Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Special achievement: "Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog"

It would be unfair to put an Emmy-winning production by a beloved director on the same playing field as giggling babies, so we have to single out Joss Whedon’s tuneful, stunning creation as a phenomenon unto itself.

Born out of creative frustration during the Writers Guild strike and featuring a supernaturally lovable cast, Whedon’s small-budget, direct-to-Web opus damn near crashed the Internet when it rolled out as a three-day event in the summer of 2008. With Neil Patrick Harris as the titular aspiring super villain, Nathan Fillion as ego-driven Captain Hammer (whose fists, it turns out, are not the hammer), and Felicia Day as the dish who captivates them both, "Dr. Horrible" went on to become a multipronged sensation. It’s "Rocky Horror" — the movie you watch at midnight screenings. It’s "Guys and Dolls" — the beloved high school musical production. It’s a comic book. It’s the launching pad for a whole league of Evil League of Evil evil-doers. It’s everything a great viral video should be — funny, poignant, full of dance numbers — and best of all, it makes you want to pull yourself away from the screen and make your own stuff. And then, you know, post it on YouTube.