And speaking of DR. HORRIBLE...

[thehefner]

Y'know, ten minutes in, I was already composing my LJ entry. I was already thinking of how I was gonna have to write in, "Oh fucking hell, all right, fine, you win, DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG is utterly delightful." Try as I might, I couldn't help be won over by virtually everything involving the title character and Captain Hammer. But not because of Joss being Joss, but rather... well, I'll get to that in a second.

But then, halfway though around part 2, I started realizing I wanted to bash in my own head/mind. And again, not because of Joss being Joss, and how his style generally makes me want to tear out my eyeballs and shove them in my ears... but because I realized that I hated Penny. I hated her acting, I hated her singing, I hated pretty much everything about her. I kept waiting for Joss to make her more interesting, to give us a character twist of some kind...

... shit, y'know what? Much as I hate the trademark Joss Whedon Spunky Female Characters, *that* would have been a vast improvement over what she was here: a typically boring and boringly typical ingenue.

Now, first of all, I think the ending is perfect.

But it could have been... perfecter.*

Really, after hearing how controversial the ending was (considering my how entire f-list has been consumed by Horrible-Mania befitting the show's mastermind, "perfect" was the immediate judgment that popped in my head. And yet, did anybody else really like Penny? If most others felt the way I did, then the ending kind of loses some of its emotional power.

I mean, really, as it is, that ending is kinda the most satisfying out there. I dunno, maybe if I did like her more, it would have been more distressing, and would have felt more like typical Whedonesque cruelty in storytelling. As it is, it's just tragic enough to feel slightly meaty but satisfying enough that I don't feel depressed.

But I dunno. Maybe it should have been more.

And ending which should be more powerful and tragic feels, honestly, like the best ending under the circumstances. And while I still love the ending, I can't shake the feeling like it could have been more. No, correction, the knowledge of how it should have been more.



That said, how many of you fans of DR. HORRIBLE don't watch THE VENTURE BROS? Because you need to. It's one of the very best shows on TV right now, I absolutely shit you not, and my dislike of Joss was overwhelmed by my love of VENTURE BROS and THE TICK (as well as musicals, but as musical numbers went, they were cute but little more).

I mean, really, I *know* VB is a cartoon, and I *know* it's not Joss, but it's brilliant and I would love to see the day when the latest VB episode gets talked and raved about as much as a delightful bit of entertaining fluff from the "Master." Especially with supervillain/henchman exchanges such as this:

MONARCH: I hated him so much, I just... I just wanted to kick his ass! I wanted to build a machine to kick his ass! I wanted to create an empire to house the machine to kick his ass!"

HENCHMAN NUMBER 24: Then by god... LET'S GO TAKE A DUMP IN HIS POOOOOOOL!!!

And on top of being hilarious, they're increasingly pulling off rich character depth and even poignancy on a regular basis. So, yeah... watch VENTURE BROS now.

I can probably guarantee that it's better than DOLLHOUSE will be.



*See, folks! I can talk in cutesy Whedonese as well! Aren't you amazed? WHY AREN'T YOU AWESOMED BY ME?!

Comments

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

... god, it's a disillusioning thing to suddenly realize that I don't identify with that kind of character anymore. Ah well, at least I still love Superman.

How far into VB have you gotten? Past season 1 at least? Particularly into the first two or three episodes of season 2? For one thing, as the first season aired a number of times before coming out on DVD, I came to discover that it actually improved with repeat viewings (ever found that to be true of anything? I think HOT FUZZ is another prime example). They cram so much so quickly that a lot gets lost on single viewings, as I learned first-hand.

Also, the show has actual character development. It's kinda wonderful when compared to the rest of Adult Swim's fare, and most animated comedy fare in general.

[chickenhat.livejournal.com]

But you love Clark Kent even more... especially when he has to bust Lex out of prison for his own good.

I've gotten halfway through the season 1 dvd Simon lent me, and caught it a couple of times while channel surfing... it's not that it's bad, it's that I'm too laid back. I don't have enough spastic plastic in my blood to re-watch it... OTOH, I've found I can re-watch La Femme Nikita and Amadeus OVER and OVER without getting tired of it.

[chickenhat.livejournal.com]

although i will admit, i'm more likely to keep surfing past CTN if it's not Ventur-iffic

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

On the contrary, I'm actually more fond of Superman... when written by someone who gets him. I was just discussing this with Bloo earlier today, thinking yet again of how hard it is, yet when it works, you remember why he's Superman.

But I do have a fondness for Clark Kent, true. It's just a question of which Clark Kent? The Smallville farmboy? The reserved and quiet reporter? The bumbling stuttering spineless weakling of Christopher Reeve? I never thought about it that way till just now, but man, there are many Clarks out there, yet there's only one Superman.

Yeah, trust me, keep at it. If I hadn't seen the Season 1 episodes repeated a number of times, I'd likely have thought it wasn't much to go on about either. Get to Season 2, trust me. There's one moment at the very start of the second episode of the second season that is still perhaps the funniest moment of the entire series, the one fishymcb and I have to rewind and watch about ten times in a row. Not to... uh... "shmrown smoat" things any more than I already have. ;)