'Dr. Horrible' lives again (on Hulu, MySpace, etc.)

Joss Whedon's hit web musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" has come out of its week-long hibernation.  The show, originally available only on Dr.Horrible.com and iTunes, will now appear on a number of web sites, including Hulu.com, MySpace, and eventually Yahoo!, AOL and others. (There's a version on AOL with Spanish subtitles but I don't think it's licensed.)

According to a press release from Hulu, this 'Horrible' run will last four months, after which  the fate of the good doctor is uncertain. We know  there will eventually be a DVD release of this first installment, and then, probably, a sequel. 

Some of us also think that, because the full three-episode cycle clocks in at about 42 minutes -- just the length necessary for an hour-long television slot minus commercials --  we might actually see the show hit the old fashioned airwaves. Maybe as a holiday special or something.

In a blog entry on the Hulu site, Whedon entreats viewers to watch the newly revived show:  "HULU hosted Dr. Horrible for free for a week, which we, the mushortio*-makers, are forever grateful for, and now you can stream it for free on their site. How awesome is that? I know, you're humbled. Stop groveling. Just remember: the more you watch it, the more you will understand about life and the universe and hydroponics."

Also, the more cash Whedon and company will make -- this run may be free but it ain't commercial free. If you choose to watch the full version, you'll get a preview of what it might look like on the boob tube: Hulu has plugged up Dr. H's gaps with a set of shiny new advertisements. 

And I for one say, it's about time.  All that hippie free-ness was making me nervous.

*This is Whedonspeak for 'online musical short'

Previously:

Initial traffic numbers for 'Dr. Horrible'
Joss Whedon's 'Dr. Horrible' is a site-crashing success
Q&A: Whedon examines 'Dr. Horrible'
Whedon Expects 'Horrible' to break even
Photo Gallery: Behind the Scenes of 'Dr. Horrible'

The clip below will probably expire when the show's Hulu tenure is up.

 

Comments

[blu]

Great. Those of us who ponied up on iTunes because we were under the impression that it was gone until the DVD are suckers, ain't we? Just like all those people at Disneyland who bought those lightbulbs from the Main Street Electrical Parade floats when it "glowed away forever", only to be brought back a year later a few steps away.

Thanks, Joss. Appreciate being milked.

[SatisfiedHorribleCustomer]

@blu: I ponied up on itunes so I could watch Dr. Horrible early and often, and show it to my friends on a larger screen whenever the occasion demands it, which is most of the time.

For $4, less than the price of a gallon of gas, and HALF the price of a single viewing of a cookie-cutter Hollywood comic book movie?

I don't feel milked, I feel like Whedon gave me yet another high-value, low-price entertainment bargain by selling it without commercials on itunes for a pittance.

[5hrink]

Dr. Horrible is awesome but there's an inherant bias towards viewers in the US. First of all it's only available on US iTunes and now viewers outside of the USA can't watch it either.

What gives?

[Saint]

Dr. Horrible so copied off of Doctor Steel. He existed first. Utopian Playland! Doctor Steel for world emperor!

[Evalina]

It's true! Doctor Steel came FIRST.
Hail the Good Doctor! Utopian Playland!