The Show
Picking up immediately after the violent conclusion of Season 3, The Venture Bros. The Complete Season 4 delivers more of the movie-, TV- and comic book-inspired mayhem that fans have come to expect. Whereas some shows begin to feel worn and tired by this point, combining the same old characters in slightly different situations, Venture manages to remain remarkably fresh by reinventing their good guys and bad in unexpected ways.
With Sgt. Hatred now serving as Doc Venture's bodyguard, Billy and that albino guy create their own company, Conjectural Technologies, with the help of quasi-vampiric "Investors." Brock meanwhile recovers from his mortal wounds to reform the super-secret organization SPHINX, with buddies who riff on everyone from G.I. Joe to Hunter S. Thompson.
The plotting and the dialogue are a hoot, but the writing goes further to reward the geeks in the audience, as when--without any prior explanation--an entire episode is told in reverse, relative to the value of a rapidly deteriorating CGC-graded copy of Marvel Mystery #1! As for the siblings of the title, butch Hank becomes the youthful ward of the dubious Captain Rainbow, and in the season's final moment, has whitebread Dean finally grown a pair?
The Picture
Some scenes are positively rife with bizarrely dressed characters, all impossibly sharp in that comic book fashion. The 16:9 image is also clear enough that we can read some of the words on a contract signed by Monstroso. There are also some subtle focus effects and plenty of ambitious faux lens flares, but also serious ringing/banding issues and some flicker and stair-step on the line art, so it's ultimately a mixed bag.
The Sound
The original musical score is once again a clever blend of genres, here enjoying an exquisite Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. Trebles are clean and there is a distinct bass presence, if no strong thumps. There's a swell jet flyover and the P.A. system in the Venture hangar displays a 360-degree realism. It's not too shabby, although neither is it a discrete multichannel marvel.
Oh, and the final double-length episode, "Operation: P.R.O.M.," is the only one to include the option of a censored audio track, in Dolby Digital 2.0. I wondered why they singled it out... until I watched it, probably the raunchiest installment of the entire series. You've been warned!
The Extras
Deleted scenes are revealed for twelve different episodes, some quite brief, in various states of completion but with the original voices. These run 28-and-a-half minutes total, in HD. All 16 episodes offer commentary by Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, the creative soul behind the show.
"So This Is Captain..." (two minutes, HD) collects alternate takes of a key line of dialogue as read by the talented actor Toby Huss. The promo spots for the finale, also featuring Publick and Hammer, are good for two-and-a-half minutes of further HD amusement. In standard def are the Comic-Con Promo (three-and-a-half minutes) and "lost" episode opening.
Final Thoughts
I've said it before and I will say it again: The Venture Bros. is one of the best damned shows on TV, even if mainstream audiences are unaware of its existence. Season Four, the second to arrive on Blu-ray, gives us yet another opportunity to discover perhaps the smartest, funniest, most surprising animated series ever.
Take it!
Product Details
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