Hot Dark Knight Clips: Chicago Love & Clown Heads
Turns out that Chicago is Batman’s kind of town, after all. The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan offers a surprisingly pleasant tour of why the Second City made such a great Gotham, in one of three exclusive videos posted today on our sister site Comcast.net.
Oh, and if you need freaky clown masks for your posse’s next big heist, dig another handy (and seen-nowhere-else) clip on how the The Joker’s henchmen got their mugs.
The Venture Bros: Home Is Where The Hate Is - VIDEO
Wow! An episode with absolutely no flashbacks or crazy hallucinations. That’s a change. However, this was definitely the slowest episode out of the four that have aired, and I feel like we are missing something. Don’t get me wrong. I have loved just about everything from this season, but it seems like we should be a bit further at this point. Only now do we see the direction for the rest of the season and who our major players are going to be. It’s been two hours of set up. When are we getting the punchline?
Well, at least we got a bit of eye candy. Jackson Publick said this episode is “probably the most beautifully animated episode of The Venture Bros. ever.” I must admit, I was pretty impressed by moments as simple as The Monarch peering through stained glass.
Okay, let’s break this down. The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend (because “Dr. Mrs. The Monarch” is too much of a pain to type) have finalized their move-in to Phantom Limb’s Frank Lloyd Wright house. The Monarch burned all of Phantom Limb’s stuff, allowing for the second The Secret reference and millionth “Man-” villain joke of the season. He also felt weird about with living in a cozy gated community and a super-villain-filled town called Malice. I’d be worried too, as living in such a place would probably make me want to dance like a little English boy every day.
In an attempt to keep their work and personal lives separate, they have made the Henchmen live on their own in the Cocoon. However, Kevin and Tim-Tom have been complaining about bullying and The Monarch agrees to let them live in the house. Obviously, the Murderous Moppets are the ones doing the actual bullying, but it seems like they’re very manipulative as well. At the end of the season premiere, they stabbed #24 after the Gatorade attack, leaving him stuck in the sick bay. Despite their Shadowmen history, The Monarch still doesn’t quite know who #24 is.
#21: You think you could sign this, boss? It’s for #24. He got knifed by the Moppets.
The Monarch: Which one is #24, again?
#21: What? You’re kidding, right? Let me give you a hint… You know how every time you talk to me, there’s usually another guy next me? That’s #24.
The Monarch: Right, right, right. The one who sounds like Ray Romano. I like him.
Over on the Venture compound, Sgt. Hatred paid a visit to his newest Guild-assigned arch-enemy, Dr. Venture. The first time we saw Sgt. Hatred, he was sucking on the toes of his wife, Princess Tinyfeet, so I was worried we were going to be facing a lot more of that business in the compound. Instead, Hatred seemed polite and eager to show Brock and Dr. Venture that he knows the Guild guidelines and wants to play fairly. The best part of this was when Hatred suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Dr. Venture in the stomach as a joke. Sensitive to Dr. Venture’s frail nature, he immediately ordered his henchmen to go “full Nerf.” By the way, Hatred is not voiced by Brendon Small, but Jackson Publick because he will be playing a greater role this season.
In an attempt to distract himself, The Monarch flipped through the Guild facebook to find a new goodie to arch. We quickly saw a picture of Dr. Tara Quymn in the book. No information on her yet, but there’s an upcoming episode called “Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman,” so she’s probably important. Perhaps she’s The Monarch’s new Guild-assigned enemy? The Monarch’s peace was interrupted by the Venture family accidentally coming to his door while looking for Sgt. Hatred’s meet-and-greet party. Missing the old days of hatin’ on Venture, he decided to stop by as well.
Sgt. Hatred’s place was packed with super-villains, including Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Nightmare-coat, who is actually much scarier up close. We were also reminded of Sgt. Hatred’s old pedo-tendencies when he spotted Hank and Dean in his house. The Monarch volunteered to send the beautiful minors to the Cocoon for the henchmen to babysit, just to have Dr. Venture unattached. While Dr. Venture awkwardly wandered around a party full of baddies and attempted to hit on Dr. Girlfriend (meow), Sgt. Hatred showed The Monarch around his home, which includes a weapons den with a big-ass Confederate flag. The Monarch swiped an explosive chip. Sneaky, sneaky. More stealing from Hatred.
Hank and #21 had some fun after leaving hapless #24 with Dean, going all Patch Adams in the sick bay. When #24 talked about his dad dating his ex-girlfriend, I desperately wanted him to say something about “under the shirt, over the bra with new mom,” which is a quote from the DVD commentary that still haunts me to this day. #21 took Hank to the house to show him the Moppets and, after a few jokes about Nell, they were caught snooping and bolted. Were Tim-Tom and Kevin planning on gassing the Monarch and the Henchmen or Dr. Girlfriend as well? I feel like they have a weird attachment to their mommy-figure Dr. Girlfriend, but they could also be using her as just an in to the Monarch situation. Perhaps they’re sick of number two-ing for a number two. Anyway, the Moppets grabbed their knives to chase down #21 and Hank, who they thought was #24. A crazy Pacman-like chase sent #21, #24, Hank and Dean into Sgt. Hatred’s hedge maze, where the Henchmen shed their costumes to get rid off the embedded tracking devices. Hank and Dean decided to go streaking too, but at least we didn’t have to see them naked. I liked how Hank’s kerchief was actually attached to his shirt and not a separate accessory. How very cartoon-y.
Back at the party, The Monarch planted the explosive chip on Dr. Venture after some crappy party games (Dr. Girlfriend didn’t know who Jackie O was and… Chairman Wow, I see you!). We also learned the secret of Dr. Girlfriend’s voice in the most anti-climactic way possible. She smokes. That’s it. She has a smoker’s voice because she’s been smoking since, like, ’89. Frustrated by her secret, The Monarch took a soak in the hot tub with Sgt. Hatred. Beautifully tying up all the throwaway references to the Henchmen stealing parts from Sgt. Hatred’s machines, we learn that Sgt. Hatred has not been ignorant to the goings-on. He revealed his plan to treat Dr. Venture like a king to make The Monarch’s life torture, killing him without actually touching him. The Monarch, showing off his strategically placed censor box, then told Sgt. Hatred about the chip he had planted. His joy was short-lived though, as Dr. Venture stopped by to join them in the hot tub, just as the chip was about to go off. Good thing Sgt. Hatred hasn’t perfected his technology, because it didn’t go off. Still, this was the most naked episode ending ever.
It looks like the Monarch has yet another obstacle to get through to kill Venture. There’s Brock, the Guild, Sgt. Hatred and, most importantly, Dr. Girlfriend. Will he break her heart to fulfill his inexplicable desire to get rid of Dr. Venture? Also, when are we going to see Dean finally snap? During his short heart-to-heart with #24 at the end, he mentioned another crazy dream about his dad as a penis-stealing spider. An insane mental breakdown seems almost inevitable at this point.
Shirt of the Week: Sergeant Hatred. A part of me wanted it to be based on Sgt. Hatred’s lettered abdomen, as just “ATRED” going down the shirt. But this is cool too, I guess.
The Venture Bros: Home Is Where The Hate Is - VIDEO
Wow! An episode with absolutely no flashbacks or crazy hallucinations. That’s a change. However, this was definitely the slowest episode out of the four that have aired, and I feel like we are missing something. Don’t get me wrong. I have loved just about everything from this season, but it seems like we should be a bit further at this point. Only now do we see the direction for the rest of the season and who our major players are going to be. It’s been two hours of set up. When are we getting the punchline?
Well, at least we got a bit of eye candy. Jackson Publick said this episode is “probably the most beautifully animated episode of The Venture Bros. ever.” I must admit, I was pretty impressed by moments as simple as The Monarch peering through stained glass.
Okay, let’s break this down. The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend (because “Dr. Mrs. The Monarch” is too much of a pain to type) have finalized their move-in to Phantom Limb’s Frank Lloyd Wright house. The Monarch burned all of Phantom Limb’s stuff, allowing for the second The Secret reference and millionth “Man-” villain joke of the season. He also felt weird about with living in a cozy gated community and a super-villain-filled town called Malice. I’d be worried too, as living in such a place would probably make me want to dance like a little English boy every day.
In an attempt to keep their work and personal lives separate, they have made the Henchmen live on their own in the Cocoon. However, Kevin and Tim-Tom have been complaining about bullying and The Monarch agrees to let them live in the house. Obviously, the Murderous Moppets are the ones doing the actual bullying, but it seems like they’re very manipulative as well. At the end of the season premiere, they stabbed #24 after the Gatorade attack, leaving him stuck in the sick bay. Despite their Shadowmen history, The Monarch still doesn’t quite know who #24 is.
#21: You think you could sign this, boss? It’s for #24. He got knifed by the Moppets.
The Monarch: Which one is #24, again?
#21: What? You’re kidding, right? Let me give you a hint… You know how every time you talk to me, there’s usually another guy next me? That’s #24.
The Monarch: Right, right, right. The one who sounds like Ray Romano. I like him.
Over on the Venture compound, Sgt. Hatred paid a visit to his newest Guild-assigned arch-enemy, Dr. Venture. The first time we saw Sgt. Hatred, he was sucking on the toes of his wife, Princess Tinyfeet, so I was worried we were going to be facing a lot more of that business in the compound. Instead, Hatred seemed polite and eager to show Brock and Dr. Venture that he knows the Guild guidelines and wants to play fairly. The best part of this was when Hatred suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Dr. Venture in the stomach as a joke. Sensitive to Dr. Venture’s frail nature, he immediately ordered his henchmen to go “full Nerf.” By the way, Hatred is not voiced by Brendon Small, but Jackson Publick because he will be playing a greater role this season.
In an attempt to distract himself, The Monarch flipped through the Guild facebook to find a new goodie to arch. We quickly saw a picture of Dr. Tara Quymn in the book. No information on her yet, but there’s an upcoming episode called “Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman,” so she’s probably important. Perhaps she’s The Monarch’s new Guild-assigned enemy? The Monarch’s peace was interrupted by the Venture family accidentally coming to his door while looking for Sgt. Hatred’s meet-and-greet party. Missing the old days of hatin’ on Venture, he decided to stop by as well.
Sgt. Hatred’s place was packed with super-villains, including Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Nightmare-coat, who is actually much scarier up close. We were also reminded of Sgt. Hatred’s old pedo-tendencies when he spotted Hank and Dean in his house. The Monarch volunteered to send the beautiful minors to the Cocoon for the henchmen to babysit, just to have Dr. Venture unattached. While Dr. Venture awkwardly wandered around a party full of baddies and attempted to hit on Dr. Girlfriend (meow), Sgt. Hatred showed The Monarch around his home, which includes a weapons den with a big-ass Confederate flag. The Monarch swiped an explosive chip. Sneaky, sneaky. More stealing from Hatred.
Hank and #21 had some fun after leaving hapless #24 with Dean, going all Patch Adams in the sick bay. When #24 talked about his dad dating his ex-girlfriend, I desperately wanted him to say something about “under the shirt, over the bra with new mom,” which is a quote from the DVD commentary that still haunts me to this day. #21 took Hank to the house to show him the Moppets and, after a few jokes about Nell, they were caught snooping and bolted. Were Tim-Tom and Kevin planning on gassing the Monarch and the Henchmen or Dr. Girlfriend as well? I feel like they have a weird attachment to their mommy-figure Dr. Girlfriend, but they could also be using her as just an in to the Monarch situation. Perhaps they’re sick of number two-ing for a number two. Anyway, the Moppets grabbed their knives to chase down #21 and Hank, who they thought was #24. A crazy Pacman-like chase sent #21, #24, Hank and Dean into Sgt. Hatred’s hedge maze, where the Henchmen shed their costumes to get rid off the embedded tracking devices. Hank and Dean decided to go streaking too, but at least we didn’t have to see them naked. I liked how Hank’s kerchief was actually attached to his shirt and not a separate accessory. How very cartoon-y.
Back at the party, The Monarch planted the explosive chip on Dr. Venture after some crappy party games (Dr. Girlfriend didn’t know who Jackie O was and… Chairman Wow, I see you!). We also learned the secret of Dr. Girlfriend’s voice in the most anti-climactic way possible. She smokes. That’s it. She has a smoker’s voice because she’s been smoking since, like, ’89. Frustrated by her secret, The Monarch took a soak in the hot tub with Sgt. Hatred. Beautifully tying up all the throwaway references to the Henchmen stealing parts from Sgt. Hatred’s machines, we learn that Sgt. Hatred has not been ignorant to the goings-on. He revealed his plan to treat Dr. Venture like a king to make The Monarch’s life torture, killing him without actually touching him. The Monarch, showing off his strategically placed censor box, then told Sgt. Hatred about the chip he had planted. His joy was short-lived though, as Dr. Venture stopped by to join them in the hot tub, just as the chip was about to go off. Good thing Sgt. Hatred hasn’t perfected his technology, because it didn’t go off. Still, this was the most naked episode ending ever.
It looks like the Monarch has yet another obstacle to get through to kill Venture. There’s Brock, the Guild, Sgt. Hatred and, most importantly, Dr. Girlfriend. Will he break her heart to fulfill his inexplicable desire to get rid of Dr. Venture? Also, when are we going to see Dean finally snap? During his short heart-to-heart with #24 at the end, he mentioned another crazy dream about his dad as a penis-stealing spider. An insane mental breakdown seems almost inevitable at this point.
Shirt of the Week: Sergeant Hatred. A part of me wanted it to be based on Sgt. Hatred’s lettered abdomen, as just “ATRED” going down the shirt. But this is cool too, I guess.
The Venture Bros: Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part II, Finale)
(S02E13) What a beautiful way to wrap up a season. Even the weakest parts of the episode were tremendously enjoyable.
There’s a whole new order set up for the third season (which Adult Swim should greenlight, if they know what’s good for ’em)… The Ventures and The Monarch have become friends (and if not “friends”, then “non-enemies”) and Phantom Limb is now a completely rogue villain (he has strayed from the Guild). Maybe P. Limb will recruit Triana’s friend, Kim, to do his bidding. Maybe Brock will continue to train/work with the henchmen. Maybe, now that the Cocoon has been destroyed, The Monarch will start renting space in the Venture compound, like Doctor Orpheus (hilarity would surely ensue). There’s a whole world of possibilities and I couldn’t be more excited.
The episode started where the last one left off. Right after Phantom Limb threatened to kill everyone, the wedding guests all panicked and escaped. Dr. Girlfriend was absolutely furious and, despite a few attempts to talk to Phantom Limb, she was taken away by his minions — surprise, surprise — Klaus Nomi and Iggy Pop. David Bowie called them traitors and he, with The Monarch and Brock, led a pretty cool fight. Klaus used his super-high singing voice and Iggy used a glowing ball thing that he could throw and command to create an explosive “pop” (haw-haw). Bowie became the victim of Iggy’s pop and left nothing but a pack of cigarettes in his place. Iggy pocketed the free smokes, Klaus pulled an unconscious Dr. Girlfriend away, cave-man style. I wish Iggy sounded a bit more Iggy-like… I was reminded too much of Hank, and it was kind of distracting.
Dean, still stuck in the engine room, desperately tried to contact his family, but to no avail. I liked how, during his call to Brock, he felt the need to clarify that he was “Dean… Dean Venture”. What a Dean thing to do. Then, something weird happened. He found a soda pop pull-tab on the floor, put it on his finger, and it started glowing. A massive Billy Quizboy appeared (with no eye-patch) as the Giant Boy Detective. The two of them embarked on a super-awesome adventure. It was… strange.
Dean: You’re a short giant… Aren’t you, like, 30-feet tall in the books?
Giant Boy Detective: Oh! You think I’m a disappointment, you should see Clifford. He’s, like, the size of those little dogs that rich ladies drag around. Plus, he’s more pink than red.
Only The Venture Bros. can make a freakin’ Clifford joke and still be bad-ass.
Meanwhile, the Order of the Triad — and the creepy guy that they materialized in the last episode — hopped on the X-1 to save the Ventures.
On P. Limb’s craft, Dr. Girlfriend angrily bitched at him and his two stooges (Klaus: “I wasn’t in The Stooges…”), reminding P. Limb of all the shit he was going to get from The Sovereign. Then, he let a bomb drop… He IS The Sovereign! I’m not gonna lie, I totally gasped out loud. But then, around the time I started wondering the same thing, Dr. Girlfriend said this wasn’t possible because she had seen The Sovereign talk to P. Limb over the telescreen. Then P. Limb explained that he held the position of The NEW Sovereign because he had killed the old one… Bowie. Okay, that makes sense now. Kind of. P. Limb ordered Iggy to smoke his new cigarettes outside of the craft and he begrudgingly agreed. Apparently, Bowie had the power to morph because he popped out of the cigarette pack and beat the shit out of Iggy. “Make way for the Homo Superior!” Cigarette-Bowie? Double-you tee eff?
Back in the Cocoon, Brock Samson, the only man to ever make the henchman uniform look cool, rallied the “murderflies” together and got them pumped for battle. I loved that, despite being repeated attacked by Brock in previous years, the henchmen were still totally fanboy-ing over him (Henchmen: “I forgive you, Brock Samson!”… “I was asking for it!”… “I love you, Brock Samson!”). The best part of this was when the henchmen found out that the wings on their uniforms actually function as working wings. Awesome. Brock then led them straight into action with P. Limb’s armada. In order to bypass Brock and get into the battle, Hank put on his goggles and Russian Guyovich gear (”I am exchange henchman… from Russian super-villain!”). Brock caught on, but it wasn’t until Hank was already in mid-air and about to die.
Dean was still in his trippy Insectia world. He encountered the White Oracle (Pete White with a beard) and the Lab Rat (Doc Venture as a snippy rat in a lab coat). He, Dean the Warrior, was charged with the mission to save Princess Tinglepants, ruler of Insectia. In order to do that, he had to face the Insect King (a golden Zorak-looking guy with The Monarch’s voice) and destroy his black heart and evil machinery. I seriously didn’t “get” this storyline. It’s, like, it was there just so that the Cocoon would have a reason to fail (which it did, when Dean destroyed the “evil machinery” in the engine room). I guess his cries after setting the orphans free also revealed that Dean doesn’t really love his life as a Venture. But still, I thought this storyline was the weak point of the episode. Oh! And Princess Tinglepants (Triana with long hair, pretty much) was at the wedding. Did anyone else notice? She was one of the panicked wedding guests that ran across the screen when P. Limb appeared. I don’t know if that was intentional or not.
Anyway, the Cocoon lost power, so The Monarch and Doc Venture scrambled into the bedroom/escape pod. Bowie (in the form of Iggy) killed Klaus and went on to P. Limb. Brock, Hank 21, and 24 were on the roof of P. Limb’s craft, attempting to get in. Suddenly, the X-1 flew in, bumped into P. Limb’s craft, and crashed into the Cocoon’s engine room. The Order found Dean inside, still on his weird trip. Orpheus took Dean outside to the canyon, where everyone else was. The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend were reunited, the Ventures came together once again, and 21 and 24 found out that their wings also served as flotation devices. Apparently, P. Limb escaped just in time, but lost one of his invisible parts (one that The Alchemist was very happy to find). Bowie stopped by one more time to offer his final congratulations to The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend. Then, morphed into an eagle and flew away.
Hank: That guy from Labyrinth just turned into a bird!
Credits. At the very, very end of the credits were the words “THE VENTURE BROS. WILL RETURN…” Phew. That’s comforting to know.
As the Ventures ventured home, the new couple in the Cocoon took a break from some heavy bed-activity. Dr. Girlfriend (Dr. Wife?) turned to The Monarch to tell him a big secret. This is all we heard…
Dr. Girlfriend: [to self] Sheila, you’ve been rehearsing this. [sighs] Monarch… I’m… [no audio]
The Monarch: WHAT?!
Damn it. “WHAT?!” is right! “I’m…” pregnant? A post-op? Your father? Going to have to kill you? David Bowie? So… yeah. That was the big cliff-hanger. Obviously, it wasn’t as huge as the first season’s finale, but it was still enough to drive us fans absolutely crazy. Oh, and Sheila?! This was so much better than learning Henry Gale’s real name.
And a quick message from me, on behalf of Venture Bros. fans everywhere, to Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer (pictured below, from the final Astrobase-Go!odbye)…
We love you, we love you.