Net TV Love - Part Four: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Freedom is glorious,” he comments. “And the fact is, I’ve had very good relationships with studios, and I’ve worked with a lot of smart executives. But there is a difference when you can just go ahead and do something.” As a web show, there were fewer constraints imposed on the project, and Whedon had the “freedom to just let the dictates of the story say how long it’s gonna be. We didn’t have to cram everything in–there is a lot in there–but we put in the amount of story that we wanted to and let the time work around that. We aimed for thirty minutes, we came out at forty two, and that’s not a problem.” - Joss Whedon, interviewed by Tubefilter (Click for the full interview)

In late 2007, Writer/Producer/Director/Creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Joss Whedon had a problem. Due to the Writer's Guild of America strike, he was unable to do any TV work, and was basically bored. Looking for a way to not only make some money but do something creative, he began thinking about the internet. After talking with Felicia Day, creator of the web show The Guild, whom he had worked with on Buffy, he hit upon the idea of creating Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Recruiting friends such as Neil Patrick Haris, Nathan Fillian, and, of course, Day, Joss and his brothers Zack and Jed along with actress Maurissa Tancharoen created what has become one of the biggest web sensations today. A fun, tragicomic musical that chronicles the efforts of the titular doctor to not only woo his love interest Penny (Day), but defeat his nemesis Captain Hammer (Fillion).

The project was completely funded by Whedon (at a reported cost of approximately $200,000), and the actors and crew worked for free in hopes of being compensated once the show hit the web. The series (comprised of three episodes or "acts") initially appeared for free on Hulu before eventually being moved to iTunes where it is available for download. As of February of this year, it is also available for free streaming on Netflix.

Below is Part One of the First Act. For information on the rest, be sure to check the official website.