Hank Venture Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Oct42010 by Chris Holmes3 Comments

Venture Bros. wrapup: “Everybody Comes to Hank’s”

When I first discovered the secret of Hank and Dean Venture - that they're merely the latest in a series of clones whipped up by their father - I was pissed. Even within the kooky world of the Ventureverse, where henchmen die left and right, it seemed to devalue their value as people. It made for some good sight gags (particularly the death montage in "Powerless in the Face of Death"), but felt empty otherwise. I posted as much on Jackson Publick's blog, and he didn't take too kindly to the criticism. But I think what I objected to in truth was that having the boys as clones gave Jackson and Doc a sort-of Venture Plot Etch-A-Sketch, where they could simply hit Reset and still get to off them in increasingly gruesome ways. So when they removed that crutch at the beginning of this seas

Sep212010 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

Venture Bros. wrapup: “Pomp and Circuitry”

TV & Radio

For the second episode of The Venture Bros.: Season 4.5, the action (and the comedy to a lesser extent) gets dialed back in favor of some really solid character development. It appears to breeze by but on closer examination a lot took place. Firstly, the boys are finally done with their bed-based education (via the "Nerd Pods") and are graduates. Of what, exactly, we're not sure, as we see when Billy Quizboy attempt to play the role of guidance counselor. To nobody's surprise, everyone but Rusty can see that Hank and Dean are ill-equipped to take on the real world. But really, does that make them any different than the rest of the cast? Have any of these people ever held down a legitimate job? Super scientist doesn't count, unless you really are one and not just saying it.

Sep142010 by Chris Holmes4 Comments

Venture Bros. wrapup: “The Diving Bell vs. The Butter-Glider”

TV & Radio

So how do I go about getting me one of those Statutory Ape t-shirts? Or for that matter, an Innerspace DVD? Oh hey, welcome back Venture Bros.! It's been far too long. Anyway, we are finally ready to resume the fourth season, and "The Diving Bell vs. The Butter-Glider" does it in classic style. No heavy myth exploration, no huge character growth, just lots of great dialogue and action. And that's a great way to dive back into the show. So about the title - it's an homage to a novel called The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, about a man who awakes from a coma unable to communicate other than by blinking his left eye. That's pretty much how we find ol' Rusty at the beginning of the episode, except that he's in Sgt. Hatred's jeep and is being trailed by the flying cocoon (pilo

Dec72009 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Venture Bros. wrapup: “The Better Man”

TV & Radio

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. (more…)

Nov32009 by Chris Holmes6 Comments

Venture Bros. Wrapup: “Perchance to Dean” (S04E03)

TV & Radio

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. We ge

Aug182008 by Chris Holmes2 Comments

Venture Bros. wrapup: “The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together (Part I)”

TV & Radio

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

Aug102008 by Chris Holmes16 Comments

Venture Bros. wrapup: “ORB”

TV & Radio

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

Jul202008 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Venture Bros. wrapup: “Tears of a Sea Cow”

TV & Radio

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

Jul132008 by Chris Holmes4 Comments

Venture Bros. wrapup: “What Goes Down, Must Come Up”

TV & Radio

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 stret

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