The Venture Bros: "Venture Libre" Review:
Warning: full episode spoilers follow.
At its core, The Venture Bros. and its four person lead cast is basically a spoof of Johnny Quest. But with all the bizarre twists and turns the series' mythology has taken over the years, it's been a long time since any episode really followed the formula of the family embarking on a globe-trotting adventure for the pursuit of science and adventure. "Venture Libre" was sort of a novel return to the past in that regard, even though it offered its fair share of twists on an old formula.
Recent episodes have really renewed the series' focus on Hank and Dean and provided both Venture boys with some quality character growth. This week it was Dean's turn to step back from the spotlight a bit and let his brother take center stage. And Hank certainly didn't disappoint, as we learned just what effect a simple caffeine overdose can have on a growing teen. The fact that Dean didn't do much in this episode was fine, as his apathy was a continuation of his recent trend of rejecting his father's world entirely. My only complaint about his subplot is that the Congresswoman character, Marsha Blackwood, felt out of place. She wasn't all that amusing, and she seemed to serve no other purpose than ensuring that the Ventures would have an escape vehicle at the crucial moment. Even the post-credits scene involving Blackwoodstein fell flat. Appropriately, Blackwood was voiced by Community's Gillian Jacobs, and you could say that Blackwood really Britta'd her role in the episode.
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