TVSquad

(S03E07) Now, that was a Venture Bros. episode. In fact, throw the cake and eat some confetti, because I think I may have a new addition to my top five favorite episodes. After my less-than-confident review of last week's episode, "Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman", this was a very pleasant surprise. The episode didn't have any real ties to previous ones, but we got the chance to explore yet another part of the compound and some dark secrets of the original Team Venture.

• At 8, CBS has the premiere of Big Brother.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8.
• At 9, NBC has Miss Universe 2008.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece.
• USA has a new Law and Order: CI at 9, then a new In Plain Sight.
• HBO has the premiere of Generation Kill at 9.
• TLC has a new Singing Office at 9.
• A&E has a new Gene Simmons' Family Jewels at 9, followed by a new Two Coreys.
• History Channel has a new Ice Road Truckers at 9.
• HGTV has a new Design Star at 9.
• At 10, Lifetime has a new Army Wives.
• Food Network has a new Next Food Network Star at 9.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Venture Brothers.
• Showtime has a new I Can't Believe I'm Still Single at 11:30.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(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.

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.

(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.

• At 7, NBC has more U.S. Olympic Trials, followed by a new Dateline.
• At 8, CBS has a new Password.
• TCM has Harvey at 8, then The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece.
• TLC has the premiere of The Singing Office at 9.
• USA has a new Law and Order: CI at 9, then a new In Plain Sight.
• There's a new Ice Road Truckers on History Channel at 9.
• HGTV has a new Design Star at 9.
• At 10, Lifetime has a new Army Wives.
• Food Network has a new Next Food Network Star at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Denise Richards: It's Complicated, followed by a new Living Lohan.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Venture Brothers, then new episodes of Metalocalypse, Fat Guy Stuck in Internet, and Assy McGee.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(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?

• At 7, NBC has the U.S. Olympic Trials, followed by a new Dateline.
• At 8, CBS has a new Million Dollar Password.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece.
• Discovery has the finale of When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions at 9.
• A&E has two new episodes of Gene Simmons' Family Jewels at 9, followed by two new episodes of The Two Coreys.
• There's a new Ice Road Truckers on History Channel at 9.
• HGTV has a new Design Star at 9, then a new Rate My Space.
• USA has a new Law and Order: CI at 9, followed by a new In Plain Sight.
• At 10, Lifetime has a new Army Wives.
• Also at 10: Food Network has a new Next Food Network Star at 9, then a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
• E! has a new Denise Richards: It's Complicated, then a new Living Lohan.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Venture Brothers, followed by a new Metalocalypse.
• At 12:30am, Cartoon Network has a new Assy McGee.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(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.

(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.

• At 8, CBS has a new Million Dollar Password.
• ABC has the second Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals Game at 8.
• TCM has 20 Million Miles To Earth at 8, then First Men in the Moon.
• At 9, NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline.
• Lifetime has the season premiere of Army Wives at 9.
• USA has the season premiere of Law and Order: CI at 9, then a new In Plain Sight.
• The season premiere of Ice Road Truckers airs on History Channel at 9.
• Food Network has a new Iron Chef America at 9, followed by a new Next Food Network Star.
• HGTV has a new Design Star at 9.
• Spike has the movie Backwoods at 9.
• At 10, E! has a new Denise Richards: It's Complicated, then a new Living Lohan.
• Showtime has a new This American Life at 10.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Venture Brothers, followed by new episodes of Metalocalypse, Squidbillies, and Assy McGee.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(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.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then the series premiere of Million Dollar Password.
• G4 has the season premiere of Code Monkeys at 7, followed by the movie The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.
• At 8, Food Network has a new Challenge, followed by new episodes of Iron Chef America and The Next Food Network Star.
• MTV has the 2008 MTV Movie Awards at 8.
• At 9, NBC has a new Dateline.
• History Channel has a new Ice Road Truckers at 9.
• Also at 9: Showtime has the season finale of The Tudors, then a new This American Life.
• At 10, USA has the series premiere of In Plain Sight.
• There's a new Denise Richards: It's Complicated at 10, then a new Living Lohan. Both are on E!
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has the season premiere of The Venture Brothers, followed by new episodes Metalocalypse, Squidbillies, and Assy McGee.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Despite my desperate attempts to look somewhat sophisticated by keeping my shirts pressed and my cuffs crisp, every once a while, an irresistible piece of geeky attire will throw off my entire wardrobe. Just take my beloved, ill-fitting "Plan 9 from Outer Space" shirt for example. Oh, Ed Wood, what is this power you have over me?

Now, here comes The Venture Bros. to make things extra-horrible for my wardrobe and my wallet. Fans have spent the last four years or so moaning about how there are barely any goodies for purchase, and the merch gods (in this case, aka Jackson Publick) have spoken just in time for the new season.

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.