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Actor Kevin Williamson did a wonderful portrayal of Dr. Horrible, a.k.a Neil Patrick Harris, and even had the singing chops to boot. It’s not an easy role either. He has to play the wannabe evil but actually sweet and misunderstood “Billy Buddy” who swings from disturbingly misguided to pathetically endearing every other second.

Taylor Overstreet also did an amazing job as Penny, and her voice sounded almost identical to Felicia Day’s. And Justin Lavergne brought his own interpretation to Captain Hammer, since not everyone can be Nathan Fillion, but if I couldn’t be Nathan, I’d want to be this guy. The “These are not the hammer,” line is not easy to deliver with the right comedic timing, but he “nailed” it.

So overall, just go see it. GO SEE IT! I might have to see it twice.

The action kicks off on Animal Planet at 2 p.m. this Sunday. As an added bonus, this year’s edition includes a cheering section of piggies!

2) In other animal-related news, this video of our beloved Kristen Bell’s sloth meltdown kept us in stitches all week. Well, you know what they say, Veronica Mars, she’s a marshmallow!

3) Some animals live in zoos, while others lived on your childhood bed. As “The Velveteen Rabbit” knows, that doesn’t make them any less real, which is probably why this essay on childhood stuffed animals from The Gloss got us all choked up.

4) Another week, another trailer for “The Hunger Games.” We wish Cinna would dress us for the premiere.

5) You’ll have to wait until March 23 for “The Hunger Games,” but we heartily recommend that you get your movie fix this weekend from “Chronicle,” which we caught at an Ain’t It Cool News sneak peek last night with filmmaker Josh Trank in attendance. While he may be maddeningly young (27, to be exact) to have a feature bowing in a wide release, Trank did a great job putting a new spin on an old idea — what would happen if we actually had superpowers? The performances from the three leads, which include Michael B. Jordan of “Friday Night Lights” and “The Wire” fame, were great as were the visual effects. The only negative for us was the found-footage format, which we’re growing tired of (IGN has a retrospective on the genre and its flaws), but overall, “Chronicle” is a surprise well-worth the time. Check out the trailer:

2) Here’s the newest single, “Mexico,” from The Staves, whose EP, also titled “Mexico,” dropped in December:

3) We are shocked, shocked, I tell you, that Elle King is not a superstar yet. She has pipes and personality to share, as you can tell in this video for her song “Good to Be a Man”:

4) And here is our new favorite musical performance of any song ever:

5) On a non-musical note, has anyone read “The Carrie Diaries,” Candace Bushnell’s “Sex and the City” prequel? Should be excited that it might soon be coming to our TV screens? Sure, the movies may have ruined some of our goodwill toward Carrie and Co., but we would love to see teen Carrie rock those ’80s fashions.

2) For those who were bummed about the uncertain fate of “Community” and its group of delighfully comical Greendale College misfits, it’s absolutely coming back this season, though Season 4 is still, unfortunately, unconfirmed. The darkest possible timeline will not prevail!

3) If you’re running out of things to watch on Netflix Instant, Pajiba’s got you covered with a list of 20 underrated gems just waiting for you to stream them. We heartily endorse the recommendation of Happythankyoumoreplease, which, from its description, seems designed to bludgeon you with its hipster quirk, but actually wins you over with its romantic charm.

4) We’ve obvi been guilty of totes LOLing from time to time, but we wholeheartedly agree that Internet shorthand should be banned in 2012. What specific words would you <3 to never see again on your computer monitor?

5) Before we retire Internet slang forever, can we just say that nothing made us LOL and LMAO as much this week as this story about NASA’s new space shuttle engines?

Watch Downton Abbey I Wonder Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

2) If after watching “Downton Abbey” you find yourself in a period-piece marathon, make sure and choose wisely, namely from the films and miniseries including the chaps who landed on Pajiba’s list of their favorite cravat-wearing Brits.

3) Could “Twilight” be better or worse? Find out by reading io9′S imaginings on “If Famous Authors Had Written ‘Twilight’…”

4) We couldn’t get enough of the trip back in time afforded to us by “The Artist,” undoubtedly the most unique film we saw in 2011. With two winning leads and a charming love story, this black-and-white silent gem will make you long for quieter times at the cinema and heartily root for its chances come Oscar season.

5) We’re also rooting for Chelsea Gill, who posted a gutsy and adorable song on YouTube to ask her biggest celebrity crush (and ours), Jason Segel, out for a drink. We hope she gets her drink!

2) New York Magazine’s Vulture also gave us this delightful clip of the “Community” cast playing the Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture Edition. We wish we could be on their teams.

3) Alison Brie, “Community”‘s Annie Edison, will soon be on the silver screen in “Five-Year Engagement.” In addition to two of our other beloved TV actors (Jason Segel and Chris Pratt) and Emily Blunt, this trailer offers romantic comedy fans like us hope for the future. And in our book, co-writers Segel and Nick Stoller are two-for-two after “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “The Muppets.”

4) Another dearly departed TV favorite, “My So-Called Life,” received the where-are-they-now? treatment, courtesy of an imaginative writer over at HelloGiggles. They sooooo pegged Brian Krakow.

5) Wondering what to get us for Christmas? We’ll take anything from Brookish, a lovely Etsy shop full of handmade goods inspired by the great Jane Austen herself.

(photo via Yahoo/Kevin Winter, Getty Images)

But among all the coverage of “Breaking Dawn: Part 1″ this week, perhaps the funniest has been this Pajiba post that posits “I’m convinced that no one hates ‘Twilight’ as much as Robert Pattinson,” and then goes on to detail some of the actor’s choicest sound bites about the series, including this spot-on summary of “Breaking Dawn”:

“Have sex, demon baby. No, they get married first, demon baby, Jacob falls in love with the little baby [laughs], then everyone tries to kill each other, but nothing happens. Oh, that’s the second one [laughs even harder].”

2) Now that sparkly vampires are almost behind us, it’s time to move on to a teen heroine who is truly kick-ass. This week, we got a good look at Katniss Everdeen and the tributes competing in “The Hunger Games,” the first film adaptation of the best-selling young adult trilogy. Check out the awesome trailer below, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

3) If you’re tired of all this teen-centric fare at the cineplex, catch up on the Hollywood of yore through The Hairpin‘s fantastic Scandals of Classic Hollywood series. This week’s column broke from its scandalous traditions to lovingly profile the late Paul Newman. It’s a great read devoted to a great humanitarian and actor, and well, the photos definitely don’t hurt.

4) Speaking of scandals of years past, a new theory that alleges Jane Austen was actually the victim of (possibly intentional) arsenic poisoning was featured on Yahoo this week. We’re not sure what to make of it, but we are sure we need to watch “Pride and Prejudice” again while we think about it.

5) The weather today makes for perfect scarf-weather. Thanks to this clever tutorial, we now know 23 more ways to work a scarf:

While the idea of a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost living together may sound like the setup for a joke, this show (and I’m patently ignoring the existence of the American SyFy Channel remake) is smarter, funnier, sexier and scarier than “Twilight” or “True Blood” could ever even dream of being. With a distinctly British sensibility, “Being Human”‘s title tackles exactly what the characters’ main dilemma is – how supernatural beings work to unearth, and stay connected to, the humanity buried within them. The main key to these characters’ humanity lies in their friendship with each other, through which George the werewolf (Russell Tovey), Annie the ghost (Lenora Crichlow) and Mitchell the vampire (Aidan Turner) have forged their own family, one that supports them and constantly encourages them to live on the right side of morality. The trio ends up fighting all manner of creatures and evils over the three seasons, but no evil is ever as great as their own interior demons, which results in much more affecting and compelling drama than manufactured love triangles and straw-man villains. And if you require your vampire addictions to have eye candy and romance, “Being Human” has both those too (especially in the Irish-accented, tormented and lethal Mitchell). Although in this show, the romance always feels earned.

The BBC commissioned a fourth season that should be airing next spring and hopefully added to Netflix Instant soon after. In the meantime, catch up on all 24 episodes, so you’ll be ready.

2) Check out the latest and greatest in Austin’s craft scene at the annual Austin Craft Riot Holiday Show, which is FREE and held this Saturday and Sunday at the Marchesa Hall.

3) Diablo Cody’s Red Band Trailer series resurfaced recently to feature an interview with the delightfully smarmy Joel McHale. Our favorite basic-cable television host/”Community” star delivers all the sarcastic charm you’d expect, but fair warning — when he starts holding that baby toward the end, your ovaries may just kick into overdrive.

4) If you’re feeling old, read up on this comforting advice Cracked offers about leaving your 20s behind.

5) Who knew Batman was actually an idiot? These College Humor sketches present a new, but not necessarily improved take on Batman interrogating the Joker, battling wits with the Riddler, trying out new voices and, as you’ll see below, unsuccessfully vanishing from a rooftop:

Centered on the Braverman clan in Berkeley, California, the show stars TV favorites Lauren Graham (“Gilmore Girls”) and Peter Krause (“Sports Night,” “Six Feet Under”) as adult siblings Sarah and Adam Braverman, respectively, alongside their younger siblings Crosby (Dax Shepard) and Julia (Erika Christensen). Each of the four Braverman kids has their own kids now, but even if you don’t have kids yourself (and I don’t), you will recognize yourself in at least one of the relationships on this show, whether it is in Sarah’s rebellious daughter Amber (poignantly played by Mae Whitman, she of Ann “Her?” Veal fame from “Arrested Development”) struggling to connect with her mom or having a creatively eccentric grandmother like Braverman matriarch Camille (Bonnie Bedelia). From the inane strife that always accompanies family holidays to asking yourself how you could be related to so many crazy people, “Parenthood” effectively touches on truths universal to all families.

There isn’t a single main character on “Parenthood” I don’t adore, and the show is just unceasingly warm and touching. I’m sure a lot of that is due to showrunner Jason Katims, who previously served as the showrunner of the amazing “Friday Night Lights” and also wrote for the emotionally resonant “My So-Called Life.” From the pitch-perfect choice of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” as the theme song to the rich production design of every character’s home, “Parenthood” does exactly what good TV should do — create a space where you want to be for however long you’re watching, whether it’s one 40-minute episode or a day-long marathon.

The first two seasons of “Parenthood” were added to Netflix Instant last month, and the third season is currently airing on NBC and available on Hulu.

(photo courtesy Austin Film Festival/Jack Plunkett)

2) In other movie news, let’s all toast some firewhiskey to the news that the Harry Potter cinematic journey isn’t quite over yet thanks to a new documentary that will be a special feature on the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ blu-ray:

3) We’ve always secretly dreamed of dressing up as our beloved WALL-E for Halloween, and with this lovely new volume on “The Art of Pixar,” may give us some ideas on how to make that happen. Check out the cover:

4) If you still haven’t figured out your Halloween costume, check out this awesome guide to dressing like your favorite ’90s girl. We call dibs on Carmen Sandiego next year! (And now her theme song will be in your head FOREVER.)

5) We will try to lay off the Daleks for a week after this, but we couldn’t resist sharing this genius robotic Dalek pumpkin, created by the fittingly named Evil Mad Scientist. It has an oven thermometer and an egg beater as its arms! And it moves!!!

Happy Halloween, dear readers!

Youth Lagoon – Montana from Tyler T Williams on Vimeo.

2) Another singer/songwriter we love, Ryan Adams, released his latest album Ashes and Fire this month, and it’s been in heavy rotation for us ever since. In his best album since 2005′s doubleheader of Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights, Ashes and Fire is intimate and poignant and lovely. KGSR has been playing the first single, “Lucky Now,” and you can catch acoustic in-studio renditions of a few new tracks and old favorites on Adams’ YouTube channel. Here’s our new favorite, “Dirty Rain”:

3) On Monday, we got a chance to see The Swell Season documentary as part of the Alamo Drafthouse‘s Music Monday programming. In case you missed it, this beautiful and heartbreaking documentary will be screening at the Alamo South Lamar for just four days next week. The film follows Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the stars, songwriters and gifted musicians behind 2007′s sweet love story “Once,” who embarked on a real-life relationship of their own in the process of filming that movie. Shot in moody black and white, the new documentary chronicles life on the road and the tolls touring and life itself took on their romance. You can read a Q&A with Glen here, and check out the film trailer further below. But first, watch this adorable video of Glen and Marketa from 2007, covering Bob Dylan:

4) In “Donnie Darko,” Drew Barrymore’s characters says that the two most beautiful words to hear in the English language are “cellar door.” And while we admit they’re pleasing to the ear, we also have a soft spot for the surprising aural beauty of the word “Dalek.” Sure, Daleks may be an evil alien race from “Doctor Who,” but we can still appreciate their name. We can also appreciate the clever artist who has created new Dalek dust jackets for some beloved classic novels. We’re a little partial to the idea of Daleks wandering the Moors and crying out for Cathy:

5) Fittingly enough, today marks the National Day on Writing (as established by the National Counsel of Teachers of English) so that’s the perfect way to gear up for the Texas Book Festival this weekend. Don’t forget you can also while away the hours before Monday morning dawns at the Austin Film Festival or at the Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival. It’s a good weekend to be an Austinite. (But then again, now that the summer heat has gone away, we feel that way every weekend.)

2) As fans of both YA literature and director Jason Reitman, we can’t wait to see “Young Adult” when it hits theaters this winter. Check out the promising trailer:

3) One of our favorite writers right now writes for the small screen. Read all about “Community” showrunner Dan Harmon’s storytelling process in this feature from Wired.

4) Florence + the Machine’s newest single “Shake it Out” gets a video that is one part creepy, two parts awesome and a splash of “Eyes Wide Shut”:

5) Say what you will about Kristen Stewart, but girlfriend looks drop-dead gorgeous on the cover of this month’s British GQ:

Though I am impressed with the selection of newly aired shows (something Netflix could use), it certainly doesn’t have everything. For instance, if I want to watch “Vampire Diaries” or the new Sarah Michelle Gellar show, “The Ringer” (soapy but entertaining), I’ll probably have to spring for a DVR, watch them on my computer from the discomfort of my computer chair or actually pay attention to when things air, the last option being the least likely.  You also have to sit through commercials to watch things on Hulu Plus, something Netflix doesn’t require. I was, however, impressed that all of “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” was available on Hulu, something I had to wait for Netflix to send me the last two DVDs of all summer, since they’re not available on Netflix streaming yet and it’s new and popular and Netflix doesn’t order enough anime DVDs, apparently. However, once you select that show through Hulu Plus, most of the episodes have a little “web only” tag on them, which is lame.

Also—and this might have been an isolated incident—I was not impressed that “The Office” episode I tried to watch this evening buffered for eternity, and actually disconnected me from Xbox Live a number of times before I gave up and watched the episode from the discomfort of my computer chair on NBC.com, which defeats the whole purpose of streaming directly to your TV through your Xbox. So hopefully it was a fluke, but if not, Hulu is going to have to decrease their buffering interruptions if they ever want to compete with Netflix. (Netflix has buffering interruptions too, but I’ve never experienced one so long that I gave up on something I was watching.)

So bring it, Hulu. You haven’t hiked prices recently (and then apologized and reverted them) and I’d like to finally catch-up on all the current shows I’m missing without having to invest in a DVR.