The end of Buffy’s first year in Sunnydale brought the Slayer face to face with the season’s big bad. Buffy went to kill the Master once and for all, hoping to fend off the prophecy of her death and the Master’s rise, not thinking that it was she that helped free the Master. The Master fed on Buffy, killing her and growing powerful enough to free himself from his Hellmouth prison. Of course, death isn’t enough to stop Buffy. After some CPR and a nice bath (in sewer water), Buffy was stronger and more bad ass, trouncing the Master and showing the Slayer had more stories to tell. And we couldn’t wait

Now the second of Geek Musical Week on Prodigeek, I continue my interview with Buffy creator Joss Whedon about his upcoming internet, musical, superhero series, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, appearing next week beginning on July 15th on their official site. Read Part 1 of our Joss Whedon interview here.

Prodigeek - How did you kind of come to this idea of an internet musical about a superhero?

Whedon - I had come up with the concept and the title originally as an audio podcast. I wanted to write a song. I was tired of not writing songs and I wanted a structure to write from. And I though this guy would have a blog and sing about what’s going on with him. It would be a fun thing to do. Then, during the strike, when everyone was looking to create internet content, I thought of it as a limited series. Then when I decided to do it myself, I thought of it as an even more limited series. It played itself out pretty simply. I brought writers in; we knew from the start exactly what we wanted to do. I had written the songs for it a while ago. The first song was called “My Freeze Ray.” I played that for the other writers. We got sort of an idea of sound, and then we started breaking a story. We broke it into three acts, a mini-series event, and then hopefully to make it a downloadable commodity. In addition to creating something out of love of musicals and love of the fans, I also wanted to create something where we could make money doing our own thing, outside the system. I also want to, in a perfect dream world, pay my crew.

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To kick off Geek Musical Week, Prodigeek speaks to Joss Whedon about his upcoming internet, musical, superhero series, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog coming to a website near you next week. The creator of Buffy and the Buffy musical episode, “Once More, With Feeling,” Whedon already has a classic Geek Musical under his belt as he tackles the world of new media and internet distribution, something you surely need superpowers to tame.  Check out part 2 of our Whedon interview here.

Prodigeek - Tell me about Dr. Horrible.

Joss Whedon - Well, I can tell you it’s the story of Dr. Horrible, a low-rent super villain trying to make his way in the world, being evil, defeat his nemesis, Captain Hammer, who beats him up on a weekly basis, and work up the courage to talk to the prettiest girl walking around. It basically follows his travails. It’s about 40 minutes, in three acts, and was designed to be just your typical internet, superhero musical.

Prodigeek - What defines the typical internet, superhero musical?

Whedon - I don’t know, I’ve never seen one. It’s supposed to define the typical superhero musical, by being the first one. We’re getting it out before Spider-Man on Broadway. By the way, they are doing Spider-Man on Broadway, you know that, right?

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Superheroes, demons, and plants are not your standard musical subject matter, but for the unique genre of Geek Musicals, they are the C# to our A major chord.  Musicals dwell in a world of fantasy and disbelief that geeks are well versed in making the genres oddly compatible yet rarely recognized.  Here I highlight the 7 best geek musicals, judged on their subject matter, entertainment value, and quality of songs.  Only musicals with released performances, either on stage or film, were considered.  Each musical includes a musical video, so prepare to hum, laugh, and cry through the list of the Best Geek Musicals here at Geek Musical Week on Prodigeek.

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Geeks and TV critics alike knew Buffy was an innovative show willing to toy with expectations.  But nothing could prepare us for Once More, With Feeling, the Buffy Musical episode.  During Buffy’s sixth season, demon comes to Sunnydale causing its citizens to dance and sing like a old-fashion music, with harmonies and hidden orchestra.  Not only was the music explained in the story, but the episode dealt with major plot points, providing emotional moments enhanced by the enchanting music like "Under Your Spell" and "Life’s a Show".  Joss Whedon, in fact, wrote the episode’s music which, in this theater geek’s opinion, is some of the best music around.  Clubs around the country hold Buffy sing-along’s regularly in celebrating of the classic episode.  Watch for Whedon’s follow-up musical about super-heroes, Doctor Horrible.

The vampire slayer has a long history in politics, helping unseat the evil mayor of Sunnydale and, well, that’s kinda it.  To get Buffy more involved, Cogitamus has likened each of the Republican presidential candidates to one of Buffy’s greatest foes.  While the list is not my ideal (Guiliani should be the mayor and Romney should be Angel), the list is hilarious and a must read for any political junkie, Buffy fan, or person who likes funny blog posts.

It sure sucked to be Buffy.  Not only was she in trouble at school for saving the world, but her vampire boyfriend lost his soul and turned evil and kept trying to kill her.  Sucks, right.  At the end of Season 2, Angel opened a portal to a hell dimension to destroy the world.  In Buffy’s most defining moment, the Slayer plunged a sword through the love of her life, sending him to the hell dimension, saving the world.  The challenge was, the evil Angel had turned good again at the last second.  And Buffy still sacrificed him to save the world.  That sucks.

To best sum up 2007, I have combed the entertainment world to find these seven highlights that brought joy to my heart and hokey crap like that. These are the must-see movies, comics, shows, and events that every geek needs to enjoy before tackling anything in 2008.

7. Buffy Season 8

While television spin-offs remain in development limbo, the comic book world welcomed Joss Whedon with open arms. Whedon continues the adventures of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in comic book form, an unheard of use of cross media storytelling. Buffy Season 8, published by Dark Horse Comics, features Whedon and other top writers telling the stories that might have appeared on the TV screen had Buffy continued - and if Whedon had an unlimited budget. The experiment is far from over, and the first bunch of issues have yet to shock and awe in the same way the show did, but the punchy dialogue and quick wit makes this a must read because there’s nothing else like it.

6. Bioshock

If all the awards and rave reviews haven’t convinced you Bioshock is as good as the Second Coming, than you don’t deserve to wear the geek moniker. This art deco romp through philosophical mind games is one of the most unforgettable video game experiences around. The unique gameplay and soon-to-be classic Big Daddies only lays the foundation to a brilliant story filled with plot twists that affect how you view playing the video game.

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