ENGL 3815 Survey of Popular Culture Fall 2013 PH 321 Dr. David Lavery ENGL 3815 Survey of Popular Culture Fall 2013 PH 321 Dr. David Lavery

Chapter 3: “Bonus Materials”: Digital Auras and Authors

Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog ( Webcast, 2008)

“A Hole in the World” (Angel 5.15)

“Rat Saw God” (Veronica Mars 2.6)

Whedon studied at Wesleyan University—with Michael Bay.

Kai & Joss Bay & Latest Supermodel

Whedon and Jeanine Basinger

Essay by Whedon in new MSCL DVD box set.

“[W]e are left with the most crushing cliffhanger in history [on My So Called Life, with Angela going off on her date with Jordan Catalano having just discovered that it was actually Brian Krakow (or, as I affectionately call him, ‘me’) who wrote her those love letters.” (Joss Whedon, “Reality TV”; my emphasis) Brian Krakow (Devon Gummersall))

“or as I affectionately call him ‘me’”

1992

1997

1999

2002

Buffy Season Eight

Whedon directs “Business School” (The Office, 2007); “Dream On” (Glee, 2010)

The Horrible Website

2012

Thanks to Hillary Robson

The Horrible Website

Dr. H, Captain Hammer, Penny

Hammer and Horrible

Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) The Horrible Cast

Penny (Felicia Day) The Horrible Cast

Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion) The Horrible Cast

Moist (Simon Hedberg) The Horrible Cast

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (hereafter DHSAB) premiered, free (for a limited time) on the web, posted, one act at a time, July 15 th, 17 th, and 19 th of Horrible then disappeared (midnight July 20 th ), available only on ITunes until its release on a DVD late in the year.

“Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system.” Horrible’s Origin Myth

“Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single- handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.” Horrible’s Origin Myth

“[T]o make it on the fly, on the cheap—but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.” The Horrible Master Plan

“DHSAB was quintessential Whedon: naughty, hilarious, cultish, exhilarating, genre-bending, virally memorable (especially its catchy music and Sondheim-goes-geek patter lyrics)—a near-perfect manifestation of the “loser aesthetic” identified by Richard Burt and elucidated by Matt Hills (Fan Cultures) that had been Whedon’s TV auteur signature in Buffy, Angel, and Firefly. And, needless to say, it was inherently collaborative.” --David Lavery, Joss: A Creative Portrait of the Maker of the Whedonverses

The end of 2008 brought many accolades for this “TV show that has never been shown on TV” (Guardian). The American Film Institute, for example, named the Dr. one of the 10 “Moments of Significance” for the year,” and Time Magazine’s James Poniewozik perplexingly designated it one of the top ten television shows of the year. Much deserved praise indeed—except for the minor caveat that Dr. Horrible has never aired on television. As a fully-loaded, highly original DVD—featuring perhaps the first ever sung commentary track—DHSAB achieved best seller status on Amazon.com.

Dr. Horrible as...  Convergence Culture  Transmedia Storytelling

Whedon discounts any claim to internet guru status— claiming to be so ignorant he can’t even find porn—or being a business pioneer--“Somebody coming to me for business advice is like somebody asking a guy who makes balloon animals how to pick up women.”

“I’m interested in being an Internet Roger Corman [pictured]. He’s responsible for a slew of the greatest directors of the last couple decades, because he was the only B- movie system that there was. Now the whole world can be that system.” --Joss Whedon (Rosen 33)