The Venture Bros.: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:57, 10 October 2006

Latest revision as of 20:28, 4 August 2025

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{{infoboxshort description|American adult animated television series}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}

| show_name = The Venture Bros.

{{Infobox television

| image = [[Image:Venture_bros_logo.jpg|240px]]

| captionimage = Dr. Thaddeus Venture, Brock Samson, and Hank and Dean = The Venture Bros logo.svg

| caption =

| rating = {{TV-14}}, {{TV-MA}}

| genre = {{Plainlist|

| format = [[Action-comedy]]

*[[Adult animation]]

| runtime = 0:22

*[[Action-adventure fiction|Action-adventure]]

| creator = [[Jackson Publick]]

*[[Action comedy]]

| starring =

*[[Black comedy]]

[[James Urbaniak]]<br />

*[[Comedy drama]]

[[Patrick Warburton]]<br />

*[[Parody]]/[[satire]]

[[Michael Sinterniklaas]]<br />

*[[Science fantasy]]

[[Christopher McCulloch]]<br />

}}

[[Doc Hammer]]

| creator = {{ubl|[[Jackson Publick]]|[[Doc Hammer]]}}

| country = [[United States]]

| director = {{ubl|Jackson Publick (seasons 5–6)|Juno Lee (season 7)}}

| network =

| voices = {{ubl|[[James Urbaniak]]|[[Patrick Warburton]]|[[Michael Sinterniklaas]]|[[Chris McCulloch]]|Doc Hammer|[[Steven Rattazzi]]|[[Dana Snyder]]}}

{{flagicon| United States}} [[Cartoon Network]] ([[Adult Swim]])<br />

| music = [[J. G. Thirlwell]]

{{flagicon|Canada}} [[Teletoon]]<br />

| country = United States

{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Bravo (television channel)|Bravo]]

| language = English

| first_aired = [[February 16]] [[2003]]

| network = [[Adult Swim]]

| last_aired = present

| executive_producer = {{ubl

| num_episodes = [[List of The Venture Bros. episodes|26]] (plus 1 pilot and 1 special)

|Jackson Publick

| imdb_id = 0417373

|Doc Hammer{{efn|Doc Hammer is credited as executive producer from season 5 onward}}

| tv_com_id = the-venture-brothers/show/17591/

|[[Chris Prynoski]]{{efn|name=EPTitmouse|Chris and Shannon Prynoski serve as executive producers for Titmouse, Inc. for the seasons and specials produced by the studio.}}

|[[Shannon Prynoski]]{{efn|name=EPTitmouse}}

|[[Keith Crofford]]{{efn|name=EPWS|Crofford and Lazzo serve as executive producers for Williams Street from season 5 onward. Prior to this, they are credited as "Executives in Charge of Production for Cartoon Network."}}

|[[Mike Lazzo]]{{efn|name=EPWS}}

}}

| producer = Rachel Simon

| company = {{ubl|[[Doc Hammer|Astro Base GO!]]|NoodleSoup Productions <small>(2003–04)</small>|World Leaders Entertainment <small>(2006–10)</small>|[[Titmouse, Inc.]] <small>(2011–18)</small>|[[Williams Street]] <small>(2016–18)</small>}}

| num_seasons = 7

| num_episodes = 81 (+1 pilot and 4 specials)

| list_episodes = List of The Venture Bros. episodes

| runtime = 22–24 minutes

| first_aired = {{Start date|2003|2|16}}

| last_aired = {{End date|2018|10|7}}

}}

'''''The Venture Bros.''''' is an American [[Unitedadult Statesanimation|Americanadult animated]] [[animatedaction comedy]] television series]] airingcreated asby part[[Jackson ofPublick]] and [[AdultDoc SwimHammer]] onfor [[Cartoon Network]].'s Itlate chroniclesnight theprogramming adventuresblock of[[Adult twoSwim]]. dopeyFollowing teenagea boyspilot Hankepisode andon February Dean16, their2003, super-scientistthe fatherseries Drpremiered on August 7, 2004. Thaddeus''The Venture, andBros.'' theirwas fatherone of Adult Swim's secretlongest-agentrunning bodyguardoriginal Brockseries in terms of years, and had the record for fewest seasons produced of a scripted show per year of continuous production, with seven produced seasons over fifteen years of Samsonproduction.

Throughout its run, the series has received critical acclaim for its writing, characters, humor, animation and world building. It ended its run on October 7, 2018, with a total of 81 episodes over the course of seven seasons as well as four [[Television special|specials]]. On September 7, 2020, series creator Jackson Publick announced on [[Twitter]] that the series had been canceled. A [[direct-to-video]] film, ''[[The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart]]'', was released on July 21, 2023, on digital and July 25, 2023, on Blu-ray<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2023/06/08/venture-bros-fans-rejoice-with-all-new-original-film-the-venture-bros-radiant-is-the-blood-of-the-baboon-heart-222415/20230608adultswim01/|title=Breaking News - Venture Bros. Fans Rejoice with All-New Original Film "The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart" &#124; TheFutonCritic.com|website=www.thefutoncritic.com}}</ref> and premiered on Adult Swim and [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] 90 days later. The film serves as the series finale.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Hibberd|first=James|date=2021-05-12|title=Adult Swim Orders 'Venture Bros.', 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force', 'Metalocalypse' Movies|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/venture-bros-aqua-teen-hunger-force-movies-1234952010/|access-date=2021-05-12|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|number=1392982611178315776|user=JamesUrbaniak|title=@ColonelCactus Not a joke, there will...|date=13 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="Baboon Heart">{{Cite web|last=Milligan|first=Mercedes|date=2023-04-19|title=First Clip Revealed for 'The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart'|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/04/first-clip-revealed-for-the-venture-bros-radiant-is-the-blood-of-the-baboon-heart/|access-date=2023-04-19|website=[[Animation Magazine]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

The series pays homage to the style of the classic [[Hanna-Barbera]] action series ''[[Jonny Quest]]'': Hank and Dean's roles resemble those of Jonny and Hadji, Dr. Venture is a [[caricature]] of Dr. Benton Quest, and Brock Samson presents a testosterone-loaded, excessively violent take on Race Bannon who has appeared in the show ([[flashback (literary technique)|flashbacks]] show, however, that Dr. Venture was more like Jonny in his youth, and his own father was a more traditional "Dr. Quest"). The show also parodies [[The Hardy Boys]] mysteries and comic super heroes.

== Origins Premise==

The series chronicles the lives and adventures of the Venture family: emotionally insecure, unethical and underachieving super-scientist father [[Doctor Thaddeus Venture|Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture]]; his well-meaning but dimwitted and incompetent teenage fraternal twin sons [[Hank Venture|Hank]] and [[Dean Venture]]; the family's [[bodyguard]], [[secret agent]] [[Brock Samson]], or his temporary replacement, the reformed [[villain]] and [[Pederasty|pederast]] [[Sergeant Hatred]]; and the family's self-proclaimed [[archnemesis]], The [[Monarch (The Venture Bros.)|Monarch]], a butterfly-themed supervillain.<ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EGtTOAGYSWQC&q=%22venture+brothers%22&pg=PA173 | date = 2006-08-30 | last = Booker| first = M. Keith| title = Drawn to Television | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | access-date = 2008-12-09 | isbn = 978-0-275-99019-0}}</ref> Initially conceived as a satire of boy adventurer and [[Space Age]] fiction prevalent in the early 1960s, it is considered to be an action/adventure series with both [[comedic]], [[drama]]tic, and world building elements.

==Characters==

Show creator Jackson Publick (a pseudonym for [[Christopher McCulloch]]) was one of the main writers for the Saturday morning animated show ''[[The Tick]]''. [[Ben Edlund]], creator of ''The Tick'', has co-written two episodes, and written one full episode, ''[[¡Viva los Muertos!]]''. [[Patrick Warburton]], who played the Tick in the short-lived live-action series, also provides the voice of Brock Samson.

{{Main|List of The Venture Bros. characters}}

The characters of ''The Venture Bros.'' are largely re-imaginings of characters from ''[[Jonny Quest]]'' as well as comic book [[superhero]]es and [[supervillain]]s.

* [[List of The Venture Bros. characters#Team Venture|Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture]] (voiced by [[James Urbaniak]]), a former boy adventurer and inspiration for the "Rusty Venture" cartoon series, runs what remains of Venture Industries, a once-leading global corporation established by his super-scientist adventurer father Jonas. Since Jonas's death, Venture Industries has declined to a shadow of its former glory, now occupying only a portion of the vast and deteriorating Venture compound and external locations including a base on Spider Skull Island, which his father captured, and the space station Gargantua-1, which his father built. Rusty dropped out of college shortly after his father's death and his academic credentials have been questioned.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Incredible Mr. Brisby |episode-link= List of The Venture Bros. episodes#ep104|series=The Venture Bros.|credits=Jackson Publick|network=[[Cartoon Network]] |station=[[Adult Swim]] |date=August 28, 2004 |season=1 |number=104}}</ref> It is stated he only holds an honorary degree from a [[Tijuana]] community college.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Pomp & Circuitry |episode-link= List of The Venture Bros. episodes#ep410|series=The Venture Bros.|credits=Jackson Publick|network=Cartoon Network| station= Adult Swim|date=September 19, 2010 |season=4 |number=410}}</ref> He attempts to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a super-scientist himself. His competence frequently falls short of his father's and he often demonstrates questionable ethics, leading others to claim that his occasional successes merely capitalize on the work of his late father.

McCulloch created ''The Venture Bros.''' storyline sometime prior to 2000. After working for the television program ''[[Sheep in the Big City]]'' and the live-action version of ''The Tick'', McCulloch set to turning ''The Venture Bros.'' into an animated series. ''The Venture Bros.'' was originally conceived of as a comic book story for an issue of ''Monkeysuit''. McCulloch realized that his notes were too extensive for a short comic story, and decided to pitch it as an animated series to [[Comedy Central]], but it was rejected. Although the first draft of the pilot script was written in the spring of 2000, the premise was not [[Greenlight|greenlit]] until around the summer of 2002 by Adult Swim. McCulloch had not previously considered Cartoon Network because he "didn't want to tone ''The Venture Bros.'' down" and was unaware of the existence of Adult Swim. With the revised pilot, production began in autumn of that year and the pilot was first run on [[February 16]] [[2003]]. The first season of the series was completed in 2004 and it was added to the summer schedule in August.<ref name="origins">{{cite web|url=http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/11320.html|title=It's That Time Again...|accessdate=June 21|accessyear=2006|author=Jackson Publick|authorlink=Christopher McCulloch|date=2005-12-20|publisher=Livejournal.com}}</ref>

* [[Hank Venture|Hank]] (voiced by [[Chris McCulloch]]) and [[Dean Venture]] (voiced by [[Michael Sinterniklaas]]) are the titular [[fraternal twin]] brothers of the show. Hank is the more adventurous and Dean is the more timid and bookish of the two brothers. The two teenaged brothers often wind up in perilous situations, and (as revealed in the second season) have been killed over a dozen times, only to be replaced with exact clones who have no memory of their own deaths. The title ''The Venture Bros.'' has taken on different meanings throughout the series with the introduction of Rusty's fraternal twin brother Jonas Jr., and Hank and Dean's illegitimate paternal half-brother, [[Dermott Fictel]]. The identity of Hank and Dean's mother remains the subject of some debate. At the end of the series finale movie ''[[The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart|The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart]]'' it is revealed that Rusty Venture grew the boys in an artificial womb that he attached to his own abdomen, and it is suggested that Deborah Majeure, daughter of supervillain Force Majeure and actress Bobbi St. Simone, is the boys' genetic mother.

* [[Brock Samson]] (voiced by [[Patrick Warburton]]) is the longstanding bodyguard to the Venture family. Appointed by the [[Office of Secret Intelligence]] (OSI), the muscular and hyper-masculine Brock frequently uses his [[license to kill (concept)|license to kill]] to protect the Venture family from any threat with sudden and brutal violence. He is a ruthless (and somewhat sadistic) hand-to-hand combatant, usually preferring to use a combat knife, his hands and feet, or his vintage Dodge Charger rather than firearms; the Monarch refers to him fearfully as Venture's "Swedish murder machine" ("[[Dia de Los Dangerous!]]"). In the fourth season, Brock Samson is replaced as a bodyguard by [[List of The Venture Bros. characters#Team Venture|Sergeant Hatred]] (voiced by McCulloch), a former supervillain. Prior to becoming their bodyguard, Hatred was assigned to be the Venture family's arch-enemy. Hatred is also a "cured" [[pedophile]]; his pedophilia is actually controlled by an experimental drug ("Nomolestol") given to him by the OSI and its effectiveness has varied wildly between episodes. Season 6 sees Samson return to his position as the Venture's official bodyguard while Sgt. Hatred becomes security for the new Venture compound in New York City.

* Dr. Venture's deceased father, Dr. Jonas Venture (voiced by [[Paul Boocock]]), was the model super-scientist of his day. He was a visionary who changed the world with his inventions and stands as the inspiration for most other protagonists in the series. He formed "Team Venture", a collection of friends and associates that helped him fight crime and subsequently save his son (Dr. Venture) from his arch-enemies. To help his son cope without a mother figure, he developed a loyal and rather emotional [[robot]] named [[H.E.L.P.eR.]] (listed in episode credits as voiced by "Soul-Bot") that accompanies and assists the Ventures. Early in the series, he was portrayed as a model man and father. However, later episodes show him as callous and uncaring about his son's well-being, while showcasing questionable ethics, both medically and socially. In the fourth-season episode [[List of The Venture Bros. episodes|"Self-Medication"]], there is a scene showing the young Rusty Venture receiving psychotherapy from his father. As Rusty says that he longs for a normal childhood, Jonas is shown to have snuck out of his study while Rusty elaborates upon his desire to not follow in his footsteps; after tiptoeing back to his desk, Jonas interrupts him and insists that Rusty blames his father for all of his problems, and is ungrateful for the opportunities given to him. In general, Jonas' portrayal has shown him to be less and less of a sympathetic character as the series progresses, eventually leading Rusty to proclaim that he was a "far worse" father than he is.

Throughout the series, the Venture family has had various recurring antagonists. Many are current or former members of The Guild of Calamitous Intent, an organization founded to save mankind from self-destruction, but which now serves as an ''[[ad hoc]]'' placement agency matching super villains with appropriate heroic nemeses. The organization is run by the mysterious leader known only as "The Sovereign", who is revealed to be real-life rock star [[David Bowie]] in episode 26, though in episode 5 of the 5th season it is revealed that The Sovereign is actually a shape-shifter who frequently appears as Bowie.

== Characters ==

[[Image:VentureBrosCharsSeason2.jpeg|300px|thumb|New and recurring characters from the show's second season.]]

{{main|List of characters from The Venture Bros.|List of secondary characters from The Venture Bros.|List of organizations from The Venture Bros.}}

* The Venture Family's primary nemesis is the pernicious but ineffective super-villain the [[Monarch (The Venture Bros.)|Monarch]] (voiced by McCulloch). Assuming the motif of a [[monarch butterfly]] and "arching" Dr. Venture since college, the Monarch will stop at nothing to antagonize Dr. Venture (even though his motive is unknown). Accompanying the Monarch is the masculine-voiced [[Dr. Girlfriend]] (voiced by [[Doc Hammer]]), referred to by the Monarch as "Dr. Mrs. The Monarch" after their wedding.

The characters of ''The Venture Bros.'' are largely either reimaginings of the characters from ''Jonny Quest'', [[comic book]] [[superhero]]es and [[supervillain]]s, or other famous figures from popular culture. [[Hank Venture|Hank]] (voiced by [[Christopher McCulloch]]) and [[Dean Venture]] (voiced by [[Michael Sinterniklaas]]) are the titular twin brothers of the show; both boys have identifiable characteristics, with Hank being the more adventurous and Dean being the more "effeminate" and bookish of the two. [[Doctor Thaddeus Venture|Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture]] (voiced by [[James Urbaniak]]), currently runs Venture Industries. Dr. Venture assumes the occupation of a "super-scientist," although his knowledge and credentials in the field is questionable. [[Brock Samson]] (voiced by [[Patrick Warburton]]) is the massively muscled and hyper-masculine [[bodyguard]] to the Venture family. He is an Office of Secret Intelligence agent with a [[license to kill (concept)|license to kill]]. Dr. Venture's deceased father, Dr. Jonas Venture (voiced by [[Paul Boocock]]), developed a loyal robot named [[H.E.L.P.eR.]] (voiced by Soul-Bot) that accompanies and assists the Ventures (and frequently displays what appear to be human emotions, but which are ignored by the other characters).

* Baron Werner Ünterbheit (voiced by [[T. Ryder Smith]]) is a former dictator of Ünterland and bears a grudge against Venture. He blames Venture for the loss of his jaw in college, explaining "One is always supposed to look out for one's lab partner!" The season three premiere reveals that the Monarch was responsible for the explosion that destroyed Ünterbheit's jaw, in an early attempt to kill Venture.

* [[Phantom Limb (The Venture Bros.)|Phantom Limb]] (voiced by [[James Urbaniak]]) is another villain, a former lover of Dr. Girlfriend, and a rival to the Monarch. He is very snobby and debonair, and has invisible arms, which can produce energy and electrocute opponents. Phantom Limb was a high-ranking Guild member, until he tried to usurp the Sovereign.

* The Ventures' friends and acquaintances include expert [[necromancy|necromancer]] [[Doctor Byron Orpheus]] (voiced by [[Steven Rattazzi]]) and his apathetic, teenage [[goth subculture|goth]] daughter [[Triana Orpheus|Triana]] (voiced by [[Lisa Hammer]]), who rent a portion of the Venture Compound; the [[albinism|albino]] computer scientist [[Pete White (The Venture Bros.)|Pete White]] (voiced by McCulloch), a former college friend of Dr. Venture's; [[hydrocephalus|hydrocephalic]] "boy genius" [[Master Billy Quizboy]] (voiced by Hammer); and Dr. Jonas Venture, Jr. (voiced by [[James Urbaniak]]), Dr. Venture's formerly parasitic fraternal twin brother who has succeeded in all of the areas that Rusty does not. Surviving members of the original Team Venture have also appeared as well as Dr. Orpheus's teammates in the Order of the Triad.

==Episodes==

Similar to other [[science fiction]] series, the Venture family has various recurring antagonists. Many of them are current or former members of [[The Guild of Calamitous Intent]], a fictional guild that bears resemblance to the [[Legion of Doom]]. The pernicious but ineffective [[The Monarch|Monarch]] (voiced by Christopher McCulloch), the manly-voiced [[Doctor Girlfriend]] (voiced by [[Doc Hammer]]), and their numerous [[Monarch henchmen|henchmen]] are some of the Venture family's main villains (Monarch and Girlfriend broke up as a couple at the end of the first season). [[Baron Werner Ünderbheit]] (voiced by T. Ryder Smith) is a former dictator of the duchy of Ünderland and specifically opposes Dr. Venture due to Dr. Venture's being responsible for the loss of [[Baron Werner Ünderbheit]]'s jaw in college, citing "One is always supposed to look out for one's lab partner!". [[Phantom Limb]] (voiced by James Urbaniak) is a high-ranking member of The Guild of Calamitous Intent and former lover of Dr. Girlfriend. He seems at least as intent on persecuting The Monarch as he is in pursuing the Guild's villainous agenda.

{{Main|List of The Venture Bros. episodes}}

{{:List of The Venture Bros. episodes}}

Most episodes begin with a [[cold open]] and are shot to appear to be in letter-box format. Almost every episode features both a [[smash cut]] into the end credits, and a short [[Post-credits scene|scene following the credits]]. The second season of the series premiered on the internet via [[Adult Swim Fix]] on June 23, 2006, and on television on June 25, 2006; the season finished on October 15, 2006. The considerable delay between the end of the first season and the start of the second was partially caused by Adult Swim's delay in deciding whether to renew the show, primarily because the show is drawn and inked in the [[traditional animation]] style (albeit digitally), causing each episode to take considerable time to move through production. Additionally, the producers were dealing with the time constraints of producing a first-season DVD that contained [[live action]] interviews and commentary for several episodes.

The Ventures also have acquaintances that are used to help progress stories and add to the atmosphere of the show. The expert [[necromancy|necromancer]] [[Doctor Byron Orpheus]] (voiced by [[Steven Rattazzi]]) and his [[goth subculture|goth]] daughter [[Triana Orpheus|Triana]] (voiced by [[Lisa Hammer]]) rent out a portion of the Venture Compound. The [[albinism|albino]] computer scientist [[Pete White]] (voiced by Christopher McCulloch) is a former college friend of Dr. Venture's who usually appears in the company of [[hydrocephalus|hydrocephalic]] "[[Whiz kid|boy genius]]" [[Master Billy Quizboy]] (voiced by Doc Hammer). Surviving members of the original [[Team Venture]], a group of extraordinary people assembled by Dr. Jonas Venture, have also appeared in occasional episodes.

The third season began on June 1, 2008, and marked the beginning of the show's broadcast in [[High-definition video|high-definition]]. A 15-minute rough cut of "[[The Doctor Is Sin]]" aired on April 1, 2008, as part of Adult Swim's [[April Fool's Day]] theme of airing sneak peeks of new episodes. The fourth season was split into two segments airing a year apart, with the first eight episodes airing in the fall of 2009 and the remaining episodes in fall of 2010.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/27886.html |title=A Bold New Day Dawns... |access-date=2010-04-04 |first= Jackson| last= Publick |date=2010-03-27 |publisher= | website= Livejournal.com |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110718182517/http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/27886.html |archive-date=2011-07-18 }}</ref> A note contained in the closing credits of the Season 4 finale indicated that the series would continue into the fifth season.

== Episodes ==

[[Image:Extra color.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[List of The Venture Bros. episodes#Season 1: 2004|season one]] episode title card with "Presented in glorious extra COLOR" at the bottom.]]

{{main|List of The Venture Bros. episodes}}

On February 6, 2013, it was announced that Season 5 would premiere on May 19, 2013. This was later shifted to June 2, 2013, at midnight.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.venturebrosblog.com/2013/04/venture-bros-season-5-premiere-moved-to-june-2nd-at-midnight/|title=Venture Bros. Season 5 Premiere Moved to June 2nd...|date=2013-05-03|publisher= | website= venturebrosblog.com}}</ref>

The second season of the series premiered on the internet via [[Adult Swim Fix]] on [[June 23]] [[2006]] and on television on [[June 25]] [[2006]]. The considerable delay between the end of the first season and the start of the second was partially caused by Adult Swim's delay in deciding whether to renew the show, but primarily because the show is drawn and inked in the [[traditional animation]] style, albeit digitally, causing each episode to take considerable time to move through production. Additionally, the producers were dealing with time constraints of producing a first-season [[DVD]] that contained live action interviews and commentary for several episodes.

On July 8, 2013, Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick stated in an interview with ''[[Slate Magazine]]'' that they had begun writing the sixth season as of Summer 2013 and that it would enter full-production in September 2013. They tentatively stated that Season 6 would premiere in Fall of 2014, or very early 2015 at the latest.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/07/08/venture_bros_creators_doc_hammer_and_jackson_publick_interview_with_exclusive.html |title= A Conversation About The Venture Bros. With Its Creators| website= [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]| date= 2013-07-08| access-date= }}</ref> This estimated season-debut date turned out to be extremely premature as Season 6 premiered at Midnight, February 1, 2016.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.adultswim.com/videos/the-venture-bros/|title = The Venture Bros. | website= AdultSwim.com | publisher= Cartoon Network| date= | access-date= }}</ref>

Most episodes open with a [[letterbox]]ed [[cold open|scene prior to]] the opening [[title sequence]]. Additionally, every episode (barring "A Very Venture Christmas") has a short scene following the credits that usually wraps up the episode humorously or reveals something significant about the characters (usually both).

Jackson Publick confirmed on Twitter that Season 7 of ''The Venture Brothers'' would be aired on Adult Swim in "Summer" 2018.<ref>{{cite tweet |last=Publick |first=Jackson |user= jacksonpublick |number= 1000397097387126785 |date=May 26, 2018 |title= The Venture Bros. are coming back this summer https://t.co/iDmMJizBYy via @AV_Newswire |language=en |access-date=June 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424080852/https://twitter.com/jacksonpublick/status/1000397097387126785 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> On June 27, it was confirmed via Adult Swim's [[Instagram]] page that Season 7 would begin August 5, 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hatchett |first1=Keisha |title=The Venture Bros Season 7 Premiere Date |url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/the-venture-bros-season-7-premiere-date/ |website=TVGuide.com |access-date=December 5, 2021 |date=June 28, 2018}}</ref> For this season, Publick stepped back from directing, assuming the role of supervising director. Two-time directing partner and storyboard director for season six, Juno Lee, took over as the series director. Barry J. Kelly also served as Lee's co-director.

Each episode is "PRESENTED IN GLORIOUS '''EXTRA <font size="4">COLOR</font>'''", as jokingly stated during the end credits of each episode - a reference to [[Hanna-Barbera]] programs in their golden age being presented in [[Technicolor]]. The only normal-run episode that this is missing from is episode 2, "[[Careers in Science]]".

==Development==

== Homages and references ==

[[File:SDCC 2010 Adult Swim panel 01.jpg|thumb|left|Series co-writers [[Doc Hammer]] (left) and [[Jackson Publick]] (right) at the 2010 [[San Diego Comic-Con]]]]

{{cleanup}}

Show creator Jackson Publick was one of the main writers for the [[Saturday morning cartoons|Saturday morning]] animated series ''[[The Tick (1994 TV series)|The Tick]]''. He created ''The Venture Bros.'' storyline sometime prior to 2000.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.skwigly.co.uk/jackson-publick/| title= Jackson Publick| work= [[Skwigly (magazine)|Skwigly]]| date= June 3, 2016| publisher= | via= skwigly.co.uk| access-date= }}</ref> After working for the television program ''[[Sheep in the Big City]]'' and the live-action version of ''The Tick'', Publick set to turning ''The Venture Bros.'' into an animated series. ''The Venture Bros.'' was originally conceived as a [[comic book]] story for an issue of ''Monkeysuit''. Publick realized that his notes were too extensive for a short comics story and proposed that [[Comedy Central]] air ''The Venture Bros.'' as an animated series, but the network rejected it. Although the first draft of the pilot script was written in the spring of 2000, the premise was not [[greenlight|greenlit]] until around the summer of 2002 by Adult Swim. Publick had not previously considered [[Cartoon Network]] because he "didn't want to tone ''The Venture Bros.'' down," and was unaware of the existence of the network's late night adult-oriented programming block, Adult Swim.

<!-- Before adding something to this section, please consider if it is (a) on-screen for more than one second and (b) widely-enough known that it warrants inclusion. No brownie points for obscure allusions in something a villain said this one time. -->

[[Image:VBJQComparison.png|thumb|Comparing the main characters of ''The Venture Bros.'' and ''Jonny Quest'']]

With the revised pilot, production began in autumn of that year, and the pilot was first run on February 16, 2003. The first season of the series was completed and premiered in 2004, and it was added to the summer schedule in August.<ref name="origins">{{cite web|url=http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/11320.html |title=It's That Time Again... |access-date=June 21, 2006 | first= Jackson |last= Publick |author-link= |date=2005-12-20 |publisher= | website= Livejournal.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718015654/http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/11320.html |archive-date=July 18, 2006 }}</ref>

One of the themes of ''The Venture Bros.'' is its multifarious use of [[allusion]] in its dialogue, character design and other facets. The series openly homages a variety of sources, including adventure serials and [[pulp magazine]]s. The series has also homaged many other elements of pop culture, including musical references, television shows, movies and comic books.

=== Jonny QuestCancellation ===

After the conclusion of the seventh season in October 2018, the series was announced to be renewed for an eighth and final season.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Venture Home News Facebook Page |url=https://www.facebook.com/TheVentureHomeNews/photos/a.214316528582781.67661.214303228584111/1610989525582134/?type=3&theater |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170930202943/https://www.facebook.com/TheVentureHomeNews/photos/a.214316528582781.67661.214303228584111/1610989525582134/?type=3&theater |archive-date=September 30, 2017 |access-date=February 1, 2017 |publisher=[[Facebook]]}}</ref><ref name="cancelled">{{Cite web |last=Valdez |first=Nick |date=2020-09-05 |title=Venture Bros. Art Book Author Says Show is Cancelled |url=https://comicbook.com/anime/news/venture-bros-cancelled-report-adult-swim/ |access-date=2020-11-16 |website=ComicBook.com |language=en}}</ref> On September 5, 2020, one of the show's illustrators, Ken Plume, tweeted that ''The Venture Bros.'' was cancelled.<ref>{{Cite tweet|number=1302384749512720385|user=KenPlume|title=The Venture Bros.|first=Ken|last=Plume|date=September 5, 2020}}</ref><ref name="cancelled" /> Jackson Publick confirmed two days later that the show was cancelled. The script for Season 8 had been partially written at the time of its cancellation a few months before the public announcement.<ref>{{Cite tweet|number=1303102212193705985|user=jacksonpublick|title=Unfortunately, it's true: #VentureBros has been canceled. We got the highly disappointing news a few months ago, while we were writing what would have been season 8. We thank you, our amazing fans, for 17 years of your kind (and patient) attention. And, as always, We Love You.|first=Jackson|last=Publick|date=September 7, 2020}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Moreau |first=Jordan |date=2020-09-08 |title='The Venture Bros.' Canceled at Adult Swim After Seven Seasons |url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/venture-bros-canceled-adult-swim-1234761672/ |access-date=2020-09-08 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |language=en}}</ref>

<!-- Race Bannon and Benton Quest simply redirect to Jonny Quest. Please do not wikilink these names. -->

==Film==

The most obvious homage is ''Jonny Quest'': Dr. Venture represents Benton Quest, Brock as Race Bannon, and the Venture boys as the children of Benton. The comparisons, however, are taken to the level of an extreme parody - Dr. Venture is a pill-popping, barely-competent scientist who treats his children (and everyone else around him) with overt disdain and contempt, Brock is a hyper-macho man who kills without hesitation, and the boys are nincompoops stuck in an out-of-date mindset.

===''The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart''===

{{main|The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart}}

Following the cancellation, Adult Swim stated via Twitter that "We also want more ''Venture Bros.'' and have been working with Jackson and Doc to find another way to continue the ''Venture Bros.'' story".<ref name="AdultSwimCancellationstatement">{{cite tweet |user=AdultSwim |number=1303162122520723456 |date=September 7, 2020 |title=We also want more Venture Bros. and have been working with Jackson and Doc to find another way to continue the Venture Bros. story.}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> On November 13, 2020, [[HBO Max]] general manager Andy Forssell tweeted that HBO Max was "working on" reviving ''The Venture Bros''.<ref>{{Cite web| last= Alter |first= Rebecca| date=2020-11-17| title= HBO Max Is 'Working On' Saving Venture Bros.|url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/11/hbo-max-might-save-venture-bros-after-it-was-cancelled.html|access-date=2021-03-17| website= Vulture.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

In the latter part of season one and most overtly in season two, the writers have retrofitted the notion of Dr. Venture being an adult analogue for Jonny Quest. Flashbacks and references to merchandise show Rusty as a Jonny Quest-like child adventurer. This was expanded upon in season two with brief appearances from Hector, who served as an analogue for Hadji, and former boxing champion Swifty as another analogue for Race Bannon.

On May 12, 2021, it was announced that a [[direct-to-video]] film based on ''The Venture Bros.'' was in production from Adult Swim,

A more direct connection to ''Jonny Quest'' was made in two episodes. "[[Ice Station – Impossible!]]" featured a cameo appearance from Race Bannon, who dies after parachuting from an exploding airplane. In "[[Twenty Years to Midnight]]," a drug-addicted adult Jonny Quest lives in the same [[bathysphere (vessel)|bathysphere]] his father, Benton Quest, once used to communicate with sea life.

On April 18, 2023, it was revealed that the film would be titled ''The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart'', which would serve as the finale to the series. It was released digitally on July 21, as well as on Blu-Ray/DVD on July 25, 2023.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Baboon Heart" />

=== Comic books and other literature ===

[[Image:DrByronOrpheus.JPG|thumb|Dr. Orpheus' general style mimics that of [[Doctor Strange]] from [[Marvel Comics]]]]

==International broadcast==

The boys' ages and desire to solve mysteries is reminiscent of [[The Hardy Boys]]; Jackson Publick's original sketches of the boys depicted what he called "dim-witted Hardy Boys". Hank's appearance and clothes also closely resemble that of the character Fred Jones from the [[Scooby-Doo]] series (Triana mentions this fact to her friend in "[[Victor. Echo. November.]]"), and Dean's appearance and clothes closely resemble ''[[Peter Parker]]'' circa ''[[Amazing Fantasy #15]]''. Dean has also been said to dress like [[Buddy Holly]], allthough unintentionally. Additionally, Dr. Jonas Venture and the original Team Venture are strongly reminiscent of pulp novel hero [[Doc Savage]] and his entourage.

In [[Canada]], ''The Venture Bros.'' previously aired on [[Teletoon]]'s [[Teletoon at Night]] block<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://animesuperhero.com/teletoon-announces-march-premieres-specials/|title = Teletoon Announces March Premieres, Specials|date = 18 January 2005| website= animesuperhero.com| publisher= | access-date= }}</ref> and later [[G4 (Canadian TV channel)|G4]]'s [[Adult Digital Distraction]] block.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://about.rogers.com/news-ideas/g4-launches-add-adult-digital-distraction/|title=G4 Launches ADd - Adult Digital Distraction|date=8 June 2009}}</ref> The series currently airs on the [[Adult Swim (Canadian TV channel)|Canadian version of Adult Swim]].<ref>{{Cite press release |url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/teletoon-canada-inc-announces-cartoon-network-and-adult-swim-launch-schedules-510410361.html| title=TELETOON Canada Inc. Announces Cartoon Network and Adult Swim Launch Schedules |date=June 21, 2012|website=Newswire.ca }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url= https://imissbionix.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/canadian-adult-swim-channel-gets-launch-lineup-app-gets-discontinued/#more-3948| title = Canadian Adult Swim Channel launch lineup revealed, app gets discontinued |date = 22 March 2019| publisher= imissbionix| access-date= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.corusent.com/properties/the-venture-bros/|title= The Venture Bros|website= corusent.com|publisher= |date= |access-date= |archive-date= January 22, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210122224717/https://www.corusent.com/properties/the-venture-bros/|url-status= dead}}</ref>

==Themes, homages, and references==

* The prominent characters of Doctor Byron Orpheus and Baron Werner Ünderbheit are obviously influenced by [[Doctor Strange]] and [[Doctor Doom]], respectively.

===''Jonny Quest''===

* A family of four [[Characters from The Venture Bros.#Organizations|Impossible Industries]] members have received horrific, inefficient versions of the [[Fantastic Four]]'s powers.

[[File:VBJQComparison.png|thumb|Comparing the main characters of ''The Venture Bros.'' and ''Jonny Quest'']]

* A retired gung-ho soldier called the Action Man is a lesser version of [[Captain America]] or more likely the British equivalent of GI Joe, [[Action Man]].

* Henchman 21 has an extensive collection of various memorabilia related to comic characters including [[Hulk (comics)|the Hulk]], [[Magneto (comics)|Magneto]], [[Spider-Man]] and [[Wolverine (comics)|Wolverine]].

<!--

DO NOT ADD ANYTHING HERE about Hunter Gathers' resemblance to Hunter S. Thompson. This section is dedicated to comics, and Thompson is discussed below!

-->

* Hunter Gathers, the man who trained Brock as an OSI agent, is partially a tribute to [[Nick Fury]], Marvel's resident super-spy (his office even appeared to be located on a [[S.H.I.E.L.D.]] [[helicarrier]]). The old OSI uniforms also closely resemble those of S.H.I.E.L.D., including the jet-pack seen in older Nick Fury tales.

* In several episodes, Dean wears [[Spider-Man]] pajamas.

* The [[blacula]] hunter Jefferson Twilight is a play on the Marvel character [[Blade (comics)|Blade]].

* Hank wears an [[Aquaman]] outfit that resemble [[Underoos]].

* Hank has been frequently shown wearing a [[Batman]] costume (this is more prevalent starting Season 2).

* Henchman 21's collection, noted above, also includes Batman's utility belt.

*The [[Order of the Triad]]'s arch-enemy Torrid wears a costume very similar to [[Deadman]].

The series' principal reference is to the 1964 animated science fiction adventure television series ''[[Jonny Quest (TV series)|Jonny Quest]]'', as it is the basis for many of the main characters. Dr. Venture is modelled after what a child such as Jonny Quest might have grown up to be like after having lived through a childhood filled with bizarre, life-threatening events. Brock is modelled on [[Race Bannon]]. The Venture boys are based on the [[Hardy Boys]] and take the places of Jonny and Hadji. One newspaper critic remarked, "If filmmakers [[Woody Allen]] and [[Sam Peckinpah]] had collaborated on ''Jonny Quest'', it would have come out a lot like this."<ref name="animag">{{cite journal | last = Gilbertson | first = Jon M. | title = Cartoon Network's Adult Swim shows hooking ratings | date=2004-11-22 | journal = The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20041122/ai_n11003026 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113034236/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20041122/ai_n11003026 | url-status= dead | archive-date=2007-01-13 }}</ref> Despite the homage and references, Jonny Quest himself, as well as Hadji, Race Bannon, and their arch-nemesis, Dr. Zin appear as characters on the show. Cartoon Network, which owns the rights to Jonny Quest, restricted the use of their characters, with Jonny Quest appearing as "Action Johnny", and Dr. Zin as "Dr. Z".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/action-johnny/ | title=Action Jonny &#124; }}</ref>

===Music===

The dialogue between characters [[Major Tom]] and the Action Man at the beginning of "[[Ghosts of the Sargasso]]" refers to the famous [[David Bowie]] songs "[[Space Oddity]]" and "[[Ashes to Ashes (song)|Ashes to Ashes]]." Major Tom's spacecraft is named [[TVC 15]], the title of another Bowie song. Later, David Bowie sends the mercenary [[Molotov Cocktease]] to retrieve a giant panda from Roy Brisby. Bowie is also mentioned passingly in the "Venture Bros. Movie" [[mockumentary]] included on the DVD set. In "[[Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part I)]]", David Bowie shows up to the Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend's wedding to give the bride away, much to Brock's disgust.

===Failure as a recurring theme===

There have been numerous references to the [[band (music)|band]] [[Led Zeppelin]], primarily in relation to Brock. He told Hank not to listen to ''[[In Through the Out Door]]'' because "Zep sold out on that album". He later implies that he hates the album due to its connection to his memories of a former lover (a possible reference to Molotov Cocktease). When Brock must take an exam to renew his license to kill, instead of answering the questions on its written portion, he draws [[Apollo]] from the [[Swan Song Records]] logo, identifying the figure as [[Icarus (mythology)|Icarus]] (a common misconception).

Publick and Hammer have stated that one of the primary themes of ''The Venture Bros.'' is failure. Hammer in 2006 said, "Yeah, failure, that's what ''Venture Bros.'' is all about. Beautiful sublime failure."<ref name=quote>{{cite web|url=http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/?p=281 |title=Quickcast Commentary: The Venture Bros. |access-date=2006-06-21 | first= Jackson |last= Publick |date=2006-06-21 |publisher= |website= quickstopentertainment.com |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060715123718/http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/?p=281 |archive-date=2006-07-15 }}</ref>

In the creator commentary for the episode "[[Home Insecurity]]", Hammer and Publick elaborated on the theme. Publick stated:{{uncited|date=January 2019}}

Several other bands and artists are referred to in passing, including:

*[[The Doors]]' song "[[The End (The Doors song)|The End]]", whose lyrics are paraphrased by Hank before attacking his father in a daze. This scene is accompanied by knock off music resembling the same song.

*[[Ladysmith Black Mambazo]], whose name is used as an [[exclamation]].

*[[Jesus Jones]], in the same episode; the tone in which it is said initially implies that it is an exclamation as well.

*Posters modeled on the artwork of [[Yes (band)|Yes]], [[Pink Floyd]] and [[Gong (band)|Gong]] are seen in Dr. Venture's college dorm room.

*Pete White's mention of how he was "the first at his college radio station to play the [[Bauhaus (band)| Bauhaus]]" in an abortive attempt to hit on Triana Orpheus.

*The Monarch angrily refers to a picture of [[Dr. Girlfriend]] skinny-dipping with Jim Foetus. Jim Foetus is a [[pseudonym]] for [[composer]] [[J. G. Thirlwell|JG Thirlwell]], who composes the music for the show.

*Triana credits her clothing style to [[Adam & the Ants]]

*21 insisting on calling him and 24 Jet Boy and Jet Girl after [[The Damned]] song [[Jet Boy, Jet Girl]] in order to gain "street cred with the indie crowd."

*Dr. Venture refers to the FBI agents at his yardsale as Brock's [[Ska]] band because of their [[Men in Black]]-like attire known to be favored by blues, beat and ska performers.

*The Alchemist makes a reference to avant-garde group The Residents when he picks up the giant eyeball in the Torrid Zone and holds it up to his head saying, "Look at me, I'm in The Residents!" He is referring to The Residents' costumes comprised of a dress suit and giant eyeballs covering their heads.

{{blockquote|This show... If you'll permit me to get a 'big picture', this show is actually all about failure. Even in the design, everything is supposed to be kinda the death of the space-age dream world. The death of the jet-age promises.}}

===General pop culture===

The character of Mike Sorayama is very similar to that of Mike Yanagita from the 1996 film ''[[Fargo (film)|Fargo]]''. Additionally, he constructs robots similar in appearance to those depicted by [[Hajime Sorayama]]. (For more details, see [[Past Tense (Venture Bros. episode)#Trivia|the trivia section for the episode "Past Tense"]].)

Hammer responded:{{uncited|date=January 2019}}

The Guild Of Calamitous Intent's agents, called "Strangers," seem inspired by the antagonists of the 1998 [[science fiction]] thriller ''[[Dark City]]''. (See "[[The Trial of the Monarch]]" for additional notes.)

{{blockquote|It's about the beauty of failure. It's about that failure happens to all of us...Every character is not only flawed, but sucks at what they do, and is beautiful at it and Jackson and I suck at what we do, and we try to be beautiful at it, and failure is how you get by...It shows that failure's funny, and it's beautiful and it's life, and it's okay, and it's all we can write because we are big...failures. ''(laughs)''}}

Brock works for the "Office of Secret Intelligence", a subtle play on the [[Office of Scientific Intelligence]] that employed agent [[Steve Austin (fictional character)|Steve Austin]] in ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]''. To further extend the homage, Brock met [[Home Insecurity|Steve Summers]], a former government agent who had been bionically rebuilt.

In 2013, Publick and Hammer discussed moving away from the theme and embracing the "successes" of the characters as well. Publick stated:<ref name=success>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-creators-of-the-venture-bros-walk-us-through-the-s-1798239908| title=The creators of The Venture Bros. walk us through the show's 5th season.| first= Jackson |last= Publick |date=2013-08-14|publisher=The A.V. Club| website= avclub.com| access-date= 2021-12-05}}</ref>

Brock's mentor from the OSI, "Colonel Hunter Gathers," takes his appearance and first name from the late [[gonzo journalism|gonzo journalist]] [[Hunter S. Thompson]]. The character's mirrored aviator glasses, distinctive speech cadence, and use of a long cigarette holder all echo Thompson's public persona.

{{blockquote|I think you and I are both sick of every interview mentioning the "It's a show about failure" from five years ago. I don't think we made a conscious effort to fight that or anything, but every year, we push what we do as writers a little more. An area we hadn't gone into very much was positivity. I mean, all our victories are still satiric, but there are definitely places where we said, "I want to see these guys do something. I don't want to just have everything fall on its face all the time."}}

In an apparent reference to [[William S. Burroughs]], Colonel Horace Gentleman speaks to a scantily clad boy named Kiki, with whom it is implied he has had sexual relations. (Burroughs had an affair with a boy named Kiki, which was depicted in the film ''[[Naked Lunch (film)|Naked Lunch]]''.) In a later episode, Horace Gentleman's diary reveals that he attended a party with "the Frosts". The Frost couple, and the party they hosted, were also a major part of the film ''[[Naked Lunch (film)|Naked Lunch]]''. When Pete White inaccurately shoots Billy Quizboy with a shrink ray, Quizboy sarcastically comments "Nice shot, William Burroughs." (Burroughs killed his common-law wife Joan Vollmer while drunkenly attempting to shoot a glass perched on her head.)

In a 2023 interview with ''[[Chapo Trap House]]'' producer Chris Wade, Hammer clarifies that:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Chris |date=July 21, 2023 |title=BONUS: Go Team Venture! feat. Doc Hammer & Jackson Publick |url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-go-team-86444385 |access-date=July 21, 2023 |website=Patreon {{!}} Chapo Trap House}}</ref>

Other pop-culture references are abundant. Henchman 21 plays with a gadget that resembles a ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[lightsaber]] while practicing faux-[[fencing|swordplay]] in the style of that used by Ghyslain Raza, better known as the "[[Star Wars kid]]". Other references, most of which are used as "one-shot" jokes, include ''[[Easy Rider]]'', ''[[Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome]]'', [[Lydia Lunch]], [[Stiv Bators]], [[John Woo]] films, popular director [[Kevin Smith]], the questionable sexuality of members of [[Depeche Mode]], [[Magic: The Gathering]] and the music video for [[Duran Duran|Duran Duran's]] "[[Hungry Like the Wolf]]."

{{blockquote|Failure is always something that we always embraced, but we never embraced it as this kind of clarion call between the two of us. We never just woke up one day and he calls me and he's like "I've cracked the code: we're about failure." ... It's part of life, and we wrote about life. And I know it's a cartoon, and I know it's about superheroes, and superscience, and villains, but for us, it was about life. It was about relationships, it was about existence, it was about growing up in society with toxic masculinity. It's about everything that we experienced, and we just threw it into a show and hoped it was funny. And failure is one of the things that we think is funny, inevitable, and absolutely beautiful. But so is tiny successes, so is the rise of [Henchman] 21. These are absolutely beautiful things and I think, you know [the] show was never about failure, but we embrace the beauty of failure.}}

=== Intergenerational trauma & growth as writers ===

===Technology===

In 2023, shortly before the release of the series finale ''Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart'', Hammer and Publick further expanded on the evolution of the series' themes, and their feelings on what has been the main theme over the course of the series. "We can go in there and armchair diagnose our characters: Doc is a... narcissist. He was made that way by his father." Publick continued, saying that "This is kinda about escaping your generational, parental kind of bullshit, to some extent."<ref>{{Citation |title=Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick on the end of The Venture Brothers | date=July 17, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPUkWbDbd3w&t=605 |access-date=2023-07-18 |language=en}}</ref> Given that much of Rusty's shortcomings as an adult stem from the emotional abuse he endured from his father and Team Venture, many episodes deal directly with Rusty trying his best to be a good father - if not a better father than his own. "This is - this is everywhere; this is the road to forgiveness. You have to embrace this, and not perpetuate it. ''The Venture Brothers'' wasn't trying to be public service announcement... it was trying to entertain you in a way that ''kinda'' made you feel uncomfortable, but helped you learn about yourself, as you were watching it."

The "advanced technology" in the Venture Compound resembles the erroneous predictions of "future technology" made during the [[jet age]] more closely than realistic modern technology. As an example, Hank and Dean own hoverbikes, but the learning aids built into their beds still run on [[punch card|punch cards]] (However, as the technology was invented by Jonas Venture, it was probably advanced at the time).

In the same interview, Hammer continues on, saying that having a show in production for such a length of time allowed them to process their own growth as creators, and how much the early seasons were a product of the social norms of their time. "We made our mistakes as creators. We've done some things that we look back on and go, 'boy, that was a young kid trying to be funny.' ... Luckily, we were on the air long enough to go: 'Please forgive us', and 'This is I think what we're talking about here'." Hammer highlights the verbal repartee between Jonas Venture, Jr. and the Monarch in the season 3 episode "The Lepidopterists," in which the Monarch calls Ned, a character with [[Down syndrome]] a "[[Retard (pejorative)|retard]]," and is chastised by J.J. accordingly. "We very much {{Wikt-lang|en|lampshade|lampshaded|italic=no}} our ideas like idiots."

Dr. Venture's airplane, the X-1, is named after the [[Bell X-1]], which was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound. This X-''n'' naming convention extends to the Ventures' research ship, the X-2. The X-X-1, invented by Jonas Venture, Jr. is a jet as absurdly advanced by modern standards as the X-1 was by jet age standards.

==Reception==

Fictional elements of technology are commonplace in the show: teleporters, robots, shrink rays and several other common science fiction themed technology. [[Time travel|Time machines]] have been used or mentioned in several episodes.

The show received critical acclaim over its run. ''The Venture Bros.'' ranked at #56 on the [[IGN]] "Best 100 Animated Series" list.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.ign.com/top/animated-tv-series/56.html | work= IGN.com| title= 56. The Venture Bros. | publisher= Top 100 Animated Series | date= | access-date= }}</ref> In 2013, ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''{{'}}s Chris Wade called ''The Venture Bros.'' "one of the best shows on television" and praised the detailed serial nature of the humor with a favorable comparison to ''[[Arrested Development]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Chris |title=You've Probably Never Heard of One of the Best Shows on Television |url=https://slate.com/culture/2013/05/venture-bros-season-5-premiere-the-return-of-one-of-tv-s-best-shows.html |website= [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date= December 5, 2021 |date=May 31, 2013}}</ref> Also in 2013, ''[[The Atlantic]]''{{'}}s Armin Rosen compared the show favourably to ''[[The Simpsons]]'', noting that the two shows held the same "slacker optimism" and great comedy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rosen |first1=Armin |title=You Really Should Start Watching The Venture Bros. |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/you-really-should-start-watching-i-the-venture-bros-i/276414/ |website=The Atlantic |date=May 31, 2013}}</ref> ''[[The A.V. Club]]''{{'}}s Zach Handlen commented in 2012 that the show had evolved over its seasons into a "meta-commentary on a whole sub-section of male [[nerd culture]]" and that it had become one of the funniest contemporary shows.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Handlen |first1=Zack |title=The Venture Bros.: 'A Very Venture Halloween' |url= https://www.avclub.com/the-venture-bros-a-very-venture-halloween-1798174781 |website=The A.V. Club |access-date=December 5, 2021 |date=October 28, 2012}}</ref>

Critical reception to the first season was more mixed than later seasons but was still mostly positive. ''The A.V. Club''{{'}}s Emily VanDerWerff felt that the pop-culture references of the first season fell flat, especially in the beginning of the season, but grew better and funnier as the show's emotional core took hold.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Handlen |first1=Zack |last2=VanDerWerff |first2=Emily Todd |title=A fan and a newbie catch up on the first season of The Venture Bros. |url=https://www.avclub.com/a-fan-and-a-newbie-catch-up-on-the-first-season-of-the-1798238154 |website=The A.V. Club |access-date=December 5, 2021 |date=May 17, 2013}}</ref> [[Mike Drucker]], writing for IGN, criticized the predictability of some first-season episodes, but noted that the show was "a refreshing cartoon because it willingly indulges in the sitcom fad of the '90s".<ref>{{cite web |last=Drucker |first=Mike |author-link=Mike Drucker |title=The Venture Bros. Season 1 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/05/30/the-venture-bros-season-1 |website=IGN |access-date=September 26, 2019 |date=May 17, 2012}}</ref>

=== Failure ===

In 2013 IGN placed ''The Venture Bros.'' as number 12 on their list of Top 25 [[Adult animation|animated series for adults]].<ref name=Top25IGN>{{cite web|last=Fowler|first=Matt|title=The Top 25 Animated Series for Adults From caped crusaders to web-slingers to danger zones, here are the best animated shows to enjoy as a grown up.|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/15/top-25-animated-shows-for-adults|publisher= | website= IGN.com |date=15 July 2013|access-date=23 July 2013}}</ref> In January 2021, Sean Cubillas of ''[[Comic Book Resources]]'' (''CBR'') described the series as "one of the most well-written superhero series of all time," a stand-out in the field of adult animation, and said it had "witty writing, tot [sic] pacing, and large yet complex cast of characters."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/the-venture-bros-biggest-twists/ |title= The Venture Bros: 10 Biggest Twists In The Series |last=Cubillas |first=Sean |date=January 9, 2021 |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |access-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210111212641/https://www.cbr.com/the-venture-bros-biggest-twists/ |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Publick and Hammer have stated that one of the primary themes of the Venture Bros. is [[failure]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/?p=281|title=Quickcast Commentary:The Venture Bros.|accessdate=2006-06-21|author=Jackson Publick|authorlink=Christopher McCulloch|date=2006-06-21|publisher=quickstopentertainment.com}}</ref> This is both failure on a personal scale and on a social scale, and there are many examples that highlight this theme.

* Obviously, Doctor Venture himself is a colossal failure as a superscientist, an adventurer, a businessman, an heir to his heroic father and as a father himself. [[The Monarch]] even describes Dr. Venture's lab as "a museum of failure." In fact, the only thing Venture was ever actually ''good'' at was being a boy adventurer, and thus can be said to have peaked at around ten.

* His sons, on the other hand, are utter failures at being boy adventurers, and fail at being aware of their own failure.

* Dean Venture has a massive crush on Dr. Orpheus' daughter, but has had little success in wooing her.

* Despite being one of the world's leading inventors and truly loving his son, Doctor Jonas Venture, Sr. failed raising his son, Doctor Thaddeus Venture, in a healthy environment. By using subliminal learning aids and bringing Thaddeus on all his missions, Thaddeus grew up to be a socially awkward individual who has failed to even come close to living up to his father's legacy .

* The Monarch is a complete failure as a supervillain and as a boyfriend, ultimately incapable of defeating even Doctor Venture.

* The Monarch's henchmen are essentially failures in every aspect of their lives. When they fulfilled their orders by killing the Venture Brothers, it was an accident brought about by stupidity and improper gun handling. Their level of failure is so great that the one time they succeeded (temporarily) it shocked the Monarch.

* Doctor Orpheus, though a powerful [[necromancer]], is completely unable to make real friends or even keep his daughter in line because he's both such a pushover and such an insufferable know-it-all. He also has been incapable of establishing himself as an actual superhero, finally resorting to playing pranks and trying to offend supervillains, then handing them his card "should they wish to exact revenge."

* Professor Impossible — while truly the kind of superscientist that Doctor Venture's father was — is an abject failure at any kind of interpersonal relationship. He forgets that he even has a son, and is so offended by the concept of emotional intimacy that he has built a robot to hug people for him and contemplates developing drugs to eliminate his wife's need for love. By extension, although both Professor Impossible and his family have all gained super powers roughly analogous to those posessed by [[Marvel Comics]]' [[Fantastic Four]], the powers were achieved as the result of an accident; aside from Impossible's ability to stretch himself, the powers of his wife, brother-in-law, and cousin are useless and, in the case of his cousin and brother-in-law, cause the user significant physical pain.

* Master Billy Quizboy, despite being middle-aged, continues to insist he is a "boy genius" and waits (alongside Pete White) to become a full superscientific superhero. Instead, the pair live in a trailer and solicit supervillains to be their arch-nemeses.

* Brock Samson — while very powerful — has no self-control. He failed in his attempt at a collegiate football career after accidentally killing his team's quarterback during practice. He is unable to successfully "[[The Incredible Mr. Brisby|go past second base]]" with [[Molotov Cocktease]]. Various characters note that Brock's post as Doctor Venture's bodyguard is well below his abilities, describing it at worst as a humiliation and at best a waste of his time and talent. It's also implied that Brock cannot deal with his emotions, as whenever he falls into a guilt spiral, his army mentality sends him in a homicidal rage. Brock, however, seems to have succeeded at making the Ventures a kind of second family - even if they don't always appreciate it.

* Jonas Venture Jr., while better than Doctor Venture at nearly everything, managed to be defeated by his brother twice. The first time, he was "absorbed" by Doctor Venture in the womb and remained there for 43 years. When he finally escaped from his brother's body, he tried to exact revenge on Doctor Venture and reclaim Venture Industries for himself, but ultimately failed when stopped by Brock. He also is unable to form any kind of bond with his brother, and seems completely unaware of Thaddeus' contempt and jealousy for him.

* Myra Brandish's life is a spectacular failure. While once an apparently competent and heroic OSI agent, she was reduced to being an athlete on [[American Gladiators]], and eventually committed. Clinging desperately to her former glory, her life continues to spiral downward.

* Once a totalitarian ruler, Baron Ünderbheit has been deposed and exiled from his own nation. The once-proud despot is reduced to asking the Monarch if he can move into the Cocoon.

* Many of the Supervillains of the Guild of Calamitous Intent are in prison, apparently too incompetent, too outrageous, or too ignored for the Guild to free - if the Guild is actually capable of doing so.

* Another trend of failure is the ruined lives of boy adventurers. The Venture Twins themselves have been murdered or died in horrible accidents numerous times, only to be cloned back to life and die again. Dr. Venture is a hopeless [[methamphetamine]] addict, as is Johnny Quest, who apparently also abuses [[heroin]]. Dr. Venture's former best friend, Hector, was locked away in an abandoned building for years, to the point that he not only forgot what he was doing there but also how old he was.

==Home media==

Perhaps more telling, however, is the sense of societal failure. All around the Venture Compound one sees the artifacts of the Jet / Space Age — supersonic nuclear-powered jets, fantastic inventions and gleaming science. But, forty years later, those Jet Age relics are breaking down, and their promises (as well as the paradise that science and technology were to have ushered in) have all been broken. There is perhaps no better symbol of this than [[Careers in Science|Gargantua One]], a gigantic space station built by Doctor Jonas Venture, who dubbed it "the ninth wonder of the world". Intended to be a beacon of scientific advancement and hope for the future, by the present day the station has become completely abandoned except for two astronauts, a sex-starved Romanian woman with a disfigured face and an emasculated, middle-aged virgin. The station has fallen into disrepair, breaking down from only minor complications, and eventually crashes into Earth and explodes (ironically killing numerous members of [[Al Qaeda]]; the station's only success was a result of its being a failure).

The first season of ''The Venture Bros.'' on DVD was released on May 30, 2006, as officially announced by [[Warner Home Video]].<ref name="s1dvd">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5026|title=Venture Bros., The - Street Date, Box Art, Extras & More For Season 1 Package!|access-date=2006-07-11| first= David |last= Lambert|date=2006-01-31|publisher= | website= TVshowsonDVD.com|url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827151925/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5026|archive-date=2006-08-27}}</ref> It coincided with the June 25 premiere of the second season. Originally, it was scheduled for March 14, 2006, but was delayed until May 30, 2006. The DVD packaging and interior art was created by comic artist [[Bill Sienkiewicz]]. On May 31, 2006, the season one DVD reached #1 on [[Amazon.com|Amazon]]'s top selling DVDs list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/13805.html |title=Holy crap! |access-date=2006-07-11 | first= Jackson |last= Publick |date=2006-05-31 |publisher=Livejournal.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718182255/http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/13805.html |archive-date=2011-07-18 }}</ref>

On March 27, 2010, series creator Jackson Publick revealed on his Livejournal that a standard definition DVD of the first half of season 4 would likely be released sometime between July and October 2010, with a DVD of the second half of the season and a Blu-ray box set of the entire season to be released after the full season has aired.<ref>{{cite web| first= Jackson |last= Publick | url= http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/27886.html| title= Publick Nuisance - The secret files of the Ventureverse|date= March 27, 2010 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110718182517/http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/27886.html |archivedate=2011-07-18 }}</ref>

Similarly, the grandiose plans and tyranny of [[supervillain]]y have given way to the almost pathetic bureaucracy of the [[Guild of Calamitous Intent]]. Villains are divvied up according to grade, and are so streamlined as to be restricted to only using certain kinds of weapons, many of them expressly made to be non-lethal. Government agencies like the Office of Secret Intelligence are mere shells spouting patriotic jingoism that has little bearing on the realities of the present day. The future as promised never arrived and the next generation is incapable of even running their own lives, let alone thinking big or creating anything.

On March 28, 2023, it was announced the series will have a complete series DVD set which was released on June 13, 2023, from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/03/the-venture-bros-complete-series-makes-dvd-debut-in-june/ | title='The Venture Bros.' Complete Series Makes DVD Debut in June | date=March 28, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/05/the-venture-bros-the-complete-series-gets-early-release-june-13/| title='The Venture Bros.: The Complete Series' Gets Early Release June 13 | date=May 19, 2023 }}</ref> It was also released on digital.

At times, the series seems to break with this trend, particularly in the second season. Dr. Venture, for example, successfully builds a "walking eye" (though it barely works, it attracts attention), a force field (though the effects are negated by [[Carbonated water#Uses|club soda]], apparently against the laws of physics), and even resurrects the dead, in all cases at least garnering brief interest. Dr. Orpheus eventually also gets his request for an arch nemesis accepted. The Monarch is eventually set back up with Dr. Girlfriend, and even his supremely incompetent henchmen manage to pull off one well executed raid (albeit at the wrong ___location). Of course, usually these are only temporary and fleeting accomplishments, and often they just set them up for bigger falls later on.

The first four seasons are available in the UK (both halves of Season 4 are sold as a set). [[Madman Entertainment]] have also released all seven seasons on DVD in Australia. No Blu-ray editions have yet been released in Australia. It's also the first Adult Swim series in Australia to be given a restricted MA15+ rating for Season 1 and later the higher [[Australian Classification Board|R18+]] rating for Season 4 Part 2, due to strong dialogue in the finale episode.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

What successes there are are often unappreciated by those having them. Dr. Venture's team arguably saves the world (Twenty years to Midnight), but Dr. Venture is unable to appreciate it. Dr. Jonas Venture's son obviously loved him, but he seemed to miss that fact. The Monarch took Dr. Girlfriend for granted, and lost her (at least temporarily). Dr. Orpheus, a man of vast power and a geniune sense of compassion is frustrated with his life and is always seeking someting more romantic. The two characters who seem to have a vague grasp of what they have and what is important are Brock (who appreciates his adopted family), and the Alchemist (who honestly seeks to help others and is honest about himself and friends).

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

|-

==DVD releases==

! colspan=3 rowspan=2|Season

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan=2 rowspan=2|Episodes

!DVD Name!!Cover Art||Release Date!!Ep #!!Additional Information

! Release date

! rowspan=2|Additional Information

|-

! Region 1

|-

! style="background:#000"| || [[List of The Venture Bros. episodes#Season 1 (2004)|1]]

| 2004 || colspan=2|13 || May 30, 2006 || style="text-align: left"|This two-disc set includes all thirteen episodes from the first season. The episodes are presented as broadcast, with [[bleeped]] profanity. Bonus features include "The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay" (the [[pilot episode|pilot]]) and "A Very Venture Christmas", deleted scenes, behind the scenes mockumentary with the Venture Bros. Cast and creators [[Audio commentary (DVD)|commentaries]] on "Mid-Life Chrysalis", "Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic!", "Tag Sale – You're It!", "Ghosts of the Sargasso", "Return to Spider-Skull Island", and "The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay".

|-

! style="background:#A42B3A"| || [[List of The Venture Bros. episodes#Season 2 (2006)|2]]

| 2006 || colspan=2|13 || April 17, 2007 || style="text-align: left"|This two-disc set includes all thirteen episodes from the second season. As with the Season 1 DVD release, any nudity has been covered with black bars and the profanity has been censored. Bonus features include commentary on every episode by Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer and, for some episodes, "special guests" such as voice actors James Urbaniak and Michael Sinterniklaas. Features also include deleted scenes and a tour of Astro-base Go!.

|-

! style="background:#FF9C36"| || [[List of The Venture Bros. episodes#Season 3 (2008)|3]]

| 2008 || colspan=2|13 || March 24, 2009 || style="text-align: left"|This two-disc set includes all thirteen episodes from the third season. Unlike the previous DVD releases, Season 3 is uncensored, with all profanity and nudity intact. Bonus features include deleted scenes and commentary. The season was also released on [[Blu-ray]], which is packaged with a soundtrack CD that includes 20 tracks comprising the score from the season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/12/05/venture-brothers-season-three-ventures-to-dvd|title=Venture Brothers Season Three Ventures to DVD|access-date=2021-12-05| website= IGN.com |date=December 5, 2008 | publisher= }}</ref> The box cover is based on the box covers of many video games on the [[Atari 2600]]. Although the Blu-ray is only available in the "Region A" zone, it functions in the "Region B" zone also.

|-

! style="background:#BBDDFF"| || rowspan=2|[[List of The Venture Bros. episodes#Season 4 (2009–10)|4]]

| 2009 || rowspan=2|16 || 8 || October 26, 2010 || style="text-align: left"|This one-disc DVD set includes the first eight episodes from the fourth season. Similar to the Season 3 set, all episodes are uncensored. Bonus features include deleted scenes and commentary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Venture-Bros-Season-4-Volume-1/14074|title=[adult swim]/Warner Announces Season 4, Volume 1 on DVD|access-date=2010-07-14|publisher= | website= TVShowsOnDVD.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717095905/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Venture-Bros-Season-4-Volume-1/14074|archive-date=2010-07-17}}</ref> Both halves of Season 4 were released on the Season 4 Blu-ray. The Blu-ray special features are uncensored and the final episode of this release has the option to be played with censored or uncensored audio.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/4477/ventureb_s4.html|title=The Venture Brothers: Season 4 Blu-ray Review |website= HighDefDigest.com| publisher= | date= | access-date=}}</ref> The rest of the episodes have censored visuals but audio remains uncensored. The streams available at Adult Swim are all censored.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adultswim.com/streams/the-venture-bros|title = The Venture Bros. | website= AdultSwim.com | publisher= Cartoon Network}}</ref>

|-

! style="background:#99BBDD"|

| 2010 || 8 || March 22, 2011 || style="text-align: left"|This one-disc DVD set includes the final eight episodes from the fourth season. Similar to the Season 3 set, all episodes are uncensored. Bonus features include deleted scenes and commentary.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Venture-Bros-Season-4-Volume-2/10801 |title= The Venture Bros. - Season 4, Volume 2| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110228070640/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Venture-Bros-Season-4-Volume-2/10801 |archivedate=2011-02-28 | website= tvshowsondvd.com| publisher= | access-date= }}</ref> Both halves of Season 4 were released on the Season 4 Blu-ray.

|-

! style="background:#405F54"| || [[List of The Venture Bros. episodes#Season 5 (2013)|5]]

| 2013 || colspan=2|8 || March 4, 2014 || style="text-align: left"|This two-disc DVD or one disc Blu-ray set includes all eight episodes from the fifth season, plus 2 bonus episodes ("A Very Venture Halloween" and "From the Ladle to the Grave: The Shallow Gravy Story"), audio commentary from Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, and deleted scenes.

|-

! style="background:#050744"| || [[List of The Venture Bros. episodes#Season 6 (2016)|6]]

| 2016 || colspan=2|8 || October 4, 2016 || style="text-align: left"|This two-disc DVD or one disc Blu-ray set includes all eight episodes from the sixth season, plus 1 bonus episode ("All This and Gargantua-2"), audio commentary from Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, and deleted scenes.

|-

! style="background:#2AA6A6"| || [[List of The Venture Bros. episodes#Season 7 (2018)|7]]

|Season One||[[Image:VentureBros_S1_final.jpg|100px]]||[[May 30]], [[2006]]||align="center" |13|| This two disc set includes all 13 episodes of Season 1. Bonus features include "The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay" (the [[Pilot episode|pilot]]) and "A Very Venture Christmas", deleted scenes, behind the scenes mockumentary with the Venture Bros. Cast and creators, and cast and crew [[Audio commentary (DVD)|commentaries]] on "Mid-Life Chrysalis", "Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic!", "Tag Sale – You're It!", "Ghosts of the Sargasso", "Return to Spider-Skull Island", and "The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay".

| 2018 || colspan=2|10 || June 4, 2019 || style="text-align: left"|This two-disc DVD or one disc Blu-ray set includes all ten episodes from the seventh season, including audio commentary from Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, and deleted scenes.

|}

===The "lost DVD commentary"===

The first season of ''The Venture Bros.'' on [[DVD]] was released on [[May 30]], [[2006]], as officially announced by Warner Home Video.<ref name="s1dvd">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5026|title=Venture Bros., The - Street Date, Box Art, Extras & More For Season 1 Package!|accessdate=2006-07-11|author=David Lambert|date=2006-01-31|publisher=TVshowsonDVD.com}}</ref> It coincided with the June 25 premiere of the second season. Originally, it was scheduled for [[March 14]], [[2006]], but was delayed until May 30, 2006. The DVD packaging and interior art was created by comic artist [[Bill Sienkiewicz]].

Jackson Publick revealed that he and Doc Hammer had recorded a [[audio commentary|commentary track]] for the season one episode "[[Home Insecurity]]". Warner Home Video chose to omit this track from the Season One DVD due to space limitations and some minor sound quality issues. Publick also stated that the commentary could be downloaded.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://asitecalledfred.com/2006/06/23/quickcast-commentary-the-venture-bros/ |title= Quickcast Commentary: The Venture Bros.| website= asitecalledfred.com |date= |accessdate= May 22, 2015}}</ref>

===Soundtrack CD===

On [[May 31]], 2006, the DVD reached #1 on [[Amazon.com|Amazon]]'s top selling DVDs list. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/13805.html|title=Holy crap!|accessdate=2006-07-11|author=Jackson Publick|authorlink=Christopher McCulloch|date=2006-05-31|publisher=Livejournal.com}}</ref>

For the video release of the Season 3, a soundtrack album was also released, titled ''[[The Venture Bros.: The Music of JG Thirlwell]]''. This is the same audio CD included as a bonus with the Blu-ray version of Season 3. While the CD release was originally made available at Adult Swim's website, it was given a wide release on May 12, 2009;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00288KNM2 |title=The Venture Bros: The Music of JG Thirlwell: JG Thirlwell: Music |website=Amazon.com |access-date=2009-09-16}}</ref> the vinyl LP release came out a month earlier. It can also be downloaded from most major digital retailers. The CD features 20 tracks, while the vinyl LP release is 16 tracks and a download link of the complete release including the songs omitted from the LP.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.williamsstreet.com/cat/The-Venture-Bros-Album-on-CD.html |title=The Venture Bros. Album on CD |publisher=Williamsstreet.com |access-date=2009-09-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090705070909/http://www.williamsstreet.com/cat/The-Venture-Bros-Album-on-CD.html |archive-date=2009-07-05 }}</ref>

''Music of The Venture Bros: Vol 2'' was released digitally on April 10, 2016<ref name="foetus">{{cite web|title=Venture Bros Soundtrack Volume 2 out now!|url=http://foetus.org/content/news/venture-bros-soundtrack-volume-2/ |website=Foetus.org|date=April 10, 2016 |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> and on CD and Vinyl on June 3, 2016.<ref name="vol2">{{cite web |title=Music of the Venture Bros, Vol. 2| url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/music-of-the-venture-bros-vol-2-mr0004554210|website=Allmusic.com|publisher=Rhythm One|access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> The album was released on Thirlwell's own Ectopic Ents label in collaboration with [[Williams Street Records]].<ref name=foetus />

===The "Lost DVD Commentary"===

On a June 30, 2006, LiveJournal post, Jackson Publick revealed that he and Doc Hammer had recorded a commentary track for the season one episode "[[Home Insecurity]]." Warner Bros. chose to omit this track from the Season One DVD due to space limitations and some minor sound quality issues. Publick also stated that the commentary can be found and downloaded from Quickstop Entertainment.<ref>http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/?p=281</ref>

==NotesSee and referencesalso==

*{{portal-inline|Animation}}

<div class="references-small">

<references/>

== Notes ==

*''The Venture Bros.'' Created by Christopher McCulloch (credited as Jackson Publick). 2004-present. Broadcast and DVD.

{{notelist}}

*{{cite web|url=http://www.livejournal.com/users/jacksonpublick/|title=Jackson Publick's Venture Bros. Livejournal|accessdate=June 24|accessyear=2006}}

</div>

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Commons category}}

{{wikiquote}}

{{Wikiquote}}

* [http://venturebros.com/ The Official Venture Brothers Website]

* [{{Official website|http://www.adultswim.com/showsvideos/venturebrosthe-venture-bros/index.html Adult Swim - Venture Bros. Website]}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060701115229/http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/ Series Creator Jackson Publick's blog] at LiveJournal

* [http://www.scrotalsafetycommission.com/ Scrotal Safety Commission] (A satirical site on [[testicular torsion]] created by Doc Hammer for the episode "Are You There God, It's Me, Dean")

* {{IMDb title|0417373|The Venture Bros.}}

* [http://www.livejournal.com/users/jacksonpublick/ Jackson Publick's Venture Bros. Livejournal]

* [http://www.livejournal.com/users/urbaniak/ James Urbaniak's Livejournal] (James Urbaniak - the voice of Dr. Thaddeus S. "Rusty" Venture)

{{The Venture Bros.}}

* [http://www.livejournal.com/community/venturebrothers/ The Venture Brothers Livejournal community]

{{Jonny Quest}}

* [http://www.ventureindustries.org/ The People's Republic of Venture] (A fan site. Mentioned on James Urbaniak's LiveJournal as his favorite Venture Bros. fan site/forum.)

{{Adult Swim original programming}}

* [http://www.tvsquad.com/category/the-venture-bros/ ''The Venture Bros.'' on TV Squad]

{{Williams Street|state=collapsed}}

* [http://venture.mancubus.net/ The Mantis-Eye Experiment] (A fan site with in-depth analysis of each episode.)

* {{tviv|title=The Venture Bros.|args=The_Venture_Bros.}}

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{{VentureBros}}

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