TV Review: The Venture Bros. - Season Three.

I don't know what the difference was between the first two seasons and this one, but they apparently thought the difference included removing all censorship, which allowed them to add a whole lot more unbleeped cussing and a bit too much male nudity (with almost no female nudity).

I've heard numerous rants about this season and how it's the weakest season of the show, but I disagree. In fact, this is my second favorite season (after the second, and I liked this season better than season 1). One argument is that there's too much reliance on male nudity for jokes. I disagree. There's no more male nudity in this season than any other season. It's just that this season doesn't block it like the previous seasons.

There's also arguments that this season has way too much backstory. While it does have a lot of backstory, the whole season is far from pure backstory. There were maybe 3-4 episodes that I can recall that were really in-your-face about it. The rest I don't really recall much backstory. And if there was, they were quite subtle about it, much like any other season. And who doesn't like more developed characters?

Though I was disappointed in the little use of Dr. Orpheus in the season. He was moreso in the first half of the season than the second. And his daughter, Triana, had maybe one or two appearances, so there wasn't a whole lot of fun Dean/Triana relationship building. But I suppose I can understand it (moreso the lack of Orpheus). They don't want to go too overboard on him... then you won't appreciate him as much, I guess.

Also, one of the best focuses of the season was the ever-increasing roles of Henchmen 21 and 24 (which only makes me hate the very end of the season finale). Those two are such fun characters, and their duo dynamic is hilarious. It's especially funny when they start to realize their own 'main character-ization' and how they keep escaping death, as if they're becoming main characters in a story.

I realize I haven't really discussed the story of the season yet, so I should probably do that. Again, it picks up where the last season left off. The Monarch has married Dr. Girlfriend (whose name keeps changing now, becoming more along the lines of 'Dr. The Monarch's wife'). But a stipulation of their marriage is that The Monarch can no longer 'arch' (arch-nemesis) with Dr. Venture. So Dr. Venture gets a new arch-nemesis from the Guild: Seargant Hatred, a buff military-esque villain who is more concerned with having the destruction come when it's good for the both of them than just being a bad guy. But The Monarch won't give up... he misses arching Dr. Venture, and he tries to sneak in some arching with him when he can.

As such, the story for this season feels, at least to me, more fluid than previous seasons. There is a focus on backstory, but at least it never explains why The Monarch is so adamant about hating Venture (a running joke that would have otherwise been ruined). Everybody seems to have some purpose to what they're doing this season. Seargant Hatred isn't nearly as fun as The Monarch, but I think that's the point, especially by the time we get to the payoff in the season finale.

And speaking of the season finale, as usual, it is one of the best parts of the season. If this show can do anything great, it's build up to some of the greatest finales of any show on television. Even if they have a subpar season, the finale can still manage to bring everything together and make it awesome. And after the finales from seasons 2 and 3, the season 1 finale that I thought was so epic just pales in comparison. And as usual, they end with a big twist and some unanswered questions (as well as some death). Unfortunately, this season was the newest, and I'm not sure when the next season will be airing on TV. So I'm all caught up with the show and can't wait for it to start back up again... though now I'll have to watch it one at a time instead of numerous via DVD. Lame.

Anyway, as usual, if you enjoyed the previous seasons, I'd just keep it going. You'll doubtlessly enjoy this season, as well. Though it seems this season is hit or miss with some folks, so who knows. I guess it comes down to how much you like background information. But background info or not, it's still funny in its presentation. And I don't care if she sounds like a man (or is a cartoon figure), Dr. Girlfriend is hot.