A brief DVD review, some other news

So last Tuesday, I picked up the DVD of Season 3 of The Venture Bros. This is the first time that show creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer have released an uncensored version of the show on DVD and I was curious as to whether that affects the comedy, much of which is pop culture, timing and hijinks related. The answer: Somewhat, but not enough to alter my enjoyment of this continually brilliant show.

Warning: Minor Spoilers May Follow

Venture Bros. is the story of a former boy adventurer turned super scientist, his moronic twin sons, their be-mulleted bodyguard and a huge number of super idiots, good and evil, which surround them. Think Scooby Doo, Johnny Quest and a load of adult humor. The third season starts out where the second left off, the (brilliantly conceived) evil mastermind, The Monarch and his new wife, Dr. Girlfriend, floating in their marriage bed. Turns out this is a flashback, revealed when Dr. Girlfriend calls him back to the task at hand, fighting in a danger-room esque battle with robots, all orchestrated by the Guild of Calamitous Intent. And things only get more complex from there.

Venture Bros. throws the pop culture at you as quickly as it can, references to Tomb Raider mixing in with more obscure things like the film Medicine Man, or a Sean Connery/William S. Burroughs based adventurer with a penchant for hanging out with a group of Avengers rejects. There are many things I'd love to mention here, but in reality, this is a show that the viewer has to see to get the humor. And I wouldn't want to spoil it. One note: the show builds from episode to episode, so you should start with Season 1.

So the uncensoredness. Does it work? I'd have to say its a case by case basis. A joke in the second episode, 'The Doctor is Sin' is a lot funnier with a black bar than a penis, but Tim-Tom and Kevin, Dr. Girlfriend's Murderous Moppets (or later, the pupae twins) are a lot funnier when you can hear all there psychoticness acted out. Overall, I'd say that I don't have a preference and the show is highly enjoyable in any case.

Extras: Pretty bare bones in this category. The commentaries are brilliant, a weird maybe-stoned stream of consciousness humor which some will enjoy and others will find infuriating. But beyond that, all you get are some deleted scenes of the storyboard variety.

Score: 4/5


So what else? There's not really too much going on. I did get some writing done earlier today, and I suppose I'll post it. Other than that, things are ok. I've decided recently that I have some OCD issues I need to work on. When I become interested in someone, I come on far too strong. I suppose that I could even be called obsessed during these times. I write letters, I text, I call. And I have to stop. So for a while I'm just going to work on this. There is really only one reason I should call someone, and thats if I want to do something that day or make plans. I have no reason just to call to talk.

Ok, so that may be a bit more personal than you're used to seeing here. If you come to this blog at all, it's unlikely that you were expecting something along those lines. I usually save that nonsense for my other blog.

In any case, here is a poem I'm working on. No stealing.



Forged

On his wall hung a drawing of a sword.
It was simply, foolishly drawn,
amorpheous grip, non-descript pommel
stone, a guard transitioning into
blade at nearly right angles. No
shading, cross-hatch, color, a sword
picked out in lines only.

I asked him about it once,
laying on the floor, and he
smiled. 'My father drew that'
he said. 'He told me that
he would make me
the real thing soon.'

'Did he?' I asked but
never got a response. His
mother came then and
we packed the Nintendo off
to her house for the weekend, two
blocks and a world away. But

when we had driven a block
and she had smoked
three cigarettes through silent
tears, I knew the sword his
father had made sat in the
bucket seat to my right.