Venture Bros continues to be one of the funniest and more clever shows on adult swim, using satire and wonderfully crafted characters instead of cheap laughs. The show, which just finished it’s 3rd season, continues with the laughs and antics of it’s beloved characters, but gets off to a rocky start.
Season 2 left off with a pretty big cliff hanger, where Dr. Girlfriend ends with “Monarch, I’m…” and the
Thank God
Monarch yells out. Season 3 picked up and Dr. Girlfriend’s secret ended up being nothing too special which was unfortunate, but it did propel the story further and it definitely didn’t go for what most people were thinking. And this sort of set a precedent for the rest of the season. The first half of the season, instead of focusing on a grander story, took some time to introduce the viewers to some new characters. Unfortunately many of these new characters just didn’t work out.
Characters like Dermott Fictel (the supposed son of Brock), Scaramantula, Brainulo, Holy Diver, and Sky Pilot (after rewatching they are now one of my favorites) are just a few of the weaker cast this season that really didn’t play much of a part that was either interesting or entertaining. Unfortunatley because of these new characters the viewers don’t get nearly enough screen time with some of the Venture Bros. best characters. Molotov Cocktease was in the last episode for only a few seconds. No Catclops or Girl Hitler. No David Bowie, virtually no Phantom Limb, and not nearly enough Dr. Orpheus and the Order of the Triad.
Bowie...I miss you
It was fresh and interesting to branch out from some of the series classic characters, but it seems McCulloch and Doc Hammer are victims of their own brilliance. Instead we got less of the great classics and more of characters that the audience didn’t really care about. Now that being said, the characters Mr. Doe and Mr. Cardholder are the best characters created this season. Their quick one liners and film noire style about them make them a welcomed addition to this season.
The beginning of the season focused a lot on Spider Skull Island which ended up being a mistake. But the show quickly got back on the tracks and more than made up for it in the last episodes. Needless to say the last episode left with another cliff hanger that, if true, leaves me deeply saddened. Hopefully the creators are just pulling another fast one, otherwise I think the show might have lost one’s of it’s best characters.
One other note is how McCulloch and Hammer have been able to do most of the voices on the show and get away with it pretty well. However this season (and all its new characters) it gets painfully clear that they either don’t have a budget for voice over actors or they just prefer to do most of them themselves. Either way it would be nice to hear some fresh blood in season 4.
Some highlights of the season: the seedy unberbelly of quiz game shows, the mention of Gary Busey being a reason to buckle up, the toy soldires music in the last episode, and the GI Joe spoof.
The show, despite the slight hiccup this season, continues to be one of the best and more clever shows out there. Venture Bros, is known for the huge gaps between seasons and it sounds like we won’t get more Venture till fall 2009 from what I hear. So savor the show and the DVD’s when it comes out, cuz we’re in for a bit of a dry spell on adult swim.
