Titan Books very kindly sent us a review copy of the new official Dr Horrible companion, which is out now in the UK, and released on Tuesday in the US.  The 160 page book is packed with previously unreleased pictures, from the first table read through production and on to San Diego Comic Con and the various awards ceremonies that Dr Horrible was recognised at.

The design is gorgeous, with full colour pictures on almost every page in the first half of the book. Nathan, Felicia, Neil, and Simon Helberg have all written a page for the book, with Neil contributing the afterword and Nathan’s introduction coming in the guise of Captain Hammer.

The round-table interview with Jed, Joss, Maurissa and Zack is funny and reveals a lot of details about the early stages of production, and there’s a four page costume spread in which costume designer Shawna Trpcic goes into detail about the thought process behind most of the characters’ costume choices. Handwritten original lyric sheets and scribbled copies of Joss’ notes are a joy to look through, too.

The double page spread about the group’s trip to the 2008 San Diego Comic Con is also a nice addition, with a lot of photos and snippets from the panel discussion held that day, as well of pictures of some of the costumes that fans at that (and other) conventions have come up with!

The only slight disappointment is that a good portion of the book is taken up with content that’s either well known or only of interest to a select portion of the book’s audience. The sheet music takes up a good third of the book and if you’re not musically inclined those are 60 pages you’re not likely to look at. “Commentary! The Musical”‘s lyrics are a nice inclusion, though more likely to be used as a point of reference than something you’d sit and read. The full shooting script is also included, and while the dialogue isn’t something you’d necessarily need to sit and read, it’s nice to see the stage directions included and these pages in particular are covered with some of the best photographs.

All in all though, the pictures alone mean the book is a must-have for any fan of the series, definitely a worthy addition to your collection!

This month Titan books are releasing Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: The Book, an official companion to the award winning web series.

Created for fun and released online for free, Joss Whedon’s musical tragicomedy Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was an Internet sensation, winning numerous awards, including an Emmy, a Hugo Award and a People’s Choice Award and was named by Time magazine as one of the Top 50 Inventions of the year. Now a hit on DVD, and with whisperings of a sequel in the offing, Joss Whedon has teamed up with Titan Books to create DR HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG: THE BOOK!

This complete companion includes sheet music and lyrics, the full shooting script (and a transcript of Commentary! The Musical), and features exclusive new material from Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Simon Helberg. Plus, there’s a roundtable interview with the production team, heaps of previously unseen photos from on and off the set, costume designs and more!

The 45-minute long film tells the story of Billy, aka Dr. Horrible, a budding supervillain who wants to beat superhero Captain Hammer and take over the world… and pluck up the courage to speak to his laundromat crush Penny.

It was an idea that Whedon had been toying with for a while, but work commitments made it difficult to get off the ground; but in late 2007, unrest in Hollywood presented a chance. “The writers all got together and said, we have got to go on strike. And I said, this is my opportunity” recalls Whedon. “The only way to do it was by myself – and by “by myself” I mean with the help of everyone I know.”

Joining forces with brothers Jed and Zack Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, the whole production was shot in just six days; and by the time it hit the Internet, fan anticipation was so high that initial demand for downloads crashed the server in a matter of minutes.

“I have to say, on reflection, that Dr. Horrible is the single best thing that I’ve ever done.”
– Neil Patrick Harris (from his afterword)

Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: The Book is available from Amazon from March 29 with an RRP of $19.95 and for those outside the US, it can be purchased from some of the international Amazon stores too.

The Best and the Brightest is currently in the process of screening, or arranging screenings, around the world. But if there isn’t one near you, or even if there is, you can now pre-order on amazon.com! The movie will be available on DVD from August 16th.

The movie is also available to add to your Netflix queue!

Now that the episode has aired, Tim Stack of EW’s PopWatch has posted an interview conducted with Neil during the filming of the episode, and it contains mild spoilers. They talk about how Neil got the gig on Glee, working with Joss, and his fears for the future of Dr Horrible.

There’s also a video interview on MTV.com, conducted on the red carpet at TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people gala a week or two back.

If you didn’t see the episode, you can catch it on Hulu if you’re in the US. In the UK, Dream On will air on E4 this coming Monday (May 24th) at 9pm, repeated throughout the week, and on Channel 4 next Friday (May 28th) at 8pm for those of you without digital. “Dream On” is the only one of Neil’s songs from the episode that has an official studio version, which you can buy on iTunes or here on Amazon (coming soon), and features on the Volume 3: Showstoppers soundtrack album, which is out now.

In non-Glee news, Stand Up To Cancer today announced that following their September 2008 telethon, there will be another this year, to be broadcast on September 10th. More details will be announced as the date approaches, and Neil may not be involved, but he is a strong supporter of their work so we’re keen to publicise their event here.

With Neil’s episode of Glee less than a week away, the promotion machines are going into overdrive. First off, if you want to hear a 30 second clip of Neil and Matthew Morrison singing Aerosmith’s “Dream On”, head over to this YouTube video.

Neil has been interviewed on a couple of radio shows in the last week or so, to promote the Listerine documentary. Last week he called into the Mark & Brian show, which you can hear here or download here (8 minutes), and this week he was on the Elvis Duran morning show, which you can play or download here (7 minutes). Both interviews are spoiler free for Glee, HIMYM and the Smurfs, though he discusses all three in both interviews.

There’s an interview with Joss Whedon up at The Wrap, he talks about reuniting with Neil.

Finally for now, Amazon is now taking pre-orders for the HIMYM season five DVD. Which this isn’t confirmed cover art, the placeholder art they used last year ended up being what was used, so it’s probably close.

Quantum Mechanix are now taking orders for a limited edition, fully licensed Dr Horrible Maquette. It is designed in a similar style to their Firefly range, and has a projected ship date of Feb 27th, 2010. The run is limited to 1,000, and costs $69.95.

If you’re in the US, you can watch Neil’s chat with Jimmy Kimmel last night on YouTube. It’s in two parts – part one, and part two. If anybody has a link for fans outside the US, please leave us a comment! It’s a great little interview, and they cover a lot, including the Big Gay Battle, the 100th episode and Neil’s directing stint.

And while Neil lost out to Steve Carrell at the People’s Choice Awards, we’d like to congratulate Alyson on her win in the Favourite TV Comedy Actress category.

ETA: Thanks to Kat, we now have an internationally viewable Jimmy Kimmel link. You can watch the whole interview here.

Don’t forget, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs is out on DVD and BluRay this Tuesday, January 5th.

Warner Bros. announced yesterday that Mayhem of the Music Meister, Neil’s episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, will air on Cartoon Network on October 23rd at 7:30/6:30c. The episode premiered at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, and has since aired in Canada, Australia and the UK. The day after the US airing, the official soundtrack will be released, both digitally and in CD form. You can read the press release here, and visit Amazon.com to pre-order the CD.

Videos: Check out Neil collecting his Relly, and reading an extract from Craig Ferguson’s book.

As already announced on our Twitter, Season 4 of HIMYM is now available to pre-order on Amazon, although no release date has been given as yet. The promo shot on the provisional cover (a marked improvement over S3 in my opinion) can be found in the gallery.

Neil has been chosen as one of the guest judges for Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters” which premieres on June 10th.

A new t-shirt has been added to the official Dr Horrible store. Personally I think it’s a shame that the image bears almost no resemblance to Neil whatsoever, but it’s a cool design nonetheless and it’s good to see they’re still adding new merchandise.