What’s on the rise? What is risen?

Evil Any dolt with half a brain Can see that humankind has gone insane. To the point where I don’t know if I’ll upset the status quo If I throw poison in the water main. Listen close to everybody’s heart And hear that breaking sound. Hopes and dreams are shattering apart And crashing to the ground. I cannot believe my eyes How the world’s filled with filth and lies! But it’s plain to see evil inside of me Is on the rise.

Good Look around, we’re living with the lost and found. Just when you feel you’ve almost drowned You find yourself on solid ground. And you believe there’s good in everybody’s heart. Keep it safe and sound. With hope you can do your part To turn – a life – around. I cannot believe my eyes! Is the world finally growing wise? Because it seems to mean some kind of harmony Is on the rise.

Hey, maybe I’ll make my blog the sing-along variety, too. Who wants to hear me sing? And I’ve got a bunch of all-original material just ready to be unleashed on the world. Say the word.

So I recently happened to catch a little gem of movie on Netflix streaming. It’s called Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

“The show tells the story of Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris), an aspiring supervillain; Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), his nemesis; and Penny (Felicia Day), their shared love interest.” (Source: Wikipedia)

The movie was made during the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The movie was originally released online in three 14-minute episodes. The version available on Netflix puts them together to make a 42-minute movie. Hmm. 42. There’s that number again. Coincidence? I think not.

The movie won a 2009 Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class – Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs.

At the time, I knew nothing about the film or the director, other than the fact it started Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day. The director is Joss Weadon. He’s the force behind television series like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and the movie Serenity. I’d pretty much never heard of and/or watched any of these.

It turns out the Weadon is an atheist and often injects this as a theme into his works. For example, in the science fiction series Firefly the captain of the spaceship Serenity is an atheist. In one episode a character attempts to “fix” the Bible by addressing inconsistencies.

Learning this information, I went back and watched Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog a second time. I’m not ashamed to admit that a lot went over my head during the first viewing. I learned a lot more about the plot the second time around.

One thing I understood a bit better was the common theme of good vs. evil with a comic book twist. (This theme is common in works like Star Wars et al.) Dr. Horrible wants to get into a crime syndicate known as the “Evil League of Evil.” His nemesis is Captain Hammer, a self-centered hero.

In the climax of Act 3 there is a battle between Horrible and Hammer. Hammer is being honored for saving Penny, something he did not do but is still willing to take the credit. Penny was actually saved by Dr. Hammer. A battle ensues and Hammer is frozen by Horrible’s freeze ray. Walking among Hammer’s adoring public, Horrible criticizes them as “sheeple” led to the slaughter, calls them lemmings, and asks why they can’t see through Hammer’s lies. He even refers to Hammer as their “savior” and says that his followers will live in “fear” since he’s been immobilized.

Whatever the message, if you like Neil Patrick Harris and you want to hear him sing, you’ll get plenty of both in this fun-filled fanciful romp. It is most definitely worth 42 minutes of your time.