This week we have a three-act superhero musical, shot on a borrowed studio lot during a labor strike, financed by one guy's personal credit card, in which approximately none of the songs are allowed to finish. Weird as it may be, it all clicks into place, and you understand why a generation of nerds has had this thing memorized for going on two decades.This week, returning guides Kyle Olson and Krissy Lenz walk our favorite mainstream mom through Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. We’ve got all the hits: Neil Patrick Harris fan mail that borders on a restraining order, the deeply important economics of the Henchmen's Guild, why Felicia Day was building the internet before the internet knew it needed building, and a shiny new Australia offered up purely for the sake of a rhyme. There's a horse who is also a chairman. There's a tragedy you will not see coming. There's a meaningful high note. Press play.GUEST SPOTLIGHTKyle Olson is an award-winning writer, producer, and podcast host, and a recurring nerd-whisperer here on Make Me a Nerd. He's the co-host of Craft and Chaos on TruStory FM, creator of the steampunk queer radio drama The Swashbuckling Ladies Debate Society, host of The Story Well, and logged 300-plus episodes of The Marvel Movie Minute.

• Craft and Chaos: trustory.fm/craft-and-chaos
• Kyle's host page on TruStory FM: trustory.fm/host/kyle-olson

Krissy Lenz is Mandy's most frequent guest and partner in nerd crime. She co-hosts The Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast and Gank That Drank on TruStory FM. Her Most Excellent episode on When Harry Met Sally — featuring a certain mainstream mom — is on the way.

• Krissy’s host page on TruStory FM: https://trustory.fm/host/krissy-lenz/

REFERENCE LINKSThe Main Event

• Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008 miniseries) — Wikipedia

People

• Neil Patrick Harris — Wikipedia
• Nathan Fillion — Wikipedia
• Felicia Day — Wikipedia
• Simon Helberg — Wikipedia
• Joss Whedon — Wikipedia
• Jed Whedon — Wikipedia
• Zack Whedon — Wikipedia
• Maurissa Tancharoen (co-writer; one of the three superfans) — Wikipedia
• Ben Edlund (Bad Horse champion; creator of The Tick) — Wikipedia
• David Fury (newscaster cameo) — Wikipedia
• Marti Noxon (newscaster cameo) — Wikipedia
• Lin-Manuel Miranda — Wikipedia
• Bo Burnham — Wikipedia
• Sarah Michelle Gellar — Wikipedia

Shows & Series

• Firefly — Wikipedia
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Wikipedia
• "Once More, with Feeling" (Buffy musical episode) — Wikipedia
• How I Met Your Mother — Wikipedia
• The Big Bang Theory — Wikipedia
• The Guild (Felicia Day's web series) — Wikipedia
• Critical Role — Wikipedia
• Game Changer (Dropout) — Wikipedia
• Phineas and Ferb (home of Dr. Doofenshmirtz) — Wikipedia
• Scrubs — Wikipedia
• Supernatural — Wikipedia

Films

• Serenity (2005) — Letterboxd

Stage & Adaptations

• Hamilton — Wikipedia
• Hadestown — Wikipedia
• Six — Wikipedia

Things & Curiosities

• Box ONE (Neil Patrick Harris's solo escape-room game) — theory11
• The Magic Misfits (NPH's children's book series) — Amazon
• Geek & Sundry — Wikipedia
• "Brand New Day" / "A Man's Gotta Do" / "Everyone's a Hero" — YouTube Music search
• The 2013 Tony Awards opening (NPH's "Bigger!" number, with the closing recap rap) — YouTube search

From the TruStory FM Vault

• Game Changer with Kyle Olson (Make Me a Nerd) — trustory.fm
• Make Me a Nerd show archive — trustory.fm/make-me-a-nerd

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