# \[Dr. Horrible\] Something new from Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion & Neil Patrick Harris **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 28, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584 "2008-06-28T18:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/201 "2008-07-24T00:49:01Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] I dunno, simultaneously defeating the hero AND getting him to kill his own girlfriend (however unintentionally) has got to count for something. šŸ˜ƒ [/QUOTE] True, that was actually pretty shiny, come to think of it, I had the same exact thought right after I posted my previous messageā€¦ I hope that we see more from the good, errā€¦bad Doctor as well as far as Nathanā€™s characterization of Capt. Hammer, was anyone else getting a somewhat ā€œSteve Martin-esqueā€ vibe from him, kindaā€™ like Steve Martin in the role of Orin Scrivello, DDS from Little Shop of Horrors, a kind of enthusiastic stupidity Of course, given Hammerā€™s case of Antadeiaphobia, all Doc. H needs to do is trap Capt. H in a room filled with ducks, or some other Mallardesque evil scheme ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/202 "2008-07-24T01:16:19Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] I dunno, simultaneously defeating the hero AND getting him to kill his own girlfriend (however unintentionally) has got to count for something. šŸ˜ƒ [/QUOTE] Exactly. From a supervillain point of view it wasnā€™t Captain Hammer who killed Penny. Doctor Horrible _tricked_ Captain Hammer, by booby-trapping his own weapon. Genius! Muahaha. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/203 "2008-07-24T01:43:11Z")
Not to mention the humiliation for Captain Hammer - he ran away from that crowd crying like a baby. Iā€™m assuming that, not the death of ā€œWhatā€™s-Her-Nameā€, is what he was on the couch for. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/204 "2008-07-24T01:55:15Z")
[QUOTE=MacTech] as far as Nathanā€™s characterization of Capt. Hammer, was anyone else getting a somewhat ā€œSteve Martin-esqueā€ vibe from him, kindaā€™ like Steve Martin in the role of Orin Scrivello, DDS from Little Shop of Horrors, a kind of enthusiastic stupidity [/QUOTE] You know, youā€™re right. I can easily imagine Steve Martin replacing Nathan Fillion. Given Hammerā€™s mannerisms and songs, Steve would be right at home. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/205 "2008-07-24T01:59:06Z")
Thatā€™s a good comparison. A lot of parody heroes have that smug, optimistic density to them, and Martin has always been great at that. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/206 "2008-07-24T06:35:09Z")
Nathanā€™s muscular frame really brings home the performance. Martin would be too frail to pull it off. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/207 "2008-07-24T14:45:12Z")
[QUOTE=jackdavinci] ā€œYou are _not_ my nemesisā€ [/QUOTE] Hey! You left off the ā€œDude.ā€ Thatā€™s the best part of that line! I dunno why. Something about a supervillain calling somebody ā€œDudeā€. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/208 "2008-07-24T15:04:07Z")
[QUOTE=Lakai] Nathanā€™s muscular frame [/QUOTE] Those three words, all by themselves, really shouldnā€™t do to me what they do to meā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/209 "2008-07-24T15:34:08Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Nope. In California, any death that occurs during the commission of a crime is First Degree Murder. It doesnā€™t matter to the Law (and apparently to Bad Horse) that the actual trigger pull was Hammerā€™s. Horrible committed the crime, so he gets the blame (credit). [/QUOTE] No, California Penal Code section 189 lists the felonies for which the felony murder rule applies. Itā€™s not ā€œduring the commission of any crime;ā€ itā€™s during the commission of specific crimes. And as I read further, it seems California has a first-degree and a second-degree felony murder structure. But enough of that hijack; certainly Dr. Horribleā€™s crime, attempted murder, qualifies under the felony murder rule and he could be tried for Pennyā€™s death (as well as, obviously, given the ticket for the Evil League of Evil under the same theory). Having listen to the whole show, I think I can now articulate why I found Act III musically the weakest: itā€™s the most derivative. Act I is solid; Act II is superb, with ā€œOn the Rise,ā€ being a real stand-out, show-stopper tune. Act IIIā€™s first number is ā€œSo They Say,ā€ which is very strongly evocative of Larsenā€™s Rent stylings. And the Horrible number at the end is very Sondheim/Sweeny Todd. Now, donā€™t get me wrong: I love both Rent and all things Sondheim, and these are both very good pieces. But neither is original in the ways that the other musical numbers are. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/210 "2008-07-24T16:09:12Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Those three words, all by themselves, really shouldnā€™t do to me what they do to meā€¦ [/QUOTE] Iā€™m straight and even I think heā€™s hot as hell. _Scrubs_ sums it up best: ā€œThe Todd appreciates hotness, regardless of gender.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/211 "2008-07-25T10:41:20Z")
I really loved the [Horrible iphone remote control app](http://www.thesoftwire.com/horrible_remote.html#). Strangely, though I loved the songs in the actual show, the song I have stuck in my head right now is TMBGā€™s ā€œSomeone Keeps Moving My Chairā€ with ā€œDr Horribleā€ substituted for ā€œMr Horribleā€. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/212 "2008-07-25T21:25:41Z")
While watching Act 3 again, I realized somethingā€¦ Doc. Hā€™s Death Ray looked kindaā€™ ā€¦familiar then I realized, it has the same general lines, and the muzzle/emitter looks very much like the Alliance ā€œSonicā€ guns in Firefly (specifically, the guns that Jayne steals in the episode where they rob the Alliance hospital, ā€œArielā€) Looks like Joss snuck in a Firefly reference in a kindaā€™ offhanded mannerā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Tal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/54ee81/32.png) [@Tal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tal)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/213 "2008-07-25T21:32:38Z")
News of Act IV is starting to surface [www.doctorhorrible.net](http://www.doctorhorrible.net) ---
**Author:** ![Tal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/54ee81/32.png) [@Tal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tal)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/214 "2008-07-25T21:36:20Z")
Dr Horribleā€™s coat is recycled from the same ep as the Death Ray - Fireflyā€™s Ariel ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/215 "2008-07-25T22:31:05Z")
Over on the IMDB discussion page, fans of DHSALB are wondering what they should call themselves (I.E. Firefly fans being ā€œBrowncoatsā€), the two most popular seem to be ā€œLabcoatsā€ and ā€œThe Evil League of \ā€ where X can=Evil, Bloggers, or Sidekicks I prefer TELoE, and my ELoE alias will beā€¦ ā€œKernel Panic!ā€, I hold a PhD in confusing computers to the point of crashing ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/216 "2008-07-26T02:55:48Z")
I just put in the Firefly ep. ā€œArielā€ā€¦ Doc. Hā€™s lab coat is the same style worn by Simon and the other Doctors the Death Ray _IS_ the Allianceā€™s ā€œSonic Gunā€, but Doc. H holds his upside down, has painted certain trim bits silver and red, and has added a sight to the ā€œtopā€ of the gun to try to ā€œdisguiseā€ it, but itā€™s clearly an Alliance sonic weapon So, itā€™s clear that Doc. Horrible is in all actuality, an Alliance sleeper agent, trying to infiltrate the ELoE for some nefarious Alliance purposeā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/217 "2008-07-26T15:54:07Z")
[QUOTE=MacTech] as far as Nathanā€™s characterization of Capt. Hammer, was anyone else getting a somewhat ā€œSteve Martin-esqueā€ vibe from him, kindaā€™ like Steve Martin in the role of Orin Scrivello, DDS from Little Shop of Horrors, a kind of enthusiastic stupidity [/QUOTE] Funny you should say that. At the Comic-con Dr. Horrible panel, someone asked the actors to name their favorite musicals. Fillion said, ā€œProbably no surprise to anyone that itā€™s Little Shop of Horrors.ā€ So heā€™s aware of the influence as well. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/218 "2008-07-28T15:51:35Z")
At the same panel, they ā€œconfirmedā€ a soundtrack and an Act 4. Nathan is still a hoot. Eliza Dushku mentioned in a later panel how sheā€™d like to be the meat in a Nathan Fillion/Tahmoh Penikett sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/219 "2008-07-28T15:56:21Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Eliza Dushku mentioned in a later panel how sheā€™d like to be the meat in a Nathan Fillion/Tahmoh Penikett sandwich. [/QUOTE] I endorse this sentiment. Only with me subbing for Eliza. ---
**Author:** ![coffinjumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@coffinjumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffinjumper)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584/220 "2008-07-30T04:38:36Z")
Just in case anyoneā€™s still interested who hasnā€™t seen it and doesnā€™t have itunes, itā€™s back online on both myspace and hulu. Joss is awesome. [http://www.hulu.com/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog](http://www.hulu.com/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-horrible-something-new-from-joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-neil-patrick-harris/454584.md?page=12)