A few more thoughts:
As a poster at TWOP said we were sold a musical comedy and for two acts it was one and then in the third it became a tragedy – a tragedy that felt rotten – now what we want and what we need are two different things – however, I didn’t need this, I didn’t enjoy it and it ultimately failed to work for me.
JW has lost my devotion – Buffy and Firefly were so great that I have spent my time watching the quite frankly poor Angel in search of those nuggets of cleverness and humour but they are few and far between. If Dollhouse doesn’t engage me after several episodes I’ll do a Pushing Daisies on it – life is too short to watch material that I don’t really like even if it is written by Joss Whedon.
And why was Penny’s death so damned passive? Might I be happier if she had died doing something? Might I be happier if Tara had died doing something?
what a shame isint it.
what happened to the genius we grew to love?
hasnt he used the same trick too many times?
tsk tsk tsk what a pity!
Agreed on all counts. I liked Dr. Horrible for the first two acts – quite a lot actually – but part 3 was quite disappointing (the “everyone’s a hero, but especially me” song notwithstanding).
First, because it was just depressing. But second, because it was depressing in a very unsatisfying way. Penny’s character turned out to be totally useless. She was thoroughly uninteresting, existed only to be fought over by the two men, and died solely to push the plot along. I enjoyed the idea that this was a parody of the superhero genre, but it ended up just being very traditional in most respects. It definitely would have been cool for Penny to turn out to be Bad Horse, but even without that, it would have at least been interesting for her to just decide that they’re both jerks and that she wants no part of either of them.
At the very very least, why not have her sing a self-aware song about how she’s just a plot device who has to die in order to have an effect on Dr. Horrible.
Word. I just watched and was left thoroughly disappointed. I liked Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion’s take on their characters, but Felicia Day was completely boring and Penny was dull, useless, predictable, and, ultimately, not worth caring about. It probably didn’t help Penny’s case either that Felicia Day was one of those annoying potentials.
I get that Joss Whedon loves musicals and he likes to subvert the musical genre. But you can’t just throw together some songs, some campiness, and some dry humor and make a masterpiece. Even in “Once More With Feeling”, which I love, I didn’t think that all of the songs were particularly strong — “Rest in Peace” and “Under Your Spell” (though lovely) being the two stand-outs or actually not-so stand-outs. The songs in Dr. Horrible felt similarly uninspired, with the exception of Captain Hammer’s hero song, and undeserving of Neil Patrick Harris’ considerable vocal talents.
That being said, I want a t-shirt with a hammer on it and some of those nifty goggles.
Thanks for your comments everyone.
Can’t say I disagree too much with any of you except I think Stephanie is too hard on “OMWF” particularly since “Rest in Peace” is probably my least favourite song. ‘Walk Through the Fire” is one of the greatest ensemble songs with the best tailored line ever: “I think this line is mostly filler”.
I just wanted to make sure I was clear — I really dislike “Rest in Peace” and “Under Your Spell,” even though it’s pretty. I really like/love all of the other songs in “Once More, With Feeling.” I was just trying to make the point that not even the opus that is “Once More, With Feeling” is completely solid musically, in my opinion.
I thought I must have misread your first comment because I remember you saying “Under Your Spell” didn’t suit Amber’s voice. It is pretty corny rather than porny (as Joss mentions in the commentary) and I think the rhyme
is borderline criminal.
And the criminal continues with…
Surging like the sea
Wanting you so helplessly
I break with every swell
Lost in ecstasy
Spread beneath my willow tree
What? The ocean has trees? And wasn’t it clever of Joss to refer to a willow tree since her lover’s name is Willow and all?