Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

The first installment of Joss Whedon’s low-budget online video Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog just went up, and it’s as thoroughly charming as we hoped! The musical series follows Dr. Horrible, a low-level costumed villain, as he attempts to win entry into the Evil League of Evil, defeat Captain Hammer, and win the love of that cute girl at the laundromat — video-blogging all the while.

Act One introduces Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, who’s not your typical super-villain: He’s a little bit nerdy, extremely shy, and not yet all that good at what he does. But over the course of Act One’s thirteen minutes, he’ll finally talk to that girl and face off with his nemesis, Captain Hammer ("He dislocated my shoulder last week. Again," grumps Dr. Horrible about the conceited hero played by Nathan Fillion). The series freely borrows from any number of revisionist superhero comedies, from The Venture Bros. to Austin Grossman’s Soon I Will Be Invincible, but its winning performances and snappy dialogue mark it as a Whedon production through and through. Though it has better production values than your typical Web video, it still looks pleasantly cheesy. And the songs are just as cute — and as half-baked — as you’d expect from the guy who wrote the Buffy musical episode.

Of special note: The very funny Simon Helberg as Dr. Horrible’s roommate, Moist, who, when Dr. Horrible launches his evil plan, helpfully asks, "Ya need anything dampened? Or made soggy?" The series runs all week and disappears on Sunday night.