Adult Swim is a late night programming block that has cartoons that appeal to an adult sense of humor, and The Venture Bros. is one of those cartoons. The show parodies Jonny Quest, is quite funny, and is now available in a season one collection.
The animated series follows the adventures of twins Hank (Christopher McColloch) and Dean (Michael Sinterniklaas) Venture. Their father Dr. Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture (James Urbaniak) is a pill popper, neurotic, and a failed super scientist. He lives in the shadow of his late, legendary father Dr. Jonas Venture (think Doc Savage). Dr. Venture has a bodyguard named Brock Samson (Patrick Warburton) who has a license to kill. His greatest enemy is a super villain called the Monarch (also voiced by McColloch) that fashions himself after a Monarch butterfly and has an assistant called Dr. Girlfriend (Doc Hammer – sounding somewhat like Tony Curtis).
Disc one:
Episode 2: Careers in Science: The orbiting space station that Dr. Venture’s father built may be haunted, while Brock’s presence adds heat to an already tense romantic relationship between the station’s two officers.
Episode 3: Mid-Life Chrysalis: Under orders from the Monarch, Dr. Girlfriend seduces Dr. Venture to inject him with a body-altering serum. Meanwhile, Brock’s license to kill has expired and the boys are hell-bent on helping him get it back.
Episode 4: Eeney, meeney, miney…magic!: Dr. Venture’s new invention has he entire family trapped in a dream world of their own imagining. Their strange new neighbor, Dr. Orpheus (think Dr. Strange crossed with Vincent Price and John Carradine), may be the only one who can help them escape.
Episode 5: The Incredible Mr. Brisby: Dr. Venture is offered a job by theme park owner Roy Brisby while Hank and Dean are brainwashed by militant suburbanites who want to take down the cartoon magnate’s empire.
Episode 6: Tag Sale –You’re It!: When Dr. Venture has a yard sale that attracts scientists and super villains alike, the Monarch can’t resist the temptation to wreak havoc once inside the Venture compound.
Episode 7: Home Insecurity: With Brock on a survival sabbatical, Dr. Venture’s new security system is put to the test when the Monarch’s and Baron Underbheit’s henchmen choose the same night to launch attacks on the Venture compound.
Disc two:
Episode 9: Ice Station – Impossible!: Dr. Venture is invited to take part in a top secret government think tank led by Professor Impossible, while Hank becomes a walking time bomb thanks to a stolen serum. There’s an appearance by Race Bannon and the Impossible team sure seems like the Fantastic Four.
Episode 10: Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean: When Dean suffers acute testicular tortion after being captured by the Monarch, a temporary truce must be called in order to get him medical attention. Brock and Hank are held hostage by the Monarch as collateral.
Episode 11: Past Tense: When Brock and Dr. Venture are kidnapped from the funeral of a college friend, the boys enlist the aid of the original Team Venture: a group of superscience adventurers who worked for their grandfather in the sixties. The team’s leader Col. Gentlemen sounds just like Sean Connery (no it’s not really him).
Episode 12: The Trial of the Monarch: The Monarch is on trial for the one crime that he may have not committed. The boys and Dr. Orpheus are forced to testify, but only Brock is aware that something more sinister is afoot.
Episode 13: Return to Spider-Skull Island: When the twins think that Dr. Venture’s sinister stomach tumor means that he’s pregnant, they run away from home and land themselves in a “scared straight” program headed by the imprisoned Monarch.
Bonus episodes:
A Very Venture Christmas: As the Monarch plots to make their night anything but silent Dean and Hank accidentally unleash a demon who threatens to ruin Dr. Venture’s annual Christmas party. There’s a funny parody of a mixture of various Christmas specials at the beginning of this episode.
Venture Bros. has a wicked sense of humor that I found appealing. It also skewers Jonny Quest, Doc Savage, James Bond, and many others. The appearance by Race Bannon and the fake Fantastic Four were highlights of the series. The vocal work is also excellent with special honors going to Patrick Warburton as the killing machine Brock Samson.
Venture Bros. is presented in fullscreen as it was aired on television. Special features include the two bonus episodes listed above. There’s also a 20 minute featurette called “Behind the Scenes of the Venture Bros. Live Action Movie” that has interviews with the actors on the set of the fictional movie.
There are also deleted scenes from six episodes. Mid-Life Chrysalis, Eeny, Meeney, Miney…Magic, Tag Sale – You’re it, Ghosts of the Sargasso, Return to Spider-Skull Island and the Pilot feature commentaries by the cast and creators. There’s also some really cool artwork on the inside of the box by Bill Sienkiewicz.
If as a kid you ever watched Jonny Quest, I think you’ll enjoy the humor of Venture Bros. It’s definitely for adults and younger kids probably shouldn’t watch the show. Very funny stuff, who knew that the Million Dollar Man could fall in love with Bigfoot?
The Venture Bros. – Season One is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
Your Talkback on this Story