The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

There’s always some danger going into an episode like “The Better Man”, which fanboys like me knew in advance would mark the triumphant return of Dr. Orpheus and the Order of the Triad.  The Triad is sort of like the Boba Fett of the Ventureverse – they don’t get a lot of screen time but are basically awesome every second you see them, and as a result fans have grown intensely fond of them.  So the danger is that when you know they’re going to get a spotlight episode, it will be a letdown.

Read on Daddy-O…

Stupid real life is really putting a crimp in my ability to review this season of The Venture Bros.  As a result, you may have noticed that last week’s episode – “Handsome Ransom” – was skipped.  I’ll get around to it at some point, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit.  And now on to newer business.

I don’t know about you, but Season 4 of VB is clicking in a way that Season 3 seldom did.  Maybe it’s the more character-driven storylines, but it doesn’t feel as if Jackson and Doc are trying so hard this year.  “Perchance to Dean” is a perfect example.  It’s got the feel of an early episode, but with the comedic and storytelling sophistication of more recent efforts.  It really is a neat hybrid, just like Dean’s creepy, Phantom of the Opera-esque clone brother.

Read on Daddy-O…

No more flashbacks, no more character sketching, and no more filling in questionably important bits of history – the season finale of The Venture Bros. is all about moving forward.  All the buildup and all the backstory is done, so I hope you were paying attention.

Actually, if you think about it almost all of this season’s back end has really been the finale, since most of the episodes have picked up right where previous ones left off.  So in that sense, everything from “Tears of a Sea Cow” forward has been part of one big story arc.

(One caveat before we move forward: the first few minutes of this week’s episode were cut for the television broadcast.  If you want to see the entire episode uncut, you can watch it on adultswim.com.)

In the cold open, things look bleak for the Venture clan.  The Monarch and his crew have infiltrated the compound yet again, but this time they mean business.  The family is taken hostage, while Brock is beheaded by the Monarch’s apparently razor-sharp wings.  And in the strangest twist of all, Dr. Mrs. The Monarch finally gives in to her lust for #21!

Except that it’s all a simulation, designed for training.  Mostly satisfied with the results, the Monarch declares that they’re ready to storm the compound (for real this time).

Back at the aforementioned compound, Brock is dismantling his beloved Charger (“Her name was Adrian.”), since it tried to kill him and stuff in last week’s episode.  He also announces to the Venture clan that they’re not safe, because he is now a target for assassination.  He plans to bring everyone to Spider-Skull Island and seek refuge but before they can get going, said assassins arrive, led by none other than Molotov Cocktease (making her first appearance since last season).

Molotov tells Brock that the O.S.I. asked her to kill him, but she refused the job.  It went instead to three professional assassins – Herr Trigger, Go-Fish, and Le Tueur (French for ‘the killer’), each with his own weird little fetish (Le Tueur, being a lover of Silver Age comics, is my favorite).

Meanwhile, the Monarch and his gang are making their way to Venture Industries, but not in the cocoon, because that’s what Venture would expect.  But when the Hover Tank flies past them, it looks like they’ve been beaten to the punch once again by Sgt. Hatred.

Brock’s first stop after leaving the compound is to see Col. Gathers, perhaps his only true friend.  After dealing with a horribly inappropriate and hilarious pass by Rusty, Gathers confirms that Brock is in fact in deep, deep trouble and hooks him up with some wheels (“you are not gonna like looking for the keys!”) and a list of ex-O.S.I. agents who can help him.

Brock’s plan to leave the family at Spider-Skull Island hits a snag when Hank stows away in Brock’s car.  This follows a sad scene where Brock declares that he never loved the brothers and that protecting them was only a job.  I don’t buy it, frankly, but I understand why he needed to say it.  What follows is a thrilling chase and narrow escape from Herr Trigger.  (the whole chase sequence reminded me a lot of the old Spy Hunter game)

At the compound, the Monarch strikes out big time.  Not only are they too late to catch the Ventures, they’re left to deal with an inconsolable Sgt. Hatred (who is about to become a bachelor and finds out he’s no longer Dr. Venture’s archenemy).

Brock’s next stop is the dock, where he meets Shore Leave and Mile High (now Holy Diver and Sky Pilot, since Jesus slew their demons of homosexuality).  And while Brock tangles with Go-Fish, the classic Ephesians sequence starts (“Is this going to take long?”).  Boom!  Yummy!  But with no help from the former spies, it takes a bit of clever – and gross – subterfuge for Brock to win the day again.  And what’s with all the beheadings on this show anyway?  Someone got a bit of a Highlander fetish?

The final of Brock’s trials takes place at an unnamed hotel (well, a blurred out name), where he faces a showdown with Le Tueur.  Poor Hank finally finds someone who shares his love of Batman and he turns out to be a killer.  Brock escapes death at the cost of one nipple, but just after he dispatches of Le Tueur a pair of armed men bust into the room.  At that same moment, the Monarch’s flying cocoon happens upon the X-1, and is close to closing in on the Ventures…

Obviously I can’t fully evaluate this week’s episode without seeing how it plays out next week, but it was still pretty awesome.  Some laugh-out-loud lines and a metric ton of action, all rendered beautifully.  It’s interesting to me that in spite of all the new characters we saw this year, it all comes down to the core group of the Ventures and the Monarch/Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.  Either way, this was exciting viewing.  Is it Sunday yet?

Final grade: TBD

Best lines/moments:

• “It’s the Monarch!  Pop’s most feared enemy!”
• “OK, this is why I’m anti-Moppet.  Right here, this crap.”
• #21 messing with the mannequin for Dr. Mrs. The Monarch takes his infatuation to a whole new and awesome level.
• “Give him time, boy.  Thinking’s new to him.”
• “People have been trying to kill me since I could pee standing up.”
• “Look at it?  I don’t even want to think about it!  I hate my henchmen.”
• “Anything to declare, Mr. Le Tueur?”  “Excelsior!”
• “Piss off you horrible buzzard!  Tsetse fly, buzz!”
• “You call parking a supersonic jet in front of a titty-bar inconspicuous?  Who taught you how to spy, f&$@ing Gallagher?!”
• “At least now we have the septic system mapped out.”
• On second thought, Herr Trigger is my favorite of the three assassins.  The whole mix of violence and eroticism was too much.  Reminded me of Æon Flux.
• “You wanna end up like Gary Busey?”
• “This is worse than calling Orpheus.”
• “That’s a big cell phone.”  “I’m a big boy!”
• “Holy cow I think I’m in love…with that towel!”
• So Hank remembers jumping off the roof in his Batman costume and killing himself.  Interesting…
• “Why do you sword guys always gotta talk about how cool your swords are?

Setup episodes can be very tricky to pull off.  They’ve got to provide enough information to set the stage for what is to come, and yet be entertaining in and of themselves.  Too much information and the story becomes cluttered, and not very fun to watch.  But make things too subtle, and the episode can seem like a one-off at best, a throwaway at worst.  So how does “ORB”, an obvious setup episode, fare?

Pretty well, thankfully.   The mystery kicks off in the cold open, as the too-smart-for-his-own-good Billy Quizboy pulls a Beautiful Mind and unravels a hidden message in his copies of the old Rusty Venture cartoon.  It’s a set of coordinates leading to the Venture Compound, in what turns out to be Brock’s herb garden.  When Brock refuses to help dig, it’s up to Hank to do the work and he finds…

Their long-dead dog, Scamp’s corpse.  Past that he finds their treasure (a mystery box!), and in the process Dr. Venture, Hank, Dean, Billy, and Pete White spill into Brock’s room (in a hilarious scene that features some brilliant voice acting by Patrick Warburton).  They take the treasure into the kitchen, and the tension builds until the mystery box is opened to reveal…

Yet another clue.  Back in Brock’s room, he plays a gramophone cylinder left for him.  It was recorded by famous strongman Eugen Sandow, who was apparently the bodyguard for one Col. Venture.  The recording segues into a lushly illustrated flashback aboard a Victorian era dirigible, where we see an unnamed guild consisting of the greatest minds of the day, including Col. Venture, Mark Twain, Aleister Crowley, Oscar Wilde, and Fantômas (looking and sounding very much like Phantom Limb’s ancestor).

The guild, currently battling a rival faction led by Nikola Tesla, is concerned with a mysterious orb in their possession.  While some (like Col. Venture and Wilde) wish to study the orb and find if it can be used to mankind’s benefit, others (Fantômas chief among them) want to tap its power for their own benefit now.  Wilde’s rejoinder to Fantômas foreshadows the formation of the Guild of Calamitous Intent.

The only thing holding this scene back from true greatness was that once again, the formidable voice acting talents of the Venture crew are stretched a bit too thin.  Crowley evoked Dr. Orhpeus too much, while I could clearly hear traces of the Monarch in Col. Venture.  I’m sure the show’s budget isn’t seven figures, but more vocal variety would really help.

Back in the present, Sandow’s tale is interrupted when the cylinder ends, which leaves Brock to find the second one so he can learn what his next orders are. His path (and separately, that of Dr. Venture and Billy) takes him to New York City.  Brock barely arrives after his car makes an attempt on his life, while Rusty suffers the indignity of wearing his old Rusty Venture outfit.

In a weird meeting with Col. Gathers (what is it with all the colonels on this show anyway?), Brock discovers that his real mission from O.S.I. is not to protect Dr. Venture, but to kill him should he discover and try to activate the orb hidden by Jonas Venture. He tracks down Kano to find out more about his mission, and finds him surprisingly talkative.  We also get a strong hint that it was Kano who killed Jonas Venture, just as Sandow killed Col. Venture – in both cases to stop the orb from being activated.

Rusty and Billy, not surprisingly, have no luck when their quest brings them to Studio 54.  But Rusty attempting to change Billy was totally worth it.

Back at the compound, Dr. Orpheus reviews Team Venture’s code-breaking and finds it a little lacking.  So he calls the Alchemist for what is probably his funniest and most satisfying appearance yet.  Using an old-fashioned dictionary, he pulls off a bit of deduction worthy of Sherlock Holmes and discovers the current resting place of the orb – the Whistler Wing of the Frick Museum (actually the Frick Collection).

As Rusty and Billy enter the Frick, Brock is right behind them, seemingly ready to carry out his deadly orders.  The only thing that saves Dr. Venture is a rare display of restraint and common sense.  And for the capper, a “Go Team Venture!” with a way-too-enthused Billy.

Wow, that’s a lot of stuff!  Despite the sheer amount of dialogue and story development that took place in “ORB”, it did have a good share of action.  It was also one of the more visually stunning episodes of the season.  And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing score by J.G. Thirwell, who has had some doozies this year.

So now it all comes down to the last two episodes of the season, and where it goes is anyone’s guess.  Will the orb play yet another role or is it just a MacGuffin?  What of the rekindled Venture/Monarch feud?  Since Brock’s orders were not actually to protect Rusty, what now?  And where the hell is Phantom Limb anyway?

Final grade: B+

Best lines/moments:

• *shudder*  “Congratulations, you’ve discovered pornography.  Oh, that’s unsavory.”
• “I could save 1.3 miles if I take Ridge Street.”
• “All you’ve proved is that you’re way too into cartoons, and that I should find out why I haven’t seen dime one from those DVD sales.”
• “Fine!  When I got assigned this ridic…important assignment…”
• “I think I have heat stroke.”  “You have lollygagger’s syndrome, that’s what you have.”
• “Is this a rec room?  Please tell me there’s bumper pool.”
• “And if poison gas should come out and kill us, I just want to tell you that I was the one who carved Dean’s name into the bathroom door.”
• So Oscar Wilde gets credit for naming the Guild of Calamitous Intent.  Cool.
• “Man, the poor chump who came up with this riddle didn’t bank on us having the internet, huh?”
• The best line of the whole season: “Rusty Venture – brought to you by smoking!”
• “Next season will be all about the man capris.”
• “Master Rusty has found orb?  Did he find it under the couch while looking for change?”
• Hank and Dean TP’ing Orpheus while he astral projected was frigging gold.
• “Achh, internet.  It’s only good for finding out that your boyfriend is sleeping around.  Friggin’ MySpace.  What, I’m not supposed to look at his friends’ comments?  They’re right on the first page!  That’s hardly snooping.”
• Rusty walking right past Billy as he crawled along his rope was great.
• “We haven’t found it yet so keep your pants on.”  “Why, you planning on taking them off again?”

Ever been on a blind date that you knew was a disaster right from the start, yet you felt obligated to see it through to the bitter end?  Such seems to be the recurring fate of the Monarch, forced to endure a supremely lame archenemy pairing at the beginning of “Tears of a Sea Cow” (working title “Murder O’Clock”).  But soon the misery is over, and he turns his attention back to his true hate…Dr. Venture.

After quickly (and permanently) dispatching his newest and lamest foe, Dr. Dugong, a frustrated and bored Monarch can’t restrain himself any longer – with Doc Venture away showing his Vacuum Boom-Broom, he gives in to his true feelings and takes #21 and #24 out to f&*@ up an empty Venture compound.  The Monarch and #21 take a hilarious slide down to the Monarchmobile (#24 wisely takes the stairs) and head out for some unauthorized henching.

"That's the smell of pure hate."

Back at the Venture compound, the musical trio of Hank Venture (bass), Dermott (vocals), and H.E.L.P.eR. (electronic rhythm section) – the next big thing since Eddie and the Cruisers no less – try to score some press coverage in the Venture Home News.  And it turns out Dean’s paper does have subscribers, including a lovestruck Henchman #21, who writes in and secretly declares his love for Dr. Mrs. The Monarch under the pen name “G. Viceroy”.

Later, after Dean (who seems to be acting more like his father lately) inadvertently disables the compound’s alarm system, the Monarch and company make their dramatic entrance.  Hank and Dermott (with his lighter safely, uh, stored) investigate, and soon clash with the Henchmen.  Desperate to not have anyone find out about their botched arch attempt, #21 shoots a possibly immortal Hank while #24 bribes Dermott to keep his mouth shut.

Meanwhile, the Monarch is back in the compound in a scene very reminiscent of “Tag Sale – You’re It!”.  He takes the opportunity to hock a loogie on one of Doc’s slides, and finds some way to rape a rebuilt G.U.A.R.D.O. (from season one’s “Home Insecurity”).  When Dean discovers the sick scene, the Monarch pulls some reverse psychology to avoid being tattled on.

After a bit of stumbling early in the season, the show is hitting its stride again.  Doc Hammer, who penned this episode, provided a great blend of one-liners and plot development.  There were lots of callbacks to earlier episodes, but they were expertly weaved into the story.  We got teased with the origin of the Monarch/Venture feud, and came closer to confirming that Brock Samson is Dermott’s real father.

But the best was kept for last – as the flying cocoon approaches Spider-Skull Island, it appears that the Guild of Calamitous Intent has finally given the Monarch permission to arch Dr. Venture…Dr. Jonas Venture, Jr.  That promises to be off the chain, on a trial basis at least.

By the way, I don’t care what anyone says, I love Tim Tom and Kevin (aka the Murderous Moppets, and newly rechristened as the Pupae Twins).  Their bloodlust and just plain lust for Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is comedy gold (“They were white panties, Kevin.  White.”).

Final grade: A

Best lines/moments:

• “I’m so scared of your leftover prop from a Styx video.  Please spare my life, Mr. Roboto.”
• “How much thalidomide did your mom take?”
• The Monarch (aka Bare Walls in Baltimore) tricking Dean Venture into giving away the blueprints and access codes to the compound – awesome.
• “We don’t get to do anything!  I’m like this close to arching the paperboy!”
• “Oh, hey loser.  Changed our of your 1910 banker’s costume and into your Oompa-Loompa costume for us?”
• “Two words: titty bar.  Just gonna throw that out there.”
• “I just wanted to kick his ass!  I wanted to build a machine to kick his ass!  I wanted to build an empire to house the machine to kick his ass!”
• “Who put the top up?”  “You will thank me later.  It’s gonna rain.”
• “What is this, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?  Who else knew it could do this?”
• Yet another knock on In Through the Out Door.  Guess that album really isn’t liked over at the Astrobase.
• “Dean, don’t hide in the closet.”  “I just need a few moments in here!”
• I love Hank’s serious voice (“Like the Highlander?”).
• “I couldn’t run because I had a lighter up my ass.”  “OK, now I believe you’re Hank’s friend.”
• “Give me the prize…I am the one!”

Well that was…f&@*ed up.  It seems poor Doc Venture is once again left to clean up one of his father’s messes.  And speaking of Jonas Venture, the shine sure has come off his apple this season, eh?

The action this week returns to Venture Industries – deep below Venture Industries, in fact (just how friggin’ big is this place anyway?).  Rusty and Brock drop through the floor of the compound and find themselves trapped in different areas of what’s revealed to be a giant nuclear fallout shelter.  While Brock ends up chatting with a miniaturized cohort of the late Dr. Venture (the cleverly named Dr. Paul Entmann), Rusty fares considerably less well.

It turns out the shelter is still inhabited, and has been since a 1978 accident forced its closure.  Well, maybe accident is stretching things a bit.  In any case, the shelter is populated by a bunch of drugged-out, Jonas-worshiping crazies, who take his recorded words as gospel.  They don’t really well to Rusty, despite many of them having been members of his fan club.

Meanwhile the boys, anxious over their dad and bodyguard’s disappearance, enlist the aid of Dr. Orpheus to find them.  The good doctor, in turn, summons the other two-thirds of the less than enthusiastic Order of the Triad.  When their efforts at using magic to find the missing pair fail, the task falls to Pete White, who finally succeeds.

That success comes at a price, as they inadvertently activate M.U.T.H.E.R., the computer intelligence in charge of the shelter.  M.U.T.H.E.R. demands to see Jonas, and when no one can produce him she decides to go all WarGames and launch a nuke.  Why Jonas decided to keep a nuclear missile in a fallout shelter is beyond me, but whatever.

“What Goes Down, Must Come Up” was almost like two different episodes.  The first half was a straightforward mystery/action story, and contained the bulk of the laughs.  The second was entertaining but considerably darker.  As dark, in fact, as any episode of The Venture Bros. outside of perhaps “¡Viva los Muertos!” or “Return to Spider-Skull Island”.

The transition from the more comedic front half of this episode to the weird half was a bit jarring, but this was a very well-done story nonetheless.  It was so much story, in fact, that once again we get the 3-second opening.

Character-wise, Brock was a bit wasted, seeing as he spent most of his time jawing with Dr. Entmann, but Jackson Publick had to have a way to provide backstory. And anytime the Order of the Triad makes an appearance it’s a welcome sight, although the rising tensions within the team may be a bad portent.

Final grade: B+

Best lines/moments:

• “Alright, that’s it.  You promised no penetration jokes.”
• “There was even talk of french toast, but there was none to be had.”
• “He wrote a little poem to his dollies.”
• For the second week in a row Brock takes shit over his ‘do – “So that’s really how people wear their hear now?  Men?”
• “Aw, now I got the blue balls in my Blood Eye.”
• “Hey man, I gotta go where the blacktion is.”
• “Would you rather be Spock with a bald spot?  I’ll trade you.”
• I’m sure the underground denizens represented a myriad of music references I don’t get, but even I couldn’t miss Keith Flint of The Prodigy.  (“He just keeps saying he’s the Firestarter.”)
• “And I’ll check for Blackulas.  Nope, no Blackulas.”
• “Geez, Jefferson, you ever hear of Jergens?”
• Who knew the boys had an extra pair of Spider-Man pajamas, in adult size?
• Rusty and Pete spy on Brock and his women?  And use tissues?  Yuck.
• “We’re gone two minutes to heat up some pizza rolls, and we come back to World War 3?”
• I can’t be the only one who just found out what a Scopitone was.

Oh by the way, Jackson Publick finally updated his LiveJournal after a long absence.  Production on season 4 has begun!

Ahhh, now that’s the stuff! What’s not to love about “Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman”?  There was plenty of action, mystery, and top-notch jokes.  Oh yeah, and my prayers about seeing more Hank and Dean were answered tenfold.  This was vintage Venture Bros. my friends.

Save for a few brief (but extremely relevant) flashbacks into Dr. Venture’s life, this was a completely self-contained episode; the first one of the season.  In it we find Rusty in the Amazon, where he has stolen a native fertility idol, for completely selfish and non-financial reasons.  He is almost overtaken by a local tribe, but is rescued at the last minute by Dr. Tara Quymn.

Thanks to some great flashbacks we learn the pair knew each other as children, when a budding romance was killed by, you guessed it, Rusty’s father (yet another failure Rusty is sure to lay at dad’s doorstep).  I can’t forget to mention the welcome return (in flashback form of course) of Col. Gentleman and Kano, part of the original Team Venture.

Anyway, back in the present, we meet Team Quymn – Tara’s twin daughters Nancy and Drew (if you missed that joke, shame on you) and her “female” bodyguard Virginia (Ginnie).  Virginia is hyper-protective of Dr. Quymn, and kinda sorta takes a shining to Brock.  The twin girls, meanwhile, fall for Dean.  And of course, Hank falls for the girls.  Ah, young love.

Later, Dr. Quymn finally begins to warm up to Rusty after rebuffing him earlier.  This sends Ginnie into a rage, and in retaliation she makes an aborted attempt to seduce Brock (thanks for the cold shower moment, Dean, we all appreciate it).  But the action really heats up when we learn that this part of the rain forest is the hunting ground of the fearsome Wereodile (part man, part crocodile, and covered in awful hair).  Dean is on the case, though, but can’t convince anyone to assist him.

It all comes together brilliantly as Doc and Tara are interrupted in romance once again, and Hank of all people is left to tackle the Wereodile.  Before the episode is over, the only person who’s had any action down below is Hank, and it’s not the kind anyone wants.

I can’t say enough how much I loved this episode, and how glad I am that after some disturbing new trends in the series (namely, too much universe-building and way too much character exploration) raised their heads, Jackson Publick came through with a real gem of an episode.

Final grade: A+

Best lines/moments:

• I loved seeing Dr. Jonas Venture not as a stern scientist and adventurer, but as a carefree party guy and stud.
• “Never let a woman drive your Aston, Jonesey.  This one handles a stick like it’s got herpes.”
• “What is this, polyester?” “Humidity is no excuse for wrinkles, Rusty.”
• “You remind me of my boys.  They get really excited about everything, too.”
• The whole sequence with the orangutan boxing was priceless – “Brock, this is kind of the saddest thing ever.”  “So no more teaching chimps to box, huh?  By the way, thanks for that new personal low.”
• Rusty rolling off the truck after it stopped short.  Awesome.
• “It was as if someone shook up a six-foot can of blood soda and suddenly popped the top.”
• “They’re for the Venture Home News.  Pictures increase circulation.”
• Watching Hank and Dean argue with each other is always great television.
• The villagers mocking Doc’s package (see screen cap) was great.
• “Don’t…smoke…Brock…second-hand…killing me.”
• I loved hearing the classic Dean war cry – “Super run away!”
• “You used to be all ‘Go Team Venture!’ but now…now you’re all Go….Team…Boobies!”
• Bringing the orangutan back at the end was brilliant storytelling.  I did not see that coming.
• “How you holding up there, Broken Arrow?”