Venture Brothers return with new look, bodyguard
by Alex Desilva
Arts | 10/20/09
Posted online at 1:46 AM EST on 10/20/09
A pill-popping former boy adventurer. His two sons who act like they're in a 1960s sitcom (and have been cloned at least 14 times). A supervillain obsessed with butterflies and his manly-voiced wife. A violent former spy. A "likeable pedophile" (to paraphrase the show's creators). Having this laundry list of freaks on Comedy Central's Adult Swim last night can only mean one thing: Venture Brothers, one of the best shows on television, has returned for its fourth season. At its core, the show could be described as a messed-up Johnny Quest, but it's so far from that that I think I'd need the entire article just to describe it. Despite this, I'm going to give the uninitiated members of Team Venture an explanation of what the show is and what makes it so great. But be warned: Everything after this is one gigantic spoiler. There, you've been warned; proceed with caution.
The show focuses on the Venture family and its interactions with its villains and allies. There's Dr. Venture, a scientist who had a childhood that mirrored Johnny Quest's. We see the toll that childhood took on him, now a bitter 40-something who has driven his late father's scientific legacy into the ground. His aloofness can be seen in how his sons Hank and Dean turned out. The neglect by their father coupled with their lifestyle has left them acting like the Hardy Boys, only with less human contact. Their lifestyle leaves them "death prone" in the words of Dr. Venture, and they have been cloned multiple times. They're protected by Brock Samson, a spy who is terrifyingly good at finding ways to kill the thousands of faceless henchmen that the Ventures' enemies throw at them. Many of these henchmen come from the Monarch, a supervillain who bases himself around monarch butterflies and torments the Ventures with his wife, Dr. Mrs. The Monarch (formerly Dr. Girlfriend). They have what seems like a bottomless supply of henchmen, but the two mainstays are the über-nerdy 21 and the Ray Romano-soundalike 24. Finally, we have Sgt. Hatred, a military centered villain who is trying to overcome his pedophilia while menacing the Ventures. The third season finale ends with Brock quitting his bodyguard job, Sgt. Hatred applying for Brock's former position, Dr. Venture's clone lab destroyed, and 24 being beheaded by an explosion, all on the Ventures' front lawn.
The show focuses on the Venture family and its interactions with its villains and allies. There's Dr. Venture, a scientist who had a childhood that mirrored Johnny Quest's. We see the toll that childhood took on him, now a bitter 40-something who has driven his late father's scientific legacy into the ground. His aloofness can be seen in how his sons Hank and Dean turned out. The neglect by their father coupled with their lifestyle has left them acting like the Hardy Boys, only with less human contact. Their lifestyle leaves them "death prone" in the words of Dr. Venture, and they have been cloned multiple times. They're protected by Brock Samson, a spy who is terrifyingly good at finding ways to kill the thousands of faceless henchmen that the Ventures' enemies throw at them. Many of these henchmen come from the Monarch, a supervillain who bases himself around monarch butterflies and torments the Ventures with his wife, Dr. Mrs. The Monarch (formerly Dr. Girlfriend). They have what seems like a bottomless supply of henchmen, but the two mainstays are the über-nerdy 21 and the Ray Romano-soundalike 24. Finally, we have Sgt. Hatred, a military centered villain who is trying to overcome his pedophilia while menacing the Ventures. The third season finale ends with Brock quitting his bodyguard job, Sgt. Hatred applying for Brock's former position, Dr. Venture's clone lab destroyed, and 24 being beheaded by an explosion, all on the Ventures' front lawn.
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Sarah
posted 11/10/09 @ 2:37 AM EST
Adult Swim is on Cartoon Network, not Comedy Central.
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