How to describe "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog?" High-quality superhero-and-supervillain fun. With a swell soundtrack of original tunes.

The first thing I noticed about the Internet musical created by the brothers Whedon -- Joss, Jed and Zack and Jed's fiance, Maurissa Tancharoen -- was how fabulous it looks. No YouTube grainy-blurry here, thanks to the talents of director Joss and d.p. Ryan Green.

The second thing I noticed about the production was ... nothing because a few minutes in to Thursday night's screening of the 40-minute program at CAA, I was thoroughly engrossed. Gotta hand it to Joss and Jed for their skill in penning the tunes, which really make "Dr. Horrible" work as a tuner.

Not gonna spill any story details, at the request of the creators, other than to say it's cheeky and comic book-y with a love story at the center. It is, of course, elevated by the strength of its cast. Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion are fantastic; it wouldn't work if they weren't as good as they are in their roles. Felicia Day is just right as the unconventional love interest; sidekick Simon Helberg is equal parts perspiration and inspiration.

"Dr. Horrible" is a Joss-led attempt to test-drive the made-for-Internet production business, on his own dime (more like low six-figures though no one would get specific on the budget) and with a lot of help from industry friends. It was, as might be expected, very liberating and tons of fun, Harris opined in a post-screening chat with reporters and bloggers.

"We had the freedom to be like professional amateurs," Harris said, and that sensibility was "worked into the vibe of the film."

It's always nice when a pleasant surprise pops up in your inbox late in the afternoon. That was the case with an invite that came out of the blue for a screening next Thursday (July 10) at CAA of Joss Whedon's latest concoction, the made-for-Internet "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."

It's a three-parter with name-brand stars, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day and the fabulous Simon Helberg from my new favorite show, "The Big Bang Theory." "Dr. Horrible" seems to be something of a Whedon family hootenanny. It's penned by Joss, his brothers Jed and Zack, and Jed's fiance, Maurissa Tancharoen. Jed and Maurissa are writing partners working for Joss on his day job, the upcoming Fox drama "Dollhouse."

Zack, as readers of On the Air already know, is a comer who is not only endowed with screenwriting in his DNA (his father and grandfather were also in the family biz) but was taken under wing a few years ago by none other than David Milch. Zack (pictured right) worked with Milch on "Deadwood" and "John from Cincinnati," and even wrote "John's" big-wave-wild finale (I'm not ashamed to say that I really enjoyed that show).

In his spare time during the past few months, Zack's been busy working on "Dr. Horrible" and writing a comic book, "Captain Hammer," based on a character from "Dr. Horrible." You can check out his comicbook wordsmithing right here.

"Dr. Horrible," which Joss also helmed, is set to be unleashed on the Web over three days -- July 15, July 17 and July 19. If there's some numerology significance to those dates, maybe we'll find out about it at the screening.

On the "Dr. Horrible" website, Joss explains his reasoning (as only he can) for tackling this project.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

First off, I'm a huge champion of "How I Met Your Mother." The cast is terrific, the writing consistently funny and the direction by Pam Fryman is stellar. So speaking from a fan's perspective, last night's episode left me disappointed.

The first time Britney Spears appeared on the show a few weeks back, it was a great piece of stunt casting as showrunners Carter Bays and Craig Thomas integrated her character just enough so that we knew it was Britney but it didn't interfere with how smoothly the rest of the actors work together and it didn't take anything away from the storyline.

Not so much last night. It wasn't that Britney's character -- a young woman who has a crush on Ted but sleeps with Barney to get even -- was involved too much in the episode but, rather, Britney just plain can't act. Period. She looked stilted and foolish in scenes with TV pros such as Neil Patrick Harris and Josh Radnor.

Ratings for "Mother" shot up for Britney's first appearance, and for a show this good that has never received the high ratings it should — series just got the OK from CBS for another season, yeah! — any way to push the Nielsen meter is smart, but last night's episode felt to me as if it had crossed a line in pimping to get viewers.

From Britney's perspective, coming on as a guest star is a smart move. By working on "Mother's" tight sitcom schedule, it helps keep her life straight -- or straighter than usual -- and makes her seem a bit more like a "normal" person and not just tabloid fodder.

But her exposure and rehab felt like it came at the expense of "Mother." I'm hoping it doesn't happen again next season.

Now that I've had some time to think about it, I'd say this year's crop of Emmy nominees fall into a few broad categories.

IT'S ABOUT TIME:

David Morse. Morse (pictured left) broke your heart every week during the 1982-1988 run of NBC's "St. Elsewhere." But was he nominated? Nooooo. It took a guest shot role on another hospital drama, Fox's "House," to win this underrated actor some Emmy appreciation.

Rainn Wilson. How could he have been overlooked last year? Just the sight of  him in his Dwight Schrute persona (pictured right) makes me laugh.

Mary-Louise Parker. Emmy voters felt so bad for snubbing her last year for "Weeds" that they gave her two noms, this year, one for "Weeds," one for the Oxygen movie "The Robber Bride."

This category can also encompass the new names and faces Emmy voters let into the tent this year, including "30 Rock"; "Ugly Betty" and America Ferrera; "Heroes" and Masi Oka; Neil Patrick Harris of "How I Met Your Mother."

POSTED BY MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

vs.

Get ready for the Monday night battle between TV's slightly dweeby "awesome" peddlers.

CBS' critical fave "How I Met Your Mother" has helped restore the term "awesome" into the current lexicon (rescuing it from its use as '80s retro fodder). Neil Patrick Harris' character, Barney, is such a proponent of "being awesome" that Tuesday's TCA panel for "How I Met Your Mother" promised a primer on the path to awesomeness.

But now comes NBC's "Chuck." Not only does "Chuck" lead Zach Levi (above, left) bear a passing resemblance to "HIMYM" star Josh Radnor (right), but the new series includes a character who goes by the name... wait for it... "Captain Awesome."

On stage at the TCA, Harris couldn't resist poking fun at the fact that both shows will now face off Mondays at 8.

"A war is brewing!" he quipped.

Then there's the case of this rather unusual "Family Circus" comic, which ran in papers on Monday. In the post below, Stu writes that Thomas joked during the session that he found the mention "better than an Emmy nomination."

But later, exec producer Carter Bays (who created the show with Craig Thomas) admitted after the session that the cast and crew were a little bit puzzled by the strip.

Were "Family Circus" writers Bil and Jeff Keane simply looking for a hip pop culture reference? Were they trying to make a clumsy statement about the dangers of watching too much TV?

But On the Air might add, what are little Billy and Dolly -- and especially pre-schooler Jeffy and toddler P.J. -- doing watching such a grown-up show in the first place? Shouldn't those kids be watching "How I Met Dora the Explorer"?!

Bays suggests a future "Family Circus" strip: "Instead of watchin' 'Rules of Engagement'... tonight I'll tell you MY 'Rules of Engagement'!"

-- Michael Schneider

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Despite the informal press conference setting, Neil Patrick Harris knew there was only one way to dress for the "How I  Met Your Mother" chat session: suited up!

So there was Harris (pictured left) on the dais positioned between show creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, all three discussing the awesomeness that is Barney, how Ted and Robin cope after their breakup and what's in store for newly married couple Marshall and Lily.

Critics, at least the ones here at the Beverly Hilton for CBS TCA seshes, weren't shy expressing their fondness for all the characters and were hoping for answers to the big question -- who, exactly, is the mother of "Mother"?

The first installment of season three, which airs Sept. 24, may just start to unravel the secret.

"Episode one will show that we haven't forgotten about the title of the show," said Thomas, not giving away more than that.