(S03E12) Firstly, a bit of news. Both Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick, as opposed to a solo Doc, will be attending this year's Dragon*Con in Georgia, so go see them if you can. Secondly, the guys have done a video commentary for "ORB" and you can watch it on Adult Swim's website. Not as many off-topic ramblings that we know and love in this one, so if you miss irrelevance and mimed nunchuck skills, revisit the old "The Buddy System" commentary. And last but not least... This week's episode premiered on the Adult Swim Fix as usual, but this time there's actually bonus footage that was not included in the televised version. It's pretty self-contained, but definitely worth a watch. I've embedded it here, to save you that exhausting trip across teh internetz.

(S03E11) We haven't seen the entire Venture family really buckle down and do some hardcore adventuring since last season's "Twenty Years to Midnight". This was more of a Da Vinci Code-esque adventure though, in the sense that it also involved mysterious paintings, secret codes, and weird albinos. This was one of the best episodes of the season, finally setting us on the right path to understanding many of the strange revelations from the flashbacks. Plus, it has set the perfect tone for our inevitably epic two-part season finale, starting next week.

I was a sad little Venture Bros. fan at the peak of convention season this year, as I was unable to attend last month's Comic-Con. My pain was somewhat soothed by the presence of the Internet though, for I knew Flickr and YouTube would surely erupt with fan-documented material, with which I could experience the con vicariously.

As it turned out... not so much. Despite scouring the blogosphere, I didn't find much in the following days, apart from a few photos of my friends in Dr. Girlfriend get-ups posing with Jackson Publick and a brief report of one dirty joke from the panel. Well, probably because they could sense my silent fan-sobbing from across the country, the lovely folks from Adult Swim online have directed us to this video from the panel with Jackson Publick and Mike Sinterniklaas. It's edited down from a longer event, but there are still plenty of good moments.

(S03E10) The world of heroes and villains has a long, intricate history and with that comes lots and lots of cliches. Like, I mean, a lot of cliches. It was cool to see the show take on itself, making fun of things from invulnerable redshirts to protagonist/antagonist banter. Plus, we got to see giant robots and death rays, so all in all, it was a good day had by all. Also, "The Lepidopterists" pulled us back to the post-credits clip from "Tears of a Sea Cow". So, in case you're confused, all this took place after the Museum party and that's why there was no mention of the Monarch in the last episode. Got it? Good.

(S03E09) This was a real treat for all of those that love some old-school Team Venture action ("Action, action, action!"). In this episode, we found past and present protagonists and antagonists meeting for the first time in decades. The action-packed cold open featured Jonas Venture, Sr. as a terribly unconvincing Asian stereotype sporting a nipple on his face. You know, that same old story. Of course, this far-fetched disguise was just another part of the Team's plan to bring down Scaramantula and his Fraternity of Torment, a sort of a not quite as impressive Guild of Calamitous Intent boasting the powers of Brainulo and a young Manotaur.

(S03E07) Now, that was a Venture Bros. episode. In fact, throw the cake and eat some confetti, because I think I may have a new addition to my top five favorite episodes. After my less-than-confident review of last week's episode, "Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman", this was a very pleasant surprise. The episode didn't have any real ties to previous ones, but we got the chance to explore yet another part of the compound and some dark secrets of the original Team Venture.

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