• Best Comedy Web Series
• Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series: Joss Whedon
• Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series: Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon
• Best Male Actor in a Comedy Web Series (separate nominations):
  • Nathan Fillion
  • Neil Patrick Harris
• Best Editing in a Web Series: Lisa Lassek
• Best Cinematography in a Web Series: Ryan Green
• Best Art Direction in a Web Series: Nicholas Onstad, Jesse Siglow
• Best Original Music in a Web Series: Jed Whedon

Felicia Day’s “The Guild” has also been nominated for various awards.

The winners in these categories will be chosen by the newly-formed International Academy of  Web Television IAWTV.

But tomorrow, March 16th, voting will begin for the “Audience Choice” Award, so make sure you use your vote for your favourite webseries!

Click Here to Vote

Photos from Whedonopolis used with permission click to enlarge

Nathan Fillion’s interest in the iPhone game Ninja Ropes was first revealed to the public at the Dr. Horrible screening in Los Angeles at Halloween when he showed up in an impressive Ninja Ropes costume.

When the Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog DVD was released fans were able to hear Nathan singing about the game in the song “Better than Neil” (“Who’s got the high score on Ninja Ropes?”) .

The DVD’s “Commentary! The Musical” also features an entire song dedicated to the game.

We spoke to the Ninja Ropes creator “Sarkscape Games” about the game.

How long have you been creating games?

Sarkscape Games: About a year, since I opened sarkscape.com website. I’m not a professional game developer, it is just my sparetime hobby. When iPhones entered the market I decided it is worth to try to make something interesting for them.

For those that aren’t familiar with the game, can you give us a bit of a description of Ninja Ropes?

SG: This is basically a game of attention and reaction. By controlling two springy ropes you should lead a ninja through outer space.

When did you first hear about Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog?

SG: In the middle of December 2008, when a first preliminary review of the DVD came out and I found a mention of the Ninja Ropes song in it through Google.

Before the commentary came out, did you have any idea that the team enjoyed your game so much?

SG: Absolutely no.

What was your reaction when you discovered there was a song written about your game that was included in Commentary! The Musical?

SG: I was completely stunned. This was the last thing I could expect. Even now somewhere deep in my mind I have doubts this all really happened.

Have you had any contact with the Dr. Horrible team?

SG: No, but I wish to have

Have there been an increase in traffic to your site since the Dr. Horrible DVD was released?

SG: Yes, but not very much.

Are there any hints you can give to beginners of the game?

SG: The game is simple when you know it’s mechanics. The more speed of your falling, the more speed you will have after shrinking of the rope. Use both ropes and remember locations of the gravity vortexes.

Do you have any other games people might be interested in?

SG: You can see all of my games on sarkscape.com. There are a logical puzzle Block2Lock (which I personally use as a time killer) and an action game Mass Defense (which strangely makes me very nervous when I’m playing it).

Currently I’m planning a native game for iPhone and possible for the other touch-screen devices too. Hope you don’t miss it when it will be released.

Do you have anything else you’d like to add?

SG: Well, I would like to thank Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris and all cast and crew for the superb musical, hilarious commentary and the great song about my game.

And, of course, thanks to all people who play my games. I’m happy that you like them.

Play Ninja Ropes Extreme right here!
(Doesn’t work in Internet Explorer)
Click Play to begin and don’t forget to leave us a comment on your high score

[Hint: Don't forget to check the Top 15 high scores!]

If there was one good thing to come out of the WGA strike, it was the realization on the part of artists and creators that there are ways to distribute content other than through studios and other AMPAA-affiliated entities. While walking in circles on the sidewalks outside studio lots, writers strategized with each other about alternative distribution methods and the power of the Internet to deliver their work directly to an audience without a corporate middleman. It was during those dark but heady days that Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was conceived. Written and produced by Joss Whedon, along with several of his relatives and friends, this was an experiment in production and distribution, a new business model, and a successful one at that.

Dr. Horrible was originally released in the summer of 2008 as a series of three acts on its own Web site, www.drhorrible.com, as well as iTunes and the advertising-supported media site Hulu. The segments were available for free for a limited time, and then available as a 42-minute whole for just $7.99. A better deal for your entertainment dollar, you will not find. But wait, there’s more. Whedon and Co. have recently made Dr. Horrible available on DVD as an Amazon.com exclusive, for just $9.99. And this isn’t just any bare-bones affair. We’ll get into that more in the section on the extras, but for now, heed these three words: Commentary the Musical. ‘Nuff said.

But all of this would be moot if the project (it’s hard to know what to call it — short film? Web movie?) wasn’t also very entertaining. Whedon’s best work since the heyday of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Horrible stars Neil Patrick Harris as the title character, an aspiring hardened criminal with a soft, mushy core. Actually, he’s more layered than that. Seemingly sweet in his secret identity as Billy, he struggles to express his feelings of love for the pure-hearted Penny (Felicia Day), a fellow regular at the local laundromat. Beneath that exterior, he’s a villain desperately trying to get noticed by the leader of the Evil League of Evil, Bad Horse (The Thoroughbred of Sin). And beneath that, there’s another layer of sweetness. “Like pie,” he tells Penny (though he’s not necessarily talking about himself there, he may as well be)…

…Dr. Horrible works because it’s a good story, well told, with hummable music, clever dialogue, interesting characters and fantastic performances by all involved. This was a passion project, so it’s not a big-budget affair; the effects aren’t spectacular and the production values are modest at best. But that hardly matters when the things that don’t cost money — like talent, wit and charm — are abundant in supply…

…For such a low-budget production, the video quality of Dr. Horrible is up to the standards of any other professionally produced DVD. Like the story, the image is bright and cheery, but there are dark moments as well. Some of the daytime shots are a bit blown out, but most are right on target. The color is ever-so-slightly red-shifted as well, but not distractingly so. Overall, this looks pretty much exactly as it did on the Web, which wasn’t too bad to begin with…

…The DVD comes with 5.1 surround sound, and the mix is well balanced between the dialogue, music and sound effects. There’s nothing that’s going to blow the listener away here, but it’s smooth and free from distortion or hiss. The dynamic range is wide enough to deliver every note, from low to high. You won’t hear any rumbling bass, but you will hear the dialogue clearly, even some of the funny little mumbling ad-libs you might have missed the first time…

• Full Review: http://dvd.ign.com

…here’s the lowdown on the DVD, of which I was lucky enough to get an early copy to rip apart ruthlessly. I’ll try not to give away too much, especially those well-placed easter eggs since half the fun is finding them.

Joss Whedon – creator of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along BlogJoss rallied the cast together to create heaps of new material making the DVD much more than an afterthought, and instead an extension of the Dr. Horrible experience and a must-have for even the casual fans. Stars Felicia Day, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Simon Helberg all worked almost as much on the DVD as the series itself. And creator-producers Joss, his brothers Jed and Zack Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen are all over the special features and commentary…

In the end, it’s ABC Family that’s left scratching their heads wondering why they passed on this one after hearing the pitch, leaving Joss to go it alone and self-fund the production. And the DVD is a crowning homage to something bigger than the 42 minute superhero musical, perhaps to the evolution of a movement. After watching, you can’t help but reflect on the power and reach of the Dr. Horrible experience. Creators can now connect directly with fans on their own terms. Give it away for free online? Sure, why not. This is going to change everything, or perhaps it already has.

• Full Review: http://news.tubefilter.tv

The film itself I didn’t really get. Apparently young people today think it’s okay to make fun of supervillains. In my day we treated them with respect and fear, especially when they were singing. I did like the jokes, except when one man mentioned his secret love appendage to another, which I find crass. But the tunes are very hummable, and many of them ran through my head as I fell asleep before the ending, which I’ll bet was a humdinger. In fact, the whole movie humdinged. I give it forty eight billion stars.

The extras (Eternal life, Europe, Bees) were mostly exciting. There is a whole second musical, called “Commentary!”, which harkens back to the days of Radio and of writing things really poorly. I can’t recommend it enough. (That should read “I can’t recommend it. Enough!” Sorry.) Seriousfully, it’s not so much a commentary as chance for the cast and writers to make fun of each other in every musical style possible. I give it forty eight billion stars.

The extra extras are all solid fun, especially the many applications to the Evil League of Evil, sent by people who know how to show a supervillain the proper respect…

• Full Review: www.armchaircommentary.com

…The Daily Blink was able to secure an advanced copy, popped that sucker in and immediately thought her DVD player was broken….

You know who’s not a hero? The ten lucky evil fans whose Evil League of Evil application videos made it onto the DVD. If ever there was evidence of Joss Whedon’s huge global fan base, it’s in the ELE video submissions, which come from all over the world and feature a minute-long list of Dishonorable Mentions.

Among the extras: a “Making of Dr. Horrible” featurette, with writers/Whedon brothers Joss, Jed and Zack and Maurissa Tancharoen, as well as actors Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day, talking about the movie, the music and the project’s reception…

…there are two commentary tracks, including a regular one (stick around through the credits when it takes a slightly R-rated turn) and one composed of nearly 42 minutes of brand-new original songs. Sure makes you feel like a slacker, doesn’t it?

The whole gang is back for “Commentary! The Musical,” which deserves its own iTunes release, as are Moist and Groupies #2 and #3.

The decidedly more goofy and genre-jumping “Commentary!” recalls the “Buffy” musical episode “Once More With Feeling.” It jumps from Mr. Fillion singing about how much better he is than Mr. Harris to Zack “Black Sheep” Whedon rapping (check out the video on the TV Week website) to a ballad from Groupie #2 and Mr. Harris, which gives the Harris-Day duet “My Eyes” a run for its money. All that and it still manages to offer some commentary on the AMPTP-WGA deal…

The Daily Blink also hears there are some Easter eggs on the DVD, but wasn’t savvy enough to find them. So, gentle readers, please be sure to come back here when you get your DVD and help the Daily Blink out.

• Visit TV Week for full feview [ WARNING contains spoilers ]

There are two versions of commentary you can play over the movie. One is the much talked about “Commentary! The Musical,” which is — you guessed it — an almost-entirely sung “commentary.” I put quotes around commentary because it’s not really a commentary on what you’re watching on-screen at any given time, which could be just as easily listened to without the accompanying video.

That’s not to say that “Commentary!” isn’t worth listening to — far from it, in fact. You’re basically getting another 40 minutes of musical numbers, some which I like better than a few in the movie …

…The other set of commentary is the “more serious” one that features Neil, Marissa, Joss, Zach, Felicia, Nathan and Jed. This was one of the better commentaries I’ve listened through. The sound had each person placed around the surround such that it sounded very much like they were all sitting in specific spots behind you (at least this is the effect I got with headphones). Also, the commentary was very thorough and without any lulls in the conversation at all. I kept thinking that I wished Joss did this much commentary for his TV shows, but then again, this is one “episode” we’re talking about here, not seasons worth …

…There are a few featurettes included on the DVD that are a perfect length for what they cover, and they capture the excitement that went into making the film and the songs, as well as the reception Dr. Horrible got at places like ComicCon and the Internet in general. Those who attended the panel at ComicCon might catch a quick glimpse of themselves if they look closely enough …

• Full Review: www.cliqueclack.com
  

Thanks to Dr. Horrible’s minions (OK, the very nice person who sent me an advance copy), I had a chance to explore the disc this week, and I’m happy to report that, no matter who you are, the answer is yes. The devoted fan who’s already pre-ordered four copies (one for themselves, three for the loved ones who are getting it for Christmas) will be more than satisfied. The online video enthusiast, seeking to better understand this year’s undisputed king of web series, will find plenty of insight in the special features. And newcomers to the phenomenon, looking to enjoy a funny media experience, will also walk away happy — because the DVD presents Dr. Horrible in the best possible light.

… Rewatching Dr. Horrible five months after the intense experience of its release, I was surprised by how well it held up…

As for special features, the centerpiece of the DVD is definitely Commentary! The Musical, a full-length commentary track that is a completely original musical in its own right… Commentary! is actually a fun, behind-the-scenes glimpse of the production, heavily laced with inside jokes set to music very nearly as good as that in the actual production….

While Joss Whedon has definitely gotten the bulk of the credit for Dr. Horrible, the behind-the-scenes featurettes go out of their way to celebrate his co-writers. Jed Whedon is applauded for his visual style and musical sensibility (he claims the title “Writer/Composer”) while Zack Whedon (who’s also written for Deadwood, John From Cincinnati, and Fringe) is credited with authorship of most of the show’s best dialogue, including the most-quoted “The hammer is my penis” line…

Per the request of Dr. Horrible’s minions, I won’t go into details about the various Easter eggs — except to say that there are layers to the DVD well-worth exploring. For the same reason, I also won’t go into specifics about the disc’s major tribute to its fans: a compilation of fan-created applications to the Evil League of Evil. But the ELE applications are remarkable for what they reveal about those ultimately responsible for Dr. Horrible’s tremendous success. The apps selected for the DVD represent an international, creative, and surprisingly talented community who were encouraged every step of the way to, as Day puts it in What Just Happened?, “participate in the show’s success.”

Ultimately, what this disc reveals is that those behind the series are not just fans of the product, but fans of their fanbase. And that affection is not unreciprocated, which is very fortunate for all involved — especially Dr. Horrible’s DVD sales.

DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG succeeds on every level it appears to tackle. It works artistically, comically, dramatically, musically and as proof that a production made straight for the Internet can succeed in a big way…

…The project is publicly thought of as being the work of Joss Whedon, which is fair, as he not only directed but paid for it, though it is co-written with Zack Whedon and Jed Whedon (brothers of Joss) and Maurissa Tancharoen. There are a multitude of levels here, though to discuss them in much depth would be to start spreading spoilers. It can perhaps be said that the themes deal with how people’s personas evolve (vague, I know, but the best I can do). Dialogue is snappy and often laugh-out-loud, though some lines are wrenching in context, while the lyrics flow organically, often in impressive and informative counterpoint…

…The cast is smashing. Harris, who has a song-and-dance past on stage in addition to his now-Emmy-nominated role on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and that previous DOOGIE HOWSER fame (not to mention the show-stopping appearances in the HAROLD AND KUMAR comedies), has a gorgeous voice and a marvelously expressive face as the embodiment of every painfully smart guy with a plan, a case of nerves and a sense of incredulity at how well the good-looking self-confident doofuses do in the world. Fillion as said doofus is fearlessly silly and funny as a man of steel with a brain of wheat, while Day (who has her own Web series, THE GUILD) is effortlessly sweet and empathetic as the good-hearted Penny. Fans of Whedon’s previous work will note lots of erstwhile collaborators behind the scenes in the credits (with some old writing colleagues showing up in on-camera cameos).

This is independent production at its finest. DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG is, contrary to its title, really pretty wonderful.

• External Link: www.ifmagazine.com

High-profile names and studios have been trying to conquer the Web for several years now—Sony, Disney, Warner Brothers, MySpace and Michael Eisner’s Tornante company have all created operations dedicated to churning out online programming. Last year, “thirtysomething” creators and industry heavies Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick released the online show “quarterlife” which even enjoyed a one-episode stint on NBC. But not a single one of these industry efforts has managed to find a mainstream audience. Kids in Nebraska making YouTube movies behind the barn have won more viewers. Really, I’m not joking.

But Dr. Horrible looks to have a different fate. The first of the show’s three 15-minute episodes went live Tuesday at midnight and immediately, international viewers were screaming that they couldn’t watch it (the Hulu video player they were using didn’t work overseas). And those of us who tried to pay $1.99 to download the show from iTunes couldn’t do that either. Still, those were the least of “Dr. Horrible’s” problems: by the time U.S. viewers woke up yesterday, so many people were clamoring to watch the show that its web site crashed completely, sending the makers scrambling to find more bandwidth…

…

Even with the stars, the big crew, and permission to use the Universal Studios backlot (eerily, the location where they shot was completely destroyed by June fire), Dr. Horrible manages to retain a casual, low-stakes feel. Not quite YouTube-low, thankfully, but neither is there the slightest evidence of corporate fingerprints—the Minus Touch.

“We had nobody to check in with, said Tancharoen. “There was nobody giving us notes. There were no rules—and there still aren’t. That’s why the Internet is cool.”

Harris remembered a scene during the 7-day shoot when the sun had gone down and there was no longer enough light to get the shot. “Someone just grabbed a flashlight and shined it on my face,” he said. They got it in one take.

“We had the freedom to behave like professional amateurs,” he said. “And that sort of worked into the vibe” of the show.

A key element of that vibe is what Whedon called “the silly.” …

• External Link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com