Digging in the Cache is a series where we go back in time to look at fun tidbits of Internet and computer history. There was a day in the not so distant past when watching video online seemed like the unattainable future… computers didn’t have big enough processors, internet connections weren’t fast enough, and no one would want to watch video on a device other than a television. During the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Joss Whedon and his brothers, Zack and Jed, and actress Maurissa Tancharoen, wrote Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, a three-part musical miniseries to be produced exclusively for Internet distribution.
The miniseries tells the story of Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris), an inspiring supervillain, his nemeiss, Captain Hammer (played by Nathan Fillion), and their mutual love interest, Penny (played by Felicia Day). Joss Whedon funded the production himself (at around $200k) with the idea to produce something small and inexpensive, but yet professionally done. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was one of the first professionally produced videos exclusively for the Internet and proved that is was a viable distribution channel.
Time Magazine named the miniseries #15 in Time’s Top 50 Inventions of 2008, and it won the People’s Choice Award for “Favorite Online Sensation”, and the 2009 Hugo Ward for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. In the inaugural 2009 Streamy Wards for web television, the miniseries was awarded seven awards.
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