Horrible Entertainment

I come from a very musical family. Mom fell for Dad when he was a rhythm guitarist and backup singer for a country and rock cover band — and he looked a little like John Lennon and sounded a bit like Paul McCartney. I grew up with Dad singing “Here Comes the Sun” to me while strumming his beat up old acoustic. My sisters and I were all involved in music at church and school. I lettered in Music at Sequoyah High School, co-founded a men’s performance group there, and received a music scholarship, and spent the first year of college as a music major before realizing my path was very different and that the music program at Reinhardt College was about as rewarding as milking a male goat. But regardless, music is my first love. I began playing the piano at age five, three years before I wrote my first short story and two years before I played D&D for the first time.

So when you combine my love for music and storytelling, it’s easy to guess that I enjoy musicals. Some people don’t, and I get that. The idea of people bursting into song when the mood strikes them seems artificial and forced, and possibly a bit insane. But of course, anyone who hangs out with me long enough knows that some people do burst into song when the mood strikes them.

But what if someone creates something that combines good music, excellent storytelling, and shows unabashed geekery? And what if, at the same time, it took the lead in the new form of creator-produced entertainment that completely bypassed the traditional studio system of movies and television? It would be amazing, and it would be called Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog.

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Joss Whedon, ever since my sister Bambi forced me to watch a first season episode of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. (How she exercises the power of blackmail is strange, but completely her choice.) I’ve been gleefully entertained in the realms of television, movies, and comics ever since — and had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to write and design a role playing game based on his science fiction television series, Firefly.

Dr. Horrible is a three-act musical that is currently dominating the Internets. (Here in the MWP office, Cam insists there is more than one!) It certainly needs no help from me to promote it, but in case you’ve been hiding from your bookie in a remote log cabin in northern Minnesota, it is a story of love in a comic-book world where we see things through the eyes of a supervillain who hasn’t quite made it to the big time yet. The production was done on the cheap and filmed in less than a week, and created by Whedon during the WGA strike.

Neil Patrick Harris is brilliant as the title character, and well-matched with Nathan “Captain Tightpants” Fillion and the lovely and talented Felicia Day—who is no stranger to the web-based entertainment model. She created, produces, writes, and stars in the World of Warcraft-inspired series The Guild. And while Horrible’s its own world, it will feel as familiar as seeing an old friend when you hear the Whedonesque jokes mixed with characters who are both exaggerated and believable (how does he do that?!) and storytelling by a writer who understands structure and timing.

So d’uh, it’s good! Go watch it for free — but any dolt with half a brain would dash off to iTunes and plunk down a few dollars to get all the episodes to keep and transfer to your nearest video iPod. (Or if you’re like me, zap it over to the trusty Apple TV and watch it on your 50” plasma in full surround sound.) The money is well spent and will help pave the way for more creators out there to take the Internets into their own hands and create more entertainment that isn’t judged and changed by studio executives who think we need one more reality show about people who face their worst fears on an island while swapping spouses.

If you’ve ever felt like an outsider, this was written for you. If you’ve ever felt like the world was run by stupid, better-looking people and thought that maybe killing the worst of them wouldn’t be such a Horrible thing, then this might just strike a chord with you. But even the beautiful dumb people might like the music and will laugh at the jokes they can understand. Joss likes telling his stories as metaphors, and Dr. Horrible as the shy nerd and Captain Hammer as the popular jock is not exactly hard to see. But it works for me because I can relate so well. Remember, I’m a D&D-playing geek who lettered in Music in High School.

Last episode doesn’t hit the Internets until tomorrow, but Joss had me at Freeze Ray. If you haven’t seen it, go forth and view. You’re welcome.