Recap / The Venture Bros S 1 E 10 Tag Sale Youre It

Episode - 1-06 (10th in Broadcast Order)

First Aired - October 9, 2004

A group of secret agents stands at attention, being told by the head agent (in drill instructor fashion) that they're about to embark on an incredibly dangerous mission. They're offered the chance to leave, with one agent accepting the offer. The head agent orders another to kill the leaving agent before he can get to the gate. The head agent turns things over to Brock Samson, and it is revealed that their upcoming mission is security for a Venture family yard sale.

The yard sale, featuring everything from "laser death rays" to "nudie mags," has attracted the attention of heroes and supervillains alike. In an attempt to profit off the sale, Hank has set up a lemonade and grinder stand with Dean, Triana, and H.E.L.P.eR as his employees.

The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend arrive, with Henchmen 21 and 24 in tow. As they wait in line to get through the metal detector, they criticize the others in attendance between themselves and act disgusted when Baron Ünderbheit is forced to remove his metal jaw. The Monarch then slips one of his wrist launchers into the pocket of a security guard to get it past the metal detector. Billy Quizboy and Pete White are also in attendance, and discuss Dr. Girlfriend as a possible trans woman. Regardless, they attempt to hit on her but fail.

Venture is having a good time, selling a shrink ray to Billy and Pete, as well as a prototype light saber to Henchman 21. Dr. Orpheus brings a weed whacker to Venture's table, claiming that it belongs to him, and that Venture said that he would return it. Afterwards, Orpheus expresses envy towards Venture, with his super-scientist lifestyle and having so many enemies. Rusty, indifferent to having so many enemies, invites Orpheus to "take some of mine." Orpheus attempts to take him up on that by slapping the Monarch and setting his foot on fire with magic, but The Monarch simply leaves the encounter confused.

The Monarch, needing to use the bathroom, unsuccessfully attempts to use a portable toilet. Meanwhile, Dr. Girlfriend is hit on by her ex-boyfriend, Phantom Limb. Limb mocks The Monarch and offers to become Dr. Girlfriend's #2 to get her on her feet as a solo villain. She refuses. The Monarch, needing a real bathroom, wants to sneak inside. He gets his wrist launcher back from the pocket of the security guard he slipped it in earlier and uses it to fire a pebble at Baron Ünderbheit's head to create a distraction. Ünderbheit mistakes another shopper as the assailant and starts a riot by attacking him. In the chaos, Hank's stand is destroyed while The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend sneak into Venture's home.

Brock and the security force fight back against the various rioting villains, eventually gaining the upper hand. Henchman 21, with his new light saber, confronts Brock. The weapon turns out to be useless, projecting only a beam of light with no destructive power, so Brock scares him off. As Venture and the boys flee inside, Dr. Orpheus joins the melee by blasting magic. He is still trying to anger one of the villains into becoming his arch enemy.

The Monarch, having finally found a bathroom, sneaks into Venture's bedroom with Dr. Girlfriend. He offers to have sex on Venture's bed, but neither of them feels up to it. In an attempt to improve his mood, The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend go to Venture's lab looking for something to destroy. However, everything in the lab is pathetic, leaving The Monarch unimpressed and coming to grips with the fact that he can't do anything worse to Venture than life has already. The Monarch is about to give up when several security agents burst into the lab. Monarch defeats them easily, his hatred towards Venture restored, and gives a dramatic speech before using a grappling hook to escape with Dr. Girlfriend.

The Stinger reveals that The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend have been hanging near the ceiling for several hours, waiting for the security to clear out so they could leave.

Tropes:

• Bottle Episode: Subverted. It has all of the classic trappings, taking place entirely on the Venture compound, except that they loaded the background with brand-new bit characters attending the sale, some of whom would become relevant later in the season (Phantom Limb), others as far away as season five (Augustus St. Cloud), going against the whole idea of keeping things contained.
• "Cavemen vs. Astronauts" Debate: 21 and 24 argue over who would win in a fist fight between Anne Frank and Lizzy Borden.
• Crapola Tech: The prototype lightsaber #21 purchases from Dr. Venture. It actually does produce a lightsaber blade... it just can't cut anything.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: The head agent in the opening scene.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Augustus St. Cloud makes his first appearance here as a minor bit character. (He becomes more significant in season 5.)
• Early-Installment Weirdness: This episode has The Monarch being unaware that Phantom Limb and Doctor Girlfriend have a prior connection. Future episodes would establish that he knew her at the time, and actively, successfully, sought to win her over.
• Garage Sale: Dr. Venture is having one to raise some money.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: Fellow "heroes" and villains alike are permitted to attend Rusty's tag sale, with the villains having to turn over their weapons. Baron Ünderbheit notes that such interactions are covered by a Guild treaty on "casual contact".
• Hero Secret Service: The agents under Brock's command who act as security for the event.
• Hypothetical Fight Debate: 21 and 24 argue over who would win in a fist fight between Anne Frank and Lizzy Borden.
  Henchman 21: Here is where you are wrong, my friend. This woman has killed before.
  Henchman 24: Allegedly.
  Henchman 21: Okay, whatever. But she was a big girl. We are talking about a large, healthy woman of questionable stability.
  Henchman 24: Oh, you are totally underestimating the never-say-die scrappiness of a survivor.
  The Monarch: Hey, guess what? Nobody cares who would win in a crazy fantasy fistfight between Anne Frank and Lizzy Borden. We never should have brought the henchmen! We're going to be the only ones there with henchmen! I'm gonna have to kill them. Pull over if you see a good spot to dump their bodies!
• Laser Blade: 21 buys what he thinks is a functioning lightsaber from Dr. Venture. Unsurprisingly, while it looks real, its light beam can't cut anything.
• Metal Detector Checkpoint: The villains have to pass through one before being allowed into the sale.
• Shout-Out:
  • The Monarch notes that a member of Depeche Mode, specifically lead singer David Gahan, is there "with a girl." The Monarch is surprised, thinking that the members of Depeche Mode are all gay. Dr. Girlfriend confirms that he is, indeed, straight, having seen it on VH1's Behind the Music.
  • A game of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and a Seven and the Ragged Tiger t-shirt are amongst the items sold at the sale.
  • The Monarch quotes Macbeth when he is unable to go to the bathroom in the port-a-potty.
  The Monarch: All sound and fury, signifying nothing.
  • Dean, upon finding a battery powered microphone, quotes the song Convoy.
  • 21, powering up his light saber to challenge Brock, briefly imitates the "Star Wars Kid" internet meme.
• Shrink Ray: Venture sells one to Billy and Pete. (It becomes a plot point in a couple of later episodes.)
• Stab the Scorpion: While in Dr. Venture's lab, Doctor Girlfriend tries to start a relationship conversation. The Monarch appears to react very badly, pointing his wrist launcher at her — but he's actually tranq-darting the agents behind her.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Doc invented the prototype lightsaber in the hopes of scoring a military contract, but found out that Rule of Cool only goes so far when it comes to military hardware and even if his prototype were fully functional, the Army wasn't too keen on spending untold millions of dollars to develop a personal weapon for infantry that's only effective at extreme close range.
• Sympathy for the Hero: The Monarch briefly feels sorry for Dr. Venture when he sees the state of his lab and realizes how little he has actually accomplished.
• Wilhelm Scream: Can be heard very faintly when 21 confronts Brock.
• Yearning for a Nemesis:
  • Dr. Orpheus thinks it sounds romantic to have an Arch-Enemy:
    "Oh, it must be dreamy to have a costumed nemesis chasing you, wringing his gloved hands in concern of your every move."
  • Meanwhile, Pete White wishes Dr. Girlfriend was his nemesis, just because she's hot.