Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly: If you haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, you've been living in a cave.Go watch it now.
Joss Whedon has managed to pull together his signature quirk and drama for this 3-part, one-off, web-only series about Dr. Horrible (played to a diabolical T by the wry yet sweet-voiced Neil Patrick Harris) who is seeking fame and glory as a supervillain and membership into the Evil League of Evil. As he schemes and plots, he is constantly distracted by his laundromat crush, Penny, a veteran of BTVS, and thwarted by his nemesis, Captain Hammer, played by Firefly's Nathan Fillion.
Harris, who has remade himself almost two decades after the launch of Doogie Howser, M.D., never ceases to amaze, not only with his acting skills--he plays a socially awkward douchebag evil genius like no one else can--but with his surprising vocal talent, too. There's a quality of agelessness around him, one that is reminiscent of Buffy-ite James Marsters (i.e. Spike), and his acting ability really stands out in this musical satire. With a tilt of his chin, he goes from looking like a lost, innocent freshman intent on not ogling his crush's freshly laundered panties to a jaded madman bent on revenge against the world.
Similarily, Fillion's ability to swing from rogue hero (Firefly's Captain Mal Reynolds) to dastardly devil (Buffy's Caleb) gives him a wonderful range to work from in his role as Captain Hammer, who I can only describe as a construction worker on steroids. The jock to Dr. Horrible's nerd, one can't help but melt at the twinkle in Hammer's eye while wanting to punch the sexy smirk from his face.
This is an amazing series, which launched this week to a phenomenal response that crashed the web site on opening day. Parts one and two are up, and the third act will be available July 19th.
The musical numbers are fantastic, the production values on par with Buffy episodes. I hope to see a soundtrack (and DVD) soon!
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