MasterHouse Theater: Review: Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog LIVE!

As talented as the Odd Lot Comedy Troupe is at improvisation, it's easy to forget that they are quite skilled in scripted performance as well. With Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog LIVE!, the Odd Lot ventures into the world of scripted theater. And what happens is exactly what you'd expect: a "horribly" good time.

(Note: For the purposes of this review, I have limited myself to exactly three uses of puns involving the word "horrible"... So that's one.)

Every geek or nerd worth their salt knows of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. But even if you aren't "horribly" familiar (that's two) with the details of the Joss Whedon story, the live show presents a similar version of web story.

The tale follows the often musical trials and tribulations of the titular Dr. Horrible (played on stage by Justin P. Kent), a super-villain trying to elevate his status by gaining entrance into the Evil League of Evil. His attempts at notoriety through evil are perpetually foiled by his infatuation with a girl in his apartment (Lynita Spivey) and the perpetual interference of his arch-nemesis, Captain Hammer (Ryan McConnel).

The show also features Gabe Reynolds as Horrible's roommate/henchman Moist and a small, but effective supporting cast (Trish McKay, Tim Reynolds, Megan Jones, Timmy Vo, and Hai Dang) who take on various roles and parts as needed to fill in the gaps along the way.

Kent is truly remarkable as Dr. Horrible. His interpretation of the character manages to convey all of the conflicting emotions of the megalomaniac without ending up a cheap impersonation of Neil Patrick Harris in the role.

The rest of the cast performs admirably as well. Spivey's Penny plays as the sweet, innocent girl-next-door she is supposed to be, and McConnel's Captain Hammer is every bit the strong and sometimes too smug hero that you'll eventually love to hate.

Director Chris Soucy manages to master stage space, utilizing selective props, a small smattering of back panels, and even the cast themselves to convey a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces. Fans of the original Sing Along Blog will be hard pressed to find many venues that aren't covered in some way, shape, or form onstage.

I was particularly impressed with the van scene, as it was something that could have been logistically difficult to pull off without... you know... a van. Or streets. But that and a good many other surprises await in the show. Expect a pleasant surprise or two along the way, including a few improvisational games from the Odd Lot Troupe to help flesh out what is a "horribly" short production (and three... I'm done with that).

All in all, the show makes for a fun, entertaining experience of improv, singing, dancing, and comedy that was completely worth seeing. While I will always enjoy the web production in all its glory, this was definitely an experience that I am glad I had the chance to check out. If you have the chance to see it, it would be "horrible" of you not to.

(... Yeah, I know I said only three. But in true evil fashion, I broke my own rule. You can't get more evil than that. I'll get League membership myself one day, I will. You hear me, Horse!)

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog LIVE! happened Friday, August 27th at 8PM and midnight. It will happen again Saturday, August 28th at 8PM at Muse Arts Warehouse. So you should try and catch it then (or build a time machine).

As Time Goes By...

Okay, color me stupid here.

I don't think that a month has gone by when I haven't actually thought to myself in idle passing, "What are you going to do for the one year anniversary of House Rules?" I was probably thinking about it after the first few weeks, the first few months... heck. Two months ago I was trying to figure out if I was going to make a compilation book of some sort.

So it comes as a shock to me as I pondered what I was going to post this month and how to squeeze it in between bouts of mad writing sessions, that I would stumble across fellow blogger Ivan celebrating his six year anniversary (and congrats to you again on making it this far... your site rocks). And as it reminded me of what I should do when I achieve my meager but still impressive goal of one year in, it also reminded me of yet another thing...

That happened two weeks ago.

October 19, 2008. The first post at Casa de House (albeit a repost of a previous post from another page. Still, it was the start of this whole thing, and even if it wasn't, the first post after that would still have been in October. So I missed my 1 year anniversary this year. I'm sorry, baby. Do you forgive me?

Anywho, I'd be a lot more formal about this (and maybe I will later), but the truth is I just don't have the time to spare on it right now. But thanks to the many people, here and there, near and far, gone and yet to come, that have made the creation of my little corner of cyberspace worth the effort by checking it out from time to time.

Once More Into the NaNo...

It's my (pretty much) last chance attempt to talk anyone into getting on board the NaNo train. And because they can tell it much better than I can, here's the penultimate promotional mail from the organizers of NaNoWriMo, including a useful (but probably slightly exaggerated timeline):

Dear National Novel Writing Month Author,

Hi there! NaNoWriMo Program Director Chris Baty here. It's so great to have you writing with us! Before we get rolling, I wanted to send you a quick guide to our upcoming month of literary abandon.

Here's the plan:

Today: If you haven't already, please make a tax-deductible donation to help us pay for National Novel Writing Month and NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program. NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit, and we've spent nearly half a million dollars getting this swashbuckling adventure ready for 150,000 adults and 35,000 kids and teens around the world. Our goal is to pay off this year's expenses and set aside enough to expand and improve both programs next year. With your help, we'll do it! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far!

Tomorrow: Make sure you've set your time zone correctly (it's under User Settings). Some word-count features appear and disappear at midnight on November 1 and November 30, so dialing those in now will save you stress later. Join a local region, and find out when and where the first novel-writing get-togethers (called "write-ins") for your city or town will be held.

October 31: Get your first pep talk email. You'll receive about three of these a week; one from NaNo staff and two from our panel of esteemed celebrity pep talkers. Spam filters love to eat pep talks, so if you don't get yours, just drop by the pep talk page (under Fun Stuff) where they'll be posted as soon as they go out. Our first guest pep talker will be Jasper Fforde; he'll be parachuting into your inbox next Wednesday.

November 1: At midnight, local time, start writing your book. You need to log 1,667 words per day to stay on par. The website will be very slow for the first few days of the event, but with patience you can update your soaring word count in that box at the top of our site. Watch your stats graph fill. Send a link to your author profile to your friends so they can follow your progress. Revel in the majesty of your unfolding story. It's November 1! You are an unstoppable novel-writing machine!

November 2: Stop writing. Wonder if you should start over. Keep going. Feel better.

November 8: As the first full week of writing comes to a close, you will be at 11,666 words. This is more fiction than most people write in their lifetimes, and you did it in a week. Go, you! This is also Municipal Liaison Appreciation Day, a raucous international holiday that celebrates NaNoWriMo's volunteer chapter-heads (the folks who organized the write-in you went to last week). Chocolate, flowers, and gifts of expensive electronics are appreciated.

November 13: Nothing really happens on November 13.

November 15: After the second week of writing, you will be at 25,000 words. This is the approximate length of such legendary works of fiction as The Metamorphosis, Of Mice and Men, and Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion. You're halfway to winning! Attend a Midway Party in your town.

November 16: The second half of NaNoWriMo dawns. Writerly confidence builds. Your book comes to life, and characters start doing interesting, unexpected things. Nice. Weird.

November 22: After the third full week of writing, you stand at 35,000 words, the NaNoWriMo milestone universally recognized as The Place Where Everything Gets Much Easier. This is also when you fly out to San Francisco and join us for the Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon, where you'll help us set records for group noveling and candy consumption.

November 25: Novel validation and winning begins, and Word-Count Progress Bars turn from blue (under 50K) to green (over 50K) to purple (over 50k and a verified winner!). Check our FAQs for details on uploading your manuscript and winning. A limited number of 2009 Winner T-shirts will appear in the store. These will make you smile, and will feature a squirrel.

November 26: American Wrimos celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving by gathering together with friends and family, wolfing down a huge meal as quickly as possible, and then ditching those friends and family to hide in the bathroom with a laptop.

November 30: By midnight, local time, we will all be the proud owners of 50,000-word novels that we barely could have imagined on October 31. Plan to attend your local NaNoWriMo Thank God It's Over Party, where grins will abound, champagne will flow, fives will be highed, and wrists will be iced.

You did it. We all did it.

December 1: Sleep will fall heavily across NaNoLand, as 150,000 writers close the book on a crazy, oversized dream.

December 2: The "I Wrote A Novel, Now What?" page goes up on the NaNoWriMo site, containing some special items for our winners from sponsors CreateSpace and Scrivener, along with advice on revision and next steps from published NaNoWriMo authors.

December 3: Rewrites begin.

It all starts very soon, brave writer! Here's to a great month together!

Chris
NaNoWriMo

Minor (But Important) HouseKeeping

Some may have noticed a few... minor changes to the layout of Casa de House (and also to our sister site Planet Houston!). After railing about how indifferent and/or insensitive I thought Cris Collinsworth was being last weekend over many players, coaches and officials wearing pink trimmed accessories, it occurred to me that I hadn't done anything about it myself.

And while I'm sure I would look just dashing in a pink piece of clothing, I'm much more active (and visible) online. So for the remainder of the month (and possibly some time after it since I started so late) both sites will sport pink layouts in support of breast cancer awareness.

Because frankly, I have a mother and sisters, friends and acquaintances, and many have gone through a scare or two in their lives (several of which they probably never even shared with me). A little color change is the very least I could do.

Planet Houston Podcast eXtra: Episode 1

What's going on over at Planet Houston:

Sure, you think what you heard in episode 1 was wrapped in the crazy, but are you ready to hear what got left out? Be it cut because of time or possibly content, Thomas somehow feels the need to let you hear a sampling of what fell short of the main podcast. Not necessarily for the faint of heart (but not particularly threatening to them, either).

Check it out here.

Planet Houston Podcast is On the Air!

From the people... er, person that brings you your weekly dose of insanity at House Rules! comes... Planet Houston Podcast! Reviews and commentary on television, film, comic books, and gaming... along with the more than occasional dose of the crazy.

Take a few moments (18 give or take) to check it out, then be sure to provide some feedback. Your voice is important! And your keypresses, too, since that's probably... how you'll end up... doing it.

... just check it out, and thanks (and perhaps apologies) in advance.

IGN Video: Scribblenauts Nintendo DS Walkthrough - E3 Demo

I stand by my belief that if Scribblenauts even comes close to meeting its potential, it will be an awesome game.

IGN Video: Scribblenauts Nintendo DS Walkthrough - E3 Demo

Shared via AddThis

Abstract Thought of the Day (with Video Assist)

If you're going to make a flash mob, then you might as well make one that counts.



And when you're done, make sure you follow it up on the street outside. No one's going to call the cops on you. What would they say to them?



"This mob of people are doing the MC Hammer dance in the streets. No, I am not on any medication..."

Also, where do you bulk order those pants from? Not that I'm thinking of anything nefarious... No...

Random Funny Videos for the Weekend

First, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart never quite seem to get the end of show toss right, but Stephen clearly shows that he has feet of clay here (and no, I will never get tired of Keyboard Cat).

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Daily/Colbert - Keyboard Cat
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Economic Crisis

Of course, Stephen Colbert knows how to scare kids out of having sex. Uh...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Just Don't Do It
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Keyboard Cat

And any thoughts I had about not enjoying Comedy Central's new show Tosh.0 quickly faded away when I saw one of his recurring segments: Web Redemption. This week, Daniel tracked down the infamous Afro-Ninja and gave him a chance at redemption. Although apparently, it's not like life has been treating him bad.

Tosh.0	Thurs June 4th, 10pm / 9c
Preview - Afro Ninja: Redemption
comedycentral.com
Daniel Tosh Helen Keller Jokes Single Ladies Dance Video

Random TV Insanity

Just a few random clips from shows that I've skimmed over in the past few weeks. Somehow, I forgot to post this clip from the season finale of SNL. Will Ferrel hosting (plus what might be Darrel Hammond's last show) gives them a perfect opportunity to revive Celebrity Jeopardy. As good as it's ever been.



This is a bit of an odd entry, especially if you've missed out on the Keyboard Cat craze. But for those that remember my discussion of it or have bore witness to it themselves, I'm sure you can appreciate Colbert Nation's take on it using an all too familiar injury. And just how much free time did Green Day have while they were at the studio?

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Exclusive - Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Keyboard Cat

And over at Colbert's sister show The Daily Show, John Oliver comes unhinged over the strangest of things. Really, I just appreciate this for the goofball antics that seem to occur between Oliver and Jon Stewart anytime they talk to each other.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Scamalot
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

A Little SNL for the Weekend

Which I know is odd, since it came on last Saturday. But whatever. Justin Timberlake made yet another classic episode by hosting.

First up, a goofy, but oddly entertaining trip to Ellis Island. If only our great-grandparents truly dared to dream...



Weekend Update had a visit from some of the stars of the Star Trek film. As funny as this is, I know that somewhere, there are still nerds mounting protests. I weep on the inside.



And to close things out, a soon to be classic Digital Short. I think everyone went into the episode wondering if they would revisit the greatest white R&B group of our generation, and Timberlake and Samberg prove once again that no holiday is safe.



And yes, that is Susan Sarandon. I'm still impressed by the sheer star power that Samberg can wrangle in a pinch.

All in all, a good episode. Very hard to pull just a handful of items out, so wander over to the NBC.com homepage for more highlights, or just be on the lookout for a re-air.

My Current Distraction

Failing on the internet is hardly a new thing. And cute animal videos are certainly not scarce, either. But somehow, you put them both together, and it becomes an internet phenomenon that I can't get enough of. Play him off, keyboard cat!



But I know what you're thinking: will this work for anything? Hecks, yeah! Want to toss a fainting spell on Glenn Beck's show in there? Works like a charm.



Want to go old school? Then toss in an oldy but a goody like this poor kid getting booted (which is funny in retrospect because the kid was perfectly fine afterwards... sheesh...).



And what worse is that there are dozens of these things floating around the net now. And more being made everyday. A meme is born in Interweb City.

Scrubs Dance Madness!!

I'm mad at this for two reasons. First of all, even thought I want to be offended, it's funny as all get out. And secondly, I swear I had this bit written up in my head at one point.



And who knew Sarah Chalke could break it down on the regular? She even still does the, "I told you so" dance.



And because three clips are better than two, here's an oldy with a gone but not forgotten legend.

When Amazons Attack... We All Lose

I wouldn't normally go for stuff like this, but the fact that this guy chose (or was more likely forced) to review the train wreck that was Amazons Attack and that he somehow made it five times more entertaining than the book ever was. Then again, given the book, that doesn't really take a ton of effort. Thanks for reminding me why I dodged the entire title to begin with.

Amazons Attack 1 and 2


Amazons Attack 3 and 4


The epic conclusion, complete with full breakdown of the reviewer:

Some New Toys I Found

So I'm prepping up for Script Frenzy and one of their resource pages provides links to some cool stuff.

In particular, I was pleased to find Final Draft and Celtx (two downloadable script formatters) and Zhura and Scripped (two web-based versions that do the same thing). Especially since all of them except for Final Draft are free.

And while I was at it, I started fooling around with a few more programs, too. There was the PortableApps version of Firefox, which lets you use the web browser from a portable drive. And while I was checking programs out, I finally broke down and decided to check out OpenOffice (since I don't have Word and the like on my laptop). So far both seem to be working pretty smoothly.

HouseTV: A Little Colbert...

Just a few clips from last week's episodes of The Colbert Report. The old Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger, complete with all of its normal insanity.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Tip/Wag - Mississippi, Talk Shows & SyFy
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford

And yes, Steven, I would watch that, too.

And the conclusion(?) to the Stephen Colbert/Michael Steele hip-hop rap battle "controversy". Fa-shizzle.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Conservative Rap Battle - Michael Steele's Response
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford

At Least We Aren't This Bad About St. Patrick's Day

I'm sure there will be reports of many an interesting thing from today, but hopefully nothing close to this old report from an Alabama news station. On the plus side, this is the clearest sign imaginable that it was a slow news day.

HouseTV: Retro Retro Gaming

Someone reminded me that I hadn't provided the link I claimed I would to this site here yet, so I might as well get around to doing it. Honestly, I hadn't remembered that this show existed at all until I ran across the website.

For those of you that recall the early days of G4 (back when it was much more gadget and games friendly and less Cops and Cheaters centric), you may recall the old game show Starcade. If you don't, then here's a quick primer: kids played video games and won prizes. Seriously, it makes its own gravy.

I know what you're thinking: how is this show different from the kids game show Nick Arcade? For one, Starcade does not suck. The two problems I always had with Nick Arcade were that the "quiz" portion of the game ran on for far too long and almost never ended without time running out. The true novelty of the show - getting to play video games - became uninteresting once you realized that these kids had seemingly never touched the games that they thmeselves were choosing. If someone gives you a goal like 800 points in level 1 (and it was always level 1!) in 30 seconds, you should be able to figure out the basics of the game enough to pull it off.

Starcade seemed to find kids that had at least stepped foot in an arcade, and even claimed to give them time to practice the games prior to the episode. Don't get me wrong; some of the kids are pretty crappy at the games. But the worst appearance on Starcade dwarfs the best appearance of any Nick Arcade kid.

So check out the website here, which lets you watch old episodes of the series among other things.

"Knowledge is Power... For Real!"

News of the passing of Ron Silver today got me to thinking about the various things I know him from. He's one of those actors that was bound to pop up in almost anything, and no doubt I'll spend the next year or so playing a game of, "Hey, that's Ron Silver!" I recall him most recently from his recurring role on West Wing, but that's mostly because I've been watching reruns of that show.

But of the odd variety and a personal favorite of mine was a show he appeared in by the name of Heat Vision and Jack. It was basically an unaired pilot, and it wasn't particularly spectacular. Honestly, it reminds me of something that early era FOX television would have shown. But between Rob Schrab (of Channel 101 fame) spearheading the show, Jack Black and Owen Wilson leading the series, and Ben Stiller doing both an intro and a brief (and useless) cameo, it's hard to point out any of the oddball antics as extraordinary. Peep said opening...



But we had Silver, who was noted as playing "himself" but was clearly not an ordinary human. The joke, of course, was that Ron Silver was just that bad of a man. It didn't take much digging for to find this, which is quite honestly my favorite line of the entire pilot.



RIP Ron. In my world, I will always be afraid to shoot you in the back.

Edit: Of course, the one time I don't double-check my embeds, I end up posting the same clip twice. I like the scene, but not that much.

"Is That the Freaking Death Star?"

My discovery of Marvel.com's release of the Japanese Spider-Man series reminded me of an old Channel 101 series that follows a similar pattern. The show, Return to Supermans, somehow ends up being just slightly less insane than Sentai Spider-Man.

But the shows do have a few things in common. First, Return to Supermans features snippets of Spider-Man's theme music. Second, the entire first episode involves Supermans' epic battle with none other than Spider-Man. But be warned that you shouldn't attempt to apply logic to the series at all, otherwise you'll never be able to get past Supermans dodging all those green lasers.

The Turkish Men of Steels would later return to face Lex Lucifer, Hulk Man, Space Clowns from Kryptar, and finally Captain Americans. Feel free to check it out, with the disclaimer that like any Channel 101 show, there can be mature content (although from what I recall, this series mercifully never embraced any of the "full frontal" variety of said content).