Comment Thread
- by cuavsfan
- (unregistered id: 159559D514)
This episode can be summed up with one (hyphenated) word: "Meta-humor." Everything about cliches, the archenemy / protagonist relationship, who dies and who lives... they were analyzing the world of the Venture Bros. form within like crazy. I thought that almost all of it worked well (especially the stuff with 21 and 24). This is probably one of the top couple episodes of the season IMO.
Shirt prediction: 21 and 24 (please!!)
The callback to Speedy was great... and Brock was more Brock-ish in this episode (even if he did only kill one guy)...
Shirt prediction: 21 and 24 (please!!)
The callback to Speedy was great... and Brock was more Brock-ish in this episode (even if he did only kill one guy)...
- by Mike
- (unregistered id: 1810A2A1DF)
Yeah 21 and 24 are getting kind of ridiculously self-referential this season with noticing how they never die. I mean it's pretty clear they're never going to be killed off because everyone loves them (including Jackson and Doc) so I guess the next step is to just point out how they have somehow managed to survive through pure luck in spite of being massively incompetent. It's pretty hilarious.
- by Creepy Crooner
- (unregistered id: 8F73EA59C9)
Yea. The fact that the competent henchmen always die and that 21 and 24 stay alive in spite of their hopelessness isn't odd - it's the whole joke!
Villainous henchmen almost always play the roll of hopelessly devoted cannon-fodder that pretty much always obey orders and end up getting killed for their troubles. 21 and 24 have somehow avoided such a fate by basically being lazy and incompetent and at this point have sort of figured the formula out.
Great joke. Pretty much sums up the whole idea of the Venture universe.
Villainous henchmen almost always play the roll of hopelessly devoted cannon-fodder that pretty much always obey orders and end up getting killed for their troubles. 21 and 24 have somehow avoided such a fate by basically being lazy and incompetent and at this point have sort of figured the formula out.
Great joke. Pretty much sums up the whole idea of the Venture universe.
- by Phil
- (unregistered id: D3DAE242D1)
- by Phil
- (unregistered id: D3DAE242D1)
Ahh, gotcha.
My girlfriend and I watched this last night and picked up on the same thing, but what I like about it is that they're not REALLY breaking the fourth wall. (As I mentioned in my noisetosignal.org review.) Basically, 21 and 24 grew up on all the same shows that The Venture Bros. is satirizing. They recognize conventions from those shows, and from comic books and movies.
Now they find themselves in very similar situations and already know the "rules" of what happens.
You're exactly right...it's a moment of self-awareness. But it's indirect self-awareness, which I think is a much more clever way to handle it.
My girlfriend and I watched this last night and picked up on the same thing, but what I like about it is that they're not REALLY breaking the fourth wall. (As I mentioned in my noisetosignal.org review.) Basically, 21 and 24 grew up on all the same shows that The Venture Bros. is satirizing. They recognize conventions from those shows, and from comic books and movies.
Now they find themselves in very similar situations and already know the "rules" of what happens.
You're exactly right...it's a moment of self-awareness. But it's indirect self-awareness, which I think is a much more clever way to handle it.
- by Tess
- (unregistered id: 4E429DF010)
Thank you for saying this. I totally agree with you.
These are people that possibly stay in their line of work BECAUSE OF their love of pop culture and entertainment from their youth. They notice themes, and they use them to their advantage. It's what makes them so versatile! I think it would be silly for them to NOT point out the obvious.
See, they're not doing and saying those things because WE'RE watching. They're doing and saying those things because THEY'RE watching, and they think it's EXTREME.
These are people that possibly stay in their line of work BECAUSE OF their love of pop culture and entertainment from their youth. They notice themes, and they use them to their advantage. It's what makes them so versatile! I think it would be silly for them to NOT point out the obvious.
See, they're not doing and saying those things because WE'RE watching. They're doing and saying those things because THEY'RE watching, and they think it's EXTREME.
- by Phil
- (unregistered id: D3DAE242D1)
Yeah, one thing I picked up on a while back--but never really had the chance to say anywhere--is that there's a reason 21 is still a henchman all these years after he was kidnapped...it's that he ALWAYS loved stuff like this. Being kidnapped by the Monarch was probably a dream come true. He went from a kid experiencing these battles on the pages of a comic book to a guy in a costume participating himself.
I mean, as much as Venture Bros. is about failure, at least characters like 21 are actually living their dream.
I mean, as much as Venture Bros. is about failure, at least characters like 21 are actually living their dream.
- by Creepy Crooner
- (unregistered id: 8F73EA59C9)
I think the whole kidnapping thing was sort of semi-retconned. It's fairly obvious that neither 21 or 24 were kidnapped since they both currently live with at least one of their respective parents (when not working for the Monarch).
I guess it's feasible that the kidnapped henchman returned to his old home after the Monarch's incarceration, but the jokes in question (in Home Insecurity when the the Monarch and Verner's men are swapping henchmen stories) were written and executed before 21 and 24 had been cemented as actual characters. All through the first season their voices are basically used along with the random henchmen.
I guess it's feasible that the kidnapped henchman returned to his old home after the Monarch's incarceration, but the jokes in question (in Home Insecurity when the the Monarch and Verner's men are swapping henchmen stories) were written and executed before 21 and 24 had been cemented as actual characters. All through the first season their voices are basically used along with the random henchmen.
- by Phil
- (unregistered id: 4453D1431A)
- by Creepy Crooner
- (unregistered id: 8F73EA59C9)
Alright, I stand corrected. But I still stand by the fact that at the time the joke was originally written the characters had not been established, or completely thought out for that matter, and you know how Jackson and Doc are fond of semi ret-conning (or at least taking slight liberties with) material from previous seasons (i.e. the glorious resurrection of Col. Gentleman).
- by Josh Geller
- (unregistered id: 0EEA2CBC1F)
James Branch Cabelll was a successful writer, who wrote this excellent, ironic, sexy fantastic prose. He wrote like thirty books. They were all published one by one.
Then he took them all, corrected them so they all took place in the same world, published the 'Storisende' edition, which is, like, thirty-two volumes, and bought up as many early copies (ie, non-corrected copies) as he could find.
I bet that JP and DH wish that they could do that, but they can't. So they do the next best thing.
Remember, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.
.
Then he took them all, corrected them so they all took place in the same world, published the 'Storisende' edition, which is, like, thirty-two volumes, and bought up as many early copies (ie, non-corrected copies) as he could find.
I bet that JP and DH wish that they could do that, but they can't. So they do the next best thing.
Remember, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.
.
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"Hostile Makeover" 3%
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