This Show Sucks - Venture Bros. S1 E5

The Venture Bros. TV-MA | 22min | Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi | TV Series (2003– ) The bizarre animated escapades of pseudo-heroic scientist Dr. Rusty Venture, his competent, high strung bodyguard, and his two over-enthusiastic sons. Creator: Christopher McCulloch Stars: Christopher McCulloch, James Urbaniak, Michael Sinterniklaas, Patrick Warburton ## Episode Cast[Edit](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Eeney,_Meeney,_Miney..._Magic!?action=edit&section=2) * **[James Urbaniak](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/James_Urbaniak)** as [Dr. Venture](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Venture). * **[Michael Sinterniklaas](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Sinterniklaas?redlink=1&action=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink)** as [Dean Venture](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Dean_Venture). * **[Patrick Warburton](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Patrick_Warburton?redlink=1&action=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink)** as [Brock Samson](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Brock_Samson). * **[Christopher McCulloch](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Christopher_McCulloch)** as [Hank Venture](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Hank_Venture) (though misspelt). * **[Doc Hammer](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Doc_Hammer)** as [Tommy](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Tommy). * **[Steven Rattazzi](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Steven_Rattazzi?redlink=1&action=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink)** as [Dr. Orpheus](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Orpheus). * **[Lisa Hammer](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Lisa_Hammer?redlink=1&action=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink)** as [Triana Orpheus](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Triana_Orpheus). * **[Rachael Simon](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Rachael_Simon?redlink=1&action=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink)** as "Fantasy Mom". * **[Tom Vollette](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Tom_Vollette?redlink=1&action=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink)** as "Signer" (the American Sign Language interpretor). * **[Mia Barron](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Mia_Barron?redlink=1&action=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink)** as [Molotov Cocktease](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Molotov_Cocktease) (though not credited). * **[Soul-Bot](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Soul-Bot?redlink=1&action=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink)** as [H.E.L.P.eR.](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/H.E.L.P.eR.) ## Cultural References[Edit](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Eeney,_Meeney,_Miney..._Magic!?action=edit&section=3) * [Dean Venture](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Dean_Venture) wears a Burger King crown in his fantasy of being [Triana Orpheus](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Triana_Orpheus)'s hero. * Triana sarcastically calls Dean "David Koresh" in a reference to the word "compound" when Dean says "So, I'll see you around [the compound](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/The_Venture_Compound)?" * When asked about the skull and crossbones on her shirt, Triana replies that she is going for a "retro _Adam and the Ants_ kind of thing", referring to the new romantic band of the same name. * Dean apparently watches reruns of _Kolchak: The Night Stalker_. * The brothers wrap Dean's shirt around Brock's head after peeing on it. This is a reference to the movie _Total Recall_ where a character wrapped a wet towel around his head to disrupt a tracking device. * When Hank is shuffling through a box of [Brock Samson](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Brock_Samson)'s cassette tapes, he finds the _Led Zeppelin_ album "In Through the Out Door" and ask if he and Brock can listen to it, but Brock refuses stating that "Zep sold out on that one", and the album brings back memories of the only woman he ever loved (most likely [Molotov Cocktease](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Molotov_Cocktease)). * The beds in the boys' room are nearly identical to the hibernation pods used in the movie _Alien_. * Dean's statement that "penguins have an organ above their eyes that converts seawater into freshwater," apparently learned in his subliminal learning bed, is quoted directly from _Snapple Fact #131_. * [Dr. Orpheus](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Orpheus) is loosely based off of the _Marvel Comics_ character Dr. Strange. * Dr. Orpheus resides in the advanced arachnid research centre, a reference to the _Spider-Man_ comics.[ _[citation needed](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation_needed)_ ]. * Dr. Orpheus's cat, [Simba](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Simba), is named after the main character from the movie _The Lion King_. * The machine that is powered by a heart of an orphan was a reference to the movie _Arcade_ , where the villain is a video arcade machine that is powered by a dead little boy's brain cells. * Dr. Venture begins a scene dictating sternly at the Joy Can, "Hank, you get out of there!" Dr. Orpheus urges him, "Be cross with them!", and he shouts, "Boys, this is your father, you come here this instant!" This is mostly likely a reference to Poltergeist, parallel to how the spirit medium Tangina instructs Carol Anne's father to call her back from the rift in the closet. ## Connections to Other Episodes[Edit](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Eeney,_Meeney,_Miney..._Magic!?action=edit&section=4) * This episode sees the introduction of the characters [Doctor Byron Orpheus](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Byron_Orpheus), [Triana Orpheus](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Triana_Orpheus), and [Simba](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Simba), as well as the [Joy Can](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Joy_Can?redlink=1&action=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink). [Tommy](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Tommy) is seen for the first time, but only in a nightmare and a hologram. Orpheus also mentions the loss of his wife [Tatyana](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Tatyana), to his rival [the Outrider](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/The_Outrider), though he names neither of them at this point. * Hank and Dean see [Scamp](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Scamp), their pet dog from the pilot episode [The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terrible_Secret_of_Turtle_Bay), when they are inside the machine.[[1]](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Eeney,_Meeney,_Miney..._Magic!#cite_note-0) * Tommy the football player seen dead here is revealed to be Tommy the deaf quarterback in [Past Tense](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Past_Tense). [Brock Samson](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Brock_Samson) accidentally killed him during a practice session in his freshman year of college, which led to a revocation of Brock's scholarship and his enrollment in the military.[[2]](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Eeney,_Meeney,_Miney..._Magic!#cite_note-1) * Brock refuses to listen to one of _Led Zeppelin_ albums because of the strong memories of [Molotov Cocktease](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Molotov_Cocktease) it brings back. In [The Incredible Mr. Brisby](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/The_Incredible_Mr._Brisby), the two of them speak of an encounter they had in Akron, Ohio at a _Laser Zeppelin_ show. * [Dean Venture](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Dean_Venture) brags about Brock killing a guy to Triana, yet in [Past Tense](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Past_Tense) he refuses to believe when [Hank Venture](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Hank_Venture) says that Brock kills bad guys. * Dean mentions to Triana that they were kidnapped by pirate ghosts, which actually happens the following episode. It is either a continuity error, Dean is making the story up, or the episode wasn't the first time they have been held captive by pirates. ## Production Notes[Edit](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Eeney,_Meeney,_Miney..._Magic!?action=edit&section=5) * One of the animation directors (Kimson Albert) has a "nickname" inserted into his credits. The nickname is an unusual line or word from the preceding episode. For this episode, the credit reads Kimson "In Twain" Albert. * The live-action actor, credited as Tom Vollette, who translates [Tommy](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Tommy)'s speech into American Sign Language is stated in the episode commentary as still learning ASL, and the film was rotated, which might account for the actor's "frantic" tone, as he seemed to have balance problems. * The American Sign Language translation is largely accurate, though when Tommy says "It was my fault not wanting to give you the football", the actor signs a muddled "My fault not want/give football." It should also be noted that football is signed differently than the interpreter would have been used to seeing it, but which may just be regional differences. * In the credits, for some reason, [Hank Venture](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Hank_Venture)'s name is listed as "Hank VentureCol.", an unusual typo. * [Mia Barron](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Mia_Barron?redlink=1&veaction=edit&flow=create-page-article-redlink) is not credited for her voice acting of [Molotov Cocktease](http://venturebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Molotov_Cocktease) in the credits, probably due to mistake.