Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Back during the writer’s strike, Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, co-author of Toy Story, and so on, and so on) had an idea for a new vehicle for entertainment. A story, shot on the cheap and released on the internet, testing out a new model that might — just might — bypass the existing studio models of entertainment and give him more creative control over the whole shebang.

He also had an idea for a story, and access to some really, really good actors, and a devoted (some might say slavish) fanbase he could use for resources.

The result? A three-part story called "Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog."

Start off with a low-rent wannabe supervillain, an evil genius, played by the incredibly talented and versatile Neil Patrick Harris.

Toss in his nemesis, the incredibly arrogant and thuggish hero Captain Hammer, brought to larger than life by Nathan Fillion.

Top it off with the nerdy, neurotic, lovely, red-headed love interest Penny, absolutely embodied in the amazingly adorable (and about as big a nerd goddess icon as Jewel Staite) Felicia Day.

Mix it all together with Joss Whedon (and family)’s wit, sensibilities, genius, and sheer unmitigated brilliance, and you get the masterpiece that is:

Just be warned: while it’s funny as hell, it’s still a Joss Whedon product.

Anyone who has EVER seen his work will know what that means.