The Venture Bros.
My ex-roommate Tom got me into this series back in Oct-Nov by lending me the first two seasons. I was surprised that none of my friends actually watch it, though most had heard of it (I realized after watching it that I'd seen clips from it on Youtube and the like before too).
I put this on my Christmas list, but later realized that my parents wouldn't likely be able to find it, so I'd only delayed my own purchase of the series. Which was okay, I don't need to spend money on myself around Christmas anyway. And my sister actually bought me a Venture Bros. shirt that is pretty cool, so that worked out, in a way.
Last week I ordered seasons 2 and 3 from Amazon, but they didn't arrive until yesterday. In the meantime I got together with Tom on New Year's Eve (we saw The Three Musketeers in the theaters -- which was... well, a very Hollywood version, in a Pirates of the Carribean/Sherlock Holmes sort of way. Lots of explosions, flying ships, martial arts sword battles, lack of any intelligent plot. Throw in some Mission Impossible, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and DaVinci Code and you've got... well, kind of a silly, entertaining, but mindless mess.)
Tom lent me seasons 3 and 4 of Venture Bros. I'm already halfway through season 4. This series is just about the funniest, most brilliant thing I've seen in years and years. It's been around since 2002, so it's not new, I'm not sure how I missed it for so long. What makes it so brilliant? Well, let's start with the series creator, Christopher McCulloch, who previously was one of the main writers for the animated series The Tick. Ben Edlund, creator of the Tick, has written or cowritten severa Venture Bros episodes. Patrick Warburton, who played the Tick in the live action TV version, voices Brock Sampson, one of the main characters in the Venture Bros.
What you have in The Venture Bros. is a modern-day Johnny Quest with the ridiculousness of The Tick and the harsh, biting humor of Futurama or South Park. I'm pretty much convinced it's better than any of them, though. It manages to be as weird and unhinged as any of these shows but at the same time, remains more tightly plotted than any of them. It's definitely one series that you need to watch starting with episode 1, or you may wind up lost.
I still need to pick up seasons 1 and 4, and then watch the whole thing again from the beginning. Then I need to force my friends to watch it. ^_^
I put this on my Christmas list, but later realized that my parents wouldn't likely be able to find it, so I'd only delayed my own purchase of the series. Which was okay, I don't need to spend money on myself around Christmas anyway. And my sister actually bought me a Venture Bros. shirt that is pretty cool, so that worked out, in a way.
Last week I ordered seasons 2 and 3 from Amazon, but they didn't arrive until yesterday. In the meantime I got together with Tom on New Year's Eve (we saw The Three Musketeers in the theaters -- which was... well, a very Hollywood version, in a Pirates of the Carribean/Sherlock Holmes sort of way. Lots of explosions, flying ships, martial arts sword battles, lack of any intelligent plot. Throw in some Mission Impossible, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and DaVinci Code and you've got... well, kind of a silly, entertaining, but mindless mess.)
Tom lent me seasons 3 and 4 of Venture Bros. I'm already halfway through season 4. This series is just about the funniest, most brilliant thing I've seen in years and years. It's been around since 2002, so it's not new, I'm not sure how I missed it for so long. What makes it so brilliant? Well, let's start with the series creator, Christopher McCulloch, who previously was one of the main writers for the animated series The Tick. Ben Edlund, creator of the Tick, has written or cowritten severa Venture Bros episodes. Patrick Warburton, who played the Tick in the live action TV version, voices Brock Sampson, one of the main characters in the Venture Bros.
What you have in The Venture Bros. is a modern-day Johnny Quest with the ridiculousness of The Tick and the harsh, biting humor of Futurama or South Park. I'm pretty much convinced it's better than any of them, though. It manages to be as weird and unhinged as any of these shows but at the same time, remains more tightly plotted than any of them. It's definitely one series that you need to watch starting with episode 1, or you may wind up lost.
I still need to pick up seasons 1 and 4, and then watch the whole thing again from the beginning. Then I need to force my friends to watch it. ^_^