venturebros

(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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(S03E01) It's tough to believe that it has been over a year and a half since we last saw The Venture Bros. Granted, last season's cliffhanger wasn't quite as intense as Hank and Dean's death in Season One, but that didn't stop fans from speculating about Dr. Girlfriend's confession all through those twenty months. "Monarch, I'm..." what? Pregnant? A man? Ready for round two?

Even though I was looking forward to a bit of closure on that, I was also excited about hearing from the Ventures. Strangely enough, there was a surprising lack of Ventures in this episode of The Venture Bros. Instead, we got a whole lot of backstory about the Monarch, Dr. Girlfriend and good ol' Phantom Limb. It didn't pack the punch that one would expect from a season premiere, but it certainly delivered all the amazing things that one would expect from the show. I mean, apart from the actual Venture brothers.

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Despite my desperate attempts to look somewhat sophisticated by keeping my shirts pressed and my cuffs crisp, every once a while, an irresistible piece of geeky attire will throw off my entire wardrobe. Just take my beloved, ill-fitting "Plan 9 from Outer Space" shirt for example. Oh, Ed Wood, what is this power you have over me?

Now, here comes The Venture Bros. to make things extra-horrible for my wardrobe and my wallet. Fans have spent the last four years or so moaning about how there are barely any goodies for purchase, and the merch gods (in this case, aka Jackson Publick) have spoken just in time for the new season.

Those of you Venture Bros. fans that watched the Season Three teaser I posted in my NY Comic-Con report probably didn't catch all the jokes. After all, the footage was a recording of a recording and the massive auditorium was packed with people screaming and laughing throughout the entire thing. Heck, I was actually there in-person and I could barely tell what was going on.

Quickstop Entertainment has finally posted high-quality versions of the exclusive teaser. Now you can watch it crouched over your laptop, ears pressed to your cheap speakers, the way media is meant to be enjoyed. Regardless, it looks like we are in for quite a season. According to Jackson Publick, Doc Hammer only had three and a half completed episodes to use for this trailer and this is definitely not a collection of the best of Season Three. If the best is truly still to come, then I'm sure the new season, starting June 1, will be nothing short of crazy spectacular.

Okay, okay. It's been a while since we've had a solid update on the Venture Bros. and I suppose we're due for another one. With no new episodes to fill that Venture-shaped void in your hearts, it's cruel to deprive you all of this delicious information. We've got a lot of news to cover, from conventions to soundtracks to Adult Swim super-sneakiness, so let's get started.

All right, best news first: The official premiere date for Season Three is June 1! It has been confirmed by Jackson Publick, so you know it's good. The crew is about to get back to work and start Season Four, which means the wait for a new season won't be quite as painful as usual.

The Venture Bros. storyboard artist (and all-around awesome cartoonist) Stephen DeStefano has decided to update his art blog a little more often and if this is any sign of things to come, VB fans are in for a treat. As most of you know, there are three things that I love in life: drawing, The Venture Bros, and fine cheeses. DeStefano's latest update covered two of those categories, so I grabbed a handful of aged cheddar cubes and basked in its greatness.

In 2004, the Venture Bros. gang pumped up our holiday spirit with a cover of Bing Crosby and David Bowie's "Little Drummer Boy" duet; in 2005, Dolly Parton's "Hard Candy Christmas"; and in 2006, a little thing called "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (part of Venture-Aid 2006). This year, the Christmas love continues with yet another Dr. Girlfriend and Monarch duet, in the form of The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York".

I quite like this song, but I don't think anything will be able to top the Monarch/Henchmen love that was "Hard Candy Christmas". And what's up with the Monarch doing every single song? Jackson Publick must have a little too much fun with that voice.

Well, the guys behind the Venture Bros. have finally kicked things into post-production, working hard on the third season, which will most likely not premiere until June of 2008. At least it's going to look super-sexy in the new HD widescreen format, right?

Doc Hammer, one half of the writing team and the voice of Dr. Girlfriend and #24, attended Dragon*Con to share the Venture love but, as always, refused to share any spoilers. We still don't have anything juicy at the moment, but storyboard artist Stephen DeStefano just updated his blog with some small sneak peeks.

For the past few days, I've been watching VH1's non-stop reruns of their reality show The Pickup Artist, which is just an unmarked white van and fistful of roofies away from being the creepiest show on television. I cannot bring myself to look away, so I watch each episode with my face twisted in an expression that is equal parts horror and malicious amusement. The finale will air tonight and I have already come to accept that I don't have the self-control to avoid watching, despite the fact that every time I tune in, I lose a little more faith in humanity.

I suppose it isn't the fault of the contestants. After all, they're unintentional virgins and their minds are malleable, subject to easy manipulation by anyone who wears eyeliner. That's where the show's host, Mystery, comes in.

The first thing I noticed about the Venture Bros. DVD was the packaging, which is actually a lot nicer than I expected. I had already fawned over the art when it was released online, but I gained a whole new appreciation when I actually had the product in my hands. While the first season's DVD packaging was simple and sleek, this one has great, aged detail and -- get this -- it feels so wonderfully soft and papery. I'm probably a little weird for doing this, but as soon as I pulled the box out of the plastic, I gasped and made the people around me pet the DVD packaging. And if they refused, I shouted until they agreed. "Yes, Annie. Yes, that is very nice DVD packaging..."

(S05E12) Looking back on this one, as an admitted Stewie fan, I'm surprised that I liked it as much as I did. For the most part, my favorite Family Guy episodes are those where Stewie gets his own feature plot. He was relegated to Meg or Chris background status here, but the episode was still one of the best of the season.

Chalk a lot of that up to giving Quagmire a chance to shine. He's a great character, so it's nice to get to see him used a little more on occasion. If the experiment with Stewie and Brian's talk show, Up Late, goes well, I wouldn't mind seeing Quagmire get his own show. Maybe something along the lines of Midnight Q from "PTV." He did have the line of the night with his "...contents of your panties may have shifted..." bit after missing the flight.

Someone left a comment on my latest Moral Orel review asking whatever happened to Boondocks. Oddly enough, Boondocks will return with a new season in March, along with the second half of the current season of Moral Orel.

Before all of that, however, there are two new series debuting in February: Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, a fifteen-minute sketch show from Tom Goes to the Mayor creators Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim will kick off on February 11 at 11:45pm, followed by the Sid and Marty Krofft-inspired Saul of the Molemen at midnight. Also look for fifth season episodes of Family Guy to debut the same night. In addition, new episodes of anime series Trinity Blood, Eureka 7 and Bleach will continue throughout February along with repeats of 12 Oz Mouse, Harvey Birdman, Minoriteam, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Squidbillies and Home Movies. Adult Swim HQ also writes that a new anime series will replace Trinity Blood in March.

Finally, it looks as if a third season of the Venture Bros will debut sometime later this year. Wikipedia says as much, and on January 4 co-creator Jackson Publick wrote on his LiveJournal that they had just begun to write episodes for the next season. So it's happening, but you'll have to be patient. I suggest watching the first and second DVDs over and over again.

Ah Festivus, it's a magical time of the year. Hurricanes, week long power outages, how can you not be in the mood to celebrate? While my real world desires would lean more toward the practical, like a generator, so the next time 5000 trees get thrown on the power lines I don't have to miss Las Vegas, Dr. Who and South of Nowhere, these are some of my TV universe wishes for the coming year.

TV on DVD - Every week I read Bob's list of the new DVD releases, and every week I have the same reaction. How can THAT be coming out on DVD but none of my top 5 most wanted are? Seriously, there is more of a market for the Stacked DVD than any of these? I'm not greedy. I'll settle for just one of these shows to finally get the DVD set it deserves. Cupid, Beggars and Choosers, Going To California, Maximum Bob, or Mr & Mrs Smith.

The TV Squad team has made their picks for the top quotes of the week from TV:

• "Yes, I know, I'll get letters." -- Boston Legal's Alan Shore, after bashing Freedom of Religion during the closing arguments of a trial.
• "What are you, a Democrat?" -- Fellow officer to McNulty when McNulty allows Omar his one phone call while being arrested, on The Wire.
• "I'm not part of any organization that has initials." -- Evil Glasses-Guy to Officer Parkman, when accused of working for the FBI, or maybe the CIA on Heroes.
• "That guy from Labyrinth just turned into a bird!" -- Hank, after watching David Bowie fly away, on The Venture Bros.

Greetings, home audience. I just wanted to take a second and let ya'll know that over on Adult Swim Fix right now you can check out the complete first seasons of both Venture Bros. and Home Movies. They tend to take episodes down and replace them with new ones rather quickly, so check them out while you can. Only yesterday they had the complete first season of Perfect Hair Forever, but now those are gone. Don't make the same mistake I did, friends. Unplug the phone, lock all your doors, and watch all of those episodes from beginning to end. This is the only way to prove your loyalty to these fine programs. Plus, every time you watch one of the episodes, one dollar is donated to Jerry's Kids*. Please, do what's right, America.

* "Jerry's Kids" refers to Jerry Bourdeux, assistant sales manager at my local Target. He's trying to collect singles so he can take his two oldest boys to their first strip club. Your generosity can help make this a reality.