Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone
Ruling the world requires an iPhone
I'm pretty sure that the SDK license agreement explicitly forbids super-villainous activities, but no silly piece of paper (or PDF) is going to stop Dr. Horrible. The would-be world ruler who can't catch a break (either from his laundromat crush or from arch-nemesis Captain Hammer) is seen using his iPhone to remote-control a van in the debut episode of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the three-part Internet mini musical from Buffy & Firefly creator Joss Whedon. Clearly, the grand cinematic iPhone tradition of Journeyman lives on.Close examination of Doc H's UI indicates that he's actually using Mobile Safari to steer his van, so perhaps that's how he's remaining on the right side of the EULA -- although that radioactive icon on the left is quite ominous. If you want to see it in action for yourself, check the gallery below, watch Act I for free on drhorrible.com (which is getting Captain Hammered itself right now, so you may have to wait a while) or pick up the episode on iTunes.
Thanks Eric
Gallery: Doctor Horrible's iPhone


![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)


Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
xenolon said 9:24AM on 7-16-2008
I know this interface wasn't designed by Apple. The "Gas" button is red, and the "Brake" button is green. That's not intuitive UX!
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nano said 10:53AM on 7-16-2008
simply put there to get us nerds to talk about it
Ryan M said 9:40AM on 7-16-2008
I am disturbed about several elements of that UI. I was going to let it go, but....green for brake and red for gas?
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Thataboy said 9:53AM on 7-16-2008
Well he is sort of a bumbling villain wannabe -- he isn't even a member of the Evil League of Evil yet. So of course he is going to get little details wrong. :)
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Trotsky said 10:21AM on 7-16-2008
The button is only Red when it's being pressed, same as the Brake button.
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Dorv said 10:17AM on 7-16-2008
Barney, NPH's character on How I Met Your Mother, has an iPhone as well, so maybe NPH uses his own phone...
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Jonathan Grynspan said 10:27AM on 7-16-2008
If you watch closely, the time at the top of the iPhone's screen drifts backward by several minutes over the course of Act I. Apparently it has a built-in Time Capsule as well!
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Tulse said 10:30AM on 7-16-2008
Is the phone in a case? The back is all black, but Joss couldn't have grabbed a 3G, could he?
And I really like how, among other elements in the UI, there is a button for remotely controlling the car radio.
And what is that radiation icon, anyway?
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cschug said 11:18AM on 7-16-2008
I believe the radiation icon is that of Burn. Y'know...for burning stuff.
Dee said 3:24PM on 7-16-2008
Joss Whedon is a genius! I would watch a show about grocery shopping and paint drying if he created it. . .Because it would be the most amazing grocery shopping/paint drying show ever! :-) Do check out Dr. Horrible. It's worth it $4.99 for a season pass. (includes all three acts)
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Martin Moeller said 5:18AM on 7-17-2008
I probably would if I could, but as usual iTunes restricts this sort of thing to America and possibly a few other locations besides... No dice in Denmark....
Well, at least I can see the streams. I was worried there for a moment when Hulu showed up but this was not region-locked! Phew! Thems Whedon boys should make an album!
Macroy said 2:13PM on 7-16-2008
He clearly wasn't accepted for the iPhone Developer Program, so he had to develop a web app instead.
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greg said 6:29PM on 7-16-2008
I'm surprised no one has commented on his evil ability to use the iPhone with gloves on. I think that gives him credentials to join the Evil League of Evil alone.
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Saxon said 11:15AM on 7-17-2008
I know this is a day late so nobody will read it, but the gas button only turns red after he touches it. They're both green to begin with.
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InfoMofo said 6:01PM on 7-17-2008
I'm pretty sure that the exterior is actually a blackberry.
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