Freeze Ray. Stops time. Tell your friends.

In July, the web series Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog was released. It was and continues to be awesome. It was made by Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and the upcoming Dollhouse) and several members of his family as well as some of his friends. It stars Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible who wants to get into the Evil League of Evil and win the heart of Penny (Felicia Day) who he knows from the laundromat. His main obstacle for both of those goals is the oafish Captain Hammer played by Nathan Fillion. Today, the DVD arrived. I want to call it mine but it is actually my sister's so that wouldn't entirely be accurate. One of my favourite things about the DVD is that one of the commentaries is Commentary: The Musical. It was rather amusing. I think to accurately detail why I like Dr. Horrible, I will have to rely on another list:

• Neil Patrick Harris (I have mentioned that I think he is awesome before, haven't I? If not, I am rectifying the omission now.)
• Nathan Fillion is brilliant as the oafish Captain Hammer (Corporate Tool).
• The songs are darned catchy (I will be surprised if I ever get the Bad Horse songs out of my head)
• It has lines that I wish there were more cause to use in normal life such as "Look at my wrist, I gotta go," "What a crazy random happenstance," and "You give my regards to St. Peter. Or whoever has his job, but in Hell."
• Spoiler alert: Bad Horse is actually a horse
• The ending has a vastly different tone from the rest in that it's kinda depressing, but in a totally expected, Joss Whedon sort of way
• Some the lines are not all that funny in writing, but the way the actors say them, they are hilarious. ("Captain Hammer threw a car at my head" (Actually that one is still amusing in writing) and "That's not a good sound")
• Two more of my favourite quotes:
  1. "It's not about making money, it's about taking money. Destroying the status quo. Because the status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just...need to rule it."
  2. " Alright. The wait is over. This, my friends, is my Freeze Ray, which, with the addition of the wonderflonium I obtained at my famously successful heist last week... I say successful in that I achieved my objective. It was less successful in that I inadvertently introduced my arch-nemesis to the girl of my dreams, and now he's taking her out on dates, and they're probably going to...French kiss or something...! She called him sweet? How is he sweet? [long pause] Right, Freeze Ray"
• The fact that Captain Hammer possesses and dry cleans sweater vests

I believe you can still get Dr. Horrible on iTunes and you can get the DVD through Amazon. This blog definitely does not do justice to the show but it is definitely today's favourite thing. I was very excited when I saw that it had arrived. Sad statement about my life, but there you go.

Oh, you just got burned, phonics style

As I mentioned in a previous post, I really enjoy the show How I Met Your Mother. For Christmas this year, I received the DVDs for season 2 (see also my post on TV DVDs). As I was watching them over the last couple days, I realized how much I enjoyed the character of Marshall (played by Jason Segel). I then realized that I never mentioned Marshall as one of the reasons I like that show and only really mentioned him in relationship to his haircut. So I decided to use a whole post to rectify that situation. Marshall (and Jason Segel) crack me up. Marshall is a pretty lovable guy. He gets excited over odd things, loves to do the robot, has some of the best facial expressions (maybe not the absolute best. I am looking at you, Jim Halpert), has a sort of innocence about him, and loves Lily very much. As for Jason Segel, I first saw him in Freaks and Geeks about ten years ago, and I have definitely found a few of his recent projects very enjoyable. Much like I very much enjoy any movie where Hugh Grant dances, I think that things can be very much improved in so many ways by having Jason Segel sing:
(Freaks and Geeks)

(Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
I posted the following video in the post about How I Met Your Mother, but it applies here too.

(How I Met Your Mother)
His dancing also is a bit of a high point....

(about 2 minutes in, Freaks and Geeks)

(How I Met Your Mother)

TV Watching, Uninterrupted

When I first started this blog (all of a week ago now), I knew that many of my posts would be TV related, because frankly that is one of my favourite things. I watch certain TV shows every week and they are what I like to call appointment television. Last year I was out on my own and did not own a TV. I felt deprived. Luckily, there is a handy invention known as TV on DVD. An entire season of television on a set of DVDs for your viewing pleasure. No commercials. It is a good way to revisit an episode of your favourite TV show or discover a new one. I especially like it when libraries lend out series on DVD. Makes it a lot cheaper. It may not be the best use of your time, especially if you have things to do that do not include watching moving pictures but it's a good way to relax after a hard days work. And it gives you some entertainment when the writers go on strike. (Wait, that was last year. I meant the actors. Man I hope they don't strike.) I also tend to enjoy all the little extras that come with... the bloopers, the commentaries, the documentaries, the interviews. This enjoyment of TV on DVD may have something to do with a personality quirk of mine where I must know everything there is to know about what I am currently into, but I think it is generally a pretty cool thing.