What is Dr. Horrible?

Dr. Horrible was created by Joss Whedon, along with his brothers Jed and Zack Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. Dr. Horrible features through primary characters: Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris), Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion) and Penny (Felicia Day). The web series went on to win an Emmy for best musical short film in 2009 and became one of the most influential web works in 2008.

Dr. Horrible himself tells the story of his aspirations to be a super villain through sing-along blogs as he aspires to be a super villain, defeat his nemesis Captain Hammer and win the love of his life, Penny. It was told in three acts originally released on its official web site and then redistributed for a cost on iTunes and via DVD. Act One focused on Dr. Horrible's plans to take over the world so he could join a super villain league. We are introduced to Captain Hammer and Penny and see the parts they both play in Dr. Horrible's life. Act Two shows Dr. Horrible dealing with Penny falling for Captain Hammer as well as the latter's true nature of selfishness. Act Three has Dr. Horrible invent a Death Ray, and when he comes face-to-face with Captain Hammer, he rises to infamy but at a cost.

Dr. Horrible was originally released in July of 2008 in three acts. Act One went live on July 15, followed by Act Two on July 17 and then Act Three on July 19. On July 20^th, all three acts were taken down from the web site so that users would purchase the acts on iTunes and eventually DVD. The web musical was released on iTunes on October 10^th, 2008 and was also made available on Amazon Video On Demand. The DVD itself was available for pre-order on November 28^th, 2008 and released on December 19^th. Since the DVD is region-free, international fans could enjoy Dr. Horrible as well. The DVD included a special feature called Commentary! The Musical which had new songs sung by the cast and crew as Dr. Horrible played itself out.