Whedon ’87 Cited for Pioneering Web Show

In its cover story, the January 2009 issue of Written By calls Joss Whedon ’87 a web pioneer for his self-produced “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” which tells the story of a young wannabe super villain and initially aired on the web in July.

“The show was a web pioneer, streaming online for free before becoming available for sale on iTunes, where it shot to the top of the charts,” Written By says. “Although there’s no way to tell where it ranks in terms of online programming, it is certifiably the most successful web musical of all time. Whedon’s traits are on display—humor, humanity, musical chops, reversal of expectations, tragic twists—but serving a new medium and no masters.”

Time magazine listed the show in its Top 50 inventions of 2008, at number 15.

Lisa Rosen ’86 wrote the article; she first met Whedon when they were at Wesleyan together. “He struck me as ridiculously funny, smart, and engaging, with a playful way around words. I didn’t know that back then he used a Brother manual typewriter that he named Mutant Enemy, which he still owns but can’t find ribbons for,” she says.

Whedon also is the creator of Dollhouse, scheduled to air on Fox in February.