Venture Bros., The: Season Four (Blu-ray)

This is a season of major changes, but it leads to so many great things for future seasons. Luckily, the discomfort of getting out of the structure created by the first two seasons is aided by foreshadowing from season three. With season four, you see that Publick and Hammer have had a very ambitious vision that they are unwilling to compromise (which is great news for us). Things take a very strong turn, but what dislike you may initially feel towards this brave new world is coming to terms with the fear of a change that could be detrimental to something that is already good. I can assure you that the show never loses its integrity, minute attention to detail and story structure, or its humor, poignancy, and knowledgeable dialog concerning so many elements of what I'll vaguely call "nerd culture." Season Four proves what Season Three already hinted at: the creators never just throw an idea (be it a character, story-line, theme, etc.) to the wall just to see if it sticks. Every element of the content is nurtured and meditated upon until it is ready to join the story. Nothing is ever forsaken, however minuscule, and is always brought back in a way that only adds to the story (Professor Impossible is a good example that doesn't give too much away regarding spoilers).The Dr. Orpheus episodes really shine, but, beginning with "The Diving Bell vs. The Butter-Glider," the major evolutions of the narrative really start to reveal themselves in the most delightful ways. The humor is as strong as ever--exceeding season 3 and rivaling season 2 (which is perhaps the strongest season). However, don't let my reverence for the second season lead you to believe that it's all down hill from there: The Venture Brothers remains consistently strong all the way to Season 6. Aside from the show's innate hilarious nature, the creators have a strong acumen for illuminating the shallowness of certain widespread trends in nerd culture while still managing to remain reverent to certain works and pieces (they certainly aren't afraid of letting their opinions known). One of the great elements of the show is that is doesn't talk down to its viewers when using referential humor. For example, when they fashion a character that alludes to a monster from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, they don't just let the allusion rest to show off their expansive knowledge but show that they are fully aware of what they're talking about through acknowledging that they are using an allusion in a specific way: leaving viewers in an interesting position of skipping looking up a reference and focusing on what dialog is actually established with the twist on the allusion.The animation only continues to grow in beauty, the voice-acting is brilliant (and VERY under-appreciated), and the narrative complexities keep getting better.Aside from a nice gallery of new characters, the evolution of the primary characters is given full attention. Hank, Dean, Brock, Rusty, The Monarch, Dr. Girlfriend, 21, Dr. Orpheus, Billy, and Pete all go through massive changes: some subtle, some abrupt, all great. Billy and Pete are always golden scene-stealers. Orpheus, who has a very realistic past despite his esoteric and mystical line of work, is given more development than he has in past seasons (along with the Orpheus specific characters like the Alchemist). Sergeant Hatred enters the story in a new way, and he is a wonderful wreck of a man. Of all the characters, I would say that Hank (who paradoxically changes by staying the same) and 21 are the characters who contribute the most depth to this season, and that was hard for me to say because I honestly love all of the characters. Brock is not as present, but that's a major point and serves a purpose to the story. I think the story-line I most enjoy, however, is Dr. Girlfriend/Dr. Mrs. The Monarch's singularity as a character. Aside from the many different elements of humor she brings to the story, her narrative is possibly the most fraught with struggle and inner-turmoil. It's so hard to pick a favorite story-line from this season because so many plots change is great, entertaining, and exciting ways. It's just as fun and hilarious as it is artistically magnificently and poignant.Among long-running, adult-oriented animation, it is almost peerless. The creative team behind the show work tirelessly to make something that they can be proud of, and they should be. Unfortunately, despite claims of new-found critical attention to animation as a "worthy" artistic medium, this show continues to be overlooked in favor of live-action critic favorites that only perpetuate certain conventions of story-telling that have been monotonously praised--shows that take less effort and risk to produce content that still panders to a very narrow critical consensus of what is dubbed "good TV." Cartoon Network, however, has been bold enough in their selection of programming to allow animators a place to voice themselves and repeatedly show how animation as a more than valid medium, and you'd be hard-pressed to find any show that rivals the genius of The Venture Bros.PS - Before moving on to Season 5, you should watch "A Very Venture Halloween." It explains a number of season 5 changes that might seem random if you haven't watched that glorious special.

This is an actual review of the product itself and not just the fourth season!What you are getting is six plus hours of the Venture's hot new envelope pushing complete fourth season on one disc loaded with extras.The set includes creator commentary on all the episodes, deleted scenes, and four more features: this is captain feature, all of the finale promos, comic con season four trailer, and lastly the lost season three cold open. - 10/10The package art design features both the clean and bloody speed suits and comes in a regular BD digi-pack case. - 10/10The BD disc menu is sleek and easy to use, it is one of my favorites BD menus of all time b/c it's simple and works. - 10/10Not much is needed to be said about the sixteen episodes b/c they are the best and I loved the new season, but here is a list of the best episodes within this season:"Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel""Self-Medication""The Better Man""Pinstripes & Poltergeists""The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider""Everybody Comes to Hank's""Bright Lights, Dean City""The Silent Partners""Operation: P.R.O.M."The audio is good True HD, as I can actually hear all the different channels (layers/tracks) of audio, and subtle sound effects. - 9/10The video is the only downfall of this BD, yes folks that is right.The animation this season is the best and still looks very sharp and vivid on BD, but because artifacts show up often on the characters/backgrounds it's not perfect.It's mostly three or four times an episode that someone's shirt will have a thousand blotchy boxes all over it. Maybe it's just my Sony HDTV, but I kind of doubt it since the season three BD has like maybe six scenes total with minor artifact issues. I get the feeling that this should have had a more accurate transfer, or maybe it needed to be two discs like it was going to be.That is it, one minor (or very annoying depending on how much artifacts bug you) flaw in my opinion keeps this disc from being the best TV season BD ever. - 8/10All in all this set is easily five out of five stars just as season 3 BD was, the creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer have really out done themselves with this new season, a huge special thanks should go out to them for all the hard work they have done. The next two seasons should prove to be very exciting for the Venture clan.Go ahead and buy this BD now, or regret it later.

The venture Bros is such an underrated animated series. Fourth season Hass to be my favourite and it arrived in perfect condition. Got a love group Blu-ray and I really do love the artwork inside. I will never stop buying this series and I hope one day they will be able to make a box set! Because the show is epic #saveventurebros

Venture Bros. heads into new and strange territory in S4 and the blu-ray presentation is a great way to experience it. All the same features as the DVD sets but included all on a single disc with the BD.

First let me say that this is the Complete 4th Season of "The Venture Bros." despite what amazon.ca says, if you search the ASIN on any other Amazon website it shows the complete 4th season as well.And now for the show: I love the Venture Bros. and its brand of humor and that's what you get with this season. The disc felt a little short on special features and that's why I'm only giving this 4/5, But it did come with an expired coupon for a website that no longer exists so i guess that's a plus?

Perfect

They're back and awesome. Loved it. I agree with another reviewer who said it was funnier when the obscenities were bleeped out but that was minor. Great writing as usual!