Act II of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is now up, and it's as much fun as Act I. (With half the technical difficulties.) Even more than the first act, this one pushes the idea of the bad guy being the hero of his own story, plus it has the marvelously-timed moment where Captain Hammer returns to explain... well, you'll know it when you see it.Don't have much else to say this time, plus I need to get ready for tour-related stuff, but fire away in the comments.
see, my favorite line was the "sometimes there's a third, even deeper level that's the same as the surface one" one.
ReplyDeletei'm in that "so unimaginably giddy that critical analysis escapes, so all i can do at this point is mindlessly rattle off quotes" mode. so that's why.
God, this is even better than act 1. I keep going around singing "On The Rise" over and over again this morning. That song is gorgeous and overlaps SO well.
ReplyDeleteLove how Captain Hammer somehow feels compelled to explain ALL of his remarks.
I do wonder how it's going to end. Clearly Penny isn't the girl for a guy who wants to be evil, and odds are Dr. Horrible probably won't manage to kill Captain Hammer. I suspect we'll have an "I choose me and dump you both" ending once Penny realizes who these guys really are...probably while she watches them fight/stomp on Tokyo.
I'm just not thinking this is as great as everyone else seems to think it is. The 2nd act was terribly timed, and without the strong performance by Neil I'm not sure I'd keep watching.
ReplyDeleteMichael Cera's internet experiment last summer was much more effective.
"The 'Hammer' is my penis."
ReplyDeleteI'm digging it. The songs are wonderful, and lots of great lines. I liked the second act better (I thought the first dragged a bit).
It's as though they are setting up a classic scenario, more High School then superhero.
* Jock (Captain Hammer) vs. Nerd (Doctor Horrible)
* Nerd has unrelated goal (get into ELE)
* Girl has a male best friend (Doctor Horrible) who pines for her, while she's into someone else (Captain Hammer)
* Jock is aware of the pining, and rubs it in his face. This makes it personal, even though nerd/piner/best friend is no real threat
* Nerd lashes out
I'm suspending my disbelief a bit. Doctor Horrible is a known evil-doer, easily caught, Vlogs, and does his laundry in a secret identity worse than Clark Kent's. Why is he running around town?
Justine,
ReplyDeleteI think for what it is, a goofy lark that was made on a shoe-string, it's very enjoyable. There are some excellent lines, NPH and Nathan Fillion are great, and I actually enjoyed the duet between Day and NPH a great deal.
It ain't great art but it's light and fun and, while I agree with the timing issues, I wonder if that isn't more about how it's broken up then actual bad timing.
Anyway, I'm finding it a fun distraction and I look forward to buying the DVD, so I guess it's done it's job.
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ReplyDeleteCharles is dead-on with his high school analogy. I pretty much was Dr. Horrible, without the destroying-the-world part.
ReplyDeleteI love this kind of stuff. There is somthing about watching the subversion of a genre, especially one as well worn as the Superhero/villain genre, that always compels me to watch. And stuff like this, where the creator clearly has a great and undying love for the genre (as opposed to the Date/Epic/Disaster Movie guys, who clearly despise their subjects) always makes me smile that much more.
ReplyDeleteI hope Whedon finds more uses for NPH in the future. He feels like such a good fit for the Whedon-verse.
I thought it was cute and liked it better than the first act. The counterpoint between NPH and Penny in "On the Rise" was incredibly well done and reminded me of the "76 Trombones" and "Goodnight my someone" counterpoint in The Music Man. (I just saw this in Stratford a few days ago and so it was fresh in my mind).
ReplyDeleteThe "explanation" from Captain Hammer was great as well.
My theory for the ending is that Penny will turn out to secretly be evil, and she and Dr. Horrible will live happily ever after. She's totally Bad Horse!
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot better than the first act. Just a fun and fairly silly side project, that has that low key nature a lot of the better webtv projects seem to have.
ReplyDeleteI could watch Felicia Day in anything. (Like her own series, The Guild, on youtube. Which she wrote!)
Justine, I was really glad to read your comment. I agree. I watched about half of the first act and really didn't think it was all that funny. In fact, I got the feeling that the people behind this webisode thought they were being very clever and hilarious...which makes the whole thing come across as a little too self-aware.
ReplyDeletemo pie, that's totally it! I bet you're right - sweet little penny is Bad Horse. Now I need to rewatch the scene where he drops Bad Horse's name, and double-check her reaction.
ReplyDeleteShoulda had Captain Hammer saying "Balls" as he was getting squashed.
ReplyDeleteStill, can't wait for Episode III.
Haha, awesome.
ReplyDeleteThe songs in this episode were far better as well, especially the opening song (as many have mentioned).
I think that his plan won't kill Captain Hammer, but will accidentally kill Bad Horse instead, so he doesn't do anything actually evil, but gets to be the new leader of the ELE anyway.
ReplyDeleteI thought "Once More With Feeling" was probably the greatest hour of television ever (and I'm totally serious in saying that), so I was tickled pink, green and blue to see Joss making musicals again.
ReplyDeleteI've also developed a totally non-gay man-crush on Neil Patrick Harris, so I'm predisposed to like this that way, too.
Finally, I've never been a Nathan Fillion fan, even in "Serenity," and at least here he's playing the insufferably bad good guy.
So I'm in heaven, pretty much. I'd watch this as a weekly series. And I'm totally going as Dr. Horrible for Halloween.
Any Hammer/Horrible slashfic out there yet? It's been a whole 48 hours.
ReplyDeleteI've got to admit: I love the fact that Dr. Horrible runs around town in no disguise. I suddenly feel vindicated for all the times I've thought/said/shouted at the screen, "How the hell can they not know that's Clark Kent/Peter Parker/Bruce Wayne/Etc.?!?!"
ReplyDeleteOr Superman/Spiderman/Batman, as it were.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of this one was during the first song when Felicia Day is singing in the soup kitchen. In the background you can see the NPH become the cook (with a fake mustache!) and he fake ladels soup and hands the homeless empty bowls. So evil!
ReplyDeletecharles/renton: Internet troubador has already sort of staked out the musical possibilities of high-school-nerd-as-lovelorn-mad-scientist in his songs The Future Soon and Skullcrusher Mountain.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdetails/The%20Future%20Soon
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdetails/Skullcrusher%20Mountain%20(Demo)
I'm certainly enjoying Dr. Horrible so far, but I think Whedon may have been better off bringing in someone like Coulton who could have really brought some musical chops.
I liked this act but it was a bit darker than the last one. Check out my blog for a full recap: http://masontechbeat.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-hold-phd-in-horribleness.html
ReplyDeleteI now feel compelled to work "The 'Hammer' is my penis" into everyday conversation. Which will be extra weird to whomever I'm speaking to, since I'm a chick.
ReplyDelete"I'm certainly enjoying Dr. Horrible so far, but I think Whedon may have been better off bringing in someone like Coulton who could have really brought some musical chops."
ReplyDeleteI know, why would two people do variations on the same thing? Phhht.
"In the background you can see the NPH become the cook (with a fake mustache!) and he fake ladels soup and hands the homeless empty bowls."
It's so great how the soup never hits the bowl! He's totally focused on his enemy and "his" girl.
Dr. Horrible stalks Penny and Captain Hammer on their dates; Horrible sings of the misery of the human condition, and Penny sings of hope and the possibility of redemption ("My Eyes"). Penny and Horrible (known to her as Billy) begin to talk openly as friends at the laundromat.
ReplyDeleteOn his blog, Horrible reveals that his Freeze Ray has been completed, and that he plans to use it the next day. The following blog post reveals that he has failed, as Hammer and the LAPD watch his posts, and they were ready for him. He then receives a phone call from Bad Horse and is reprimanded, saying that the only way to be inducted now is to commit an assassination ("Bad Horse Chorus (reprise)"). Horrible is conflicted and can't decide on a victim.
While Billy chats with Penny over frozen yogurt about his problems ("Penny's Song"), Penny mentions that Captain Hammer is planning to drop by the laundromat. Billy panics and tries to leave, only to run into Hammer as he walks in. They feign ignorance on recognizing each other, but when Penny leaves them alone, Hammer taunts Horrible about his crush on Penny, happy to be "stealing" something else from Horrible. As a result, Horrible decides upon Hammer as his victim ("Brand New Day").