I agree. This show has characters that speak and feel more real than most fictional characters, even Live Action ones. I mean, look at Dr Girlfriend (haven't seen Season 3 yet) - really, the Hot Scientist girlfriend of the Super Villain parody with a deep voice would be a one-dimensional joke in any other show, yet in this she's a complex and interesting character.
Also: I love how the humour complements the dramatic elements of the show - no, the dramatic and comedic elements accentuate each other. We come to love the deeply neurotic characters, but never stop laughing at them. Take That, Cerberus Syndrome!
I'm not sure if I'd say it's the best TV show, but I can see why someone would see it as the best TV show. It's pretty entertaining in my opinion and I also like some of the Character Developement they did. They also wrapped everything quite nicely in the finale, espeacially when the writers decide to farther 21's Character Developement, just how he realizes how much his work environment affected him psychologically and all it toke was something to compare the experience to & the death of a close friend.
Sorry I mean Character Development.
Venture Brothers lost me completely somewhere in the third season. The first two were great, skillfully parodying comics and cartoons from roughly the late 60's - mid 90's, with just enough light continuity to keep the show from falling into the "random zany nonsense" pit which consumed Aqua Teen Hunger Force and similar Adult Swim programs. But then the show dropped much of the satire and started taking parts of its on-face absurd plot and universe seriously. I have nothing against characterization in a comedy program, but it has to be relevant and not change the nature of the show. Why the heck would I care about Sgt. Hatred's motivations, or his relationship with The Monarch? He's an incredibly shallow character, and fleshing him out does nothing but waste time. Likewise, Dr. Venture's oddly Freudian relationship with his long-dead father consumed more and more of each episode like some sort of Cerebus Syndrome tumor. When almost all of your characters start out as (often shallow) parodies, trying to flesh them out is an exercise in futility.
So what you're saying is that characters can never transcend the way they were initially created? That strikes me as insanely self-defeating. Why bother with serialized content if you're stuck doing the exact same thing forever and ever?
Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
Of course I'm not saying that. But I think it requires an exceptionally deft hand to take an established show with a ridiculous two-dimensional world where almost every character is a parody, and then attempt to make its narrative stand on its own merits without completely changing the nature of the series. I don't believe that the Venture Bros successfully made the transition, but perhaps some found the introduction of Cerebus Syndrome compelling
To clarify / elaborate, when a significant majority of your characters are deliberate cardboard cutouts, it is very difficult to flesh them out into people your audience will care about while keeping the show true to its original premise (in this case, satirizing children's action-adventure media of the late 20th century). I enjoyed the show because I loved how skillfully it parodied a world running on Hanna-Barbera, Hasbro and Marvel Comics tropes. When it tried to make me care about its original content it lost me, because satire provides a poor foundation for serious universe-building.
Fans of Discworld might take issue with that.
I see The Venture Bros trend towards drama as a continuation of the satire, and attempts to actually cover some of the implications of the universe it's set in.
Also, it's still funny, first and foremost. There are very few (if any) episodes where I think you could successfully claim the plot and characterization actually crowd out the jokes.
Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
HOW can you write a REVIEW of the VENTURE BROS. and NOT USE the Large Ham?! THE BLASPHEMY!!!!!
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The best written show (animated or otherwise) on TV
Unwilling to take the easy road as a mere shallow parody of Jonny Quest, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer have instead shaped the complex Venture universe into the best show on television. The Venture Bros operates on the concept of a mix-and-match world of differing fictional universes and genres. In this universe the real world interacts bizarrely with the fantastic, creating what can only be described as a surreal reality. Here we find real characters behind the grotesque masks of Super-heroism and villainy. They didn't choose this world, it chose them. And in their incompetence and failure hilarity ensues.
Failure is the stated theme of the show, Doctor Venture is a mediocre scientist, The Monarch is an ineffectual costumed menace, even Brock, the show's most formidable character, is trapped in a job he's vastly overqualified for. The complex characterization that emerges from the early episodes blossoms into a world of mundane personal problems dressed up in the guise of fantastic adventure. Add onto this Jackson and Doc's esoteric pop-culture references and faux-retro set design and you have a show both funny and beautiful.
And to discuss the characters is even greater. Brock is an inspired creation, the most macho, murderous man on the planet. And a devoted Zeppelin fan. Doc Venture is an effective opposite of Brock, short, weak, and oozing with a creepy sexuality. The titular Venture Bros present a view of isolated adolescence, somehow becoming more awkward than you could ever have imagined being. Doctor Orpheus is just one of many Captain Ersatz characters (in this case Dr. Strange) in the pan-fictional Venture universe, not to mention one of the funniest. And, of course, #21 and #24 are the funniest duo in the history of anything.
What The Venture Bros. presents is a funny, well written, pseudo-realistic, identifiable Television Program. The best on Adult Swim. The best on late night. The best on cable. The best on television.