So from a Chris Orr post apparently there’s going to be a sequel to Dr. Horrible and maybe a whole new series. Sweet.
I do recommend Dr. Horrible although I agree with this old Orr review, the third episode is probably the weakest aside from “Everyone’s a Hero in Their Own Way” which is hilarious. Anyhow, I think Orr’s larger analysis is quite sound, though spoilery so it’s after the cut. It’s an old review, but I think I missed it the first time.
Act III was a bit of a dispiriting downer. It may seem obvious to point out, but ending a musical comedy about a bumbling supervillain on a note of existential despair is something short of entirely satisfying.
Worse, it's tired, at least coming from Whedon. Many fans (and evidently Whedon himself) consider his deep attraction to the tragic to be one of his principal strengths. I take the opposite view: It is his crucial, perhaps defining flaw. Demonstrating your willingness to kill off your most decent, innocent characters is one thing; showing a compulsive need to do it again and again, show after show--hello, Tara, Fred, Wash, sweet character TBD on "Dollhouse"--is another. To paraphrase the week's other big villain: Why so serious, Joss?…
There are times I think that Whedon pushed so hard to make (the marvelous) "Serenity" in part because Fox canceled "Firefly" before he'd had a chance to kill anyone off...
I’d also throw in the part of Whedon’s run on runaways. That said, I think Orr is a little off in his focus on innocent characters. First and foremost, Whedon wants to destroy happy relationships. His happy relationships just tend to involve innocents.
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