Whedonesque Mobile : Comments on 16748 : (SPOILER) Matt Roush has some Dr. Horrible details.

Musical comedy with musical come-ntary? I am slack-jawed and possibly yokel-like.

[ edited by Pointy on 2008-07-02 14:08 ]

Pointy | June 30, 19:33 CET

Sounds awesome, you know, like music.

Pretty_Hate_Machine | June 30, 19:37 CET

Musical commentary sounds absolutely amazing. Also, "I don�t go to the gym. I�m just naturally like this" sounds like a t-shirt winner.

Sunfire | June 30, 19:52 CET

(attended only by Whedon, a few of his New York-based agents and me)

Agents of J.O.S.S.?

A musical commentary that is a completely original musical, that is all commentary songs, and we�re writing that now.�

We should do like musical commenting in honour of this concept when each part goes online.

Simon | June 30, 19:55 CET

Sequel!!

Numfar PTB | June 30, 19:56 CET

A musical commentary that is a completely original musical, that is all commentary songs, and we�re writing that now.�
Jaw. Dropped.

Very interesting read!

hacksaway | June 30, 19:57 CET

We should do like musical commenting when each part goes online.

Made problematic by the no sound. But we could do limericks, and haiku, and fake Shakespeare.

dreamlogic | June 30, 19:58 CET

We just need a commonly agreed upon backing melody. And then we can all wince in shared pain as we read each other's attempts at lyrics.

Sunfire | June 30, 20:02 CET

Fakespeare?

toast | June 30, 20:02 CET

We should do like musical commenting in honour of this concept when each part goes online.

Fan-recorded musical commentaries? Are you sure YOU'RE not Dr. Horrible?

theonetruebix | June 30, 20:02 CET

Fan-recorded musical commentaries? Are you sure YOU'RE not Dr. Horrible?

"Oh Bix, Why can't you seeeeeeee. How much this means to meeeeeeee".

This can only go well.

Simon | June 30, 20:06 CET

Should there be a musical commentary thread, accompanying the official commentary thread?

Like Mu-si-cal... Co-mmen-ta-ry.

(Arg...Just got a canned coffee brand commercial jingle from Taiwan, into my head...)

Numfar PTB | June 30, 20:20 CET

That sounds amazing. I can't wait.

Racoon Boy | June 30, 20:21 CET

I would have loved to see Joss go all Fanboy over NPH. I am seriously going to stalk this show, I'm so excited about it.

AthenaMuze | June 30, 20:33 CET

How about a musical fan commentary for the musical commentary of the musical? A metamusical commentary, if you will.

Barclay | June 30, 20:37 CET

Fakespeare?

You should trademark that.

dreamlogic | June 30, 20:41 CET

Simon, was that to the tune of "Sally's Song" from The Nightmare Before Christmas? :)

swanjun | June 30, 20:49 CET

OMG I am so excited about this. I'm all a-twitter with geeker joy. Squeeeee!

missmuffet | June 30, 20:51 CET

A musical commentary? This totally reeks of awesomeness. I can't wait.

crazygolfa | June 30, 20:51 CET

Simon: "We should do like musical commenting in honour of this concept when each part goes online."

This might win the competition for "Award for Most Delightfully-Horrible Fan Promotion Concept." As b!X suggested for Dollhouse, (um, though not in this way) maybe if Joss and Co. gave us some assets for this - like a downloadable file with the background music for one song or something - we could have a competition - winner to be picked by Joss & Co, and make a commentary fan-song for promotional use.

Obviously they wouldn't be much good or of much use until the shows are out and we can hear the music, but it could be awful/wonderful for the purchased files and the DVD.

(And as this attests, dreamlogic is one of our skilled Fakespeare specialists.)

QuoterGal | June 30, 20:58 CET

This might win the competition for "Award for Most Delightfully-Horrible Fan Promotion Concept."

Hooray! I win my own competition!

And those prizes were really good too.

Simon | June 30, 21:01 CET

Only Joss would decide to write music for a musical commentary for a musical on DVD. Hilariously wonderful idea.

palehorse | June 30, 21:02 CET

Hilarious.

Can't wait.

NYPinTA | June 30, 21:17 CET

This gives Whedonesque what, a couple weeks to get a head start on a new audio section? ;)

Sunfire | June 30, 21:22 CET

This gives Whedonesque what, a couple weeks to get a head start on a new audio section? ;)

Or I could bring Big Damn Commentaries back online and flag it "for Firefly, Serenity, and, um, Dr. Horrible!"

Yeah I can't see myself doing that.

Simon, I do think you're evil, but now I'm thinking we should actually put together some sort of structure for such a thing.

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2008-06-30 18:25 ]

theonetruebix | June 30, 21:25 CET

but now I'm thinking we should actually put together some sort of structure for such a thing.

Interested parties could video themselves watching and singing to Dr. Horrible and upload it onto YouTube. Or something like that. As long as it's fun. That's the main thing.

Simon | June 30, 21:39 CET

New stanza for the Ballad of Dr. Horrible:

When musical comedy gets musical commentary
Art/comment dividing lines start looking kind of blurry.

Pointy | June 30, 21:51 CET

Oh when I heard about the musical commentary of the musical I almost passed out from sheer pleasure over-load! I cannot believe we are getting this! I'm starting to worry that my power will be shut off or something will get between me and my desire for all the goodies Joss has planned! I am so excited it is almost unbearable! Just watch, I'll have a Dr. Horrible related heart attack....

embers | June 30, 21:57 CET

Only Joss would decide to write music for a musical commentary for a musical on DVD. Hilariously wonderful idea.

There could be mirrors, if mirrors had sound.

Nebula1400 | June 30, 22:17 CET

I just hope we get a soundtrack with the real songs and the commentary songs on it.

"This is the part where he wears those tights" o/~

or

"I remember when we filmed this..."

backing vocals (Marti): "He remembers, he remembers...."

swanjun | June 30, 22:25 CET

When musical comedy gets musical commentary
Art/comment dividing lines start looking kind of blurry

Pointy, that would almost have to be some Gilbert & Sullivan-style music for that. If we're going to try this, maybe a simpler, pop-ier tune would be the thing.

dreamlogic | June 30, 22:29 CET

Three little Whedon sons are we
Jed and Joss and Zachary
Doing musical commentary
Three little Whedon sons

(Sung to the tune of "Three Little Maids From School," The Mikado, Gilbert & Sullivan.)

Pointy | June 30, 22:51 CET

OMG, Pointy, you are just too good!

palehorse | June 30, 23:10 CET

One Whedon-son takes a bride, Maurissa
Their apartment on the fourth floor is a
Whackier joint than the state of Orissa
Which you'd expect from a Whedon son

Pointy | June 30, 23:19 CET

I do like Sunfire's idea to agree on some tunes ahead of time that we can then modify and everyone will know what we're doing.

But a musical commentary...of a musical? That's evil genius beyond evil genius. It's like, a revolution! It could go on to be a whole show, like MST3K, but for musicals!

BandofBuggered | June 30, 23:21 CET

Yeah, I think after we see the streamed versions, all Mutant Enemy *looks pleadingly at ME* needs to do is pick the song & give us a digital version - on the official doc horrible site - with the voice(s) stripped out and then we can go to town making a parody/commentary song all by our own selves... oh, except that if it's a contest (i.e., the hook for the promotional part) then they hafta to *shudder* listen to 'em all and pick the winner.

What?!? I like making more work for people that have yet to be paid and are already overworked. But maybe they could pick some volunteers *looks up again hopefully* with really superior musical taste to judge the slush pile and reduce it to the 5-10 "best" and then Joss and Co. picks the winner from them - and they get a free signed DVD/tee-shirt package - all of this to be timed with the release of the $$ download and/or DVD.

(And can't nobody lyricize like our Pointy...)

QuoterGal | June 30, 23:38 CET

I do like Sunfire's idea to agree on some tunes ahead of time that we can then modify and everyone will know what we're doing.

It might not be so good to limit people like Pointy though. Maybe everyone should just state their reference tune like he's doing.

ETA: I think we've identified that QuoterGal and I can totally handle the chatty dialogue between the parts where people burst into song.

[ edited by Sunfire on 2008-06-30 20:43 ]

Sunfire | June 30, 23:38 CET

Musical Commen-wait for it -tary!?!?

Continuing off of Pointy . . .

All these vids are a source of fun
Nobody's safe, for we care for none
Singing Commentary has just begun
Three little Whedon sons

Zannadoo | June 30, 23:40 CET

Let a thousand singing, dancing mushrooms bloom. Do mushrooms bloom? Onions, then.

Pointy | June 30, 23:41 CET

how fun, this community is so creative, I can't wait to see what lyrics everyone comes up with :)

Teacherdarling | June 30, 23:45 CET

What have we done, oh my, oh me!
Musical commentary on musical commentary
Meta-meta-musings all because of the
Three little Whedon sons (and bride to be)!

Pointy | June 30, 23:49 CET

I just love the whole idea of a musical commentary. I can't wait.

Pointy, I was singing along as soon as soon as I saw your first line.

Listen to a story of a man named Joss,
A writer about Firefly, Buffy, Angel and a hoss.
And now he's done a musical to show upon the 'net
About Dr. Horrible and Penny and how they met.
In a laundromat, that is,
Dirty clothes, laundry soap.

To the tune of the Ballad of Jed Clampett (Beverly Hillbillies)

ETA Alternative second line:

"He's writes a lot of TV and he shows us who is Boss"

[ edited by samatwitch on 2008-06-30 20:57 ]

samatwitch | June 30, 23:51 CET

Second verse:

Well, the first time they met, Dr. H. was filled with love,
He was struck by an arrow from the Cupid up above,
But then Captain Hammer entered into his life
And interfered with Dr. Horrible's choice for a wife.
Penny, that is.
Cute, redhead.

[ edited by samatwitch on 2008-07-01 20:06 ]

samatwitch | July 01, 00:01 CET

Pointy, will you marry me? :)

You are the very model of a modern major lyricist,
We've ingenue in rhyming, scanning, right in our midst...

And now I've got Beverly Hillbillies stuck in my head. I may have to retaliate with...yes! The Clash. Mua hahaha!

BandofBuggered | July 01, 00:06 CET

OK, I'll just admit I'm not a big G&S fan and don't much care for the pattery-barely music-music.

I counter with Fakespeare-fu!

Alas, poor H'rrble - I knew him!
P'raps no-one really knew him, me the least
But he had lips, as I recall, and feet
And other fleshy things that he now lacks
Lame in life, he now attacks - the nose - with brutal tacts!

Prose coda:

H- Did Alexander smell that bad when he was dead?
Other H - Yeah.
H- I give up.

[ edited by dreamlogic on 2008-06-30 21:13 ]

dreamlogic | July 01, 00:11 CET

You guys are nuts - I'm saving my good stuff for the contest.

; >

Well, maybe you're not nuts, exactly - but I'm still saving my deathless poetry for the Horrible Contest. Because...

*pleading look #3, with eyelashes and hair-toss*

I believe it's going to happen. It's too good not to.

QuoterGal | July 01, 00:12 CET

I'm just warming up. ;) I'm sure there should be a contest, with Dr. Horrible T-shirts and CDs and DVDs and a personal phone call from Joss, right??

Thanks, BandofBuggered, I now have that Gilbert & Sullivan tune running through my head - and they never leave easily!

samatwitch | July 01, 00:22 CET

Present fears are less than Horrible imaginings.

I'm just saying.

toast | July 01, 00:43 CET

Did somebady say The Clash? I'm down with that. To the tune of London Calling (and with apologies to punks everywhere)...

Whedon's calling, to the faraway towns,
Now a strike is declared, and battle come down.
Whedon's calling, to all of his folks,
Come out and let's film, some songs and some jokes.
Whedon's calling, from LA to Paris,
With the evil laugh, of Neil Patrick Harris.
Whedon's calling, and fans all yell "yay"!
Can Cap'n Hammer save the (Felicia) Day?

Doctor Horrible's coming, with time counting down,
While DVD extras, make our heads spin around.
A Whedonesque party, with Doogie Howser,
The download is nearing -- so I live by my browser.

[ edited by AlanD on 2008-06-30 22:18 ]

AlanD | July 01, 00:49 CET

I'm already convinced that the competition will be gruelling. You guys got some chops.

Don't let me stop you - I would love to ~~plagiarize~~ read more.

QuoterGal | July 01, 00:51 CET

AlanD, that rocked.

To the tune of Rock the Casbah:

Well, Whedon told the studios:
"You'd better give us online props"
No money from the Internet
Will make the writers stop.
They screwed 'em on the DVDs
But our writer had a will
He wrote Dr. Horrible
While TV was standing still.

Whedon fans'll buy it:
Dr. Horrible
Dr. Horrible!
Whedon fans'll buy it:
Dr. Horrible
Dr. Horrible.

Whedon called his acolytes
He said we need to earn our pay
Drop your cash--even a little bit--
Down the writers' way.

And Jossir, he called in his favors one by one
His brothers helped to write this musical fun
Soon as the Doctor starts to play,
Whedon fans'll pay...

(repeat chorus)

BandofBuggered | July 01, 01:38 CET

Now Whedonesque rocks literally as well as figuratively.

[ edited by Pointy on 2008-06-30 22:47 ]

Pointy | July 01, 01:42 CET

buddytv.com asks:

Which are you more excited for?
-- Dr. Horrible
-- Dollhouse
-- Next season of How I Met Your Mother

I find that choice impossible, but I do find it very awesome that Dr. Horrible is on such a list, with tv made for the tv. Even if it is just a blog poll.

Sunfire | July 01, 01:55 CET

You all are inspirational and inspired, the recursive qualities of which may well end all life as we know it.

Shine on, you crazy diamonds ;).

Saje | July 01, 01:59 CET

AlanD, it may never be a breakaway pop hit, but it rocked - perhaps a retro pastiche? And it wasn't even techno! ;)

samatwitch | July 01, 02:09 CET

You guys are great.
Now how about some lyrics written to the tune of Newsies songs? Think of the appropriateness!

jcs | July 01, 03:05 CET

I unfortunately do not know Newsies; I have never gotten around to watching it despite the Christian Bale goodness.

Now anything Andrew Lloyd Webber, I've got covered. :) Oh, and Rogers & Hammerstein. Also, Disney songs.

How do you solve a problem like a guild strike?
How do you stick it to the studios?
How do you find a cast to be Horrible?
A former MD, one redhead Slayer, and Mal.

Many a Whedon helped to write Horrible,
Then there's that guy who let them use his pad.
And now we can watch Hammer, and listen to Doc stammer,
Now we can see if evil's really bad...

Now we have something awesome from the guild strike,
Soon we can hold the moooo-vie in our hands.

BandofBuggered | July 01, 03:39 CET

This makes me have all kinds of wonderful ideas, like a Mutant Enemy internet channel, sort of like SciFi's and the networks', showing all kinds of Mutant Enemy content for limited periods of time on a subscription basis, maybe $19.99 a year. We wouldn't really need the actual TV episodes (and the license cost may be too high anyway) but the DVD features could be posted in time with episodes airing on TV and maybe some new featurettes as the revenue increases and of course new content from all our favorite ME producers/writers/stars. The new shows could still be released on iTunes or Unbox initially and then move to the ME channel after a certain period of time.

Aaaah! I wish I were in a position to make it so!

cabri | July 01, 04:53 CET

The problem with Newsies songs is the lyrics are already mostly appropriate.

Slightly modified "Newsies" song:

This is the story we wanted to write, 
After marching on the picket line, 
We got it done by dawn's early light
 and we think it turned out kind of fine,  

This time we are in it to stay,
 This is us seizing the day, 
Think of the profits the corporate types threw away, 
Here's a guy we didn't pay.  

See Murdoch and Moonves all snug in their bed 
They don't care if we're dead or alive
 Warner and Disney are both overfed 
While we're begging for bread to survive 
NBC's still countin' beans
 Making this musical means 
They've got their thugs  
With their sticks and their slugs 
But we've got deleted scenes.

  Once and for all  
Something tells us the tide'll be turnin' (I touch the fire and it freezes me)
 Once and for all 
There's a fire inside us
 That won't stop burnin'  (I look into it and it's black)
Now that the choices are clear  (Why can't I feel?)
Now that the summer is here  (My skin should crack and peel)
Watch how the mighty will fall (I want the fire back)
 For once and for all!

Nebula1400 | July 01, 06:22 CET

You guys are all kinds of wonderful and are very talented of the musical variety. That and you rock! All we need now is Murder Rubicon to come out of retirement and do a world tour of all of these wonderful songs of awesomeness!

Jossaholic | July 01, 15:23 CET

I don't know what's making me giddier: The news of a commentary for a musical which will actually be a musical itself, or the maniacally inspired lyrics you guys have written.

Okay, it's the commentary, but still. If any of y'all are up to it, it would be a delight to see one set to a Lennon/McCartney tune.

(I think I might have one up my sleeve, myself...)

UnpluggedCrazy | July 01, 15:52 CET

I don't write lyrics, but I'll sing and hum them for ya!

You can't hear me from here? Oh. Nevermind.

Love them! Can't wait! Am upset that I missed this breaking news by sleeping!

*tapes eyelids open*

korkster | July 01, 22:08 CET

For UnpluggedCrazy: (apologies to Lennon and McCartney)

Yesterday, we watched TV the same old way,
Never thinking there's another way
Till Joss came through with his own say.

Why he had to write, we all know and understand,
With Jed & Zack & Maurissa by his hand.

Yesterday, we heard the news the only way
On Whedonesque, of course, we say
And then we started all to play.

Felicia, Nathan & NPH are in it, too
There are two more weeks we must wait
What will we do?

samatwitch | July 01, 23:04 CET

Hehehe, thanks, samatwitch! I would like to record that and spread it all over the Interwebs like butter. Or perhaps something which conjures less disturbing images.

Here's my own, set to "Rocky Raccoon":

Now somewhere in the Tinseltown hills of Hollywood,
There lived a mad genius named Joss Whedon
And one day his guild ran off with a protest sign
Got young Joss to strike
Joss didn't like that, he said, "I'm gonna make that film"
So one day he walked around the producers
Bought himself a camera from the local store

Joss Whedon took a residuals beating
Only to find new media
Joss had come with Nathan Fillion
To shoot a musical about a villain

This villain it seems had broken dreams
Since Hammer stole the girl of his desire
Her name was Felicia, and she called herself Day
But everyone knew her as Vi

Now she and her man who called himself Captain
Were in the process of filming at the studio
Joss directed and grinning a grin
He said, "NPH can sing fortissimo"

Well, the movie was hot, they filmed and they shot
And Joss called a wrap on Dr. Horrible
Da, da, da, da, da

Now the Doctor came in, with the good buzz in,
And proceeded to debut the teaser
They said, "Joss, you're on your game"
And Joss said, "You got the strike to blame,
And there'll be commentary
Even one done like musical theater"

And now Joss Whedon, he got a residuals beating
Only to find new media
The Internet checked out and it left it no doubt
To help with crazed Joss' survival
Ah, oh yeah, yeah
Da, da, da, da

UnpluggedCrazy | July 02, 08:59 CET

This thread proves it -- we've been cursed by the singing & dancing Demon Writer of TV!

(Cool beans, y'all!)

Pointy | July 02, 17:07 CET

June 30 2008