February 17, 2015 : My Issues With The Venture Bros. (And Its Production)
Last month, Adult Swim aired The Venture Bros. hour long special All This and Gargantua-2. It was definitely entertaining, and I have been a fan of the show since it first aired back in 2004; however, after watching the special, I was reminded of my frustrations with the show as a whole. The complexity with its over arcing storylines is what makes the show stand out among most other programs.
Unfortunately, the exceedingly large gaps between seasons makes it tougher and tougher to stay invested with the series. Below is a table I put together that shows the general timeline of the seasons of Venture Bros.
For the most part, there has been a two year gap between seasons – there was only one year between seasons 4a and 4b, but there were three years between 4b and 5. This higher than typical production times is not news; but if you look closer, the general output of episodes have also slowed over the years. The four year span between seasons 1-3 yielded 39 episodes, but the four year span between seasons 4a/b and 5 resulted in only 24 episodes.
While the episodes have gotten better over its run, the storylines have also increased in its intricacies. When you are several years removed from the previous season, it makes it difficult to remember everything that’s going on – both big and small. Watching reruns of Venture Bros. is definitely a joy, but having it a requirement to fully appreciate new episodes doesn’t feel right.
At the end of the day, I will still watch new episodes of the Venture Bros. – although who knows when Season 6 will finally air. I know I’ll like it, but something tells me it won’t be nearly as much as I should; and that bothers me.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:39 am
Tags: Venture Bros.