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.