Okay, I admit that I am way behind the curve on getting into this Internet serial musical. Over the weekend I saw the whole 40-minute story of Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog on DVD with its plethora of DVD extras. I was surprised to find it among the PBS and BBC DVDs at my local library.
This is a warped and wonderful story, that never hesitates to make the most obvious joke or poke fun at its own genre, itself or anything else--just as Joss Whedon did with the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer years before. The music is all very hummable, even if the structure of it is flawed. I like my songs to be verse-chorus-verse-chorus numbers.
The best singing is by Neil Patrick Harris. Nathan Fillion lets his bravado overcome any vocal deficiencies. Felicia Day has a light soubrettish voice that was only slightly annoying at times.
What struck me about this musical was that it would never work on stage. The array of musical styles and the tremendous vocal ranges required would tax any performer in an eight-shows-a-week set-up, and the quick changes between singing to another character versus singing about another character would be confusing without the camera focus to direct our attention.
Still it's another new and entertaining way to tell a musical story. I hope the format catches on.
Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog
Music, Lyrics and book by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Zack Whedon
Cast: Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day
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