The Wacky World of Webisodes: Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog

What to do when writing is your great passion, but the Writers Guild of America is on strike? Joss Whedon decided to circumvent the strike by teaming up with his brothers Zack and Jed to write Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog. They fully produced all three brilliant acts for just under $200,000. The resulting tragic comedy musical is blissful. I could quite happily watch the 42-minute perfection on loop for a whole day. Its songs are delightful and the story is perfectly told through the acting talents of Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion. It somehow successfully marries ‘vlogging’ with musicals and a couple of engaging action sequences.

I fell for the series within the opening number of ‘Laundry Day’. The song introducing the understated charms and simple premise: Billy (Harris), irate with society and unable to engage the attentions of Penny (Day), decides to become a supervillain. We’ve all been there.

Every supervillain needs a well-matched superhero and this pantomime affair has Captain Hammer (Fillion), who is every bit the douchebag you’d hope someone calling himself “Captain Hammer” could be. With all the pieces in place, the saga plays out beautifully.

There’s an undercurrent of social commentary as anyone familiar with Whedon’s work would expect, but Dr Horrible is by virtue of its format much simpler, stripped back. It’s accessible, bitesize and darned entertaining. It’s also a stab at the very same producers and studios whom were the target in the strike, showing them what writers can achieve without the bankroll and vast marketing arms of a studio.

For me, this 2008 masterpiece – and internet-based television in general – represents the start of something of a revolution in how we watch, engage, and consume content. Audiences have since sought entertainment from different sources and have sought greater control over what they watch.

Downloadable content from sources like Amazon and iTunes and content from streaming sites such as Hulu and Netflix haven’t just taken the shine away from physical media such as DVDs and CDs; broadcasters also took a huge hit. It’s only through catchup services – iPlayer, 4OD, etc – that the archaic broadcasters limp on.

If you’ve somehow not seen Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog, I suggest you correct that immediately. I’d hate to tell you any more about the plot than I already have, but it is the most entertaining 42-minutes I’ve ever known.

My personal favourite song of the Sing-a-long Blog is the duet ‘My Eyes’ in Act II, a true triumph for Joss, Zack and Jed’s writing. The closure of the third act is also one of the most harrowing moments in literature. It knocks the wind out of me every time. As a whole, the piece is a triumph for writing and a triumph for online distribution.