Posts with tag Adult Swim
Posted Jul 21st 2008 1:01PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.
(S03E08) After a surprisingly Jackson Publick heavy run, we finally got another Doc Hammer solo with this episode (the first was "
The Buddy System"). Apparently, the first half of the season just worked out to be a lot of Publick episodes and we'll be getting a lot more Doc Hammer scripts in upcoming episodes. Right on, right on.
This episode felt more like a
Venture Bros. episode than the backstory-tastic stuff that has been dominating this season. Many hilarious moments, beautiful character interactions and gross-out moments were had.
Continue reading The Venture Bros: Tears of A Sea Cow
Posted Jul 6th 2008 11:58PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.
(S03E06) I'm not sure what I just watched, and I'm not sure if I liked it. I recently realized that my anticipation from week to week has been less about looking forward to another episode and more about waiting for something as awesome as "
Escape to the House of Mummies, Part II" or "
Twenty Years To Midnight" to come along. The show is still amazing and all, but it's not packing the same punch as before. Last season, I had a new favorite just about every week, but this time around, I have to watch the episodes multiple times before I really like it. It's like I've built up a tolerance to
The Venture Bros. Soon, I'll have to cop four or five viewings a week, just to get that same high.
Continue reading The Venture Bros: Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman
Posted Jul 3rd 2008 12:03PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.

Once again proving that I will listen to any nonsense Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer spit, I fought crippling 3AM sleepiness just to get through
this commentary (hidden under the "Extras" buttons) for the latest
Venture Bros. episode, "
The Buddy System". That's right, no need to wait for the Season Three DVD to come out, because you can learn about Doc and Jackson's thoughts on above ground pools
right now. Best of all, it's video, so we feel the full impact of their wildly off-topic conversations and also get to admire how these two look more like rock stars than the minds behind
Metalocalypse. Compared to their DVD commentaries, though, they managed to offer quite a bit of episode-specific information.
Continue reading Why wait? Get Venture Bros. commentary now!
Posted Jun 30th 2008 1:03AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.
(S03E05) In last week's review for "
Home Is Where The Hate Is," I mentioned how I felt the season so far has all been set-up, set-up, set-up and we're still waiting for the punchline. I mean, it's been hilarious and beautifully animated set-up, but it's been set-up nonetheless. With "The Buddy System," we're finally getting back to everyday life on the Venture compound. It feels good to get a better sense of the family's present.
Continue reading The Venture Bros: The Buddy System
Posted Jun 23rd 2008 12:02AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.
(S03E04) Wow! An episode with absolutely no flashbacks or crazy hallucinations. That's a change. However, this was definitely the slowest episode out of the four that have aired, and I feel like we are missing something. Don't get me wrong. I have loved just about everything from this season, but it seems like we should be a bit further at this point. Only now do we see the direction for the rest of the season and who our major players are going to be. It's been two hours of set up. When are we getting the punchline?
Continue reading The Venture Bros: Home Is Where The Hate Is - VIDEO
Posted Jun 15th 2008 11:59PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.
(S03E03) The Venture Bros. has some of the most incredibly strong secondary characters in the entire cartoon universe. I love their intricate back stories and the delicate explanations of their tendencies and motivations. It's like
Lost, but with more robot hands and bad break-ups. That said, is Season Three going to be the season of back stories? I mean, seriously. The first episode was all about the origin of The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend, the second was an in-depth exploration of Rusty's past affecting his future, and "The Invisible Hand of Fate" taught us more than we ever wanted to know about the early days of Billy Quizboy and Pete White.
Continue reading The Venture Bros: The Invisible Hand of Fate
Posted Jun 8th 2008 11:59PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.
(S03E02) After the
season premiere left us with a depressing lack of Venture, this episode more than made up for it, taking place entirely on the family's compound. Plus, bonus Henry Killinger (and his magic murder bag)! "The Doctor Is Sin" marked a turning point in Dr. Venture's character and vulnerabilities. I don't really mind when an entire episode sacrifices fast-moving plot and crazy ninja fights to allow a character to come to critical realizations about himself/herself, as long as said realizations affect his/her future actions. I cannot begin to explain the frustration I feel when seasons carry on as if these moments never happened. Here's to hoping that Dr. Venture's new awareness of his occasional villainous tendencies provide some interesting changes in upcoming episodes.
Continue reading The Venture Bros: The Doctor Is Sin
Posted Jun 2nd 2008 2:41PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Animation, Adult Swim, Children, South Park, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free

Due to the complicated and apparently outdated Emmy Awards nomination rules, prime-time animated shows like
Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad,
South Park and others have had to choose which Emmy category they want to compete in, animated or comedy series. Then, that decision impacts eligibility for writers and animators on those shows in other categories. Well,
Family Guy is in a unique position this year, as their "Blue Harvest"
Star Wars parody was classified as a special. And as the animated category looks at single episodes,
Family Guy can submit "Blue Harvest" to the animated category, and the show itself, to comedy series.
I'd say it's a tremendous long shot that an animated show can be nominated over the live-action comedy series it will be facing. But there's always a first time for everything; when Disney's animated
Beauty and the Beast picked up an Oscar nod for "Best Picture" it was groundbreaking in the same way. It's a tough debate. These shows compete with prime-time comedies every week and yet get put up against the likes of
Spongebob Squarepants come awards time. How do you compare
The Venture Brothers and
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends?
Continue reading Family Guy to vie for comedy series Emmy nod
Posted Jun 1st 2008 11:59PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.
(S03E01) It's tough to believe that it has been over a year and a half since we last saw
The Venture Bros. Granted,
last season's cliffhanger wasn't quite as intense as Hank and Dean's death in Season One, but that didn't stop fans from speculating about Dr. Girlfriend's confession all through those twenty months. "Monarch, I'm..." what? Pregnant? A man? Ready for round two?
Even though I was looking forward to a bit of closure on that, I was also excited about hearing from the Ventures. Strangely enough, there was a surprising lack of Ventures in this episode of
The Venture Bros. Instead, we got a whole lot of backstory about the Monarch, Dr. Girlfriend and good ol' Phantom Limb. It didn't pack the punch that one would expect from a season premiere, but it certainly delivered all the amazing things that one would expect from the show. I mean, apart from the actual Venture brothers.
Continue reading The Venture Bros: Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny (season premiere)
Posted Apr 25th 2008 8:25AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.

Those of you
Venture Bros. fans that watched the Season Three teaser I posted in my
NY Comic-Con report probably didn't catch all the jokes. After all, the footage was a recording of a recording and the massive auditorium was packed with people screaming and laughing throughout the entire thing. Heck, I was actually there in-person and I could barely tell what was going on.
Quickstop Entertainment has finally posted high-quality versions of the exclusive teaser. Now you can watch it crouched over your laptop, ears pressed to your cheap speakers, the way media is meant to be enjoyed. Regardless, it looks like we are in for quite a season. According to
Jackson Publick, Doc Hammer only had three and a half completed episodes to use for this trailer and this is definitely not a collection of the best of Season Three. If the best is truly still to come, then I'm sure the new season, starting June 1, will be nothing short of crazy spectacular.
Continue reading Venture Bros. Season Three teaser sans shrieking laughter - VIDEO
Posted Apr 22nd 2008 8:22AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Battlestar Galactica, Animation, Adult Swim, Celebrities, Moonlight, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.

Okay, I'm finally back from the New York Comic-Con and I still smell like the Javits Convention Center. Fandom seeps into the deepest layers of one's skin and take at least a few weeks to wash out. It's a scientific fact.
The first panel I attended wasn't even TV-related. Worrying that the
Battlestar Galactica room would fill before I could even step into the line, I sat through the preceding panel for
Wall-E and
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian to guarantee a seat. As it turns out, the theater is absolutely huge and two big screens were on either side of the stage, so my worry was kind of pointless. I was reminded of what I already knew:
Wall-E looks insanely cute,
Chronicles of Narnia has a greasy-haired new guy and the Jesus lion again. However, this is when I began to play a game that lasted throughout the entire weekend: Analyze the differing levels of scary devotion throughout various fanbases!
Continue reading NY Comic-Con: Battlestar Galactica, Moonlight, Venture Bros. - VIDEOS
Posted Apr 7th 2008 9:28AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Reality-Free, The Venture Bros.

Okay, okay. It's been a while since we've had a solid update on the
Venture Bros. and I suppose we're due for another one. With no new episodes to fill that Venture-shaped void in your hearts, it's cruel to deprive you all of this delicious information. We've got a lot of news to cover, from conventions to soundtracks to Adult Swim super-sneakiness, so let's get started.
All right, best news first: The official premiere date for Season Three is June 1! It has been confirmed by
Jackson Publick, so you know it's good. The crew is about to get back to work and start Season Four, which means the wait for a new season won't be quite as painful as usual.
Continue reading Venture Bros. third season starts June 1
Posted Mar 24th 2008 2:31PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews

(S05E09) "Well... I'm about to update your "MyFace" page with my ass unless you get in there and read us a story!" - Shake
Well, not the best episode of ATHF, but I liked certain parts of it. The addition of new or temporary characters is always so touch and go on this show. Sometimes it's huge and repeat appearances are warranted. Think Mooninites, Plutonians, and MC Pee Pants. The Bible Fruit? Despite the extra points for being a well-done knock off of the openly Christian themed VeggieTales, I'll be glad if I never see them again.
Continue reading Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Bible Fruit (season finale?)
Posted Mar 17th 2008 12:22PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews

(S05E08) "Listen, when we dock, I'm gettin' a tattoo of an anaconda that's coming outta my groin region!" - Shake
Every episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force should be this good. Hands down, the best and funniest installment of the current season. This is definitely not a show that I would ever expect to have even the slightest bit of relevant social commentary, but what do I know?
Continue reading Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The Marines
Posted Mar 10th 2008 1:24PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews

(S05E07) "You seen my fingers?" - Carl
Right from the beginning, I was ready to hate this episode. But I just couldn't. At first, it seemed so corny and felt like a rip-off of Chucky merged with a bad R.L. Stine novel. But the character of The Dummy (despite his limited vocabulary) was hilarious and the decision to knock on every horror movie cliché imaginable was well done too. It's always great when a show like ATHF branches out and tries to do something different like mocking an entire genre in ten minutes.
Continue reading Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Dummy Love
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