During the course of the two interviews we did for this story, it became apparent that Doc and Jackson are, in many ways like their characters, chatty, almost in competitive fashion. Doc is the more talkative of the two, but Jackson is quick with the retort. They oftentimes begin to speak over each other, finishing sentences with sharp observations and quirky references. A flippant comment from Doc about firemen calendars leads to a remark from Jackson about Fahrenheit 451 and so on until the conversation leads to Logan's Run. It's a little like listening to nerdy sort-of-villains Henchmen 21 and 24 banter on the show.
It's a good read, so be sure to check it out.Also for the completionist in all of us Jackson has been kind enough to reveal the names for all the episodes. These are listed in the order they will air:
- "The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-glider"
- "Pomp & Circuitry"
- "Every Which Way But Zeus"
- "Everybody Comes to Hank's"
- "Bright Lights, Dean City"
- "Assisted Suicide"
- "The Silent Partners"
- "Operation: P.R.O.M."
After the panel, at 2:30pm (that's September 4th for those of you not paying attention) in the Hyatt Regency 5 Jackson and Doc will also appear to sign your stuff! What will they sign? DVDs, Blu-Rays, toys, probably whatever you give them. You can also probably take your picture with them if you're into that.
DragonCon takes place in Atlanta, GA and runs from September 3rd to 6th.
Meanwhile thanks to everyone who participated and sorry to the two dudes who answered that they were going to Comic-Con. You never had a chance, but I do appreciate your honesty.
- UGO has another article with some details on what happened at the panel. (Thanks Robert!)
- io9 has an interview with Jackson Publick which goes into some stuff that will go on in the next eight episodes, plus some other random stuff. (Thanks again, Robert!)
- AV Club has some insights into the panel (including comparing it with other panels). Scroll down a little to find it.
Doc Hammer feels the upcoming episodes to be "better," with less Sgt. Hatred, but more Brock Samson and Shore Leave, and possibly even a few musical numbers. "Buckle up for a bumpy season."
In celebration of San Diego Comic-Con and its many Venture Bros-related treasures we have a special giveaway for all who were unable to attend (which is 87% of visitors according to the latest poll)! For each day of Comic-Con one lucky winner will win a copy of Michael Borkowski's sketch book complete with a hand-drawn Venture Bros. sketch in the back! The giveaway is simple; just enter your name and email address and make sure you aren't attending Comic-Con and that's it! One sketchbook will be given away for each day of Comic-Con, so you have four chances to win!Check out the Mantis-Eye Comic-Con 2010 Giveaway page to enter!
Just saw your newest update. In fact, we ARE doing a dedicated Venture Bros. panel at SDCC this year. And it looks like Patrick Warburton and James Urbaniak will be joining us. That's right, Doc and Brock together again for the first time. It all apparently goes down at: 12:00-1:00 Indigo Ballroom at the Bayfront Hilton (across from the convention center)
That will be an awesome one to see. I'm totally jealous of everyone going!Update: IGN has a more complete schedule for those interested. Thanks Robert!
4:30-5:30 Adult Swim Panel Featuring Robot Chicken, Venture Bros, and Metalocalypse - Show creators Seth Green, Matt Senreich, and Tom Root (Robot Chicken), Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer (Venture Bros), and Brendon Small (Metalocalypse) discuss their original series, screen sneak peeks, and answer questions. Keith Crofford, VP of production at Adult Swim, will moderate. Room 6BCF
Plus it's also worth noting that Brendon Small is a regular contributor to the show and Seth Green has done a guest voice as well. Have fun to all attending!This group was formed out of the ashes of the "The Orb Fellowship", but all that remains of the Orb itself are legends and legacy. (Later picked up by a Phantom Limb in a desperate attempt to regain his power.) The Guild was not interested some ancient Tinker Toy; the Guild was interested in power. They had power in their allegiance, and they intended to use it.
The Venture Bros. Fans can now own the first-ever line of action figures from Adult Swim's The Venture Bros., created in conjunction with EMCE Toys, and get their figures signed by The Venture Bros.' creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer at the show! Debuting at Comic-Con will be highly articulated, retro-style figures of Dr Venture, Brock Samson, The Monarch, and Dean Venture, as well as two SDCC Exclusives: Henchman Number 21 and Henchman Number 24. All six 8-inch figures bring sensational detail and authentic fabric clothing, and each captures that distinctive action-comedy mix that's synonymous with the top-rated television series. ($20 each)
There will also be a Venture Bros. panel, though the programming schedule for the convention won't be released for another couple of weeks.Update (7/4/2010): The initial set of auctions have ended but a few extras are still up if you want to contribute!
JG Thirlwell will be performing his Steroid Maximus project as a twenty piece band with brass section and strings at Prospect Park for the Celebrate Brooklyn Festival on June 18. Steroid Maximus will be performing the Ectopia album and selections from the score of The Venture Bros. Rain or shine, and it’s free - mark your calendars for this once-in-a-lifetime show!
Many thanks to mondocurry for mentioning this in the comments!So we called the network and asked them if they'd give us the time and money to take the script back and turn it into a one-hour special. And they said yes. Which brings us to...
Also even Jackson doesn't know when the season will start up again, so the August date seems potentially likely. Maybe. Go check it out for more info.Update (12/29 @ 2:24pm): Mad Mark in the comments also kindly pointed out Geek Monthly did a similarly awesome interview with Doc Hammer back on December 15th. I never reported on it then, but I am now! You can read it here.
If you want to skip around, James and Jackson come on around the 1hr 19 minute mark.
Enjoy!
Toonzone: So has some time passed?
Jackson Publick: Yeah. I think the premiere is 9 months out of the last episode of last season. But how do they develop? Doctor Venture takes a more active role in trying to train Dean to be a super scientist like himself.
Toonzone: And Hank will be more of a badass like Brock?
Jackson Publick: Hank would love to be more of a badass, but no one loves him enough. Dermot loves him enough.
Toonzone: What about Dermot?
Doc Hammer: Fortunately we're bringing Dermot back.
Oh also I put up a new poll that has nothing to do with this article but I thought I'd mention it.
Even though we've barely begun post-production on the first half of The Venture Bros. Season 4, we start production on the second half of Season 4 at 10am EST, when the entire design department returns from their long hiatus to start making the magic again. It will undoubtedly be a hellish few months ahead, what with editing the first eight episodes while writing and directing the next eight, but I'm really looking forward to it.
Oh, and in case you needed extra confirmation:P.P.S....
Whoever's twittering (tweeting?) as jacksonpublick is NOT me.
Okay, WeAreHugh522 (from YouTube) has been nice enough to upload all eight parts of the panel. Sadly he was unable to film the preview, but the rest of the panel remains mostly in-tact. Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Enjoy!
For sufficient definitions of 'captured'. This is the first 2:09 of the panel which includes the intros and a very, very brief glimpse of the preview video. It also says 'part one of five' but the other four are nowhere to be seen. Oh, and it's super blurry and I'm pretty sure the dude recording it gets in trouble for doing so. Adult Swim will likely have it up eventually, so you can wait for that. This is mostly just a huge tease.
And for the last time, 24 really is dead. Possible replacements:
http://twitpic.com/bnkmt #sdcc #vbpanel
Panels over. New season starts this Fall.
http://twitpic.com/bnk53
#sdcc #vbpanel
Entire panel compares calves. Sexiest. Panel. Ever. #sdcc #vbpanel
Jackson Publick helping jumpstart possible season 2 of Superjail!
#sdcc
Doc and James Urbaniak arm wrestling. Doc wins. Also, Korgoth
is really not happening. Swearsies. #sdcc #vbpanel
SPOILER ALERT: "kiss" happens in season 4, either Dean &Triana
or the band. You'll have to watch to find out which. #sdcc #vbpanel
"All moppets, all the time." -Doc Hammer #sdcc #vbpanel
@hodgman,
Seth Green, Patton Oswalt, Kevin Conroy doing guest voices this
season. #sdcc #vbpanel
I love you, Venture Bros. panel. Spoiler alert: 21 heads up a LARP
collective. (via @danaisagirl
)
PANEL EXCLUSIVE: Hank gets a new hairstyle for Season 4. #sdcc #vbpanel
Panel starting out with footage from season 4. You, again, have
to wait. http://twitpic.com/bn89g #sdcc
#vbpanel
Massive costuming turnout for Venture Bros panel. Nice work,
guys. #sdcc #vbpanel
SATURDAY, JULY 25
ADULT SWIM: Series Development and The
Venture Bros.
6:00 - 7:15 p.m.
Location: 6DE
Moderator: Keith Crofford, vice president of
production Adult Swim
Fans will get the chance to hear from the Adult
Swim development team and get a first look at
upcoming Adult Swim programming. Nick Weidenfeld,
director of development for Adult Swim and Matt
Harrigan, executive producer/series writer for
Adult Swim will give highlights of what's in the
tube for fall 2009. Then, Jackson Publick
(co-creator), Doc Hammer (co-creator),
Jon Schnepp (co-director), James
Urbaniak (voice of Dr. Venture) and Mike
Sinterniklaas (voice of Dean Venture) discuss
the hit animated Adult Swim series The Venture
Bros. and give fans insight into the future of
the series.
Saturday, July 25
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. The Venture Bros. Signing
- Adult Swim Booth #3351
Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer
ANYWAY, the update covers fancy new info on the upcoming Season 4 (or Season 4.1 or whatever you want to call it). There are tentative episode titles, animation drafts are flowing in, editing has begun, a new member of the AstroBase (in the form of a whiteboard) and more! Also notable Jackson and Doc will be at Comic-Con this year with Mike Sinterniklaas and potentially co-director John Schnepp (also of Metalocalypse fame) and James Urbaniak.
I can after a while. I try to safeguard myself from doing that. I mean, it's easier sometimes to write in that vein than it is to challenge yourself to come up with a new villain or a new place to go or a new set of circumstances, a self-contained, good story. You know, all your souls, you have to keep them sharp. It's good to go back and really delve into things, it's good to get away from them sometimes. I probably am more inclined to take it a little too seriously, I think my approach is to make the funniest James Bond movie ever. [Laughs.] I think Doc approaches it differently, he's more concerned about comedy and the characters, and I'm more plot-oriented than him. I think he's way better at dialogue and comedy than I am. You end up with a good balance over the course of a season. I wouldn't want all of them to be the way I write, and I wouldn't want all of them to be the way he writes, but both are totally what the Venture Brothers are, and what Venture Bros. needs. When we write together, it's a pretty good balance.
One big change for season four is that it's being split up into two sets of eight instead of one set of 13. "The first eight should be on the air this fall," Publick offered. "We're just finishing making those. We're going to write for a while and start our production again in the summer to hopefully get the back eight maybe by the following summer. So you get three more episodes and you get stuck waiting six months in between them, which is better than the year we usually had to wait."
So that's something I didn't know anyway. Enjoy!Do you like the Venture Bros.? Of course you do! It’s the friggin’ best. We go in-depth with VB creator Jackson Publick on everything from the show’s origin to its future to what Venture toys should be like. Also, reprinted for the first time ever: Jackson’s first ever sketch of the Venture Bros., plus a bunch more awesome design sketches!
Also since it's ToyFare maybe you can hold out some kind of hope for actin figures or figurines, though I wouldn't get them too high. The issue goes on sale tomorrow, March 11th.
The Venture Bros.
Jackson Publick (creator and voice of Hank Venture, The Monarch, Henchman 24, Pete White, and Sgt. Hatred) and Doc Hammer (creator and voice of Dr. Girlfriend, Henchman 24 [ed: Doc is 21], and Billy Quizboy) speak about [adult swim]'s The Venture Bros. Now in production on its fourth season, the show will pick up after the explosive showdown at the Venture Compound in the season three cliffhanger. A signing with Jackson and Doc will immediately follow.
Saturday, Feb. 7 at 6:45pm - 7:45pm, Room 1A08
One fun note: Christmas came to The Venture Bros. early this year as we pulled off something of a casting coup: Patton Oswalt, Seth Green, John Hodgman and Brendon Small were all kind enough to lend their talents to the most recent episode we recorded. That pretty much kicks ass right there, and they were all super-sweet and funny to work with. Thanks, boys. My only regret is that I had to record three of them over the phone.
So who needs Steven Colbert, anyway!? Yeah! Anyway, that's probably all the news for today and perhaps the rest of the year, so enjoy your holidays of choice and see you soon!
It's a new series created by Christy Karacas, Stephen Warbrick and Ben Gruber all of whom you have probably never heard of, but still! More importantly a certain Christopher McCulloch provides a few admittedly minor voices for the series:
I honestly can't remember which voices I did in the pilot, other than one effeminate inmate who comes back a few times over the course of the season, as do I. Most of the characters speak in grunts or single lines of dialogue.
It airs at 11:45pm on Sunday or you can view the first episode online today at around 6pm EST (though it will probably eb up earlier). Also if you want to see what the show is about you can watch the pilot episode online complete with creator commentary.5:30-6:15 [adult swim]’s The Venture Brothers - Jackson Publick (creator and voices of Hank Venture, The Monarch, Henchman 24, Pete White and Sgt. Hatred) and Mike Sinterniklaas (voice of Dean Venture) speak about [adult swim]’s original series, The Venture Brothers. Now in its third season, the show picked up after the explosive wedding of The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend from the season two cliffhanger. Room 6B.
Am still writing my first solo script for Season 4. Which is terrifying because we're starting production on Season 4 a week from Monday. Writing's been difficult because we're currently editing episode 35 of Season 3, World Leaders has just moved its offices to another floor, we've been doing a lot of interviews lately, we just got the first take of our finale episode back from Korea, and we're in the middle of a wicked heat wave here in New York. Just don't tell my producer on me.
Jackson also notes that Shadowman 9 received the highest ratings the show has gotten to date, which is true. AS's ratings bumper showed 884,000 viewers, which bests the previous high of 698,000 by a good amount.I think it's more fun to grow to love characters who are flawed than it is to present perfect characters. Perfect characters aren't very funny. Certainly my friends are a strange, intense bunch of people, and people's families drive them crazy, but challenging relationships are always more rewarding. It was always our goal to have Dr. Venture be kind of the central character and be kind of an asshole, but somebody that you eventually grow to love. He's a mouthpiece for your snottiest, innermost thoughts, and he can also be a target for cathartic release when he's being too much of an asshole.
Will we ever learn what Dr. Girlfriend told the Monarch on their wedding night?
You learn it in the premiere. We just don't state it verbatim. What is this show if not setup and a debilitatingly disappointing revelation?
I think the word you are looking for is 'awesome'. Also check out the related videos for portions of the Q&A.
Edit (April 24 at 5:21pm): There's an official version of this at Quick Stop Entertainment, or you can click on through to see it here if you want.
Expecting to be 20 minutes late I was actually early because apparently the line for the room had been so long they had to swap with another panel to get a bigger room. Thusly the half hour delay.
That's when the fun began!
Update (1:28pm): Crap, due to a series of unfortunate events I won't be able to actually get into the city until 3:40pm at the earliest so that may be cutting it close. So don't hold your breath I guess. I'll still give it a shot though!
[If you had tuned in] you would have been witness to the first 11 minutes of episode #28 ("The Doctor Is Sin") in its rawest form: a low resolution, straight-from-Korea "first take" with no sound effects, no music, and a ton of mistakes. Notorious perfectionist control freaks that we are, Doc and I were...somewhat less-than-thrilled when we heard the news (and even less than less-than-thrilled to have learned it from the viewers, not the network, and only after the fact). To us it was the psychological equivalent of having naked pictures of ourselves circulated on the internet.
Jackson has also provided some more shots of season three, and there's a ton of extra info there as well. For example writing for season four will apparently start within a reasonable timeframe, meaning there probably won't be a huge gap between seasons three and four, which is nothing short of a miracle. Go forth!Update: (April 3 @ 11:45am EST) - Kuiosikle in the comments was kind enough to remind me that Michael Sinterniklaas and James Urbaniak will also be attending. I guess you can call them Mike & James but that's not quite as iconic as Jackson & Doc so I have to use their last names. Perhaps the duo of Urbaniak & Sinterniklaas are due for a spinoff?
What are you currently working on or with? Is 2008 shaping up to be as busy as the last two years?
I am preparing a Venture Bros. soundtrack album.
Also a Foetus album of archival minimal recordings made between 1980 and 1983 (some radically updated or redone where the quality of the original is bad or unfinished). This will be packaged as a digipack with a 48-page booklet of minimal artworks.
And also a new Foetus studio album for release in 2009.
I'm also working on the score of season three of The Venture Bros.
But now that that's out of the way, let's begin speculation on all the characters in that group shot, shall we?
How long can I keep up with the lame sequel jokes? We'll have to find out! Actually it turns out this time and once more and then I run out of wallpapers. Anyway, enjoy the offering de jour, and have a happy Thanksgiving if you happen to be in the US... otherwise have a great Thursday, okay?
Enjoy! I'm sure I'll have a new set for you in a couple days. I'm sure.
So for today we have an amazingly awesome shot of the grand canyon with the crashed Cocoon:
To use them click a link and when the image loads right-click it and select the 'set as desktop' option. Enjoy! If your resolution isn't here try the closest one. Also if you happen to know (or be) the actual artist who made this (or future) backgrounds, let me know so I can post it!
First off that ominous shot of a bloody Jonas venture in a cave turned out to actually be Jonas, in case there was any question:
(I was kind of surprised nobody said anything about the Jonas shot myself!)
Next up some extra info about the show being made in HD:We're drawing the show in the 16:9 ratio and keeping the important action within the 4:3 "TV safety" window. I have no idea yet if we're pulling this off successfully, having not seen any footage back yet. Also, I'm not sure how we'll handle the pre-titles opening scenes, which we've traditionally put a fake letterbox on. Adding to my ignorance, I'm not even sure adultswim broadcasts in HD anywhere yet--but the DVDs will sure look nice.
To add to that, Cartoon Network HD is available if you have DirectTV, but currently no other providers carry it. Continuing this theme, here's a brief thought about releading a HD version of the season 3 DVD:Honestly, I seriously doubt adultswim will spring for an HD or BluRay release at this point. But we'll at least make sure the DVD features the episodes in their widescreen aspect ratio.
And what about things to appear (or not) in the upcoming season?As for Underbheit, he almost got a cameo in one episode but we couldn't fit him in (for the record, he got more play in Season 2 than he did in Season 1!). Consider him in exile, wandering the earth in search of a new dominion.
And not to break your heart over and over, but sorry...no Keenan and Kel jokes that I can recall. Maybe a Dune joke or two?
You'll be pleased to know that Holy Diver eventually made his way into an episode.
And what about the ever-present Star Wars references?If it makes you feel any better, Doc and I had a gentlemanly disagreement just today, while recording an episode, over what constitutes an official Star Wars reference. It seems that one or two jokes we made in this upcoming season could be construed as goofs on that most celebrated space epic, though the verdict is still out. So, there's new hope. But I can at least guarantee 98% less Star Wars references this season.
And finally, when the crap does this season even start, anyway?I'm actually not sure. Late spring, I think. We don't start delivering finished episodes to the network until January, and then it's one every two weeks after that. Usually they wait until we have 7 or 8 of them finished before airing the first one (they have to wait until we have at least six, because our premier is the sixth episode we're making). So that puts us into at least April, maybe later.
So there you go. Now you don't have to root through those pesky comments yourself!Now that I can look back on a full 13 scripts, I can truthfully say it will be a weird season. We dug deeper than we have before, told richer stories, took some chances (we'll see if they pay off), and, as promised in the commentary for the Season Two DVD, made no intentional Star Wars references. I think we managed to hit just about every semi-important character who's appeared before (with the exception of Baron Ünderbheit--might as well tell you now), including some Season 1 favorites who didn't get much play in season 2. And we introduced plenty of new ones, adding multiple layers of backstory (and forwardstory) to the Team Venture saga.
And of course the usual bevy of backgrounds which promise to turn to stills when animated episodes begin coming in from Korea in a month or so. In HD. Yes, HD.For those of you keeping track, episodes take around 10 months to animate, meaning if everything stays on track the final episode of the season will be done in about a year, so the show could begin airing in six to eight months. Good, yes?
That's all for now I guess.
Doc's turning in his first two scripts back to back this week, one of which is the most uncharacteristically complex plot he's ever penned. The other promises to be this season's "Tag Sale--You're It!" I'm really happy with these stories so far and looking forward to directing them. It feels like Doc and I are hitting our stride, playing all the right notes and yet expanding upon and deepening the Venture universe. Things feel a little more open and easygoing or something...it's hard to explain. But with 27 1/2 of these under our belts already, it's like we can take certain chances with the narrative we couldn't before because we were still setting up the world.
Also the season two DVD is apparently selling very well, which is of course good news.And what about Doc Hammer? Read:
One of the special features of the Season Two set is a tour of Astrobase Go. In it you learn all you ever wanted to know about Astrobase Go. Well, that is if you didn't want to know much more than how long it takes us to get to our studio. Oh what am I saying? "Deep Inside Astrobase Go" is one of the most exiting features ever to be dubbed "special". It was a phenomenal undertaking. A crew of no less than two hundred and fifty, highly paid professionals were rocketed to a moon orbiting space station to make this documentary. Many of them died of shock or lack of oxygen. Still others suffered from a dementia that space travel hands out like party favors. And believe me, it was all worth it. I'd kill them all again to make this most important Special Feature. I would stare in their eyes as I squeezed the last hiss of life from their neck if had to. Yes, it's that important. The people must know what makes the Astrobase so astro-special!
So if you ever wanted to know a whole crapload about the Astro-Base DVD feature on the S2 DVD, this is the thing you have to read. Okay? Good.I love old Spider-Man comics, but when I read them I wonder, what the hell do these guys want? What makes you put a costume on and start chasing somebody around? What makes you have a lifelong commitment to resenting a specific other human being? Because it's so pointless we've purposely made it more so. Also, I've known a couple of trust fund kids. Their goals are strange and take... a little longer to get to than some people who have to work a little more. It's pointless.
Okay, first of all, WHAT?! HE IS MY NEMESIS. What is so hard to understand?! Okay, well, he's not my nemesis any more because Dr. Girlfriend made me give that up, but if he was then... it's just... it's what we do! Super villainy! COME ON! Fuck it. Here's the stupid interview. Enjoy.
You of course will want to skip the others and bid on just that one I assume. In fact why even bother looking, I will just LINK DIRECTLY TO THAT AUCTION! There, saved you a bunch of time.
Also you will notice a banner ad for this DVD set at the top of the site. loyal denizen Jackson Publick posted them on his live journal. Shameless. Speaking of shameless, if you purchase the DVD by clicking that little banner ad, you will line the mighty Monarch's pockets with a small amount of extra cash. You know, for snacks.
Addendum: The Monarch is not so good at this web site thing. There's a little dropdown box to select a name of who is updating and the default is that guy who used to work here and I KEEP FORGETTING TO CHANGE IT. I am displeased with this system and someone has to pay for it! Someone needs to figure out how to remove his name!
... an emotionally unstable arch-enemy raised by butterflies called The Monarch; and his diabolical yet needy, deep-voiced partner-in-crime, Dr. Girlfriend.
First off, emotionally unstable!? HOW DARE THEY! Wizard shall pay for its insolence! And there is a large tax on insolence! Large indeed. That aside, I can't imagine you'd want to read the article any more since I just wrote out the best part. Save your money for better things, like a non-insolent magazine such as Butterfly Weekly. Emotionally unstable. There is no way to accurately express my disdain in text form![S]how creator Jackson Publick confirmed for the packed event hall that “The Venture Bros.” would indeed be picked up for a third season and that a fourth season is likely included with that deal but would be confirmed at a later date.
But wait, there's more!When asked for an air-date for Season 3, Publick said, "[Season 3] may not air until Spring of next year."
So okay, it may be over a year-long wait yet again, but they also may not want to get our hopes up again. Or maybe they just want more time to do their thing and not kill themselves making the show. All conjecture, just like what Dr. Girlfriend was about to say!When asked later about the whereabouts the show's more sinister villain, the Phantom Limb, Doc replied, "You got that whole third season comin' up... Stuff happens, it’s gonna be resolved; we're not 'Lost!' We'll tell ya!"
Update (Jan 9, 2007 @ 3:47pm): Oh, and because so many people have mentioned it and I am also apparently blind:
Oh, and we've begun writing Season 3...
Woot!James Urbaniak: "Hank has insisted on being Batman, so they're all Star Wars characters except for Hank. In the original script he said, 'I'm Batman' and I said, 'Yes, you're Batman. You're Batman every year.' You'd think you could say 'Batman' and it wouldn't be a rights issue, but I guess the fact that he looked like Batman and saying 'Batman' was too much, so they changed it to 'The Bat,' which I actually think is much funnier."
So go check it out!So when I first did Dr. Venture - like, the first take I tried on the first day of recording the pilot, or the first minute of recording the pilot, there was just a little bit of a kind of old man thing. You know, kind of old professor thing. And Chris basically said, "Oh, we can make it simpler." And he just kept kind of telling me to remove things, so it was basically just a more uptight version of my own voice!
Nextly up on Doc Hammer's MySpace you can listen to Dr. Venture and Myra's love theme Mitre Storm by none other than Jasper McVain, the same who sang Brock's workout song in Mid-life Chrysalis. So there you go! The Venture tunes collection continues to grow.
Edit: Okay, apparently this episode isn't on the Fix this week, so you'll just have to wait until Sunday to see it. I have no idea why, but them's the breaks I guess.
Well folks, the season is nearly over. It's been a long, strange trip, but overall it's been good times. I think you'll agree with me that the overall quality of this season has been amazing, and pretty much everything from writing to animation has been awesome. I think we owe a nice round of applause to all the folks who have made the show worth watching. That is to say everyone involved in it, from inception right down to the guy who presses the button to make it air.
And of course this is your discussion article for part one of the season finale, Showdown at Cremation Creek. As always, comments will contain spoilers, and since this episode will probably end on a cliffhanger, you may want to avoid it until you've watched the episode either on the Fix or Sunday night on AS. Enjoy!
Oh, and the episode shown was I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills which won't be airing for two weeks (9/24), so folks in attendance got to see it a full three weeks ahead of schedule. Not bad.
Update (8/31 5:15pm) - Ken Plume mentioned in the comments that the episode being shown is actually not Fallen Arches, but a brand new fresh episode that won't be on the air for a couple weeks. Also Jackson and Doc will be on a panel at 5:30pm on Friday and the 2:30pm Adult Swim panel on Saturday. So now you don't have to wander any more, hooray (you can still dress as the Monarch though)!
In other news, Love-Bheits came in 3rd in the ratings last weekend with 402,000 viewers (males between 18 and 34), so season two continues to pull in pretty strong ratings even with the competitive timeslot. Always good news. I also have the capsule and screengrabs up for Love-Bheits, but no notes just yet because I am very lazy. Soon though!
On top of that AS will be having an Ask Venture Bros. session where anyone can send in a question to askas@adultswim.com and Jackson and Doc will answer the best questions. So get your thinking caps on, or other such hats that may or may not help you ask questions. Looking good is what's really important here.
Doc busted his ass sprucing it up with After Effects magic and creating a new exposition scene from scratch, we made some prudent cuts, and now I think it came out pretty good. Still not one of my favorites, but not embarrassing. We're jumping right in to the next episode, one of our favorites, posthaste.
On top of that, Doc Hammer has a blog entry with even more Comic-Con info and pictures. Some even bordering on the creepy side, but that's okay. Sadly I think this rather informative and interesting update has really hurt his chances at being the "Worst Insider Blog", though the update does contain very little Venture Bros. information, so maybe he's still in the running.
That's about all the Comic-Con info there is for now. Oh yeah, and don't forget that there's a new episode airing this weekend. You're so forgetful!
5:30-7:00 [adult swim] 2 for 1— That's right. Here's your chance to see new stuff and ask dumb questions. Panel #1: Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro (Aqua Teen Hunger Force), Jim Fortier (Squidbillies), Dino Stamatopoulus (Moral Orel), and Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha (Metalocalypse) will kick off the first half of this year's panel. Panel #2 follows with Seth Green and Matt Senreich (Robot Chicken), Jackson Publick (Venture Brothers), Adam de La Pena, Todd James, and Peter Girardi (Minoriteam), and Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim (Tom Goes to the Mayor). The gang's all here. You should be too. Room 6CDEF
Not only that but according to Doc's MySpace he'll be there as well. So you'll have the chance to both meet and pester the creative minds behind the Venture Bros. Pretty cool stuff. Be sure to ask them why the guest room has windows looking into the Venture compound pool, I hear they love inane questions from crazy fans. Many thanks to Kevin Brown for sending me this info. You can check out the rest of the Saturday programming.if you like. And I promise this is really my last update for the week (not counting the episode discussion post)!I won't say anything about the episode more than I thought it was all kinds of awesome.
Oh, and Jackson updated. I wish I went to Hawaii.
Meanwhile, John McNaughton came through in the clutch again by telling me about this interview with Jackson on Newsarama. It has a little bit of misinformation (his name is Pete White, not James White) but overall it's an interesting interview.
Meanwhile the ever-present Havocware sent along this auction which is for a Monarch custom-made action figure. Pretty quality, but it only sold for $7. I guess we have to suffer for our art. That's all for today, kids! If you can, don't forget to give your dad a hug!
Anyway, I forgot to mention that Jackson updated with an original image of the DVD insert art as well as a screenshot of VB reaching #1 on Amazon.com. It's down to #3 right now, but it's quite awesome that it made it to #1 earlier. I'm starting to believe that the ratings for season two are going to be insane. An explosion of viewers, if you will.
Secondly, Mr. McCulloch did an interview with SuicideGirls (the page is fairly work safe, if not pink) that you might want to check out. I added that to the interviews section of the articles page.
Also for all you late comers and cheap bastards, I will be having a DVD giveaway contest, as soon as I come up with a contest, that is. Hopefully within the next week or two.
Finally, Venture Bros. will not be airing this week. The pilot of Korgoth of Barbaria will play at 10:30pm on Sunday and then the following week VB will take that timeslot. I believe season two will have either the 10:30pm or 11:30pm Sunday timeslot.
Noodlesoup installed a TV monitor in their waiting area, which runs samples of the studio's work all day, presumably to dazzle potential clients and baffle bike messengers. An episode from the first season was on a constant loop last week--and it was one of our better looking ones, mind you--but compared to this season's episodes, most of which are just rough cuts with no music or edits made to them yet--it looked like crap. So I think it's safe to say you're all going to be very pleased with the look of season two.
Oh yes, you can start to get excited now. Also check out the sweet painting of Brock by Bill Sienkiewicz which will appear in the season 1 DVD (which is complete and only awaiting release), and more screenshots and other stuff as well!There's also some more production art you can check out; backgrounds and even a few character designs... including what appears to be Brock Samson's junk. Interesting.
In other news, it appears the show will be returning to Sunday nights on December 25th at 1:30am EST, according to the AS.com schedule. I have no clue if it's a special one-time showing or a full-time return to the lineup since that's the last week on the schedule for now, but it is listed for a full half hour, so it doesn't appear they're showing the Christmas episode.
Finally, new poll up. Not very exciting at all, I just figured I haven't made one in a while, so I may as well make some use of the system I so graciously made for myself. If you're in the northeast like I am, enjoy the snowstorm!
Also, some minor Noodlesoup news, Noodlesoup founder Jeff Nodelman has left Noodlesoup to pursue his own independent portfolio (yes I know the article is dated Oct. 21st, I'm slow to the game here). According to Jackson this won't have any impact on Venture Bros. production, so don't worry your little heads. Also that article contains a single tidbit about the upcoming DVD which will be here in a little over 98 days!
At the same time, the studio is increasing emphasis and is investing in services for commercials and entertainment projects, including the production of 13 half-hours of the second season of “The Venture Bros.” for The Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” program block. Noodlesoup also produced a live-action “Venture Bros.” spoof special for “The Venture Bros.” DVD release. The studio produced the initial 2003-04 season of the series.
In other news, I think I forgot to mention it (but I may be wrong), but AS has a few new Venture-related products you can purchase from them, if you so desire. You can buy a long-sleeved The Monarch shirt, a skull logo messenger bag, and this InuYasha knit cap... no wait, forget that last one. That's all for now.
In unrelated news, Kevin Brown was nice enough to point out an update at Brendon Small's page:
You might hear my voice in a few episodes of the new season of VENTURE BROS. (a very great show that you should check out if you haven't) but it was a real pleasure doing that.
So there you go. Also enjoy tonight's Friday Night Fix, which I presume will be showing Careers in Science, but don't quote me on that.
Also apparently Ben Edlund will be writing a script this season. For those who may not know, Ben is the creator of The Tick, which has thrived in comic and animated form, and unfortunately faltered in live-action form. Jackson was a writer for the animated and live-action Tick series', and is good friends with Ben. Fans of Angel may also be familiar with Ben's work, as he was a writer for that series as well.
Finally, be sure to check out Voucher Ankles, the brand new LiveJournal of the esteemed James Urbaniak, the voice behind Dr. Venture.
Hey, remember those eBay auctions for VB storyboard art Jackson was talking about in his last update? Well those were actually put up three days ago. You can check them out here. Each one starts at $50 (except for one drawn by Jackson, which is $100) and is signed by Jackson Publick and VB storyboarder Doug Lovelace. These are really great pieces of show memorabilia, and don't forget that the money goes towards The Lance Armstrong Foundation for Cancer Research (though it's not mentioned on the auction pages). So go grab one if you have the cash to spare. Many thanks to Havocware for noticing this.
If you can read this, you are invited to the big-assed opening.
October 6th 2005 (like around 6:00pm or so...)
Arcadia Fine Arts
51 Green Street, (SOHO) New York, NY
Have fun, pack the place, be nice, shake my skinny little hand, meet my friends, get a fat eyeful of my paintings, do your lame Dr. Girlfriend impersonation at me, marvel at my hair and fine taste in clothing, listen to me prattle on about paint... The works.
More info here. You know you want to go. You could use some culture in your life anyway. Don't deny it.
In the fan-made category, Frankie Marino sent along a little track he crafted out of a few Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend samples. It's of the experimental/noise genre, if that's your thing, so if you'd like to check it out click here (1.7 megs) to download it.
I should also mention that the site may be going down this weekend for a little while due to the previously mentioned server changeover. So don't panic when you can't get here or anything. Everything should be back in order in a couple of days at most. That's it for now.
Second, HavocWare, who has contributed a couple nifty tidbits to the episode capsules, sent along the following eBay auction. So all you wacky cosplayers can uh, cosplay in style... or whatever it is you do. Funny, but also sort of creepy.
Finally, the webhost for this site, Mancubus.net, will be going down in a week or two to change locations (changeover shouldn't take more than a couple days). I'll let you know when that's going down, but if this site is down next week before I get a chance, now you'll know why. That's all for now kids.
I ran across an announcement that James Urbaniak, along with the playwright and director, will be appearing on July 21 at the Barnes & Noble on Union Square to discuss the play Thom Pain. Despite living several hours away, I'm seriously thinking about attending, as Thom Pain is a great play, and James Urbaniak does an incredible job with the role.
You can find more info here. Mind you, it's moderated, so you probably won't be able to ask any Venture Bros. questions, but fans of Thom Pain (which is supposed to be excellent) and James Urbaniak in general should check it out if they can.
We're in the process of refining the character and background styles for optimum beauty and functionality and I'm pretty excited about the direction we're going. Doc's turned in his first script, and of course it's pretty damn funny. And of course I can't talk about it except to say that Phantom Limb and Dr. Girlfriend are major players and Brock kicks ass as dramatically as possible.
So that's good news (especially for people who want more Dr. Girlfriend). Also he updated about the MoCCA show in New York, but I forgot to mention that here, and now it's over and you didn't meet Jackson Publick! Can you ever forgive me?
Also I'd just like to mention that the hit stats for this site amuse me (but I'm easily amused). It was getting a pretty large number of hits per day back in January and February (700 - 1000 per day on average, the highest ever clocked in at over 1300), but it's slowly dwindled since the news of the renewal, so it only pulls in around 200 or 300 a day now (sometimes less). That is, except on Monday nights after VB airs when it jumps to 700 or better. So I'm happy people are checking out the episode capsules. That's it for now.
Two scripts in the pipeline so far (one mine, one Doc's), neither of which will be the season premiere (yes, we're writing them out of order again, and hopefully we can find a way to keep the adultswim website from confusing everyone this season as a result). Obviously can't tell you much about them, lest the surprise be ruined, but I will say that we learn a bit more about Baron Ünderbheit and The Phantom Limb, respectively...and they're funny. Actual animation production will begin in just under a month, by which time we should have another two scripts done--hopefully one of them will be the premiere episode. We know what it'll be and all, we're just holding off on writing that one because it's so heavy with cliffhanger resolution and has much responsibility riding on its shoulders, so it has to be great.
So there's your season two progress report. There's also news that the regular cast will be returning, and J.G. Thirlwell will be scoring the show again. Also for people in the San Diego area, Jackson and Doc will be appearing at Comicon, so you can pester them about stuff there. In fact, this update is so chock full of meaty, uh, news, that I can't even summarize it all here! So go read it!
Also, in somewhat sadder news (and I hate to end on a downer, but I guess I don't have a choice), the Thursday airings of VB are no more. It's still got the 1am Sunday timeslot, though, so don't fret. Also, yes, Careers in Science is now rated TV-MA instead of TV-14 thanks to Brock's inability to say no to a slutty Russian cosmonaut.
We go behind-the-scenes at our favorite network, to find out what’s coming up in all our favorite shows: Teen Titans, Justice League, and the entire Adult Swim lineup! This feature is jam-packed with interviews, insights and even…Venture Brothers toys?!
So, with that in mind I (finally) threw together a new poll which asks which Venture Bros. action figure pack you'd buy. So many choices, I can't even decide!
In news I'm way late reporting, it seems VB's production house Noodlesoup has expanded. Thanks to Animation HQ for this news:
Noodlesoup Productions is set to begin pre-production on 13 new episodes of the Venture Bros. soon. Perhaps to that end, the studio recently signed 3D director/animator Doug Johnson and 2-D director/animator Chris Siemasko. Unfortunately, no date was given regarding when the new episodes may premiere.
Might we be seeing some nifty 3D stuff in season two (akin to Futurama or Invader Zim)? I hope so, but that's just speculation on my part. Either way it's good to know things are going smoothly.
In more boring news, I made another theme for the site yesterday. Check it out in the settings if you will (it's called Skull Logo Plus Red).
Update: 12:12am on April 13th (in the most technical sense) - Transcription of that interview is ready, if you so desire to read what you see: check it.
So, now what? With possibly a full year before a new episode there won't be much show-related news now that the most important news of all has happened, and I sure won't have to write up any capsules or take any screenshots. I'll continue to tweak the site of course, and I always welcome comments/complaints/suggestions and all that fun stuff or you can always post stuff in the comments. I'll try to wrangle up some content every once in a while as well and I'll continue to track the show ratings as well.
Speaking of which, AS is doing some shuffling with the Sunday schedule, but it doesn't seem it will affect Venture Bros. reruns which will continue to be shown at 12:30am on Sunday. Instead of Family Guy after Robot Chicken you'll get an episode of ATHF and Tom followed by whatever remaining episodes of Sealab there are.
Enjoy the weekend.
I was actually going to write an update around two hours ago about how I had nothing to update about, but I thought that was kind of stupid, so I put it off. Turns out I did have something to update about all along. After over a month Mr. Publick hath updated:
I know, I know...there's a white elephant in the room that no one is talking about. The Adult Swim "Up-fronts"--a gala affair in which Adult Swim announces to potential advertisers and the world at large their upcoming scheduling and development plans for the next year--are in a couple of weeks. Expect official news then!
So hey, you've already waited this long, why not a few more weeks? Also I was slacking on the images for the last couple of days, but I do have up to Past Tense up, and the remaining three episodes will follow in the next couple of days.
So...do we have a second season or what? Here's the thing about that: you don't just get a call one day saying "go...make a second season." It's a process. Interest is expressed, research is done, and ultimately a budget has to be met. So, if we dot all our i's, cross all our t's and get a budget and schedule together, we will be making a second season of The Venture Bros.. If we don't...well, then more discussing has to be done, more number crunching, etc. Everyone wants it, it's just not official until it's official, hence no official announcement.
So there you go, these things just take time, but, as you probably know, it will happen.
Who says you need Jackson Publick for behind the scenes info? Now you can get some from Doc Hammer too, along with a nifty image to boot:
Jackson has come to save these little graphic jobs for me to do. Why? Because I am a nut who will spend way too much time on it, and do it for free. If I don't do it, I see the results of a little gem in the making left in the hands of an overworked animator, and I flip-out, like a child... "Ahhh, come on! It should be way more cool than that!" So I do it myself. You guys will never understand how much little pieces of shit Jackson and I have to do ourselves... Thankless crap. Yet... It's worth it. Isn't it? We think so.
The image provided is the cover of the Guild of Calamitous Intent Handbook which appeared in episode 110 and also 113 I think. And we thank you Doc Hammer. Ha, it's not thankless any more! Much thanks to livingfruitvirus for finding that.
But on a good note, Jackson promises good things VB-related things are to come tonight, including the ratings for last weekend's showings, and perhaps more? Who can tell. I'll be sure to update about the news when it's aired in a few hours, and don't forget to watch tonight's airing of Are You There God, It's Me Dean at 11pm and tell all your chums.
Finally on a site-related note, I'm thinking of adding a simple comments section to the site so you could post your thoughts on each update or the show in general, but I think that the lack of comments would just make me sad. But if you think it's a good or bad idea tell me about it, and we shall see.
Speaking of next year, howsabout those new Venture Bros. bumps, eh? Mighty fine stuff, and perhaps a good sign.
Hello, this is Chris McCulloch (aka Jackson Publick) from the Venture Bros...noticed on tvtome a little new item claiming a I had "leaked info out to several sources" that a second season of our little comedy/adventure epic was "set in stone". Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. Okay, the world being flat...that's further from the truth, but so far the network and I have not discussed it other than to discuss a potential future date in which the MIGHT be prepared to start discussing it. The way things stand right now, they probably will not have done the ratings assessment nor the financial assessment necessary to make any decisions about a greenlight until at least January, when the shows have all re-aired. Another thing I wish you were right about is our ratings having matched Futurama's and Family Guy's. Again, not so...we've been beating Sealab but haven't even approached Aqua Teen Hunger Force's numbers as of yet--which, I suspect, is the "magic number" the network's been waiting to see. Off the record. But who knows, perhaps this "leaked" news item is in fact your own clever ploy to get the show renewed, by making Adult Swim look like fools for going back on their alleged word if they don't--a clever bit of misdirection in a world that thinks that Sadam Hussein invaded the World Trade Center--it just might work! Anyway, officially speaking, I'm unemployed, save for post-production on our Venture Christmas special, and do not expect this situation to be reversed until the new year, if at all!
But thanks for caring...
Christopher McCulloch has leaked info out to several sources that season two is pretty much set in stone. With the show garnishing as many ratings as shows such as Futurama and Family Guy, and proving it could hold its own on a night swamped with anime programming, the show's cast and crew didn't need to say much in meetings with CN heads. One of the big demands known to the public is the desire to move to Sunday nights with all the high-profile programming, rather than to be stuck on Saturday with a replay the following evening.
Of course no sources are mentioned at all, so who the hell knows if this is true or accurate... plus it's TV Tome.