July 15th, 2008Act One: Wheee!
Just in time to ease you through the summer TV doldrums!
Act One (”Wheee!”) of Joss Whedon’s musical web-series, Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion is now available online. Act Two (”OMG!”) is coming on Thursday and Act Three (”Denouement!”) on Saturday.
Don’t dawdle, since the episodes will only be available for free until Sunday, July 20. Read Whedon’s Master Plan for more details on what to do then and how you can support the Doctor Horrible crew.
[Extremely Mild Spoilers Below.]
[OK, barely spoilers at all, but go watch it first just in case.]
We’ll be talking about this in the vlog, but, for now, I’ll share a few notes I took while watching. (Yes, I do have conversations with myself in my notes.)
- The first scene, straight from Doctor Horrible’s personal vlog, reminds me of the opening scene of The Guild. Or is that just because both star Felicia Day? Both scenes share a certain quirkiness, but Harris’s Horrible doesn’t have the same punch as Day’s Codex. Whatever I mean by that.
- Laundromat. Bored now. It’s only the first song, but I have “Once More with Feeling”-sized expectations! OK, that’s totally unfair. You can’t compare your emotional attachment to characters from the sixth season of your favorite show to the characters in Act One of a 45-minute web series.
- Hey! They got to re-use some of the old Firefly costumes. Nice reaction from Doctor Horrible after the threat “or he’ll make you his mare”.
- Wonderflonium! Ha!
- OK, I like that little song of Penny’s. Is that really Felicia Day singing?
- Doctor Horrible has a Horrible Van Remote iPhone app! I was hoping I’d find it in the iTunes store as part of a viral marketing scheme or something, but no such luck.
- The dialogue between Penny and Horrible is a lot more fun than Horrible’s monologue in the first scene. Maybe that’s what I meant by “punch”.
- And starring Nathan Fillion as Zapp Brannigan as Captain Hammer. I like it.
- Balls.
Nutshell: weak start, wonderflonium, Horrible Van Remote, Zapp Brannigan, balls.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:11 am
I liked the Freeze Ray song but I sort of know what you mean. It’s a bit…I dont want to say bland but it just doesnt spark like a opening number should. I do disagree about Harris’s lack of punch in the personal vlog scene punchy as all get out IMO.
I’m totally onboard by the Bad Horse song(sidebar: how awesome are the supervillain names ‘Bad Horse’,'Conflict Diamond’,Moist, who,sidebar to sidebar i find strangely attractive).
Penny is adorable, almost to a fault. Being ‘The Girl’ is difficult because you have to find the right level to play it. She’s a brody sketched characterthere’s no getting around that but play it to sweet and perfect you run the risk of being so “nice” your unlikable (e.g. Lana Lang in Smallville). But i have confidence in Felicia Day. I think she can pull it off.
Nathan Fillion. What can I say. Hardest working nostrils in showbiz. :)
Bring on Act II.
Balls
July 15th, 2008 at 10:19 am
I re-watched to be sure, but Doctor Horrible’s opening monologue still seems flat to me. I’m a huge fan of The Guild, so it’s not the format that throws me off, and I loved NPH in the first Harold and Kumar movie, so I don’t think it’s him either.
Regardless, I also got fully on board for around the Bad Horse song, so I’ll just ignore the first couple of scenes. My favorite parts by far are at the end when all three stars are on screen.
Oh, and if it makes you feel better, I also thought Moist was cute in an undefinable sort of way.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
You guys have no taste (Just joking)
Seriously the monologue felt mostly flat the first time I watched it. Over time I’m liking it more and more(of course I watched it more than once!)
My favortie song is actually the Freezer Ray song followed by Penny Interlude, A Man’s Gotta Do and finally Bad Horse. I guess we each pick different things based on the fact that Whedon magic work on different levels…
I LOVED part one and my boyfriend liked it. I show him right after that the 10 episodes of the Guilds and he fell in love with it so much that it is ridiculous. You gotta love Felicia Day…
July 16th, 2008 at 8:13 am
You know, the Freezer Ray song is the one thats sticking with me.
Do-De-Do, Do-De-Do, Do-De-Do, Dumbl-De.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:03 am
I felt mostly the same way, although I really liked all the songs, even more so on the second watch-thru.
And I know The Guild has Felicia Day in it, but if you really like this sort of awesome ridiculous comedy/drama, you should check out Cataclysmo and the Time Boys on youtube. It’s in it’s second season, and Dr. Horrible actually has a lot of similarities…
July 16th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
The Freeze Ray song is the one that’s stuck in my head, too! I think it kind of sneaks up on you. Overall, I think everything was really well played given the nature of the characters. If you’re dealing with super heroes and villains, you kind of have to go extremely deadpan on everything to find a balance.
I think. This is my theory. Anyway, I loved it muchly.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Brand New Day is my brand new favorite!
It doesn’t just rock,it Rwaks!!!
:)
July 18th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I actually love the songs in Act 2 better than those is Act 1! I agree with Ben, Brand New Day is a real stand out. I assume a soundtrack is one of those awesome extras we’re going to get later!
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:50 am
We talk about it in our next episode, but I agree with all of y’all. The second and third acts are better.
Actually, the first act is better on second viewing. (It was 2AM when I watched this!)