible crushing people beneath his feet. Dr. Horrible's home, used for blogging scenes as well as the final party scene, is the house featured in the "Mad Scientist House" episode of ''
Monster House''.
Distribution
Whedon has said that the plan was to find a venue for the series that would enable it to earn its money back and pay the crew. This plan was to release the show onto the Internet, with an
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
release to follow. If the Internet and iTunes releases were successful enough, Whedon planned to
greenlight
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
an official
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
, which would include some "amazing extras".
The musical's fansite launched in March 2008 (despite the official site containing nothing more than a poster at the time) and was the first place to publicly release the teaser trailer three months later on June 25, 2008.
Online
The episodes first aired at the Official ''Dr. Horrible'' website, hosted on
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, accessible internationally (unusual for the US-based service whose videos are typically not accessible to Internet users who reside outside the US) and free to watch (ad-supported). Act I premiered on Tuesday, July 15, 2008; Act II followed two days later on July 17; and Act III surfaced on July 19. The episodes were taken offline on July 20 as planned, but became available again on July 28. The show was later (date unknown) restricted to the United States only.
On October 10, 2009, all three acts were made available via iTunes for the UK and Australia. The film is also available from
Amazon Video on Demand
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...
. On November 29, 2009, all three acts, both separate and together, were taken off Hulu. On February 22, 2010, the full feature became available to stream on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, with all three episodes appearing sequentially. On March 20, 2014, it was removed from Netflix.
DVD and Blu-ray
On November 28, 2008, the Official ''Dr. Horrible'' website announced that pre-orders were being taken for the DVD. The following day
Tubefilter
Tubefilter, Inc. is a privately held company based in Los Angeles, California that operates media businesses focusing on the online entertainment industry. Tubefilter is best known for Tubefilter News, a blog targeted at the fans, creators, pro ...
reported that pre-orders of the ''Dr. Horrible'' DVD were "booming".
The DVD was released exclusively at Amazon.com on December 19, 2008, in the United States
and on January 13, 2009, in Canada at Amazon.ca.
The DVD is
region free. During pre-ordering the Amazon page stated the discs would be manufactured on demand using
recordable media
Data storage is the recording (storing) of information (data) in a storage medium. Handwriting, phonographic recording, magnetic tape, and optical discs are all examples of storage media. Biological molecules such as RNA and DNA are conside ...
. Although some customers report receiving DVD-R discs (identified by a purple data-side), most are receiving pressed discs.
On June 2, 2009, a new release of ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' was produced by New Video Group, which included the same materials as the Amazon DVD but was distributed through regular retail outlets. A Blu-ray version was released on May 25, 2010, from New Video Group.
Special features on the DVD and Blu-ray include ''Commentary! The Musical''; commentary by the cast and creators; behind-the-scenes featurettes on the making of the movie and the music; the top 10 Evil League of Evil application videos from fans; and four
easter eggs
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...
.
''Commentary! The Musical''
The DVD and Blu-ray versions of ''Dr. Horrible'' include as an extra ''Commentary! The Musical'', a commentary track comprising entirely new songs performed by the cast and crew, thus creating another whole musical on its own. The actors and writers sing various songs both as solos and with the entire company, playing versions of themselves. ''Commentary!'' is partly self-referential, and one of the co-creators, Zack Whedon,
self-referentially comments that one song "wasn't even about the movie, it was about itself", which he claims is "like
breaking the ninth wall". As of January 8, 2010, ''Commentary! The Musical'' has been for sale on the iTunes Music Store.
Musical numbers
*"Commentary!" – Company
*"Strike" – Company
*"Ten-Dollar Solo" – Stacy Shirk (as Groupie #2), Neil Patrick Harris
*"Better (Than Neil)" – Nathan Fillion
*"It's All About the Art" – Felicia Day
*"Zack's Flavor" – Zack Whedon, female backups, Joss Whedon
*"Nobody Wants To Be Moist" – Simon Helberg (as Moist)
*"Ninja Ropes" – Jed Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion
*"All About Me" – Extras
*"Nobody's Asian in the Movies" – Maurissa Tancharoen
*"Heart (Broken)" – Joss Whedon, backups (Jed Whedon, Zack Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen)
*"Neil's Turn" – Neil Patrick Harris
*"Commentary! (Reprise)" – Company
*"Steve's Song" – Steve Berg
Profits
All proceeds from iTunes and DVD sales were dedicated to paying the cast and crew, who were not compensated at the time of production. In November 2008, Joss Whedon blogged about ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' and stated that due to its success they had been able to pay the crew and the bills. Later, in 2012, Joss Whedon said during an interview with ''Forbes'' that "with the movie and the soundtrack and everything we’ve been able to do with it, we made over $3 million with it".
Television broadcast
The three-part series made its television broadcast debut on October 9, 2012, airing at 9:00 pm on
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
. It was edited to fit the 42 minutes needed for a one-hour time slot.
Comic books
Tie-in
comic books
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
for ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' have been released by
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
. The first three were through its online comics
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
''
Dark Horse Presents
''Dark Horse Presents'' was a comic book published by American company Dark Horse Comics from 1986. Their first published series, it was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, r ...
'', the fourth was a special release as part of the "One Shot Wonders" series. All four were written by Zack Whedon.
* "Captain Hammer: Be Like Me!" was released in issue #12 and featured art by
Eric Canete
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
.
* "Moist: Humidity Rising" was released in issue #17 with art by
Farel Dalrymple
Farel Dalrymple is an American artist and alternative comics creator. He is best known for his award-winning comics series '' Pop Gun War''.
Career
Originally from Oklahoma "by way of California",Ellis, Jonathan"Interview: Farel Dalrymple, Pop Gu ...
.
* "Penny: Keep Your Head Up" appears in issue #23 with art by
Jim Rugg.
* "Dr. Horrible" was released as a special one-shot comic, detailing Dr. Horrible's origin story, with art by Joëlle Jones.
All four stories were collected in ''Dr. Horrible, and Other Horrible Stories'' by Dark Horse Comics, in September 2010 (). The collection also features an additional story about the Evil League of Evil.
In November 2018, a new comic was released written by Joss Whedon titled ''Dr. Horrible: Best Friends Forever'' with art by Jose Maria Beroy and Sara Soler. The comic was the first story to be set after the events of the musical itself.
Book
On March 29, 2011, ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Book'' () was published by Titan Books. The book contains essays by Whedon, Fillion, Harris, Day, and Helberg; the complete shooting script; the script for ''Commentary: The Musical''; and piano/vocal sheet music for ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog''.
Stage events
On August 29, 2008, the first authorized sing-along version of ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' was hosted at
Dragon Con
Dragon Con (previously Dragon*Con and sometimes DragonCon) is a North American multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. , the convention draws attendance of over 80,000, f ...
in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, with showings reaching standing-room-only capacity.
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
showed up to one of the showings.
Stage productions of the show have become very popular at colleges and high schools.
In October 2010, Ireland, an official production of the musical was performed in Trinity College Dublin by the college's drama society; The DU Players. The show took place from October 25–29, 2010. In November 2010, Cult Classic Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, performed the first official UK production of ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog''.
In January 2011, Balagan Theatre performed ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' at the
ACT Theatre
ACT Theatre (originally A Contemporary Theatre) is a regional, non-profit theatre organization in Seattle, in the US state of Washington. Gregory A. Falls (1922–1997) founded ACT in 1965 and served as its first Artistic director; at the time ACT ...
's Allen Theatre in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. The production was reviewed by ''Broadway World''. A televised performance of a concert version of "Freeze Ray" can also be viewed. In 2011, all rights to perform ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' or ''Commentary! The Musical'' were no longer being granted by the creators.
Reception
Critical response
In a review for the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', Robert Lloyd writes: "It is a sweet, rather sad piece that — like the songs, by Whedon and his brother Jed, which are at once mock-heroic and actually heroic, mock-moving and moving in fact — works both as parody and as a drama."
Awards
;
2009 Streamy Awards
*Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series
*Best Male Actor in a Comedy Web SeriesNeil Patrick Harris
*Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series
*Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series
;2009
Hugo Awards
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
*
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
;2009
People's Choice Awards
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
*Best Internet Phenomenon Award
;
2009 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award
The Creative Arts Emmys are a class of Emmy Awards presented in recognition of technical and other similar achievements in American television programming. They are commonly awarded to behind-the-scenes personnel such as production designers, set ...
s
*Outstanding Special ClassShort-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs
During the broadcast of the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which was hosted by Harris, a speech by representatives of
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...
was "interrupted" by a sketch featuring Harris as Dr. Horrible and Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, with cameos by Felicia Day and Simon Helberg.
Nominations
;2008
Constellation Awards
The Constellation Awards were a set of Canadian awards given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The event was founded in 2007. Constellation Awards are the only Canadian sci-fi award wher ...
* Best Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series of 2008
* Best Male Performance in a 2008 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series (Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible)
Controversy
Fans of internet personality
Doctor Steel
Rion Vernon, known by his stage name Doctor Steel (full name, Doctor Phineas Waldolf Steel) is an American musician and internet personality from Los Angeles. He performed on rare occasions with a "backup band", claiming that a fictitious robot b ...
, who had been performing under the name since 1999, noted similarities between Doctor Steel and ''Dr. Horrible'', attracting the attention of national media. ''Dr. Horrible'' co-writer
Maurissa Tancharoen
Maurissa Tancharoen () in Los Angeles, California)[Maurissa Tancharoen](_blank)
biographical inf ...
responded, "All we have to say on the subject is we've never heard of Dr. Steel before... There's room for everyone in this party."
Unproduced sequel
Since the series' release in 2008, there have been rumors of a sequel; however, it remains one of
Joss Whedon's unrealized projects. In 2009, Joss Whedon announced at
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
that a sequel was in the works and that it might be presented as either another web series or as a feature film. Nathan Fillion also said that he knew the title of the sequel, but was unwilling to reveal it at the time.
In an April 2011 interview in ''The New York Times'', Whedon said "We've got several songs near completion and we've got a very specific structure," and that the cast of ''Dr. Horrible'' have sung the songs at casual gatherings.
While promoting
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
' ''
The Avengers'' in March 2012, Whedon said he and the writers involved in ''Dr. Horrible'' would be working on writing the script during the 2012 summer. At the
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
in July, Whedon announced that he planned to shoot ''Dr. Horrible 2'' by spring 2013. However, due to his commitment on ''
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' and ''
Avengers: Age of Ultron'', Whedon told ''
E! News
''E! News'', previously known as ''E! News Daily'' and ''E! News Live'', is the entertainment news operation for the cable network E! in the United States. Its former on-air weekday newscast debuted on September 1, 1991, and primarily reports ...
'' in an April 2013 interview that production on the sequel would be delayed.
In April 2015, Whedon stated in an update that "I was starting to feel like, I don't know if that's
ossible Everybody's so busy, and we've all changed. I saw Neil do ''
Hedwig Hedwig may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist
* Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist
* Romanus Adol ...
''
n Broadway and went backstage, and the first thing he said was, 'When are we doing a sequel?!' I'm like, OK! Maybe that's still on! So it'll be interesting to see when we come up for air on it. Not sure. But god knows, we have the people. We have the technology. We can rebuild it."
In March 2019, Harris, while promoting the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
A Series of Unfortunate Events
''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After their p ...
'', expressed his doubts on if a sequel to ''Dr. Horrible'' would ever happen stating "I have no information. I haven't seen Joss in ages and everyone's wonderfully busy with other things. So, unless the writers want to strike again, which is when we did the first one, I'm not sure when it would ever happen." Harris goes on to address his current age with "I'm no spring chicken. So, at a certain point, Dr. Horrible isn't Billy the Internet geeky kid anymore. I'm a grown man. So they'll probably have to cast
Nick Jonas
Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...
in it."
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
2008 comedy films
2008 films
2000s musical films
2008 web series debuts
2008 web series endings
American superhero films
Supervillain films
American comedy web series
Films directed by Joss Whedon
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form-winning works
Hugo Award-winning television series
Science fiction musical films
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films with screenplays by Joss Whedon
Superhero comedy films
Superhero web series
2000s American films