The web series Joss Whedon made to circumvent a writers strike will finally air on CW.
Back in 2007, when the Writers Guild of America Strike seemed like it was never going to stop, a lot of geek shows were put at risk. Popular shows of the day like 24, Battlestar Galactica and Heroes suffered postponed runs or shortened seasons, while others were simply cancelled altogether. Geek culture did receive one glowing silver lining in the form of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Joss and Zack Whedon’s three-part web musical. The series completely circumvented the Writers Strike by forgoing cable channels for web hosting, and endeared fans with a story about an aspiring supervillain, his dimwitted superhero nemesis, and his tragically idealistic love-interest. Now the story of Dr. Horrible has come full-circle as the series designed specifically to avoid a structured television format makes its first televised appearance via the CW Network this October.
The decision to bring Dr. Horrible to CW is a little ironic when one considers that the series never would’ve been allowed to air on television at the time. Joss Whedon has specifically commented on how the format provided him with complete creative freedom to experiment with a story that didn’t require any kind of oversight. “Freedom is glorious,” he said in a 2008 interview. “And the fact is, I’ve had very good relationships with studios, and I’ve worked with a lot of smart executives. But there is a difference when you can just go ahead and do something.”
Since then, Whedon directed this summer’s The Avengers, and reached the point in his career where producers will let him air anything he wants, including that untelevisable project he made with friends five years ago. Of course, with the series already available on iTunes and DVD, it naturally begs the question of why he’d bother … right up until you realize that a Dr. Horrible sequel is in the works. A televised special would be the perfect way to increase Dr. Horrible‘s audience before unleashing the sequel upon the world. Being able to say “I-told-you-so” to television executives is just an unintended perk.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog will make its television debut on October 9th.
Source: InsideTV
