Dr. Horrible Isn’t Horrible

The first three acts of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, the online tragicomic musical by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) starring Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, M.D., Starship Troopers) and Felicia Day (The Guild), are now streaming free on Hulu. Whedon wrote Dr. Horrible during the WGA strike, verifying Duncan Riley’s prediction of WGA talent being diverted from Hollywood to the Web.

Unlike most Hulu videos, this one’s available outside the US. Also unlike most Hulu videos, it’s not TV shovelware. Joss Whedon writes outside the constraints of the idiot box, taking advantage of the stylistic freedom offered by online video. Felicia Day, of course, is a truly organic online video star. Neil Patrick Harris, who previously did only longform offline stuff, knows how to pack a performance into a fourteen-minute embeddable episode.

Whedon plans a fourth episode. Let’s see if he can further learn the ropes inside online video.