K reviews The Venture Brothers Season 4 Part 1 DVD

Questions are answered and truths are revealed in The Ventures Brother Season 4, Part 1. Learn how Henchman 21 copes with life without 24. See what happens when Brock and the Venture family are forced to part ways. Discover the final fate of H.E.L.P.eR. And all the while, the balance of the free world hangs in the hands of Dean Venture, who must kill Hitler.

Before we even venture (pardon the pun) into this decidedly adult animation series, the first thing that is apparent is the slip case itself; the appearance of tantalising blue coveralls as worn by Dr. Rusty Venture! When the inner cover of the DVD is pulled out, gaze upon the agonizingly pasty skin underneath the previously mentioned apparel, housing the two discs set. This is the dual nature of The Venture Brothers, clean and geek-chic but also unabashedly shameless. For the uninitiated The Venture Brothers is an animated show (stylized to that of Johnny Quest) that follows the titular Venture family and the offbeat world they inhabit where super science and bizarrely organised super villains are the norm.

The actual show its self is absolutely top notch, easily being Adult Swim's best animated offering, if not one of the best animated television programmes ever combing hilarity and absurdness in unequal measure. The aforementioned art style is fitting for the series, the voice work is all around phenomenally good and the plot and characters are outstandingly memorable. For anyone who has seen the previous three seasons they should know generally what to expect in this twisted and intriguing series.

Concerning the extras on the DVD, they are somewhat sparse. The discs feature only a small amount of deleted scenes, comic-con promo video and the "lost" opening sequence. While this is a small offering for such a cult sensation, every single episode on the DVD has full commentary and this is a true highlight. The creator's discussions are fascinating, giving insights into the production of each episode as well as various facts and interesting tid-bits involving the characters and plots and are usually hilarious. While not for everyone, anyone who has an interest in the making of the show will likely enjoy and re-watch the episodes with the commentary.

One of the only drawbacks of this DVD, besides the sparse extras, is its half season package. It is labelled as "Volume 1" and this staggered release of season is slightly disappointing. Although, it is understandable that it was released this way as there was a four month hiatus between both halves of the season when it originally aired.

Despite this gripe the DVD is worth getting - though if there was a later released box set of the full series that would be more recommendable. Regardless The Venture Brothers, season 4 and beyond continues to be a high quality series that is intelligent, absurd and the original and insane content contained in the episodes alone should be enough to warrant repeat viewings.