Posts with tag james urbaniak
Posted Jul 3rd 2008 12:03PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Reality-Free
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
(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
(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
(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
(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 1st 2008 11:59PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(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
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
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 Mar 27th 2007 8:07AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: TV on DVD, OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, The Venture Bros.
Last month, I reported on the
Venture Bros. panel at the New York Comic-Con. One of the highlights of the evening was the fantastic Season Two DVD teaser -- disguised as a film that used "hypnotic suggestion through overt sexuality" -- that kicked off the discussion, but I felt like I was missing out on some great lines because of all the cheering and laughter. I have already watched online audience
videos of the panel multiple times, trying to hear better, but, alas, it all sounded the same as it did in the room.
Now, thanks to
Quick Stop Entertainment, the teaser is
online! And there is no hooting, no cheering... only quiet whimpers as I cry with joy. Was that a bit much? Sorry.
Continue reading Sexy Venture Bros. sexy second season sexy DVD teaser
Posted Feb 28th 2007 3:41PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Late Night, TV Royalty, OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Celebrities, The Venture Bros.
Some lovely soul has uploaded a full video collection of Saturday's New York Comic-Con's
Venture Bros. Spotlight, during which creator Jackson Publick confirmed the rumors of a third and fourth season. I reported on my experience in
this post, but be sure to watch the videos as well if you want to have a good laugh. The
Season Two DVD trailer alone is worth it. Oh, and if the audio in the beginning sounds rather poor, trust me when I say that's exactly what things sounded like in the room. All the cheering and laughing made it really difficult to hear.
Fun Fact: In the sixth video (around 2:20), you can hear me share an obscure pop culture moment with Mike Sinterniklaas when he talks about
Monkey... Marvel at the unusually high voice that suddenly squeaks, "Yeah!
Journey to the West!" to Sinterniklaas. Yup, that was me. I swear, my voice is much more silky and sultry when I'm not talking to Dean Venture.
Anyway, enjoy the videos after the jump. I'm going back to count the number of times that any of the
Venture Bros. guys may have looked at me in the front row.
Continue reading Watch the Comic-Con Venture Bros. Spotlight - VIDEOS
Posted Feb 25th 2007 5:31PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: TV Royalty, OpEd, Adult Swim, Celebrities, The Venture Bros.
My femurs feel like they have been broken in several places and each step I take sends the sensation of broken glass into the soles of my feet. The odor of hordes of people still lingers around me, but I don't know where it's coming from because my clothes smell fine. Next to me, I have a large bag of various free things, half of which I don't need nor like (so much manga). You see, I have just spent the entire day at the New York Comic-Con. I shall share the story of my short Saturday with you, not just as a reporter, but also as a fan and a first-time convention-goer.
Upon closer inspection, I think the "hordes of people" smell is coming from my shoes. Ew. Convention feet.
Continue reading NY Comic-Con Saturday: Annie's report
Posted Dec 1st 2006 10:10AM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Animation, Adult Swim, The Venture Bros.
Jackson Publick has announced on
his livejournal that season two of
The Venture Bros. is scheduled to be released on April 17th. He and Doc Hammer are currently finishing up the supplemental material for the set which includes commentaries for
every episode. If you've seen the season one set, and listened to the commentaries there, they are sometimes rambling, and often off-topic, but always entertaining.
This go round James Urbaniak and Mike Sinterniklaas are also featured on some of the commentaries. In addition to that, you can look for more live action
Venture Bros. and some 30 deleted scenes. Jackson also links to the
season one set on Amazon which is now going for a ridiculously low price of $8.99. Just in time for Christmas.
[ thanks Lacey ]
Posted Nov 23rd 2006 4:07PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, The Five
I'm the type that engages more in Black Friday rather the stuffing of both family and turkeys on Thanksgiving Day (I suppose I'm more greedy than gluttonous), but that doesn't mean I can't express thanks for all the wonderful things I have. Here are the TV-related things that I am most thankful for, in no particular order.
My TV-loving friends in the UK: When it comes to getting a hold of the latest British comedies, I find no need to rely upon suspicious torrents, low-quality clips from YouTube, or prayers to the BBCAmerica gods. Why? Well, I have friends... Very giving friends with uploading abilities in the UK. So when the Green Wing Christmas Special rolls around, I'll have it on my Desktop before most American fans will even know of its existence. Thank you, friends.
Continue reading The Five: What Annie is thankful for
Posted Oct 15th 2006 11:26PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Cable, Late Night, OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, The Venture Bros.
(S02E13) What a beautiful way to wrap up a season. Even the weakest parts of the episode were tremendously enjoyable.
There's a whole new order set up for the third season (which Adult Swim should greenlight, if they know what's good for 'em)... The Ventures and The Monarch have become friends (and if not "friends", then "non-enemies") and Phantom Limb is now a completely rogue villain (he has strayed from the Guild). Maybe P. Limb will recruit Triana's friend, Kim, to do his bidding. Maybe Brock will continue to train/work with the henchmen. Maybe, now that the Cocoon has been destroyed, The Monarch will start renting space in the Venture compound, like Doctor Orpheus (hilarity would surely ensue). There's a whole world of possibilities and I couldn't be more excited.
Continue reading The Venture Bros: Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part II, Finale)
Posted Oct 9th 2006 7:25PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Cable, Late Night, OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, The Venture Bros.
(S02E12) Did I enjoy this episode? To put it simply... I think my brain exploded before the title sequence was over.
Even God couldn't handle the extreme levels of awesome... He attempted to delay the episode by throwing some lightning and striking the plane carrying the episode (if you didn't believe the bump explaining the situation, Jackson Publick commented on it
here). Needless to say, even God Himself couldn't take down
The Venture Bros.
By the way, this episode didn't premiere on The Fix (maybe for the reason mentioned above?), but it's
on there now.
Continue reading The Venture Bros: Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part I)
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