Some blathering about the OTHER doctor
Short version: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Long version: Although last week was seriously busy with the job from hell and toddler party planning duties (and ended with the worst migraine of my life) I did manage to watch parts one and two Friday afternoon and part three about half an hour after it went live. And I watched it again yesterday morning after snagging it on iTunes. Hearing NPH sing for the first time was like hearing Ewan McGregor or James Marsters sing for the first time; it was nothing short of a revelation. That boy has chops! In retrospect, it's not surprising to see all of the musical theatre he has under his belt. But really, who knew?? (obviously, not me)
I liked this. I really really liked this. It was actually as good if not better than Buffy's Once More with Feeling, which is no-small feat since Joss was working with all-new characters and had to have us care enough to tune back in after just 13 minutes of exposition. I suppose it helps that Whedon's "Doctor" is very much of the love child of William/Spike/Johnathan. Appearance-wise, NPH has that ruffle-haired skinny blonde geek thing going. Even some of the songs are similar to those given to Spike in OMWF. While some might find that rehashed writing, I found it to be another layer of nuanced meta, sort of like the layers built into Sunset Boulevard, a movie about making movies with a ton of nods to the industry and people actually playing themselves. The self-consciousness of it actually adds to the viewing experience.
The music? Fantastic. It's still stuck in my head, along with some lyrics, which is pretty amazing considering I've only heard these songs twice now. The "On the Rise" duet between NPH/Day knocked it out of the park. Wow.
It took me a bit to place Felicia Day as Vi from Buffy. I knew I recognized her but didn't make the association right away. And like others, I half expected her to be Bad Horse (and loved instead that no, the Stallion of Sin was an actual horse) and I do love that she died because, duh, this is Joss and we get no happy endings. Joss does not give us what we want; he gives us what he thinks we need (and he should have stopped Buffy at s5, except that i loved the bulk of s6, and I did kinda heart Horrible's other main star, Fillon, as Caleb)
Captain Hammer was perfect---cheesy asshole top and bottom layers with a faint schmear of quasi good guy in the middle, and of course, the hammer is his penis. Fillon's portrayal was a ton of fun. Moist was a hoot. So were all of the characters in the Evil League of Evil. But mostly, I loved Harris. His end line gutted me and I sat there with my jaw dropped as the credits started running in silence (excellent choice!)
Beyond the fact that I loved the series, I love how well it did ("we broke the internet!") since it says great things about the power of art directly from the creator (gee, that thought has nothing to do with my day job, lol) . I love how the internet is changing art in all of its forms. And that Joss and his family were able to just put this out there, sans middle man. I love that it was a labour of love, and so obviously a ton of fun to make. I hope they make a ton of cash, all of which will go to the people who participated, not some studio. Yes, I saw it for free. Yes, I paid for it on iTunes after already having seen it for free, and yes, I will buy it on DVD because I want that singing commentary track, damnit!
Joss Whedon is still, apparently, God. And seeing this, I am much less afraid of Dollhouse in the fall. I can has more pls?
ps this review was mostly written so I can get
asta77to post hers; I suspect we disagree on some points and I am dying of curiosity to know for sure.