Another one I really enjoyed. As I mentioned in the last one, there's an odd streak of sincerity to Venture Bros., a heart that beats beneath its madcap, cynical exterior. The bits involving Dr. Venture bonding with Dean, a little wacky though they may be, were also sweet, and show a fatherly affection that you don't normally see from Rusty. I don't need the show to turn into a saccharine love fest, but it's nice to see a bit of warmth now and then. At the same time, Sgt. Hatred trying so hard to win Hank's trust has a sort of adorable quality to it as well, and the scene where Hank goes from clearly taking advantage of Sarge's kindness, to quietly but clearly recognizing and appreciating him, and helping him defeat the Guild, is a nice one.
Plus, this one was full of laughs. Phantom Limb (who I did not recognize at all) trying to get revenge on the Guild, and yet being completely off his rocker, talking to inanimate objects and whatnot, was just ridiculous enough to work. And my god, the two-headed guild elders were a nonstop font of great one-liners and back and forths. (My favorite bit was them talking about how easily Billy Quizboy was knocked out and wondering if they'd stumbled into Gilligan's Island). The whole revenge scheme was a little unclear, but worked well enough to keep the episode humming. There was even a little more to the mythos with the reveal that Colonel Venture wasn't killed by his bodyguard, and that the orb contains some other object.
I didn't love the whole episode. Being less-than-steeped in Bowie's ouvre, a lot of the jokes about him went over my head (though PL calling him the "Thin White Douche" was dumb enough for a laugh), but it worked well enough at a broad "famous mysterious musician runs evil organization" level of absurdity. And while Hatred's twisted explanation of the birds and the bees was a fun scene, I don't know how much more exploration of his being a "pedestrian" we need, and the tag scene with him in bed with Billy Quizboy was a bit much on that front.
Still, overall, this one had some great scenes focused on the characters' relationships, plenty of laughs, and bits of good mythos and storytellying on top of it all, so it gets a big thumbs up from me.
(As an aside, I laughed like hell at the cutaway gag where Phantom Limb's high heeled shoe turns out to be Dr. Girlfriend's and she's looking for it at right that moment.)
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-07-28T18:20:11Z
Another one I really enjoyed. As I mentioned in the last one, there's an odd streak of sincerity to Venture Bros., a heart that beats beneath its madcap, cynical exterior. The bits involving Dr. Venture bonding with Dean, a little wacky though they may be, were also sweet, and show a fatherly affection that you don't normally see from Rusty. I don't need the show to turn into a saccharine love fest, but it's nice to see a bit of warmth now and then. At the same time, Sgt. Hatred trying so hard to win Hank's trust has a sort of adorable quality to it as well, and the scene where Hank goes from clearly taking advantage of Sarge's kindness, to quietly but clearly recognizing and appreciating him, and helping him defeat the Guild, is a nice one.
Plus, this one was full of laughs. Phantom Limb (who I did not recognize at all) trying to get revenge on the Guild, and yet being completely off his rocker, talking to inanimate objects and whatnot, was just ridiculous enough to work. And my god, the two-headed guild elders were a nonstop font of great one-liners and back and forths. (My favorite bit was them talking about how easily Billy Quizboy was knocked out and wondering if they'd stumbled into Gilligan's Island). The whole revenge scheme was a little unclear, but worked well enough to keep the episode humming. There was even a little more to the mythos with the reveal that Colonel Venture wasn't killed by his bodyguard, and that the orb contains some other object.
I didn't love the whole episode. Being less-than-steeped in Bowie's ouvre, a lot of the jokes about him went over my head (though PL calling him the "Thin White Douche" was dumb enough for a laugh), but it worked well enough at a broad "famous mysterious musician runs evil organization" level of absurdity. And while Hatred's twisted explanation of the birds and the bees was a fun scene, I don't know how much more exploration of his being a "pedestrian" we need, and the tag scene with him in bed with Billy Quizboy was a bit much on that front.
Still, overall, this one had some great scenes focused on the characters' relationships, plenty of laughs, and bits of good mythos and storytellying on top of it all, so it gets a big thumbs up from me.
(As an aside, I laughed like hell at the cutaway gag where Phantom Limb's high heeled shoe turns out to be Dr. Girlfriend's and she's looking for it at right that moment.)