Good news is that with nearly twenty years of episodes, that won’t take more than an afternoon
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The Venture Bros. has been fucking cancelled
I have never really understood the hows and whys Adult Swim shows are made. As sporadic as Venture Brothers has been, I just assumed it was no one's full time job and they did it when they felt like it.
Great show, cool folks. Doc Hammer used to just hang out at Dragon Con back in the day (well, night), and not in the "I'll sign some stuff after my panel" sort of way, more like drinking on the back steps of the hotel and talking with fans all night. Class act.
I expect someone to come in and say something like it was closer to the end of Johnny Quest to the beginning of Venture Brothers than from beginning of Venture Brothers til now though.
Great show, cool folks. Doc Hammer used to just hang out at Dragon Con back in the day (well, night), and not in the "I'll sign some stuff after my panel" sort of way, more like drinking on the back steps of the hotel and talking with fans all night. Class act.
I expect someone to come in and say something like it was closer to the end of Johnny Quest to the beginning of Venture Brothers than from beginning of Venture Brothers til now though.
Becksworth
Aging Hipster Dragon Dad
Well, that’s true of the 90s reboot, but it has been true of the 90s reboot for a while now.
Still cancelled but at least we get this:
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I can accept a capstone in lieu of another season. Especially with so much stuff getting axed by WBHBODiscovermax I was worried we never would.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Apparently this is available today? EDIT: NOPE NEXT MONTH
The show is so myth dense, I decided to rewatch the series, and see how much I can get through before I watch this. Note it doesn't mean I'm binging, I just suspect it'll be a while before I watch the finale film.
The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay
This pilot, which might not be canonical, is interesting because not all the characters are locked in yet. Hank and Dean are mostly the same, though the old-timey "boys" take is pushed a bit harder, particularly Hank's slightly Leave It To Beaver-dialect. Brock has a lot of elements that are the same but not in the same... ratios. He's still kind of indifferent but also willing to kill for the boys. He doesn't seem to care about the other characters yet but that would track for the character evolution early on and for the fact that even when he does, he's a "heart close to his chest" guy on that front. He's also a little more unhinged at times. It reminds me of how a character like Homer can be so many different and seemingly contradictory things (a super lazy man who is also a go-getter entrepreneur) without seeming a betrayal of the character but trying so many things with Brock early on... it's both true to the character but off the bat there's a bit of whiplash and it's clear the writers are more about what's cool and funny. Dr. Venture is more of a petulant Dr. Quest and in some ways a little more like his dad than the bitter crank he becomes.
As for the episode itself, its... better than I remember. It still has a lot of problems; the animation is really rough (though keeping in an Adult Swim style of the time when they repurposed old cartoons), the Asian accents are YIKES and I think it quite settles on it's humour style yet (there's a pregnant pause joke as characters remember they don't have a mom that feels more Space Ghost than this series). But I do feel like the series knows what it wants to be to some extent and though a lot of the jokes don't land, I do feel like the actors are all killing it and compared to some rough pilots, I feel like Hammer and Publick realize it might not get picked up so try to leave it all on the field. I won't recommend it but I will say as a curiosity, a lot more holds up than I expected. And no unfortunate transphobia jokes yet.
EDIT:
The show is so myth dense, I decided to rewatch the series, and see how much I can get through before I watch this. Note it doesn't mean I'm binging, I just suspect it'll be a while before I watch the finale film.
The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay
This pilot, which might not be canonical, is interesting because not all the characters are locked in yet. Hank and Dean are mostly the same, though the old-timey "boys" take is pushed a bit harder, particularly Hank's slightly Leave It To Beaver-dialect. Brock has a lot of elements that are the same but not in the same... ratios. He's still kind of indifferent but also willing to kill for the boys. He doesn't seem to care about the other characters yet but that would track for the character evolution early on and for the fact that even when he does, he's a "heart close to his chest" guy on that front. He's also a little more unhinged at times. It reminds me of how a character like Homer can be so many different and seemingly contradictory things (a super lazy man who is also a go-getter entrepreneur) without seeming a betrayal of the character but trying so many things with Brock early on... it's both true to the character but off the bat there's a bit of whiplash and it's clear the writers are more about what's cool and funny. Dr. Venture is more of a petulant Dr. Quest and in some ways a little more like his dad than the bitter crank he becomes.
As for the episode itself, its... better than I remember. It still has a lot of problems; the animation is really rough (though keeping in an Adult Swim style of the time when they repurposed old cartoons), the Asian accents are YIKES and I think it quite settles on it's humour style yet (there's a pregnant pause joke as characters remember they don't have a mom that feels more Space Ghost than this series). But I do feel like the series knows what it wants to be to some extent and though a lot of the jokes don't land, I do feel like the actors are all killing it and compared to some rough pilots, I feel like Hammer and Publick realize it might not get picked up so try to leave it all on the field. I won't recommend it but I will say as a curiosity, a lot more holds up than I expected. And no unfortunate transphobia jokes yet.
EDIT:
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The movie comes out next month, July 21st, not today.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Thanks for the correction.
Happy vicinity-of-my-birthday VB release to me
I rewatched Seasons 6 and 7 recently in anticipation of the movie. Although these seasons aren't necessarily hitting the same highs as some of the earlier seasons, they're still so good (and they have the advantage of being less problematic than the earlier seasons) (and I should add that "All This and Gargantua 2" is maybe my favorite VB episode, to the extent it can be considered an episode). Anyway, this rewatch reminded me how good the writing in this show is. There's an economy of dialogue and scenes that keeps the pace moving along at a steady clip, and the exposition or lore scenes always end with a well-timed, self-referential joke. Every episode is a labor of love, which is probably why the show has never been as popular (because that much labor with a small staff takes years), but it also puts it head and shoulders above Archer or Rick and Morty, which I've always considered kind of tired VB knock-offs.
I would have put Rick and Morty on basically the same level as VB in the first few seasons, but they couldn't keep it up. Just an incredible sustained effort over years of good cartoon writing.
What was problematic about the earlier seasons? (I'm not saying that they aren't problematic but when I was younger-ish I was less aware of what is problematic and so probably didn't recognize it.)
Various -phobic jokes here and there, and the whole running gag of Hunter Gathers getting a sex change.
I might be wrong but I get the sense that the show is pretty well liked among various queer communities despite this?
I might be wrong but I get the sense that the show is pretty well liked among various queer communities despite this?
They drop an r-slur here and there in a bunch of early seasons. I wanna say season 4 is the last time they use that word?
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do not look directly into
THE NOZZLE
THE NOZZLE
R.R. Bigman
Coolest Guy
It genuinely shocked me how Blue Morpho and “Movie Night” all come from Bud Manstrong’s spooky Phantom Spaceman story way back in the second episode of the show.
Yeah, largely is right. He does have a few scattered moments here and there but he is so screwed up and broken that sex seems to be so far beyond his current focus on ego, wealth, science and fatherhood.
yeah there's definitely some episodes where he's bein' like that. his inner world reveals he has zero game.
I would not read him as asexual at all. There's a very clear subplot where he's trying to seduce Dr. Girlfriend and fails miserably, for example. He doesn't really have a lot of sex in the show but that doesn't mean he's asexual, it just means he's pathetically sexual and can't ever get any.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Yeah, Venture want sex but he's very very very bad at approaching it in every and any capacity (physically, emotionally, socially). He's a creep out of a Daniel Clowes comic (ie sweaty and awkward) and thinks he's got to put on a show and he just doesn't have it. I remember the commentary where Rusty tries to dress for a date, declaring "Rusty's back" and then being impressed for creating the most pathetic unself-aware moment for the character.
Rusty only didn't seal the deal because he was tired! That was the only reason!
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Dia de los Dangerous
There's a lot of shows I loved from a couple decades prior where I see the weaknesses in, especially early on. Understandable; comedy evolves so even a "good" show can have it's time pass it by (there's still a lot I love about Freakazoid but also stuff that doesn't land all that well as it does in my memory). But the first official ready-for-primetime Venture Bros is nearly perfect, to my surprise. Nearly every major character introduction is perfect and the shows tone across the board is set well. Not just the easy stuff like the fun of Brock being an impossible badass but also villains feeling sorry for the good guys and clearly obsessed with being seen, Dr. Venture being nearly the worst with *just* a dab of humanity (and James Urbaniak's performance) to make it work and being able to juggle a bunch of different stories. Even the pilot was almost there but I was surprised the show was so cocksure so early on. The Monarch realizing Venture sucks so much that maybe HE should be the new dad (he's not that far off), the reveal of Venture's crisis (when he says "NOT AGAIN" to waking up in a bathtub full of ice before the weight of what that means hits him is a funny and effective way to raise the stakes), the death of Speedy, the little henchman who wanted to make good. It's all good, culminating in a perfect Brock rampage montage.
My complaints are small. I was expecting for a story set in Mexico for more "ironic" racism, which was a big thing in the late 90s and early 2000s. I feel like people were seeing more transgressive comedies that acknowledged harmful stereotypes and POINTEDLY utilizing them. Basically like doing Long Duck Dong from Sixteen Candles and knowing it's shitty and doing while knowing that is the point. I think it thought it was putting itself in the same ballpark as Blazing Saddles or All in the Family when really it's just childish glee at being audacious and it tends to be a bad look. Mostly, thankfully, this episode is mostly taking the All in the Family approach where Venture clearly just sucks but it also, in the words of a Mexican Doctor, implies Mexican medicine in general is illicit, sketchy and grody. Thankfully, it's a brief part of the episode but I know that the series does toy with this a little more down the line (though the problem down the line is more an entire transphobic character arc).
But overall, I think this held up very well. I went into this partially because of the upcoming movie and partially because I have less on my "half hour watch something while I eat plate but while I knew I loved the Venture Bros, I wasn't super jazzed about revisiting it? Maybe it felt TOO familiar to me still. But watching it again, I'm delighted to see it firing on all cylinders this early on, even though it gets even BETTER when it starts digging into characters and getting more ambitious with its stories and emotions.
There's a lot of shows I loved from a couple decades prior where I see the weaknesses in, especially early on. Understandable; comedy evolves so even a "good" show can have it's time pass it by (there's still a lot I love about Freakazoid but also stuff that doesn't land all that well as it does in my memory). But the first official ready-for-primetime Venture Bros is nearly perfect, to my surprise. Nearly every major character introduction is perfect and the shows tone across the board is set well. Not just the easy stuff like the fun of Brock being an impossible badass but also villains feeling sorry for the good guys and clearly obsessed with being seen, Dr. Venture being nearly the worst with *just* a dab of humanity (and James Urbaniak's performance) to make it work and being able to juggle a bunch of different stories. Even the pilot was almost there but I was surprised the show was so cocksure so early on. The Monarch realizing Venture sucks so much that maybe HE should be the new dad (he's not that far off), the reveal of Venture's crisis (when he says "NOT AGAIN" to waking up in a bathtub full of ice before the weight of what that means hits him is a funny and effective way to raise the stakes), the death of Speedy, the little henchman who wanted to make good. It's all good, culminating in a perfect Brock rampage montage.
My complaints are small. I was expecting for a story set in Mexico for more "ironic" racism, which was a big thing in the late 90s and early 2000s. I feel like people were seeing more transgressive comedies that acknowledged harmful stereotypes and POINTEDLY utilizing them. Basically like doing Long Duck Dong from Sixteen Candles and knowing it's shitty and doing while knowing that is the point. I think it thought it was putting itself in the same ballpark as Blazing Saddles or All in the Family when really it's just childish glee at being audacious and it tends to be a bad look. Mostly, thankfully, this episode is mostly taking the All in the Family approach where Venture clearly just sucks but it also, in the words of a Mexican Doctor, implies Mexican medicine in general is illicit, sketchy and grody. Thankfully, it's a brief part of the episode but I know that the series does toy with this a little more down the line (though the problem down the line is more an entire transphobic character arc).
But overall, I think this held up very well. I went into this partially because of the upcoming movie and partially because I have less on my "half hour watch something while I eat plate but while I knew I loved the Venture Bros, I wasn't super jazzed about revisiting it? Maybe it felt TOO familiar to me still. But watching it again, I'm delighted to see it firing on all cylinders this early on, even though it gets even BETTER when it starts digging into characters and getting more ambitious with its stories and emotions.
It really is an excellent first episode of any TV show ever.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Careers in Science
Though briefly alluded to in other episodes, Careers in Science is the first to explore the fraught relationship between Rusty and the original Doc Venture, as the Ventures travel to Doc Venture's space station Gargantua One to fix an unknown problem. As Brock ends up getting involved in the already troubled romantic relationship between the only two crewmembers and the boys persue "Phantom Spaceman", Venture tries to figure out what's wrong, only to hallucinate his father's ghost. I think the episode really shows how early they get these characters and though a lot of the elements become key to the mythos down the line, the core of it is unchanged. Rusty rightfully blames his dad for a lot of stuff but it's also clear that's just his default any time he comes across the teeniest difficulty. Rusty finds out he's responsible in a way that's understandable ("Who let's a 10 year old build a space station") but in the end he's certainly never going to tell anyone the truth. Rusty has people in his life he can blame for stuff but he never is willing to take responsibility himself and that becomes a key part of the character down the line. He will eventually show some positive traits but overall, this is an episode about a man who both succeeded and failed in science. He's living off his father's legacy and while it is clear he can make amazing contraptions by the metric of the real world, he's a petulant forty-something brat.
Careers in Science's Hank and Dean adventure is fine but it's also a reminder that a lot of the time, especially early on, Hank and Dean's antics are mostly focused on comedy and while they deepen a LOT down the line, they are actually a bit shallower, using their naiveté as a gag. Often a good gag, and this one is them thinking an adventure went to far from fun to something darker. The inclusion of Doc Venture definite expands the mythos but Bud Manstrong and his story about "Movie Night" become very important later on (the show is good at taking through-out gags and plotlines and making them matter later). It's a shame that Anna Baldavitch is often played for a "you ugly" gag, especially when it's clear her deal and anger comes from an understandable place and is more interesting than "ugly character we can't even show you."
Though briefly alluded to in other episodes, Careers in Science is the first to explore the fraught relationship between Rusty and the original Doc Venture, as the Ventures travel to Doc Venture's space station Gargantua One to fix an unknown problem. As Brock ends up getting involved in the already troubled romantic relationship between the only two crewmembers and the boys persue "Phantom Spaceman", Venture tries to figure out what's wrong, only to hallucinate his father's ghost. I think the episode really shows how early they get these characters and though a lot of the elements become key to the mythos down the line, the core of it is unchanged. Rusty rightfully blames his dad for a lot of stuff but it's also clear that's just his default any time he comes across the teeniest difficulty. Rusty finds out he's responsible in a way that's understandable ("Who let's a 10 year old build a space station") but in the end he's certainly never going to tell anyone the truth. Rusty has people in his life he can blame for stuff but he never is willing to take responsibility himself and that becomes a key part of the character down the line. He will eventually show some positive traits but overall, this is an episode about a man who both succeeded and failed in science. He's living off his father's legacy and while it is clear he can make amazing contraptions by the metric of the real world, he's a petulant forty-something brat.
Careers in Science's Hank and Dean adventure is fine but it's also a reminder that a lot of the time, especially early on, Hank and Dean's antics are mostly focused on comedy and while they deepen a LOT down the line, they are actually a bit shallower, using their naiveté as a gag. Often a good gag, and this one is them thinking an adventure went to far from fun to something darker. The inclusion of Doc Venture definite expands the mythos but Bud Manstrong and his story about "Movie Night" become very important later on (the show is good at taking through-out gags and plotlines and making them matter later). It's a shame that Anna Baldavitch is often played for a "you ugly" gag, especially when it's clear her deal and anger comes from an understandable place and is more interesting than "ugly character we can't even show you."
This right here is another one of my favorite things about the show. So many (seemingly) throwaway gags and character names come back seasons later as major events and players.
R.R. Bigman
Coolest Guy
The movie is out today on digital, while I’m only a bit more than halfway through my re-watch of the series. Season 3 and the first half of Season 4 have some rough patches, but also contain some total classics. I’m excited to get to the prom finale of Season 4. Not only because it’s incredible, but also because Season 5 and beyond are almost perfect.
Hopefully I can avoid spoilers, including the ones Adult Swim themselves are putting out online to hype everybody up.
Hopefully I can avoid spoilers, including the ones Adult Swim themselves are putting out online to hype everybody up.