(S04E07) Wow. And wow again. Not only did we actually get closure on a few issues that had the potential to drag on forever (Archie and Betty/Veronica style), but we got one the best episodes of the season. I carefully considered whether my love for the Order of the Triad was making me a bit biased, but I honestly think this episode was a perfect example of advancing characters without sacrificing the comedy that made us fall in love with The Venture Bros. in the first place.

Also, they introduced the hottest VB lady yet, and I dare anyone to try and convince me otherwise.

(S03E03) The Venture Bros. has some of the most incredibly strong secondary characters in the entire cartoon universe. I love their intricate back stories and the delicate explanations of their tendencies and motivations. It's like Lost, but with more robot hands and bad break-ups. That said, is Season Three going to be the season of back stories? I mean, seriously. The first episode was all about the origin of The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend, the second was an in-depth exploration of Rusty's past affecting his future, and "The Invisible Hand of Fate" taught us more than we ever wanted to know about the early days of Billy Quizboy and Pete White.

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(S03E02) After the season premiere left us with a depressing lack of Venture, this episode more than made up for it, taking place entirely on the family's compound. Plus, bonus Henry Killinger (and his magic murder bag)! "The Doctor Is Sin" marked a turning point in Dr. Venture's character and vulnerabilities. I don't really mind when an entire episode sacrifices fast-moving plot and crazy ninja fights to allow a character to come to critical realizations about himself/herself, as long as said realizations affect his/her future actions. I cannot begin to explain the frustration I feel when seasons carry on as if these moments never happened. Here's to hoping that Dr. Venture's new awareness of his occasional villainous tendencies provide some interesting changes in upcoming episodes.

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Warner Bros. just released the cover art for the upcoming Venture Bros. Season Two DVDs, and, I must say, it is absolutely amazing. I love the shadowy Hank and Dean being chased by the butterflies. I also like the vintage poster look and how the image is not joke-y at all, but actually really cool.

Although the First Season DVDs' simple skull design (and inside art by Bill Sienkiewicz) was nice, I think the new one will make my DVD collection even prettier. And I like pretty things.

Lisa Hammer, voice of Triana Orpheus on The Venture Bros., heads a filmmaking company called Blessed Elysium, which usually makes a lot of wacky, surrealist short films of the German Expressionist persuasion. Her latest project is a feature film called POX, currently in post-production. The Blessed Elysium team is looking for a bit of help in funds for POX, so some excellent Ebay auctions have been set up. The TV-related items include this fantastic Venture Bros. lot, which contains a DVD, picture of Triana, and a few script pages with some Jackson Publick sketches (all items are signed). Hey hey! Perfect holiday gift for your favorite Venture Bros.-loving blogger friend whose name begins with an "A" and ends with "Nnie".

There are also some super-special panels from The Tick comic and a script from Angel, both signed by Ben Edlund. Oh, and here's a Vanna White doll. I'm not quite sure what's going on with that.

[via the Venture Bros. LJ community]

(S02E13) What a beautiful way to wrap up a season. Even the weakest parts of the episode were tremendously enjoyable.

There's a whole new order set up for the third season (which Adult Swim should greenlight, if they know what's good for 'em)... The Ventures and The Monarch have become friends (and if not "friends", then "non-enemies") and Phantom Limb is now a completely rogue villain (he has strayed from the Guild). Maybe P. Limb will recruit Triana's friend, Kim, to do his bidding. Maybe Brock will continue to train/work with the henchmen. Maybe, now that the Cocoon has been destroyed, The Monarch will start renting space in the Venture compound, like Doctor Orpheus (hilarity would surely ensue). There's a whole world of possibilities and I couldn't be more excited.

(S02E07) Every once in a while, I'll watch a show that makes me feel guilty about not liking Star Wars. Yeah. I don't like Star Wars. I've tried getting through all the films, but I just can't take it (the Lucas-style dialogue and PowerPoint screenwipes aren't for me). Although I've seen enough to get the occasional reference (like, I know what it means to call someone a Lando and I caught the tauntaun thing after the "Escape to the House of Mummies Part II" credits), this episode made me feel like crap. I'm sure it was riddled with great Star Wars bits that went right over my head because I'm such a terrible geek. I probably would have enjoyed the ride a lot more if I caught all the jokes.

Oh well. Maybe once Doc and Jackson do an episode of only zombie film homages, I'll feel a little better.

(S02E06) I am seriously amazed. Somehow, every episode manages to one-up the episode preceding it (or come close to doing so). I mean, the "House of Mummies" and "Twenty Years" are still my all-time favorites, but this episode was wickedly strong. Not as much action as "Twenty Years", but quite a bit of melodrama and loads of funny moments. I kind of feel like if a bad or barely decent episode comes up soon, it's just going to hit even worse because these past few episode have been so great. I really hope this trend of awesomeness (for lack of a better word) continues. No pressure, Doc and Jackson.

(S02E04) Reason #528 to love Doc Hammer: He wrote the most bizarre Venture Bros. episode ever. Oh, man. I think I have a new favorite episode. The weirdness of the priorities in storyline and all the adventure show clichés were totally hysterical. Plus, what other television show can beautifully weave in appearances by Edgar Allan Poe, Sigmund Freud, and Caligula in the same episode? None. None, I say!

There were a hell of a lot of memorable moments in this particular episode, so my review is pretty much stuffed to the rafters. Just a warning. We also have to wait a few weeks for a new episode, so maybe reading this review very, very slowly can help fill the void.