Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Question: I just wanted to throw in my feedback on recent items concerning Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and Gossip Girl. First of all, I loved the musical; the song "I Cannot Believe My Eyes" is my ringtone. I feel that the ending is what would logically happen. (Spoiler alert) Did any of us really expect that Billy and Penny would live happily ever after? It would not have worked. He wanted to be evil, for Pete’s sake!! It is tragic, and I could see how some would think it was a letdown, but let’s remember that this is Joss Whedon and we are lucky to have even had this to begin with. Secondly, on the item about Gossip Girl and slowing down the time, you forgot to mention a show that did that! One Tree Hill, while not known for its critical acclaim, did just that. Seasons 1 and 2 both took place in the cast’s junior year, with 3 and 4 in their senior year. Granted, there were no holiday episodes, but it really didn’t matter. And the move four years ahead for Season 5 was genius!! It took the characters out of where the supposed horrible college years would have been and created a whole new set of problems instead. I, for one, think that this is the best thing to happen to One Tree Hill and I believe that Josh Schwartz can handle the college years. (Season 4 of The O.C., anyone?) — Kate

Matt Roush: Agreed on the first point. Dr. Horrible, for all of its sweetness and fun, is at heart something of a cautionary tale, not a fairy tale. And you’re not the only one to bring up One Tree Hill in this particular discussion. To me, that particular leap forward was less an attempt to avoid the college years as an acknowledgement that these actors were clearly too old to keep playing teens. But since the fans seem to think it helped the show, good for them.

Question: I’ve got to say, Act 3 of Dr. Horrible disturbed me, but not because of its shift in tone from hilarious and well-crafted musical to tale of epic tragedy. The shift that really disturbed me was the move from Dr. Horrible being about doing something new and different and exciting (so aptly conveyed in Joss’s manifesto on the project, and the first two acts) to the denouement, which got mired in overused, uninteresting tropes. (Spoiler alert) Let’s see: The sweetness-and-light female character dares to have sex, and then dies a grisly death? Classic (boring) horror film theme. Said female character’s grisly death not about the character’s arc in any way, but only in the story to serve as a catalyst for action by the male characters? Sounds like Women in Refrigerators Syndrome to me. What really depressed me about Act 3 wasn’t the be-careful-what-you-wish-for ending for Dr. Horrible, but the sense of a squandered opportunity for Joss & Co. to really do something innovative. They certainly demonstrated new and exciting ways to go about producing and distributing a project, and the seamless incorporation of the musical numbers was typical Joss genius, but in the end, the story that Dr. Horrible told was just more of the same tired drivel that we’ve been getting from comics and the horror genre for years. What do you think: Am I expecting too much from 42 minutes, or was the story plenty innovative for people not steeped in these other genres? Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to so many viewers’ questions each week. I always enjoy reading your take on things! — Emma L.

Matt Roush: Well, I hope it doesn’t turn you off to read my reaction, but I think you’re taking this one a bit too seriously. It’s a fair criticism that Penny essentially and ultimately is a prop to propel Dr. Horrible into the ranks of evil, and in retrospect, it probably is a bit predictable — if you don’t count the fact, which I do, that the tone of the show up until that point didn’t lead you to expect a tragedy. It’s a matter of perspective, I suppose, whether you think Joss Whedon is upholding a grand tradition with the way he told this wacky story or whether you think he sunk into cliché. I think you’re a little hard on him and the show, but I appreciate the reasoning in your argument and wonder if I should be apologizing for enjoying Dr. Horrible on such a shallow level.