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'Dr. Horrible' kills online with Neil Patrick Harris

By April MacIntyre Jul 17, 2008, 3:13 GMT

"Dr. Horrible" is proving that the Internet may kill the traditional smallscreen after all. Joss Whedon - 36th Annual Comic Con International Day Three - San Diego Convention Center - San Diego, California. USA © Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

Joss Whedon - 36th Annual Comic Con International Day Three - San Diego Convention Center - San Diego, California. USA © Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos"Buffy" creator Joss Whedon has put out "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog", a three-part musical miniseries.With Part 1's release on Tuesday, the site server actually crashed for free-view website drhorrible.com, and then on iTunes, the downloadable version became the No. 1 video download.

NPH as Horrible

Actor Neil Patrick Harris is Dr. Horrible, armed with a freeze-ray gun and hopes of high standings with the Evil League of Evil will secure his place with the girl of his dreams. Nathan Fillion is his co-star, Captain Hammer. Felicia Day as the Laundromat girl wins their hearts.Whedon has told USA Today he is getting over "1,000 hits per second." USA Today notes that Whedon made use of his down time during the writer's strike and cooked the low-budget project up "as a lark and a labor of love — and to show the industry an out-of-the-box project could find an audience.""We had this home-baked idea that we love and we're proud of," Whedon tells USA Today. "We made this on the understanding that we'd never make a dime. But it's blown up beyond our expectations."Made on a slim six-figure shoestring in a week, Whedon is being courted for his savoire-faire in producing Web video. "We're hearing from a lot of people. We're giggling that we're being treated like savvy business people," Whedon told USA Today.The last two Dr. Horrible episodes will be released Wednesday and Saturday. Whedon tells USA Today he is planning for more webisodes, "as well as Broadway and film."