You know how, sometimes, there is a conclusion you’ve reached but are trying to avoid at all costs.  I’m not sure you try to avoid your newly realized opinion, maybe it has something to do with letting go of the past or simply trying to deny reality from setting in, but in the end there is just no getting away from it.  I’ve hit that point with the Venture Bros.

When Adult Swim launched the series very few watched, but as the story developed so did the fan base.  By the end of the first season the cult following pushed [AS] to order a second season which was, by far, the best in terms of story writing. Season three attempted to explore some of the secondary characters and move them into larger roles within the story. In my mind, S3 was a disaster of season that just didn’t flow with Season two…. and now Season 4 is continuing the same disastrous path.

Ok, here are my big issue:

• Sergeant Hatred replacing Brock was just, well, stupid. Don’t know where the Brock story line is going but the lack of him significantly takes away from the show.
• Now they “boys” no longer have clones they are mortal… I don’t want to watch them grow up, I want to see the stupid stuff they did in season 1 and 2. When shows seem to “age” their characters the story always seems to suffer to me.
• I really don’t care about the secondary characters though there is a bit of humor with henchman #21 talking to his dead friends head as if he was still alive
• There stories don’t seem to mesh and the series does not feel like it is moving forward.  Now it almost feels like 30 mins of “how much secondary crap can we fit in and call it an episode”
• The humor seems to be lacking. While there are a few one liners that have popped up the make you think humor that I loved so much about the show seems to be gone as well

I think the Venture Brothers, the show I loved so dearly, has gone in a different direction – one that I’m not willing to follow with. I wish that wasn’t the case but it is.  Thank you for the good times but you’ve lost me as a dedicated fan.

I was a HUGE fan of the Venture Bros long before they even came to TV. In Chicago they had a number odd marketing slogans on buses or inside the el trains. I was in love with the idea almost as quickly I fell in love with my wife (granted, I knew her for 16 years but I digress).

Now, as I sit here watching the first half of season four – and I say the first half – because it would have taken the production team months produce a full season, so they broke it down…you know… for the fans. Basically, if they would have followed their old method of production it would have a new season of the Venture Bros show up sometime in 2010. Let’s face it, fans and their cult following want them now!

Anyway.

I’ve watched this season and I am at a loss for… I’m at a loss for, well, just about everything. I won’t be throwing out too much so that I will not impact your ability to watch but WHY did Brock end up going? Sargent Hatedgred and his petobear way is Brock’s replacement? You have a bunch of these other “groups” that think they are now going after Dr. Venture…

While the writers of the show have always been pushing the limits by what they say, or the situations they are in, but this season seems to be very bizarre and in no way does any of it feel like it ties together.

I haven’t even begun to watch the next season of metalocalypse after how [AS] has given the treatment to The Venture Brothers……

Sad.

Fans of the Venture Bros. your time is near!  Sure, the season starts in November.. but fans can get a taste of what is coming thanks to the Season 4 trailer.

I have no doubt there are many questions running through your mind.. What did I just watch?  Who is the new body guard? Are the clones of Dean and Hank really gone?

Favorite quote of the promo comes from Dean Venture:  ”I love Hitler and Hitler loves me. He’s not all bad, Hitler just needs someone to believe in him.”

Makes you wonder if the show had the balls to actually create a character named Hitler! I cannot wait to see what is in store for us.

Bug

This evening I happened upon a movie from 2007 staring Ashley Judd. Bug. “Hmm, interesting name” I thought to myself as I sat waiting for the show to start on Showtime… or Cinemax… whatever. From the get go I knew I was in trouble.

The movie was horrible! So bad, I couldn’t even watch past the first 26 minutes. The story seemed aimless, the acting was just awful. Hell, one would have thought Ashley Judd and Harry Connick, Jr. would have turned in better performances. Apparently not.

Bad story and bad acting aside, I’m shocked that William Friedkin – yes William “The Exorcist” Friedkin – would even attach his name to this hunk of crap. Well, I guess it s not that surprising he would as he never really had any other major movies, but still… Come on Billy!

I wouldn’t even put this movie on a DVD let alone direct to DVD.

The Venture Bros.

At this very moment Adult Swim [AS] is showing “My Dinner with Hatred”, an episode of The Venture Brothers from Season 3. While this specific episode isn’t bad, there is some great one liners, it reminds me just how off Season 3 was from Dr. Venture and Brock.

I don’t know what exactly caused the season to go awry…

I seem to remember the producers of the show having an issue with Adult Swim changing the order in which the episodes aired. Maybe that caused an inconsistency with the overall “flow” of the season but it just didn’t work as well as past.

Season 4 will start this fall, I just hope the magic is still there.

16 Porn Stars infected with HIV in one week

Anyone – ANYONE – who things to themselves “Going around having unprotected sex with random ‘actors’ seems like a safe thing” is just a bit off… well.. maybe not off but definitely fooling themselves. There is nothing safe about it.

So, when the news breaks a story about 16 porn stars infected with HIV (in one week) are you really that surprised?

Despite porn industry assurances that an adult film actress’ recent positive HIV test is the first since a 2004 outbreak shut down production for a month, Los Angeles County health officials said Thursday that at least 16 additional unpublicized cases of HIV have been confirmed in adult film performers.

Didn’t think so.

What was surprising, however, was this:

Since 2004, 2,378 people who identified themselves as adult film industry performers have tested positive for chlamydia in Los Angeles County. An additional 1,357 tested positive for gonorrhea and 15 for syphilis, according to data released Thursday by the county’s health department.

That is just a lot of VD! Thank god you can’t get it from watching porn.

So the new Miss California thinks… well….

Oh, I love it when a plan comes together. The new Miss California also believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Interesting you don’t hear this breaking out to be a huge story:

Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Farrell, who is Christian, on his show today:

“[Prejean] went out and said that a marriage is between a man and a woman. Do you share that view?”

Farrell responded in the affirmative with a simple, “Uh huh.”

“You do, OK,” said Cavuto.

Farrell quickly added: “I don’t think that I have the right or anybody has a right to tell somebody who they can or can’t love. And I think that this is a civil rights issue. And I think that the right thing to do is let the voters decide.”

You are right, let the voters decide… and they did.

This past weekend was the 6^th season finale for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the often bizarre and crass animated show on Adult Swim. You may have never watched the show but I’m sure you’ll remember how Boston shut down years ago because of a “bomb” threat that ended up being nothing more than a modified Light Bright for the show. Anyway…

Sunday was the much lauded “live action” season finale for the show – cool concept, horrible execution.

Let’s face it, ATHF is not Shakespeare. Never will be. The humor is very basic, but quite funny, and in no way does the show take itself seriously. So, the concept of a one off, live action, version episode seemed like the prefect chance to continue the humor but they truly missed the mark.

The two things the animated version has that the live action missed are the character voices and the actor flexibility. One of the reasons people tune in are because the actor voices fit the part – they are funny. Having a live person, who is not that voice, try to deliver lines in their normal voice just doesn’t work. It’s like Mike Rowe playing Pee Wee Herman in his normal voice… just not going to work.

The second thing that just didn’t fit was the limitation the actors faced. The character “moves” just cannot be pulled off by a human, and if they were to try it would look worse than a 70’s exploitation film that was attempted to pass itself off as a real movie.

The very basic aside, the show also lacked the very fundamental concept of humor. Actually, most of this season lacked the humor. A number of times this season I felt as if the production crew was simply throwing something down and saying “here you go” and it magically went to air.

No quality check. No testing. Just “here you go”

In many ways, then, the season finale was the perfect way to end a bad season. Why change at this point? Really, think about it. The core mentality that made the show what it was seemed to be lacking all year, why would one have a moment of brilliance if you couldn’t provide that during all other episodes.

I fear this is a sign of things to come for ATHF. Please, [AS], get your act back together. Things have been suffering for some time now and it is getting very obvious that programming is going down.

Just a reminder to everyone, the Family Guy episode “Not All Dogs Go To Heaven” is playing tonight on Adult Swim (11e/10c and 3e/2c).  

This ep. was pulled from Hulu over Star Trek TNG licensing issues, so make sure to catch it this evening if  you can.

Ah, with the family events now over, but Christmas still in mind, let’s take a look at some of the classic [Adult Swim] Christmas moments…

ATHF – Horror Claus

Stroker & Hoop – Santa and the Christmas Ghosts

Squidbillies – Scrotum Fishhooks

Because of a meeting I was in this past week, I thought of good old “Employee Orientation” videos.  Those nuts at William Street, where Harvey Birdman is produced, put out this classic.

LOVE IT!

Just a reminder, Metalocalypse – Season 2 - is out on DVD as of 12/02/2008.  Chances are you’ve never really had much exposure to this, which is OK, but you really have no clue as to what you are missing.

Pure. Comedy. Gold.

Here you go, enjoy. Oh, and yes, this is a bit unsafe for work.

Here are the 10 reasons you are spend your late evenings watching adult swim (and not in bed with your hot wife)

10. The ATHF theme song rocks.

9. You find Major Motoko Kusanagi, from Ghost in the shell, really hot and you think you could have a chance with her.

8. Morel Orel , as uncomfortable the show seems at times, has sublime humor about religion .

7. Carl. Need we say anything more?

6. Because you love Brian, from Family Guy, when he says “Meg made me eat her hair pie”.

5. You are waiting for the classic episodes of Sealab 2021, Chickmate, where debbie’s biological clock goes off, and All That Jazz where Murphy is trapped by an evil soda machine.

4. Futurama! Oh, wait…

3. There is nothing like watching a robot hump a washing machine.

2. The Venture Brothers is the best show going for them.

1. Because you don’t have a hot wife, let alone a hot girlfriend.