Check the link below for the full review!
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…
