The show’s humor is similar to The Tick, another superhero spoof, which shouldn’t be a surprise because The Venture Bros. creator Christopher McCulloch, who is credited as Jackson Publick, was a storyboard artist and writer of two scripts for the animated version of The Tick. He also wrote an episode of the live-action version, which starred Patrick Warburton, who is the voice of Brock. Ben Edlund, The Tick creator, received a story credit for the episode “Careers in Science.”
Pop culture references run throughout the show from quick, iconic images, like the slow motion shot of the team walking, similar to The Right Stuff, to longer sequences like the nod to Easy Rider, which was very funny and set up a great cliffhanger for the season finale. My favorite might have been when the gang is dressed like The Rocky Horror Picture Show cast.
It’s not just movies that get referenced, as homages to The Six Million Dollar Man and the infamous Star Wars Kid from the Internet also appear.
The set contains all 13 episodes from the first season. The extras include the pilot episode, which was created in Flash animation, the bonus Christmas episode, and deleted scenes from six episodes. Six episodes have creator commentary.
It’s great to hear the making-of stories and how creative decisions were made, but at times Publick and writer Doc Hammer fly off wildly on tangents and bore the viewer with tales that even their friends must groan at. “There was that time I watched your cat…”
Don’t bother accessing the behind the scenes of the live action movie. It’s a painfully unfunny filler of interviews and outtakes.
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