The Venture Bros. has been fucking cancelled

[Johnny Unusual]

That's a fair and interesting read. I will say, though, I maintain it would be more effective if we got to see the moment something clicks and she feels icky about it. We barely see the second date and I feel like we need that to make her betrayal work. The character certainly has issues and the show is very clear she doesn't really "like" Dr. Venture but as is it feels like the cliché "henchwoman can't pull the trigger" when the character is a lot more nuanced later on (even if certain weaknesses of the male writing staff come through from time to time. Certainly the fact that it's a white straight writing cast comes up a lot in ways that age poorly).

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Are You There God, It's Me, Dean
"I treat my captives as king. You will be given the grandest of accomodation. It will be a far cry from sleeping over Dr. Venture's garage like so much Fonzie."
This is the one where: The Monarch has the Venture Family dead-to-rights it would seem but suddenly Dean complains about sudden extreme pain. The Monarch doesn't care until Venture explains that as a member of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, The Monarch actually needs to let them go until the issue is resolved, at which point they can pick up where they left off. As insurance, Brock and Hank goes with the Monarch as hostages while Dean and Venture travel back to the compound and ask Conjectural Technologies (Pete White and Billy Quizboy) for help. The duo learn that Dean has testicular torsion, a rare condition where one of Dean's testicles starts twisting and Dean needs immediate surgery. Meanwhile, the Monarch returns to his birthday party but find himself having a hard time impressing his guests with no master plan outside harassing Venture. Brock decides to give his own gift to the Monarch; assaulting his base, giving both a sense of fun, though once Dean is better, they need to hide the evidence of their battle, as it breaks Guild code. As they are about to restart, Hank complains about sudden pain

Character Introductions and Notable Events:
Henchman 21
The Guild of Calamitous Intent (as a concept)
More hints about the truth of Hank and Dean

The Venture Bros isn't just an adventure comedy, it is also a case of reverse escapism; when the mundanities of reality creep into an escapist fiction. Often it is used for comedy but not only that. Steven Universe often uses it for drama, where a kid who loves both escapism and the mundanities sometimes finds them overlapping in ways that, yes, do lead to humour, but also to growth and sometimes the realization of the limits of escapism in teaching him how the world works. This episode, though, is a bit different; it subverts escapism specifically by derailing it. We are presented with the middle of a weird, over the top adventure involving "Grover Cleveland's Presidential Time Machine" but then the "game" needs to stop because someone is hurt.

I didn't dislike this episode the first time but it wasn't one of my favourites. I like it a lot more this time. The testicular torsion element isn't bad but it's the Monarch's side where the episode really cooks. It's a reminder that the world of Venture Bros is basically a fun, high stakes game for everyone. It means that the supervillainy is even more ludicrous and childish but at the same time... this really does mean a lot to the Monarch. Brock is a "suffer no fools" type but despite that, he loves the game, too. He clearly has no patience for the weird theming but he loves the action. As a guy who dutifully protects the Ventures as a bodyguard, life is a little less fun for him; he still sees action but it's less back-to-back intensity and more little blips of fun for him. I think he sees despite the fact that he doesn't really respect the Monarch, he feels a bit sorry for him and decides to give him the full hero vs. villain experience. Both are clearly having the time of their lives until the situation becomes "oh, no mom and dad are back in the middle of the party we weren't supposed to hold at our house". The series recognizes the ridiculous of playing by rules in terms of storytelling tropes and "hero/villain" rules but it's also about how this means a lot to people and can still be really really fun. Yes, it would be more effective if someone walked in a room and blew everyone away... but it wouldn't be fun or satisfying. It's not about effectiveness, it's about the fun.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Tag Sale -- You're It!

This is the one where: The Venture Family has a yard sale attended by numerous supervillains and super scientists. The Monarch arrives with his Dr. Girlfriend and Henchman 21 and 24. Dr. Girlfriend meets supervillain The Phantom Limb who implies she can do a lot better than being the Monarch's sidekick and when The Monarch sneaks into Venture's lab by starting a riot, he feels only a sense of ennui that Venture is kind of pathetic and he feels nothing. However, when the Monarch is attacked by secret agents, he interrupts Dr. Girlfriend, about to address issues in their relationship, and gives a rousing supervillain speech.

Character Introductions and Notable Events:
Phantom Limb
Augustus St Cloud
Many background villains
Reference to Dr. Girlfriend's former relationship with Phantom Limb
Seeds of doubt in Dr. Girlfriend's feelings toward the Monarch
Orpheus REALLY wants an arch-nemesis

Tag Sale -- You're It! is very much the kind of Venture Bros episode I like. Sure, when there's genuine adventure with Brock kicking ass it's fun but the series is very strong as a hang out show. And though there's little action, things are moving forward as cracks in the Monarch/Girlfriend relationship begin to show. It also shows why Girlfriend likes the Monarch. He's clearly passionate and she's into that but even before that when they are just hanging out, they really get along, gossiping about villains and the guy from Depeche Mode. Even though lots of time is given to the cast, this is the episode at it's strongest for sure.

As is often the case this early in the show, the titular Bros are actually the least interesting part and their subplot is probably the least funny. There are also some small unfortunate choices that haven't aged well, like gossiping about Dr. Girlfriend's "manishness" or using the R word and such. But overall, it works by giving most of the characters great stuff to do. Venture and Orpheus have some good repartee as it is clear Venture is not invested a scintilla in the hero/villain game while Dr. Orpheus REALLY wants a cool enemy (a fact that will be key in "The Trial of the Monarch", probably the best episode of season 1 to my memory). And appropriately, this episode about a yard sale does have characters asking themselves "what do you want". Hank and Rusty want some money, Dean wants to get with Trianna, and Billy, Pete and Orpheus want villains. But the Monarch and Girlfriend are interesting; Girlfriend is forced to ask what she wants when she's in de-glamour mode with the Monarch searching for a place to poop and the Monarch thinks he gets what he wants but he doesn't know what to do with it. Clearly, the Monarch is more about the chase than the end goal and Girlfriend loves the passion and when that's re-ignited, she swoons. But we'll see for her, that's not enough... but that's a story for the end of the season.

 

[Büge]

That episode also introduces the shrink ray, which will play a part in some episodes down the line.

 

[jpfriction]

And Hank’s entrepreneur side.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Past Tense

This is the one where: The Ventures attend the funeral for Doc Venture's old college buddy Mike Sorayama, as does Pete White and Baron Ünderbheit. It turns out they all were friends in college, where Brock was Venture's roommate (though they barely met). As Brock, Venture, the Baron and Pete act as pallbearers, they are kidnapped by the coffin itself, a rocket powered machine. The four wake up to discover Mike Sorayama threatening to kill them for their crimes. It turns out Mike is still obsessed with his college crush, Leslie Cohen, and has made an army of robots who look like her and is convinced his victims are to blame that he isn't with her. It turns out he also wants revenge on Brock for beating them all up in a drunken frenzy on the night he was kicked off the football team for accidentally killing the quarterback. Meanwhile, Hank and Dean decide to assemble the original Team Venture: the globetrotting Col. Gentleman, the martial artist Kano, the gun toting Action Man (as scene in Ghosts of the Sargasso) and Otto Aquarius, lost king of Atlantis and Christian evangelist. They eventually track down Venture just as Brock is escaping and unfortunately Brock beats up Team Venture, thinking them the enemy. In the end, it turns out Mike Sorayama really did die and the threat was a mere robot duplicate.

Character Introductions and Notable Events:
Revealing Pete, Brock, Underbheit and Venture went to university together (the latter two having been implied in Tag Sale-- You're It!)
More substantial introduction to Col. Gentleman and Kano
Otto Aquarius
State University

Past Tense on rewatch got off the wrong foot for me with some "ironic racism" humour that was very much in vogue in the era. You know, the kind where it's "this is funny because we know it's wrong and transgressive" and in hindsight looks more like, intended or not, dog-whistling. There are jokes that can deal with racist tropes and such but even in the mouths of our protagonists, who the show often tries to show as shitty in their ethnocentrism, still feels like they are falling into the same trap. Still, Steve Park reprises his Mike Yanagita role from Fargo, reimagined from a deceitful sad sack creeper to a petty robotics expert creeper.

Overall, though, despite my misgivings, it's a good episode. I think I liked it more on my initial watch as it was both world building in a sitcom way (unfortunately, I really don't think the intentionally cheesy laughtrack gag works and am glad they drop it pretty quick). Obviously it's a parody of the Doom-Grimm-Richards relationship in Marvel Comics as well as the idea that everybody new everybody in comics. The introduction of the original Team Venture is fun, though the tracking device in the tooth further hints at just how amoral Doc Venture was, even though for his many horrible crimes, I do think he loved genuinely Rusty in his own, terrible domineering way. Awkward as he is at that age (and forever) getting out of the compound was probably the best thing that ever happened to him). In retrospect, I really did love the Brock goes berserk thing and how it revealed where an early clue got to pretty casually but at the same time, the show has been more graceful about such things since. I like it but I remember liking it better when it first came out.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Trial of the Monarch
"Jeez, Hank, where do you get this stuff? I never see you read?"
"It's weird, right?"
"It's like he channels crazy dead people."
This is the episode where: The Monarch is on trial for killing a police officer, breaking one of the cardinal rules of the Guild of Calamitous Intent. With no one backing him up, The Monarch defends himself in court against the prosecution of conjoined twin and former villain Tiny Attorney. Putting himself on the witness stand, the Monarch reveals that a tell all book about the Monarch was published (secretly written by Henchman 21) that embarrassed him and also revealed scandalous pictures (to the Monarch anyway) of Dr. Girlfriend early in her career. Girlfriend refused to have to defend herself and the two have a fight where she leaves the Monarch's cocoon. Dr. Girlfriend appears in court to give her testimony: she sought comfort in the home of her ex, Phantom Limb. The Monarch tried to win her back but it's just another fight where he says all the wrong things. Afterward, she claims the Monarch was stomping around outside getting drunk and rambling. As the trial continues, Dr. Orpheus is brought in as an expert witness, with his magic capable to seeing what happened. Orpheus learns the Monarch was set up; the cop accepted a ridiculously large bribe to leave town never to be seen again, all set up by the Guild. Before he can reveal the truth, the Guild appears to freeze everyone, as it was actually a sting operation to capture Tiny Attorney, who was on the Guild's wanted list. To maintain the illusion, Phantom Limb uses the suggestive mind to those frozen to convince Orpheus that what he saw was evidence of the Monarch's guilt, promising him a supervillain and the safety of the Venture family if he succeeds in revealing the truth. Girlfriend, who was in on it, is horrified that the Monarch is the fall guy, as it wasn't part of the plan and feeling guilty uses the Monarch's own susceptibility to suggestion to convince him she didn't betray him, it was all the fault of the Ventures. The Monarch ends up in jail for a lengthy stint.

Character Introductions and Notable Events:
The Guild Strangers
Ward and Watch (the Guild eyes in the sky)
The Sovereign (obscured via TV)
The Monarch goes to jail and is convinced the Ventures are at fault
Dr. Girlfriend leaves The Monarch for Phantom Limb
Phantom Limb throws the Monarch under the bus

I liked Venture Bros since the beginning but this is the one where I wasn't just having a great time, I was emotionally invested. Most of the others were (mis)adventure or wacky dilemma of the week stories but this one paid off some character stuff. Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend weren't just a bickering couple, there was tragedy there. Oh, the Monarch sewed the seeds of it, acting like a complete dick to Girlfriend but at the same time I always felt bad about his betrayal, with him being a patsy and the victim of the machinations of the slicker but sleazy Phantom Limb, who becomes a big part of the series from here on in. I wanted to know what happens next and realized far more than the title characters, these this couple were the ones I was most interested in.

The whole episode is strong and also mythology heavy. I remember the writers saying that by the end of the season they often felt they've gone up their own asses a bit in mythos and need to both reset and undercut themselves a bit and I think that's often why it works in the long term but it's all stuff that works on me and I feel like it really pays off. Tag Sale is a wacky misadventure that plants a lot of seeds in non-obvious ways. I don't think the writers were necessarily planning to use Orpheus' own mental weakness and wants against him but I also feel like they said "Oh, remember how he wants a villain? We can pay that off her."

But this is an episode that does a lot with the Guild but in the end, it's the tragedy of a supervillain couple's relationship coming to an ugly end and already Girlfriend is questioning her choices. She's not really wrong to leave Monarch considering how awful he was to her but that stab in the back hurts her more than anything. I love how little she thinks of fingering the Venture Bros. either. It's just because... they are there. It could have been anyone really but it ties in well to the finale. This is still a very strong episode and sets up much of the next season's trajectory (and the fact that a lot of it feels more focused on the villains than the heroes).

Also in the fantasy sequence, Brock looks sweet in his Michael Knight outfit.

 

[gogglebob]

Character Introductions and Notable Events:
Mecha-Shiva
Mecha-Shiva
Mecha-Shiva

 

[Johnny Unusual]

...How did they get on the stand? It must have been Tiny Attorney but he seems... to competent for that. My only guess is Orpheus was running late and he wanted to fill time.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Return to Spider Skull Island

This is the episode where: Brock takes Dr. Venture to the hospital for a mysterious bulge in his stomach. The boys spend the night with Dr. Orpheus, assuming, incorrectly, that Venture is pregnant and decide to run away from home in protest. Dr. Orpheus follows them covertly so as to not embarrass them and give them a sense of agency while protecting them. Meanwhile, it turns out Venture had a massive tumor and can return from the hospital only to find the X-1 mysteriously stolen. While Venture recuperates at home, Brock is knocked out by a mysterious assailant who turns out to be Ventures twin brother, whom he was swallowed in the womb and has been living as part of him until now. The brother wants to kill Venture for 43 years in a Hellish flesh cage and proves to be more competent at science than Venture, nearly defeating him with a mechanized makeshift suit. Brock and H.E.L.Pe.R. manage to take him down but Venture insists they let him live. Now calling himself Jonas Venture Jr, the two brother debate splitting up the family inheritance between them. Meanwhile, the boys end up in a scared straight program in prison where the Monarch, seeing their pathetic rebellion, no longer cares about the revenge Girlfriend implanted in his head and insists they just go home. However, on the way home, they are accidentally murdered by 21, who unknowingly completes the hit job the Monarch assigned him. As Venture and Brock looks on at their corpses, Venture tells Brock to get their clones.

Character Introductions and Notable Events:
Jonas Venture Jr.
King Gorilla
Spider Skull Island (mentioned)
The Venture Bros. die

I remember really liking this one and I still do but I see a lot of the weaknesses I see in the season as a whole. Obviously there's some ableist and otherwise poorly aged jokes but in terms of structure, it's very clear the Venture Bros are the least interesting characters in the series. To an extent, that's fine; despite the title, it is an ensemble, really, one that grows very large. And I know down the line both Hank and Dean get real, genuine growth. But the gag of a lot of this season is Hank and Dean misinterpret something and have their own "adventure" not related to the main plot and mentally divorced from what the real stakes are. This isn't every episode, but it is part of a general formula. And I get that these boys are sort of like boy adventurer versions of the Tick, which Hammer and Publick previously worked on; they are naive and optimistic and sort of detached from reality. But their story here is the weaker angle and things are a little less interesting with them. The final act of their story is better though, as the face to face with the Ventures and the Monarch is fun. The Monarch loves hating Dr. Venture but he kind of likes the boys, even if he's incredulous about their naivete and there's fun chemistry there.

The other half lets the series both be funny and actually have exciting drama, paying off those weird fetus dreams from throughout the season. If there's one problem, the dream in this episode is needlessly on the nose, with dream Jonas saying "there's another Venture", which actually does little since that's basically what Jonas Jr comes right out and says. But after that, it's a genuine adventure with stakes and a real actual threat rather than one that devolves into bickering. Oh, it becomes bickering but after everything is resolved. But beyond that, it's a rare time where we get to see Venture making a moral choice, and a good one. He has every right to let Jonas Jr. die since he tried to kill him and he chooses to let live someone who already represents everything he could have been but isn't. I always like having a character who kind of sucks but then every so often making a moral choice that you both don't expect but still makes sense for the character. We get an angstrom of worth and we won't get it again for a while but the series is starting to add to Venture's complexity in a way that layers him while still being, for better and worse, the same guy.

 

[jpfriction]

“Get their clothes” is the last line there, I believe. Don’t think they just up and spoiled the clone thing like that.

 

[lincolnic]

“Get their clothes” is the last line there, I believe. Don’t think they just up and spoiled the clone thing like that.

I've always heard it as "get the clones". Is anyone able to watch the scene with closed captions and confirm?

Also, this was the season finale -- I remember watching it with my friends in our college TV lounge and the combo of "get the clones" and then cutting directly into the credits was a really good "wait, what??" cliffhanger setup.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Yeah, the show already dropped a two hints so rather than it being a reveal, I'm pretty sure the gag is a brief, blunt reveal of what the audience has been assuming for a while.

 

[jpfriction]

Official Adult Swim youtube channel says clothes.

Lol, first comment on that video is “legend has it if you aren’t paying attention when you watch this scene you hear clones instead of clothes”

Not to skip ahead but the next episode is framed to be about Rusty dealing with his grief. It’s all bullshit but we aren’t supposed to know that just yet.

 

[lincolnic]

I'm not gonna lie, I still have a hard time hearing it as "clothes", but I guess I can't really argue with the title of the clip.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Powerless in the Face of Death

This is the episode where: After the deaths of Hank and Dean, Dr. Orpheus, feeling guilty, tries to find a way to resurrect them. He thinks he's brought them back as zombies but Brock and Venture let him in on a secret; the boys are clones and they've been cloned before due to the fact that they've died several times while adventuring. The "zombies" are just unfinished clones and they need more time to grow. Meanwhile, The Monarch escapes from prison despite attempts by the Phantom Limb to have the Monarch's allies turn on him.

Character Introductions and Notable Events:
Hector and Swifty
The Monarch escapes
The secret of the clones

Powerless is a good episode but it is also a reminder yet again that the show sometimes relies on eyerolling transgressive humour that doesn't age well, like prison rape jokes and the R word. It's a shame because it mars what is a really good start to the new season, both revealing the nature of the boys' and Venture's secret, which ends up becoming an important part of the series. Smartly, the show goes right back into nonsense mode before showing it's hand with Venture in another wacky science predicament while Venture also shoes away what appears to be the new status quo, with Jonas loudly proclaiming multiple times "we're the Venture Bros."

Meanwhile, The Monarch's arc continues and while a lot of the gags around King Gorilla are unfortunately, he is definitely the character with the most interesting story as he frees the Monarch, resisting the temptations of Phantom Limb. We also see Gary (21) and Henchman 24 out of costume for the first time as they become THE henchmen in the series. Their role was being expanded in season 1 but this feels like they are definitely mainstays now as they wait for their boss to be free.

I don't have a lot to say on this one except it makes for a good reveal and overall it's a funny episode. The next one is Hate Floats and in all honesty I don't remember a lot about it.

 

[gogglebob]

I think this is worth noting going forward with any season breaks.

Return to Spider Skull Island, the finale of Season 1, premiered on 10/30/2004.

Powerless in the Face of death, the start of Season 2, returned on 6/25/2006.

This would not be the longest break between seasons, but it was the break with the fewest episodes available for reruns. We had a meager 13 adventures to recycle for nearly two years.

If you ever wonder why a Venture Bros. fan may be able to recall some esoteric one-off line from the first season to justify random continuity nonsense, but cannot remember NYC hero Fallen Archer even exists, it is because those first thirteen were all we had for what felt like a lifetime...

 

[Büge]

Powerless in the Face of Death

It's also the episode where they blew their budget on the first two minutes because they wanted to license Everybody's Free (to Feel Good) and also made a bunch of one-off characters and backgrounds.

 

[madhair60]

it's such an incredible opening and totally worth it