Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: Whimsical Villainy

It is no secret that I love Joss Whedon, writer of genius TV fare like Firefly, Buffy, and Dollhouse, or genius movies like Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers. Well, during the 2007-2008 Writers Guild Strike, Whedon concocted a weird and wonderful little project called Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. And on Tuesday night, you'll have the chance to watch the whole thing (it's only 45 minutes) on the CW Network.

Dr. Horrible was a web series consisting of 3 acts or episodes that were released online for free on certain dates and later sold on iTunes (where they are still available). The hero, Dr. Horrible, is actually a villain. Played by the superb Neil Patrick Harris, he is an evil scientist who is trying to gain access into an elite group of supervillains known as the Evil League of Evil. He records all his thoughts and plans on a video blog, and these musings often take musical form. Ergo the title. His nemesis is Captain Hammer (the charming Nathan Fillion), who is a brawny braggart who always manages to foil Dr. Horrible's villainy and make him look ridiculous. However, Dr. Horrible has come up with a new plan involving a freeze-ray that will hopefully wreak havoc and get him the supervillain status he so craves.

However, a complication arises in the form of Penny (Felicia Day, from the amazing web series, The Guild), a girl that Dr. Horrible has fallen in love with. She catches Captain Hammer's eye, leading to an escalation of tensions among the two rivals. Dr. Horrible angrily sings about his dashed hopes, Captain Hammer masterfully roars about how great he is, while Penny happily warbles away about her simple life, unaware of all the trouble that is brewing.

The soundtrack is amazing, with catchy songs that will worm their way into your brain and stay there. And if that wasn't enough, the team behind the series created a behind-the-scenes commentary for the DVD release, done entirely in song. It is funny and just as catchy as anything in the actual series. But be warned, as amusing as the premise of Dr. Horrible is, it has a great deal of heart and heartbreak, in trademark Whedon fashion. And in case you forgot, this brilliant story takes place in the same amount of time as a single episode of television.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog caused quite a stir upon its release because it made more than enough money to justify this unusual business model. If the show gets a ratings boost on the CW on Tuesday night, it will be further justification that this online model can be a source of enormous creativity and high-quality television. So tune in for this piece of Whedon magic and prepare yourselves for an unusual and spectacular treat. A sequel is already in the works and you need to get on board.