Brock, am I a bad person? (Venture Bros. season 3 review)

Venture Bros. Season 3 review
available on DVD & Blu-ray
March 24, 2009


I'm a Venture Bros. fan. No doubt about it. If there were Venture Bros. bedsheets, I'd be sleeping on them. If there were pajamas, I'd never take them off. I want one of those vintage Jonas Venture alarm clocks. And maybe a plushy H.E.L.P.eR. This is why my wife sleeps with one eye open.

If you're not familiar with this Adult Swim hit, I'll make it easy for you and direct you to the wikipedia link here. Bookmark this review, go pick up the first two DVD sets and catch what you can of season 3 and come back. We'll wait.

We should see the Venture Bros. season 3 DVD/Blu-ray set released around March 24th, but if you haven't been able to keep up with the episodes via on-demand, torrent, or any one of a hundred other internet tricks--then you ain't trying. Still, owning the episodes on disk is a good thing for those rare, scary occasions when your cable and internet are out, and because good sales numbers mean the likelihood of more episodes. Yes, I'll be buying my set on the release date. Blu-Ray users get a special treat--a 20-track CD of the season's musical score.

Now that I've sufficiently plugged the legitimate acquisition of the season 3 episodes, let's talk about season three as a whole.

It was a good season. There was a lot of fun to be had, and some interesting moments. Overall, however, I don't think it was its strongest season.

A good portion of this season is devoted to backstory and origins. We get the origin of the Monarch, Dr. Girlfriend, and Phantom Limb. We see a lot from the past concerning Jonas Venture Sr. and his crew, and the histories of Peter White and Master Billy Quizboy. But personally, I liked it better when we didn't know too much--when the pasts of these characters were revealed only in tantalizingly small glimpses and in off-the-cuff references. It made them more interesting. Knowing too much dilutes that mystery. Sure, many questions were answered regarding everybody's past, but did we really ask?

That aside, there were still a couple of good, adventure-plot episodes, and some genuinely funny moments. Some characters got to stretch themselves a bit too. We all have our favorites. The stars of this season, for me, were Henchmen #21 and #24. They get some of the best lines and the best scenes--they particularly shine in the episode "The Lepidopterists." They may be inept, but they're talented at it. I enjoyed the later Brock Sampson storyline as well, exploring his world a bit more, but not giving away too much information. Characters I could do with? The murderous moppets. I hate those guys.

The season touched upon a few interesting ideas. The second episode of the season, "The Dr. Is Sin" explores how blurry the line between super scientist and super villain is. When a shaken Rusty Venture asks Brock if he's a bad guy, and Brock responds with a so-so gesture, we know exactly what they mean. While failure is a long-time theme of the entire series, it's a little warming to see Rusty acknowledge, if even for a moment, that he's lacking something. It shows hope for improvement and despite everything the guys at Astrobase have thrown at us, I think we're all still rooting for Rusty in the end.

Whether or not we get that is another thing. I very much doubt we're going to see true redemption for Rusty at any part in the series, but one can hope. Maybe Hank and Dean will turn out okay if they can get away from Dr. Venture's orbit.

In sports terms, I would call this a "building year." The really good stuff is going to come in season 4. You can feel it. With the cliffhanger ending that the Venture Bros. is known for, I feel pretty confident that we're going to get more satisfaction this coming season.

Do I recommend shelling out the scarouche for season 3 on disk? Sure! For one thing, if you have geek tendencies then you understand the need for owning complete sets. And I'm certainly not saying that the season, while weaker than the others, is bad. There's much to be watched and enjoyed over and over again until your eyes bleed. You have a month to stock up on bandages and orange crush.

It's the Venture Bros.!

(oh, and the Order of the Triad....they's cool.)

Cheers!

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