Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: The DVD

The Dr. Horrible DVD's a bit of a hard sell. The film's only forty two minutes long and it's freely available online, as was intended by creator Joss Whedon. Don't get me wrong, it's the usual Whedon-y goodness in which Neil Patrick Harris plays Dr. Horrible, the arch nemesis of Nathan Fillion's Captain Hammer. Horrible keeps a video blog on his evil doing that gets derailed thanks to his love for Penny (Felicia Day) who he sees down the local laundrette. Oh, and it's also a musical. It's well worth seeing, but as I said, you can do so online for free.

As such unless you don't have access to a computer the DVD is really all about the extras, and as such that's what I'm actually reviewing. There's the pretty standard making of and trailer plus a commentary involving pretty much everyone involved that's funny and informative. The real gems of the package are a thirty minute showcase of fan made videos in which they apply to join the Evil League Of Evil, there's some very funny and genuinely well produced stuff here, and Commentary! The Musical. This is the main reason to own the DVD. It's a commentary track that's performed as if it were also part of the musical and works as a very funny parody of them. There's some brilliant stuff on it, the highlight of which is one of the female producers bemoaning the fact that Asians are the only minority to be shoved into the background in TV and film, her case seemingly being confirmed as she was only allowed to play one of Captain Hammer's stalker fans in the film.

So that's your lot. Commentary! The Musical is brilliant and is well worth hearing but it's really up to you if that's enough to part with your hard earned cash. If you are a big Joss Whedon fan it should be noted that everything to do with Dr. Horrible, including the DVD, is self-produced so buying it is a way to support him if you feel like doing so.