Dr. Horrible ain’t half bad: The three-part Internet series debuted Tuesday. It showcases an awkward super villain played by Neil Patrick Harris (“Doogie Howser, M.D.” “How I Met Your Mother”) and created by Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”).
The often-hilarious series sparked a terrific response when its first 14-minute installment appeared. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Web site crashed in a matter of hours.
The Web episodes find Harris answering fan mail with asides such as, “The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it,” or bursting into song, hence the site’s full name, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.”
Sometimes, our antihero has an awkward encounter with his crush, Penny, like when he bumps into her collecting signatures to combat homelessness.
“You’re treating a symptom, and the disease rages on, consumes the human race,” he tells her. “The fish rots from the head, as they say, so my thinking is why not cut off the head?”
“Of the human race,” she says.
“It’s not a perfect metaphor,” he says.
The final episode was scheduled to debut today. You can download each part from iTunes for $1.99, or watch for free at www.drhorrible.com until midnight Sunday — after which it will probably all pop up on YouTube.
Dr. Horrible, or rather, Harris, has a local connection: The actor played Paul Keller, Snohomish County’s serial arsonist, in a 1995 made-for-TV movie, “Not Our Son.” Keller remains in prison.
Andy Rathbun, Herald Writer, arathbun@heraldnet.com, 425-339-3455
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