How I Met Your Mother

Only Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon could conceive of something as unique as a romantic musical comedy revolving around a lovelorn supervillain.  While many Hollywood scribes rested their brains during the recent writers' strike, Whedon spent his time creating a 45-minute musical extravaganza entitled Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.  The project, which stars Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Nathan Fillion (Firefly) and Felicia Day, is debuting exclusively on the Internet this week in three 15-minute segments.  The first act of the genre-blending romp hit the web today, and it has everything fans have come to expect from Whedon's work: Hilarious dialogue, great performances and a heck of a lot of heart.

After a swift and jaunty credit sequence sets the stage for the wacky antics to come, Dr. Horrible starts off with the title character, played by Harris, going through e-mails from his fans.  We quickly learn that the wannabe supervillain cares about exactly three things: 1) Becoming part of the prestigious group known as the Evil League of Evil, 2) Taking over the world ("Destroying the status quo, because the status is not quo") and 3) Winning the heart of a lovable do-gooder named Penny, played by Day.  Things get complicated when Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), who just happens to be Dr. Horrible's arch-nemesis, saves Penny from certain death and immediately earns her affections.

One of the best things about Dr. Horrible is the way Whedon injects his quirky sense of humor into the comic book-inspired world.  Harris's character isn't far removed from the evil nerds that took center stage in Buffy's sixth season, and the actor sells every line with a winking charm.  Fillion is also great as the blustering, egotistical Captain Hammer, though he doesn't appear until the very end of the first installment.

Aside from the actors and dialogue, the real reason to watch Dr. Horrible is the songs.  Whedon co-wrote each number with his brother Jed, and the few featured in the first act are undeniably catchy and fun.  My personal favorite is a lovelorn lament sung by the doctor while he pines for Penny at the laundromat.  It's the first song in the show, and it's a wonderfully effective way to introduce our antihero's inner desires.

You can catch the first act of Whedon's musical opus on iTunes or at DrHorrible.com.  So many fans clamored to watch the premiere today that the website crashed for several hours, but it appears to be up and running again.  Part two will premiere on Thursday, followed by the final installment on Saturday.  I'll be posting my opinions on the rest of this wonderful sing-along as it rolls out, so keep checking BuddyTV for updates.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of The Los Angeles Times)