Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Venture Bros.: Season 4 Blu-ray Movie Review

Don't try to understand it all. Just enjoy it for what it is...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown May 1, 2011

Originally conceived as a late-night Cartoon Network programming block in 2001, Adult Swim quickly caught on with fanboys and twenty-something insomniacs yearning for subversive Western animation, uncensored Japanese anime and other genre-defying original series. By 2005, it became its own independent entity; while it still shared broadcast space with the Cartoon Network, it was cordoned off by Turner Broadcasting and left to sink or swim on its own merits. The resulting post-primetime attack on the funny bone was a resounding success, propelling Adult Swim into pop culture infamy and tapping into an audience who previously had to scour video stores and online archives to get their obscure animation fix. DVD releases only helped the Adult Swim block grow in popularity, bringing further attention to the Cartoon Network's late-night shenanigans and exposing more and more like-minded viewers to its unique humor and penchant for biting satire. Enter Venture Bros., a sharply-written parody of classic Johnny Quest-era cartoons, comicbooks, and really anything unfortunate enough to stumble into series creator Jackson Publick and co-writer Doc Hammer's firing range. The Blu-ray release of Venture Bros: Season 4 includes all sixteen fourth-season episodes and, for better or worse, goes for the jugular with every joke, gag and arbitrary pop culture reference Publick and Hammer have stashed in their arsenal.

Brock becomes an agent of S.P.H.I.N.X.

All your favorite heroes and villains (as well as several newcomers) are on hand for another string of wild, free-wheeling adventures (or misadventures, as it were). The dim-witted Brothers Venture, teen twins Hank and Dean (voiced by Publick and Michael Sinterniklaas), find themselves in more trouble than ever; their father, Dr. Rusty Venture (James Urbaniak) is back in the hot seat, squaring off with Nazis, paralysis, mind control and other everyday mishaps involving the Venture clan; the family's former bodyguard, lock-jawed man-of-action Brock Samson (The Tick himself, Patrick Warburton), accepts a job with S.P.H.I.N.X, in spite of his continued affection for the Ventures; their new bodyguard, ex-nemesis Sergeant Hatred (Publick), is struggling to adjust to his new role as protector; the evil Monarch (Publick), his wife Doctor Girlfriend (Hammer), their bumbling henchmen 21 and 24 (Hammer and Publick), and Girlfriend's murderous, pint-sized tagalongs Tim-Tom and Kevin (Publick and Hammer again) concoct even more nefarious plots to snuff out the Ventures; and a truly eccentric lineup of baddies and beasties from the Revenge Society, the Guild of Calamitous Intent and other sinister organizations follow in the Monarch's bloody footsteps.

I'm not sure if Season 4 is better than Season 3 or if Venture Bros. is just starting to grow on me. Either way, I had a lot more fun with each episode this go around than the last time the brothers and I convened. Granted, the show is still best sampled by the spoonful as far as I'm concerned; one episode a night rather than by way of a seven-hour VB buffet. But most every comedy series will leave fans nauseous if they gorge themselves. What works? Publick and Hammer make Season 4 a veritable two-man show, and a snappy, surprising, laugh-out-loud hilarious one at that. Warburton and his fellow voiceover grunts are indispensable as well, and Samson's new career doesn't interfere with his screentime. If anything, Brock -- easily my favorite character of the bunch -- is given far more opportunities to shine rather than phoning in the same tiresome bodyguard antics of previous seasons. And promoting former villain Sergeant Hatred to Venture guardian proves to be nothing less than a stroke of mad genius. His... ahem, affinity for young boys pushes the bounds of good taste, but this is Adult Swim, and the sort of adult who gravitates to Adult Swim won't bat an eye. By this point, fans know to expect nothing less. In fact, they demand that lines be crossed, sensibilities be offended and the unthinkable be slathered on screen for all to see.

Strides aside, the series biggest problem -- its accessibility -- is still a pressing one. Even the most diligent dieharders will scratch their heads as allegiances, feuds, betrayals, mad-hatter hijinks, and over-the-head references litter the already gory Venture battlefield. Those who enjoy the lunacy the most are those who quickly learn to let go and let God (or Publick and Hammer, as be the case here). Trying to make sense of it all is a fool's errand and, honestly, completely beside the point. The sheer insanity of it all is part of the series' charm and essential to the lifeforce of Venture Bros. and its patented brand of irreverent whiz-bang humor. That said, when you get it, you really get it. Watching VB is like barreling through a pop culture treasure hunt, and there's nothing funnier or more satisfying than catching onto one of Publick and Hammer's nichiest niche-audience nods. Exhausting an endurance run as some of the fourth season episodes may be, it's hard to deny how infectious the series' breakneck momentum and jokes-per-minute ratio can be. With so many allies and foes, intersecting subplots, and double, triple and quadruple-crosses, it's also next to impossible to grow bored with Venture Bros. Its humor certainly isn't for everyone, its scripts will alienate soft-skinned newcomers, and each episode all but demands a perfect blend of curiosity and loyalty from even its most faithful viewers, but for those who survive the rigorous indoctrination process, it's well worth it. If you're new to Venture Bros, start with an earlier season. If you're a battle-hardened veteran, strap on your boots and dive into the fray of Season 4.

The Venture Bros.: Season 4 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Crisp, clean and oh-so-colorful, Warner's initially striking 1080p/VC-1 encode leaves a lasting impression. Unfortunately, that impression has little to do with the presentation's crisp, clean or colorful qualities. Ungodly bursts of artifacting, persistent aliasing, mild to moderate banding, and other undesirables bring the Blu-ray edition of Venture Bros: Season 4 to its knees and, with each passing episode, render the whole of the experience more and more disappointing. It's a shame too. Primaries pack comicbook pizazz, black levels are rich and inky, detail is practically pixel-perfect, and many a scene goes by without a hitch. But every time I began to feel a sliver of hope, another unsightly anomaly would remind me how many misses the studio's hit-or-miss video presentation actually entails. Just beware the lure of static screenshots; they fail to tell the full tale.

The Venture Bros.: Season 4 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Warner's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track isn't much better. Dialogue ranges from full and clear to thin and bewildering; LFE output unloads everything it's got one minute, only to retreat the next; the rear speakers attempt to create a decent soundfield here and there, but leave far too much to the imagination; directionality is commendable at times, nearly non-existent at most others; and dynamics lack consistent kick, especially considering how violent the Ventures' run-ins with their nemeses become. Yes, part of the blame falls on the series' original sound design and its made-for-TV roots. But part of the blame also falls on a lackluster lossless track. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

The Venture Bros.: Season 4 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray edition of Venture Bros: Season 4 rolls out more than eight hours of special features, including sixteen creator commentaries, a collection of deleted scenes and a selection of promos. Not too shabby for an Adult Swim release, or any television release for that matter.

• Audio Commentaries: Series creator Jackson Publick and co-writer Doc Hammer dissect, defend, deface and delight in each episode of Venture Bros: Season 4, explaining every obscure reference, addressing both fan-favorite developments and less-than-popular gags, and making the absolute most of their six-and-a-half hour, sixteen-episode running audio commentary. They drift off course every now and then, jabbering away about everything from Jehovah witnesses to comicbook conventions, but it's all a part of their charm. Venture Bros. junkies will be ecstatic.
• Alternate "Operation: P.R.O.M." Audio Tracks: Watch the season finale -- "Operation: P.R.O.M." -- with censored or uncensored audio. Pick your poison.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 29 minutes): Twelve largely unfinished deleted scenes are presented via animated storyboards and lifted from the cutting room floor of "Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel," "Handsome Ransom," "The Revenge Society," "Self-Medication," "The Better Man," "The Diving Bell vs. the Butter-Glider," "Pomp and Circuitry," "Any Which Way but Zeus," "Bright Lights, Dean City," "Assisted Suicide," "The Silent Partners" and "Operation: P.R.O.M."
• So This is Captain... (HD, 2 minutes): Voice actor Toby Huss wraps his tongue around the same line again and again and again and, well, you get the idea.
• Finale On-Air Promos (HD, 3 minutes): A series of live-action Venture Bros. promotional spots.
• Comic-Con Promo (SD, 4 minutes): Comic-Con attendees were privy to this Season 4 sneak peek.
• "Lost" Open (SD, 2 minutes): An alternate opening, nothing more. Sorry Lost fans.

The Venture Bros.: Season 4 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Will Venture Bros' fourth season earn the Adult Swim series any new fans? I doubt it. Will its Blu-ray release completely satisfy VB junkies? Only those willing to look past its problematic AV presentation. Sadly, the highlight of Venture Bros: Season 4 is its sixteen-commentary supplemental package. The season's episodes are extremely funny but largely inaccessible to newcomers, its video transfer is plagued with issues and its Dolby TrueHD mix is underwhelmingly average.