A Real Treat for Halloween

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

In just a little over two weeks, Halloween will arrive with all its gore and horror; its tricks and treats. One specific treat for which I am anticipating is the Third Annual Halloween Screening of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and The Guild (Season Three) Charity Event conducted by Whedonopolis.

What is Whedonopolis, you ask? They are a subsidiary of Fandom Charities (more on them below) dedicated to promoting the Whedonverse (yes, Joss Whedon of Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse fame – just to name a few) and everyone involved in it, whether it is cast, crew, writers, directors, producers, what have you. The folks behind Whedonopolis feel it is their job to help fans keep track of all that is going on with the people who made the fictional universes created by Joss and loved by people the world over.

One of the ways they “spread the love” (so to speak) is by holding the aforementioned charity screening each Halloween. They have been holding these events for the past few years in honor of the internet phenomenon known as Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog for which Joss created along with his brothers Zack and Jed and Jed’s (then fiancée now wife) Maurissa Tancharoen as well as the popular comedy web series known as The Guild, which comes from the talented mind of actress Felicia Day.

For those unfamiliar with either of these internet series, here is a synopsis on each (thanks to IMDB and the websites for each web series for the details):

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is, of course, about Dr. Horrible aka Billy (Neil Patrick Harris), an aspiring super villain with his own video blog who is attempting to join the prestigious Evil League of Evil, which is led by the legendary “thoroughbred of sin”, Bad Horse, but his plans are usually foiled by the egotistical superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion).

Billy’s life, er rather Dr. Horrible’s life is thrown for a loop when he falls in love with Penny (Felicia Day), a beautiful and optimistic advocate for the homeless who he meets at the laudromat. Unfortunately, his life is complicated even further when Penny begins to date Captain Hammer after he seemingly saves her life.

Faced with the task of impressing the League while desperately trying to win back the girl of his dream and overcome his own incompetence, Dr. Horrible sets out to ruin the day, kill the hero and get the girl.

You can visit both the official Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog website here and you can also visit the official fan site here.

The Guild Cast (in Costume)

Meanwhile, The Guild is an independent sitcom web series about a group of online gamers. Each season has followed the members of The Knights of Good in their lives both online and offline. The series stars Felicia Day as Codex, Jeff Lewis as Vork, Sandeep Parikh as Zaboo, Vincent Caso as Bladezz, Amy Okuda as Tinkerballa and Robin Thorsen as Clara. Each episode has a running time of between 3 to 8 minutes in length with approximately 10 to 12 episodes each season.

You can learn more about The Guild here.

NOTE: For some quick fun, you can see the music video that was done by Felicia Day and the cast of The Guild called Do You Want to Date My Avatar here.

As for this year’s charity event, it has moved a new location: the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn in Studio City (California) but is still being held on Halloween, well, actually this year on Halloween Eve – October 30 at 8 PM. The doors, however, open at 6 PM and tickets are $25.00 per person. Buttons, raffle tickets (for what are always great prizes) and posters can be purchased at this event and sodas and popcorn will be provided. Attendees are welcome to dress as their favorite character from Dr. Horrible, The Guild or any superhero or character of their choice. It is also acceptable to simply dress comfortably in jeans and a t-shirt.

You can learn all about the event and how to purchase your tickets (if you haven’t done so already) here.

Fandom Charities is a non-profit organization established for the purpose of raising funds for charitable organizations through fandom events, conventions, special appearances and media events, and to serve as a hub for the latest news and happenings in the creative universe of selected fandoms and to provide related educational activities. You can learn more about Fandom Charities here.

If you are attending, look for one of the many Captain Hammer fans, wearing his face emblazoned on red or blue t-shirts, sporting pigtails with a rowdy group of vampire-loving fans, as that will be me and my group of friends. Hope to see you there!

Chantal Kreviazuk

Musician Spotlight: Chantal Kreviazuk is a Canadian singer and songwriter who is a classically trained pianist but she also plays guitar. From 1996 to 2009 she has released five albums: Under These Rocks and Stones in 1996, Colour Moving and Still in 1999, What If It All Means Something in 2002, Ghost Stories in 2006 and Plain Jane last year. Two of her best known songs include “Feels Like Home,” which was featured on both the soundtracks for Dawson’s Creek and the box office movie How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days and the theme song “In My Life” (a remake of the Beatles classic) for the TV show Providence. Her music has also been featured in the movies Serendipity, Men With Brooms, Stuart Little 2 and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Chantal is a wife (her husband is the lead singer of the Canadian band Our Lady Peace) and mother of three boys and a two-time Juno Award winner. You can learn more about Chantal at her website.