It’s Saturday and I’m sitting in my office not doing the work I need to get done before I leave for Comic Con next week. Why? Because my mind is consumed by Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I knew I should have waited to watch Act III… Maybe if I go ahead and post about it, I’ll finally be able to focus on my work.

So, the non-spoilery reaction? Loved it. Though, like Act II, it actually took me a few viewings to warm up to it. There are several reasons for that but I suspect the biggest one is that now it’s over. Oh, sure, there’ll be a DVD and Joss has conceded that they’d be open to returning to the world of Dr. Horrible but I just met this characters and hate that I’m already have to say goodbye. I suppose I’ll have to satisfy myself with buying all three acts on iTunes and re-watching a few more thousands times.

I’m sure you’ve already guessed the other reason it took me a few minutes to warm up to the last act was how it ended. Of course, I never once doubted that it should end that way. It was, despite knowing that’s the story – how Billy Buddy goes from being a low-rent super villain to being Dr. Horrible, with two R’s – we were getting, I kinda wanted to change the path these folks were on once I met them. I really like Billy Buddy and Penny and wish things had ended differently for them!

Once I got over my need to cling to the characters as they were instead of how they end up (did we really just meet these folks on Tuesday?!), my appreciation for Act III grew by leaps and bounds. I’ve re-watched it way too many times to count already and I’m sure that’ll continue for the foreseeable future. Honestly, musicals just get better with age. I’ve seen people say they didn’t think the opening song or Captain Hammer’s speech worked and I might have agreed on my first pass through but now I think they’re both kind of brilliant. I still like “I Can Not Believe My Eyes” (it’d be nice to have the names Joss & Co. were using for these songs) the most but “So They Say” is in a close second. Could be the foreshadowing in this line, “There’s no happy ending. So they say. Not for me anyway.” Or it could just be that both of those songs have lyrics that weave in and out of each other so intrically that you have to listen multiple times before you can fully appreciate the song.

Poor Dr. Horrible. He’s got everything he ever wanted. You should always be careful what you wish for. In classic Joss style, Dr. Horrible ends up being as much a super villain as Captain Hammer is a hero. There are so many themes at play here. From commentary on what really makes you a villain/hero to how much public perception plays into who we are to what love can do to you to the inevitable consequences of our actions. Ahhh, how I’ve missed that… TV that makes me think. Oh, I know this isn’t really TV here but you know what I mean.

Poor Penny. She sure got screwed and I’m not just talking about what Captain Hammer did to her. Even though she bought into his heroic image, she definitely had her doubts. I kept hoping that Billy would show up at the laundromat and found her waiting with an extra fro yo. Maybe things could have gone differently. Alas, that’s not the story Joss wanted to tell. So poor Penny ended up being the tragedy Dr. Horrible needed to get him into the Evil League of Evil. I’ll miss her but not as much as I’ll miss Billy Buddy.

Other things I loved? Captain Hammer’s groupies. Heh. It’s scary how much they resemble some fangirls I’ve met online. Especially when they were singing about having a problem with Penny. Oh! And Hammer’s facial expression when the groupies pop up and say they do the weird stuff in bed? Priceless! It makes me laugh every time and yet it’s subtle enough that you really do have to be paying attention to catch it. Also loved the various cameos from Whedonverse alums. It’s always fun to see David Fury and Marti Noxon show up. Still prefer them as Mustard Guy and Parking Ticket Lady but it did make me laugh to see them playing the stereotypical news anchors. And I definitely chuckled when Drew Goddard appeared as Fake Thomas Jefferson. I should have recognized Doug Petrie as Professor Normal but it took reading the credits to place him.

There’s lots more I could pull out but I’ll just settle for once again sharing some of my favorite quotes:

• “It’s a good day to be homeless.”
• “It’s the perfect story. So they say.”"
• “They say she works with the homeless and doesn’t eat meat. We have a problem with her!”
• “I just might sleep with the same girl twice. They say it’s better the second time.”
• “We do the weird stuff!”
• “This is perfect for me. So they say. I guess he’s pretty okay.”
• “There’s no happy ending. So they say. Not for me anyway.”
• “Justice has a name and the name that it has, besides justice, is Captain Hammer.”
• “I hate the homeless…. -ness problem that plagues our city.”
• “You know what, I don’t need tiny cue cards.”
• “Cute, huh? Sort of a quiet, nerdy thing. Not my usual but nice.”
• “She turned me onto this whole homeless thing which is terrible.”
• “Home is where the heart is so you’re real home’s in your chest.”
• “Everyone’s got villains they must face.”
• “Everyone’s a hero in their own way, in their own not-that-heroic way.”
• “She showed me there’s so many muscles that I can flex…”
• “It’s not enough to bash in heads, you’ve got to bash in minds.”
• “I’m poverty’s new sheriff and I’m bashing in the slums. A hero doesn’t care if you’re a bunch of scary, alcoholic bums!”
• “Look at these people, amazing how sheep will show up for the slaughter.”
• “Why can’t they see what I see? Why can’t they hear the lies?”
• “Go ahead, run away, say it was horrible. Spread the word, tell a friend, tell them the tale. Get a pic, do a blog, heroes are over with! Look at him! Not a word, hammer meet nail.”
• “Then I win, then I get everything I ever… All the cash, all the fame, and social change! Anarchy, that I run. It’s Dr. Horrible’s turn!”
• “It’s two R’s, H O R R…”
• “That’s not a good sound…”"
• “You give my regards to St. Peter or whoever has his job, but in hell.”
• “I’m in pain. I think this is what pain feels like. Oh, mam—someone maternal!”
• “It’s okay, it’s okay. Captain Hammer will save us.”
• “Here lies everything. The world I wanted at my feet.”
• “Now the nightmare’s real, now Dr. Horrible is here! To make you quake with fear, to make the whole world kneel. And I won’t feel… a thing.”

Finally, I have to once again say kudos to everyone involved in this project. It’s definitely made my week. I already adored Neil Patrick Harris but now I’m full on in love with him. Why does he have to be gay anyway? Is there no justice in this world!! (Seriously, NPH, I do the weird stuff too.) Felicia Day was breathtaking. Penny was a little too slow on the uptake for me but I thought Felicia did a wonderful job in portraying her fragile naïveté. And Nathan? Like I needed yet another reason to love the man… did you hear him singing?! I melted in my seat! Sure, his character turns out to be a big sissy but who cares when you’ve got Nathan playing him?! (Nathan, see my note to NPH above.) And then, of course, the brilliant minds behind it all. It’s almost criminal, the talent contained in the Whedon family. And now they’re bringing Maurissa into the fold? I want to hate them but I don’t have the time. I’m too busy re-watching all three acts of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.