You know, we’re going to look back one day and remember Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog as the one that kicked original web series into the entertainment big leagues. This year Joss Whedon‘s brilliantly aberrant creation—a musical superhero love story in three acts—won the hearts of millions, vaulting the indie web series to the top of the charts both as a “TV” show and a full-length soundtrack. (If you’re somehow still not convinced this is a big deal for web entertainment, it even made the cover of TIME magazine.)

And now, just in time for the holidays, Joss gives fans one more evil little treat: a completely original, special-feature-packing DVD edition which ships on the 19th only from Amazon. If you stop reading right now, take 30 seconds and go buy one (right now) for someone you love (or even just like a little), they will thank you in ways I don’t want to know about.

For those that are still with me, here’s the lowdown on the DVD, of which I was lucky enough to get an early copy to rip apart ruthlessly. I’ll try not to give away too much, especially those well-placed easter eggs since half the fun is finding them.

Joss rallied the cast together to create heaps of new material making the DVD much more than an afterthought, and instead an extension of the Dr. Horrible experience and a must-have for even the casual fans. Stars Felicia Day, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Simon Helberg all worked almost as much on the DVD as the series itself. And creator-producers Joss, his brothers Jed and Zack Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen are all over the special features and commentary.

Languages

Plenty of subtitles to cover a healthy chunk of world viewers (the DVD is region free): English, Spanish, French, German, Wiccan, Japanese, Chinese. Notably missing: Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish.

Special Features

Commentary! The Musical — this is the true pearl of this oyster, almost a whole new series itself complete with 42 minutes of new original musical fun. Instead of talking over a semi-audible version of the series, they mute out the original, pop up subtitles to remind you what’s being said on screen, and sing an ensemble musical commentary unlike anything I’ve ever seen (or heard) before.

A little teaser…cast is singing about the series’ writer’s strike origins (allegro tempo):

“When you start negotiations with integrity and patience, and they just cry battle stations, what’s to like? When you ask a small amount and then the counters counters counter, and the deal is tantamount to Take A Hike! You can’t sit around with your head in the sand, you pull it out you stand up and you strike!

When you hear the lawyers talking saying our behavior’s shocking it’s as convincing as a cockney Dick Van Dyke. When they leave the town unstable and they come back to the table and say now we should be able—kidding, psyche!”

Evil League of Evil (ELE) Applications — I was completely surprised by how good (or evil) these were. A testament to the fanbase’s creativity, wit and mad video skills. Watch all ten finalists from this summer’s contest to find the next members of Bad Horse’s famed Evil League of Evil. Thirty minutes of YouTube feature-worthy gold.

The Making of Dr. Horrible Featurettes — this three-parter: “The Movie,” “The Music” and “What Just Happened?” comprise what is essentially a documentary of the Dr. Horrible phenomenon from its origins and Joss’ chicken-scratched lyrics of the first songs, to script notes with Maurissa and Joss’ brothers Zack and Jed, early rehearsal footage with the cast and on set bloopers. We even get to see the exact moment when Zack clicked his mouse at 12 AM EST on July 15, 2008 setting Dr. Horrible free to the interwebs. That fateful site-crashing day saw “more than 1,000 hits per second” they tell us. And of course, like a good documentary with talking heads we get some delicious moments from the cast and creators:

“That indie spirit that Dr. Horrible had, where people feel like they are participating in its success, is so unique.” (Felicia Day, “Penny”)

“The internet has really opened up this huge channel to puts things out, and that puts the power in the artists’ hands.” (Jed Whedon, Writer)

In the end, it’s ABC Family that’s left scratching their heads wondering why they passed on this one after hearing the pitch, leaving Joss to go it alone and self-fund the production. And the DVD is a crowning homage to something bigger than the 42 minute superhero musical, perhaps to the evolution of a movement. After watching, you can’t help but reflect on the power and reach of the Dr. Horrible experience. Creators can now connect directly with fans on their own terms. Give it away for free online? Sure, why not. This is going to change everything, or perhaps it already has.

[Note: Joss even reviewed the DVD himself for Amazon as an impartial reviewer. Good to see he was balanced. At least someone was. Now, go review it yourself.]

Filed under: Articles, Comedy, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Featured, Musical, News, Reviews by Marc Hustvedt
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There’s a tremendous amount of nerd-oriented programming on the web, and for good reason; the internet is full of nerds. While everyone from the school jock to your mom uses the internet, it’s we nerds who are the powerful online tastemakers.

Look at some of the most popular original web serials: The Guild is about MMORPGers, Doctor Horrible had the power of the Whedonverse behind it, and there would be no Ask A Ninja without the deeply geeky Real Ultimate Power meme.

One of the latest entries into the Nerdy Shows About Nerds genre is GOLD. The series revolves around a gang of gamers playing the RPG that started it all, Dungeons and Dragons. Errr, make that Goblins & Gold, for copyright reasons.

Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Ana Hurka-Robles
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Host interviews guest, everyone laughs. Simple in theory, but it’s really a brilliant complexity that has few masters. Zach Galifianakis is one of those masters. This week we are featuring the work of this comedic sensei who has given the web a pure gem of awkward humor with Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis. If you’ve been paying attention goofing off lately, you might also remember his online vodka series done for Absolut and his splendid fun times with Tim and Eric.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

Zach knows how to break through the mindless PR jib-jab of most celebrity interviews by pushing annihilating the comfort level of his guests. Whether that means molesting Michael Cera (above) or harassing Jimmy Kimmel, he’s on it. With three episodes now out on Funny or Die—the latest has Zach interviewing Mad Men star Jon Hamm—you still have time to catch this before its old news.

A Vodka Movie by Zach Galifianakis

This is called trust. Absolut basically said to Zach and the Tim and Eric creators Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, do anything you want just make sure you mention our vodka. And with it came a beehive-rocking Zach in a three part ad series made for the internet debuting in March, another in May and the latest part up in July. Watch again, it only gets better.

Zach Galifianakis Takes His Stand-Up to Preschool

This one is just a treat to give you some Zach alone with his stand-up comedy routine. Only here he decided to test it out with some eager little preschoolers. They laugh at poop jokes too, who knew?

Filed under: Articles, Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, Comedy, Funny Or Die, Tubefilter Tuesdays by Tubefilter News
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A week ago, on TheWB.com, Rob Corddry launched what’s arguably the greatest online series to date. Now he’s taking Childrens’ Hospital on a digital dog and pony show around the web. First stop: Comedy.com. 

Taking a page out of YouTube’s playbook, the site has made Corddry its first official celebrity guest editor, giving him control of the featured videos (which include an episode of Childrens’ Hospital executive producer David Wain’s Wainy Days, a couple appearances by Zach Galifianakis, Jon Lajoie, and unicorns) and an opportunity to opine on what’s funny. 

Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Joshua Cohen
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It’s been a little while since Whoopi Goldberg went sci-fi (we’re thinking back to Star Trek: The Next Generation here), but apparently she missed the genre enough to take a stab at her own web series. Goldberg will executive produce and star in a new sci-fi web series Stream that premieres January 15th on FEARnet.

Goldberg plays Jodi Quinn, a woman locked up in a psychiatric facility due to a bizarre drug she took years before which causes her to simultaneously experience parts of her life, both past and present.

The series is slated for just six episodes, each one at about five minutes, so it’s hard to say how much of a story can really develop and get resolved in the thirty minute runtime. Aside from FEARnet’s site, the series will be pushed out to distribution partners including Joost, Metacafe, Comcast’s Fancast, Veoh, Break and of course through Comcast cable VOD.

Previous original web series from FEARnet like Ghost House’s 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust and 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails, have reportedly done quite well reaching beyond the horror fanboys, netting over 12 millions views combined. Goldberg will be the first mainstream celebrity in a FEARnet series and should bring in some new viewers to the two-year old site, which is a joint venture between Comcast, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Lionsgate Entertainment.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Web Series by Marc Hustvedt
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Jonny Paula and Jory Caron really enjoy putting things that aren’t food into microwaves. Like baseball is for some and Monster Trucks are for others, it’s like their own Great American Pastime. They enjoy it so much they’ve even made a web series based on the question Is it a Good Idea to Microwave This?.

I’m not a scientist (at lest not by training), but before watching a single episode I’d answer with a cautious, “If you have to ask, probably not.” In most cases, turns out I’m right.

Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Alex Crowley
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The creator of the hit two-part series Inappropriate Yoga Guy has released a new series on Atom, Modern Day Jesus, an inventive comedy that imagines the historical figure living in present day, facing the same challenges as any other eligible bachelor in his late 20s and early 30s. Created by Oren Kaplan and Avi Rothman (who plays a great Jesus), the series debuted on YouTube a year ago before the pair struck a deal with Comedy Central to release on Atom. The first episodes of Modern Day Jesus, “The Date” and “The Roommate,” which will also be re-released on Atom, garnered nearly one million views and featured G4’s Attack of the Show host Olivia Munn.

According to Kaplan and Rothman, Atom ordered two episodes and acquired non-exclusive rights to the original episodes, with the intention to possibly extend into a more regularly released series. In the current episode on Atom, “Jesus vs. Santa,”  Jesus comes home with his girlfriend Jules (Erin Cahill) to meet the family (Christen Sussin and Alex Staggs) only to find Santa Claus (Ted Michaels), Jules’ ex and Jesus’ nemesis, has dropped in and threatens to spoil everything.

The untitled fourth episode, scheduled to be released before the new year, features Jesus at a bar revealing his troubles with women and addresses “the age-old problem of juggling women with work,” as Rothman puts it. “It’s a struggle every man goes through—always wanting to be with a woman but never wanting to commit. And that’s a problem even Jesus has to work through.”

Rothman tells us the idea for Modern Day Jesus evolved while he was playing Jesus in Liam Sullivan‘s viral mega-hit “Let Me Borrow That Top.” Kaplan, who directs My Alibi for Disney affiliate Take 180, has worked with Rothman on several web series and onlide vids. Jesus’ accessiblility and the writing’s universal scope and endless potential for material, along with the great production value, pacing and inventive jokes make this a standout series candidate. And it will certainly catch some attention. There has been quite a bit of backlash from pious YouTube commenters, including death threats. But there may be another market out there—Kaplan tells us that according to YouTube’s Insight Tool a large block of viewers—almost a third—are from Saudia Arabia and Egypt. “We’re bringing laughter to the Middle East one episode at a time.” We’re hoping the best for Modern Day Jesus, and we’ll be sure to keep our fingers “crossed.”

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Comedy, Featured, News, Web Series by Drew Baldwin
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If you caught the Children of the 80s’ comedy triumvirate that is Stella in concert earlier this month, you’ve already seen the below. If not, here’s one of the first shorts starring Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain to hit the internet since the Stella Shorts stopped appearing online way back in 2004. It’s a happy occasion:

I like how it rifles through all the requisite birthday emotions. Surprise. Happiness. Joy. Dancing. Nostalgia. Immensely Painful Sadness. Sleepiness. Bad Magicians.

Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Joshua Cohen
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Before Whoopi Goldberg was in the profession of making Elisabeth Hasselbeck cry, the Academy, Emmy, Golden Globe, and many other awards-winning actor played a good listener. Her role on Star Trek the Next Generation as wise Guinan marked the culmination of a childhood infatuation with Lt. Uhura from the equal-opportunity, original Star Trek series. It also gave Goldberg a status of niche, sci-fi celebrity to accompany her mainstream success.

It’s that kind of pedigree that makes for a wildly successful online series (see Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible), and come early next year we’ll see if Goldberg’s popularity on daytime TV and in the science fiction genre can translate to a big audience for a horror/thriller on the web.

On January 15, viewers can watch Goldberg star in FEARnet‘s latest online original series, Stream. The action unfolds over six, five-minute episodes.

Here’s the premise: Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Joshua Cohen
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Rob Corddry, one of the web’s favorite comedians has become the first celebrity guest editor on Comedy.com, taking the time to pick some of his favorite comedy videos while shamelessly plugging his web series baby Childrens’ Hospital which premiered last week (all at once) on TheWB.com. 

Episodes of Childrens’ Hospital, which by the way can only be seen online through December 31, have been added to the Comedy.com main page. For those who haven’t spent much time on their site, and we’ll admit we hadn’t until recently, Comedy.com has been stepping it up in the past few months making it a worthy newcomer to the comedy video site posse ruled by FunnyOrDie, CollegeHumor and Atom. Founded earlier this year by former UPN CEO Dean Valentine (also the former president of Walt Disney Television), the site’s traffic is now approaching 1 million monthly visitors according to the latest Compete numbers.  

This is the first major web series the site has signed on, as they hope to shine the Corddry spotlight onto the site’s decent crop of original content.  And in typical brand building fashion on the video scene, they have a number of branded channels in place including YouTube, MySpace, Break.com, Metacafe, IGN.com, Blinkx, Babelgum, M.Comedy.com, Vuze, Thumbplay, and Sling Media.

There’s also active stand-up comedy area on the site, that now features Corddry’s five favorite stand-up comedians.  

“Being guest editor at Comedy.com was not what I thought it was going to be,” said Rob Corddry. “I didn’t get paid; I didn’t get to fire anyone…That’s not how you treat a guest. A guest at least gets a meal.”

Corddry’s editorial picks will stay up on Comedy.com all week, and for fans just looking for some more of their favorite Daily Show correspondent, there’s also a section added with some of “Corddry’s best work prior to Childrens’ Hospital.” Worth a look in my book.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Comedy, Featured, News, TheWB.com, Warner Bros., Web Series by Marc Hustvedt
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It’s not the first time the web has beaten Hollywood studios to a cultural meme and undoubtedly won’t be the last. (See Tubefilter’s story on All’s Faire.) From Ironsink, (the ones who brought us those sexy softballers in Model Ball) comes Cougars, a sultry new web series glorifying the lure of the older woman. The idea of a script focused on a pack of MILF’s on the prowl has long been floating around Hollywood until it landed at Gold Circle Films who has it slated for a 2009 theatrical release. It’s being penned by Kristine Skeie (The Mind of the Married Man) and Paul Brooks (producer on My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

While I always like to see web television beat Hollywood to the punch, Cougars currently leaves something to be desired. In this case, such a high concept project could have benefited from the touch of a studio that truly understands formula.

As it stands, Cougars is clunky—a bizarre cocktail mix of The Rules (for Cougars), and a dirtier Sex and the City with more sex, and less story. That being said, I have to admire the show for some of the risks they’ve taken that one could really only get away with on the internet.

The show opener punches up some colors while turning the background to black and white like a artsy 1980s music video. It’s definitely attention grabbing. The show also pushes the envelope to the point that no ratings-conscious studio would likely allow. Case in point: when the ladies of Cougars face off against a Panther (an over-the-hill version of a Cougar) one of our heroines who happens to be a gynecologist utters: “Her c–ter has transmitted so many sexually transmitted diseases it’s classified as a weapon of mass destruction.” Yikes! Now there’s a Samantha-worthy insult if I ever heard one.

Raunchy, and sexy the show is. Story heavy it is not. While I’d recommend the show add a little more meat for these cougars to chew on, it’s worth a peak to see how web shows continue to push the enveleope and beat the studios to the punch.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Comedy, Featured, Reviews, Web Series by Lindsay Stidham
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Oh, corporate life. Scotty Iseri got an office job and you know what he received in return? Two sodas from the vending machine for the price of one. If you’re going to give up the hustle of freelancing for the past seven years and join white collar America, the least the corporate world can do is give you an extra soda (and I presume a steady income, which is saying a lot right now). Is Scotty psyched about his sodas (and his steady income)? You betcha!

But keep quiet, see, because his new coworkers don’t know about his little camera. Deep in the bowels of some ordinary Chicago office building, this young man valiantly attempts to make the internet a more entertaining place while keeping his secrets and stories out of the ears and mouths of gossipy secretaries and nosy coworkers.

Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Alex Crowley
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