User reviews

This cartoon blasts every other modern cartoon right out of the water. It's even better than Family Guy (another great show, but which tends to get too sporadic, and even just plain dumb at times). It has hilarious characters and plot lines, and a razor wit. I love how the characters get put into all these horrible situations, and they each react in their own unrealistic but hilarious way.

The jazzy music and voices are also top-notch. Unlike many other cartoons, the voices are funny without getting unbearably grating. Speaking of which, when I first saw this, Brock Samson sounded really familiar... turns out he's none other than Patrick Wharburton (aka David Puddy). They could not have picked a better actor for the part.

If you like dark humor, satire, and overall zaniness, it doesn't get better than this.

9/10 stars.

Adult swim's shows have gone off the deep end of fairly entertaining nonsense to just pure absurdity. I do not see the appeal to any of them anymore and I do not often watch the programming block anymore.

Venture Bros. However stands apart from the rest and provides truly intelligent, well thought out, over-the-top and hilarious entertainment. The show is a perfect balance between tasteless humor and really clever subtleties. The homage/lambasting of early adventure animation/comics is spot on. The characters are full of depth and they're engaging. Brock Samson could pwn Chuck Norris any day of the week. What more could one want?

When I first saw this show I thought it was one of the more ******* up shows I'd ever seen. I was surprised just how graphic it was with particularly disturbing images(guy getting his eyes gouged out, watching a henchman struggle with his last breaths as he's strangled to death by Brock, poll vaulting off henchman's jugular...etc.)

I was not turned off though because aside from the surprising imagery, the jokes and references were all spot-on. I was laughing the whole way through and intrigued around every corner.

Truly, my only real gripe with the show is that it has a hard time taking itself seriously and often resorts to fairly flippant endings and/or resolutions that sometimes I feel aren't necessary. I think the show could support itself just fine with a persistent story arc, which I think we are starting to see more of in the new season anyway, so that's good.

And again, Brock Samson, there could hardly be a better cartoon character.

Check out this show, it's well worth it. I hope that it continues for a long time.

The longest running show in Adult Swim history, and they won't even give it a proper ending. Way to honer your base, you disgusting P'sOS. It's a really rich show with so many areas to explore. We need a final season.

This action-comedy spoof of sixties Johnny Quest-style super-science, evil nemeses, and supernatural happenings is by far, the best original Adult Swim program to date. The story follows The Venture family, Dr. Venture, a forty-something pill-popping scientist who never managed to step out from his father's shadow, his two sons, Hank and Dean (both rather Leave it to Beaver-like in their refusal to swear and constant wearing of sweaters and pants), Brock Samson, their James-Bond-on-steroids bodyguard who apparently works part-time for the office of secret intelligence and refuses to carry a gun, favoring of his serrated bowie knife. Most of the hilarity stems from The Monarch, the self-declared arch-nemesis of the Venture family, a weaver of ridiculously circuitous plans against them, an employer of hilariously incompetent henchmen, and a man who harbors an unhealthy obsession with monarch butterflies and an over-wrought sense of self-importance. His melodrama usually falls on the deaf ears of his girlfriend, Dr. Girlfriend, who, in complete contrast to the Monarch, is professional, take-charge, and inexplicably husky-voiced. The cast of supporting characters is of equal quality, including a well-meaning but dim-witted robot named Helper, a necromancer renting out the Venture family's garage apartment named Dr. Byron Orpheus (doctorate in communications, minor in women's studies), whose propensity towards unnecessarily dramatic changes in pitch and dire warnings of disruptions in the spirit world offer the Monarch's only competition in the melodrama department. Baron Underbheit, the tyrannical and oppressive ruler of Underland, who sports an Arnold-like accent, enormous (and anatomically complimentary) armor, and a metal lower jaw, is another arch-nemesis of the Venture family, blaming Dr. Venture's inattentiveness when they were college lab partners for the loss of his jaw. There's a myriad of others, ranging from fake ghost pirates to the forbidden love of a fugitive and a sasquatch. Check it out; you won't be disappointed.

I'm having a hard time imagining people actually voting for this below an 8. It may very well be the most perfect cartoon I've ever seen.

When I was vacationing in America, I had the chance of seeing The Venture Bros. on Adult Swim. After watching only one episode I already decided to buy the DVD. I've been in love with the series ever since.

The humor is everywhere. It's in the dialogue, it's in the story, it's in the characters. The show contains many and many parodies of movies, comics and other cartoons. Sometimes there are even straight rips. And yet, The Venture Bros. cartoon manages to stay unique and original.

I recommend this to everyone.

After the wake of horribly incomprehensible cartoons that followed in the success of Aqua Teen, a show with continuity and humor that doesn't rely on catch phrases and absurdity emerges. The humor and characters can be a little forced and juvenile on occasion, though, but it doesn't affect the overall feel or drag it down.

Hank and Dean, in their naivety, work perfectly as counterparts to the bodyguard, Brock Samson, and middle-aged, scientist father, Dr. Rusty Venture, who constantly have to look after the boys well being even though they have extra "copies" of them. Though, in my opinion, the real driving mechanism of the series has to be The Monarch, at least from a comedic perspective, especially in episodes involving the love triangle with Dr. Girlfriend and Phantom Limb. In the end, we have a gaggle of characters that seem as though they were created by a bored junior high student during a free period who are all woven into a parody of Johnny Quest that is surprisingly enjoyable and better than most of the Adult Swim lineup.

Season 7 was pretty ambitious, there's a lot of moving parts going on, and the series is already a bit obtuse so you can be forgiven if you feel lost sometimes. Even so, you'll always find joy in the animation, the witty repartee, the many cultural references, etc. Episode 7 is a special R-rated treat, so be sure catch that if you tend to skip around.

Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer are entertainment geniuses. There is nothing about this show that is predictable. Each episode surprises with it's characters, plot, comedy and outcome. In a world where no matter how "good" a show is, they end up doing the same thing every other show has done, with the same rehashed plots and jokes, or just pull plots from the newspaper headlines, this show is fresh. And that's hard to achieve when you start as a parody like it did. But at this point it's advanced far beyond parody. This show is so faithful to it's universe, the world Hammer and Publick created in season one, with such well drawn characters that continue to develop, each distinctive and layered with real personalities despite their comical stereo-archetypes, and with so much going on in 22 minutes, this show should be studied by all aspiring TV and film writers to understand the state of the art in screen writing.

This intricate and elaborate parody of old-school adventure shows (and so much other stuff too) is uniquely fantastic and full of amazing characters.

Great show that only gets better the more you watch.

Maybe i didn't get it...maybe i didn't give it time...maybe it's not my kind of show...

i didn't like the premise...i didn't like the characters...i didn't like the storytelling...

i wanted so bad to like it...i didn't...at first...

then i gave it another chance...it wasn't too bad...it has some decent episodes...some episodes are as i judged it...simply terrible...but when it strikes good...it really is good...

For people who love comedy and are here for something similar to Rick and Morty this ain't it . It tries to be funny and has some comedic bits here and there but my reaction usually is: yeah that suppose to be funny but I'm not laughing . the Science fiction aspect of the show is huge disappointment too, this show ascribes to the philosophy that if you have a good story it doesn't need to make sense, which "IF" you have a good story and they usually don't . Ultimately I much more prefer/recommend watching Futurama

In the 1950s and '60s, the heady space age was fully upon us. Sweeping, magnificent Art Deco buildings and designs were all the rage. New manufacturing techniques meant that the rectangle was out; circles and curves were in. We looked forward to flying cars, commercial passenger flights to the moon, moving sidewalks, and push-button automation everywhere. The future never looked brighter (not to mention cleaner) and much of the media of the time wasted no opportunity to remind us of this. Common examples of the period include just about any James Bond film, the Flint movies, and animated series such as The Jetsons and Jonny Quest.

Forty years and two very cynical, jaundiced eyes later, we now have The Venture Bros., which liberally and hilariously skewers the, shall we say, irrational exuberance of the times. The most obvious target is Jonny Quest, but little from the period escapes the series writers' acerbic wit.

Son of Jonas Venture, Dr. Venture is sort of how you might expect Jonny Quest to have grown up -- forever living in the shadow of his father's greatness, leaving him insecure, sarcastic, and in a semi-permanent state of midlife crisis. Alas, Dr. Venture's own brilliance was not passed on to his boys, Hank and Dean Venture, who are in all major respects self-absorbed, easily distracted, and not too swift. In other words, normal adolescent boys. They are watched over by their hired bodyguard, Brock Samson, a chain-smoking seen-it-all paramilitary type from the Office of Secret Intelligence, whose extraordinary competence and calm under pressure is exceeded only by his -- as another poster put it -- relentless brutality.

The Venture Bros. is full of the obvious jokes (dim-witted villains surrounded by even dimmer-witted henchmen), but it also makes funny observations about the incongruity of its inspirational sources.

Example: Like Dr. Benton Quest, Dr. Venture is a super-scientist, making advanced gadgetry as easily as we might make a TV dinner. But what do you do when your lab becomes crammed with unwanted or no-longer-interesting inventions? Yup. Hold a yard sale. Try not to be surprised when all your arch-nemeses show up.

Another example: In episode three, we are asked to cast our minds back to the 1970's series The Six Million Dollar Man and wonder: What were Steve Austin and Sasquatch *really* doing chasing each other through the woods?

The music in Venture Bros. is also magnificent -- not just the signature tune, which takes its roots from the brassy modern jazz of the period, but also the background music throughout the episode. The music's sheer bombast is a perfect complement for the overblown, exaggerated characters, especially the villains.

Though a bit uneven in its execution -- it might actually benefit from being shorter -- there's plenty of funny stuff here to keep modern cynics laughing out loud.

It's funny, entertaining and surprising. Writing elevates itself skillfully on genre cliches and when characters fail, they fail in a spectacular way.

It starts rough, but gets so much better. Yes, it is about genre cliches, but there's so much quality in writing. There are forgettable and incredibly memorable characters, music is always a blast and I was genuinely entertained through every minute of every episode.

After watching a few episodes of this once parody of Johnny Quest it's easy to see why it's lasted over a decade, even with having sometimes huge gaps in between seasons. Incredible writing and lore, as well as amazing animation and voice acting make this show almost perfect in every aspect.

From the first episode I watched, the Venture Brothers has been a sure favorite. With it's wide range of humor, fun animation, and occasional David Bowie references, it never disappoints. The characters are vivid and endearing, and even some of the more gimmicky characters have surprising depth. The animation, which draws from classic cartoons such as "Johnny Quest" is polished and easy on the eye. All in all, the show has a little something for everyone. Complete with nostalgia, violence, and hilarious wit, both older and younger viewers will find something to love. As the title says, more people should see this show. It's a true gem among the hordes of reality TV stars and crass humor that television tends to resort to.

This is one of the best animated shows ever made, so it is kind of sad to see that its score on this website has gotten lower over the years. It's still ranked as one of the best and it deserves it. What makes this show great is probably the wonderful cast of characters with tons of great jokes and voices. Seriously, this show has some of the most suiting voices I have ever heard. They all sound hilarious and suit the appearances of the characters perfectly. This show tells the story of a guy named Dr. Venture and his two sons who regularly get their home attacked by the Monarch and various other villains.

What's great is probably how a lot of these parody shows would make the villains more interesting than the good guys. That's not always a bad thing, but the awesome thing here is that the good guys are just as funny and entertaining as the villains. It's just great seeing them all play off of each other given how different their personalities are. It's dynamics like these that make for a great cast of characters. As one of the greatest adult cartoons ever made, it's also great that it doesn't go too far with its obscenity or violence.

Some adult cartoons like modern "Family Guy" just try to disgust their audience to show how edgy they are. True, we get into some pretty dark territory in this show every now and then, but it never really goes too far. It portrays the characters realistically and never has them try to gross out the viewers. We really do see character development and more of a story go on. Every character has their own quirks that it's hard for me to pick a favorite one. Maybe Henchman 21? He went through great character development. While not as good as "Rick And Morty" still awesome. ****

This is easily my favourite TV show as it feels like it was made for me. It feels this way because I get 90% of the references made and it's the stuff I like. The characters in the show I feel are very relatable and complex despite being an Adult Swim comedy. The plots are unique and character-driven, with science fiction being used as the backdrop to make these stories happen. It's nice to see an adult animated series with a normal art style without the characters looking bland. The music of the show feels very consistent and has its own sound perfected by composer JG Thirlwell, which is first heard in the explosive intro. The voice acting is phenomenal despite there only being 5 main actors, everyone sounds distinct and their voices fit their characters well. The plotting is paced excellently and fits effectively in its 22-minute length. There is no real main character in the show despite the show being named after the twins, this is because they all have something to offer and you wouldn't know that initially. In terms of quality, the consistency of the episodes is top-notch, this is because only the 2 creators write the show, and they usually take turns writing episodes or for the more ambitious ones, they work together.

If you decide to watch the series you might need to motivate yourself when getting through the first half of season one, where the comedy and plotting are less complex, but once you get to episode 6, you're set to enjoy this thrilling, funny and impactful series.

I was skeptical when a friend/co-worker let be borrow his Venture Bros. DVDs. I was absolutely hooked while watching "Tag Sale, You're It". The Depeche Mode conversation between Dr. Girlfriend and The Monarch is about the funniest thing I had seen ever.

I was a little concerned about how they would top Season 1, because that set the bar extraordinarily high. I was not disappointed as Season 2 was AWESOME.

Brock: Hank, no! It's suicide!

Hank: Well then I'll see you in Heck!

Good stuff...

Thank you, Mr. Publick and Mr. Hammer.

Marjod-

"Twenty years till midnight" and "the orb" are two of the greatest episodes in television history. The show can't make a bad episode, you can't say you don't like the show after watching a season it's practically impossible

Venture bros is the best thing in the world and I can't wait for more

I don't think I've seen a series fall as far and as fast as The Venture Bros from Adult Swim. The first season was great, very funny characters and writing. From there it's a steady progression downward, and by the time it gets to seasons 4 and 5 all the magic is gone and the show falls flat on its face. By seasons 4 and 5 the jokes are no longer funny, and they more or less removed many of the good characters and replaced them with uninspired ones, including one in particular that is obviously voiced by the same person that does the voice for Hank. It's like they just stopped trying. Worst of all is they brought in a character who is attracted to young boys. No I'm not kidding. Why they thought this was a good idea is beyond me. I know Adult Swim is supposed to be edgy, but there's edgy and then there's just sick and dumb. What a shame, because it started out so good. Then they completely ruined it.

This show is hilarious! The Venture Brothers, Hank and Dean, think, act, talk and live like they're in the 60's (though the show takes place in modern day.) They're the sons of Dr. Venture, a world renowned scientist who can't stand them. Dr. Venture pops pills like candy and reeks of failure and unrealized potential. Their family bodyguard, Brock Samson, is a former secret agent who responds to all possible crises with relentless brutality. Always The Monarch is always having evil plans on Dr. Venture instead of doing bigger plans like take over the world or something like that. I laugh at every single funny part in this show! The one thing I wonder about this show is why does Dr. Girlfriend have a man voice? Who knows? This show premiered in August 2004 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim line-up, but the pilot episode premiered in February 2003.

User Rating: 9/10

BOTTOM LINE: GO TEAM VENTURE!