This blog is ultimately a shameless plug for a TV show that I love... but we'll get there in a round-about way.
Back in the 50's, kids didn't have nintendo's and the inter-web to keep them entertained all day... they just had baseball and comic books. Yes, I think it's safe to say that every single child growing up in the 50's had a baseball glove and a comic book under his/her bed. Let's ignore the Baseball part for now and focus on comics.
Old Superman, Justice League, etc comics really helped shape a child's view of the world. They believed that they could grow up and accomplish anything if they just believed hard enough.
Their beliefs grew stronger in the 60's when we landed on the moon. They were going to make a difference. They would make things right. They would be better than the previous generations. They would end world hunger, cure diseases, and bring about peace. They were going to be great.
...But then reality set in.
Most of them didn't go to college. They found minimum wage jobs, had kids they couldn't support, and divorced spouses that they had married when they were too young to know any better.
The attitude of the country changed. An age of cynicism and disillusionment began.
And that's where the Venture Bros. comes in.
It's a show on Cartoon Network which embodies this event. Back in the 1960's there was a show called Johnny Quest. It was about a scientist, his son, his bodyguard (Race Bannon), and his son's ethnic friend. They would travel around the world solving mysteries and doing cool stuff. Johhny Quest was just a boy but he often saved the day. He was a perfect example of the views I talked about previously.
Well, the Venture Bros is about a character who is very much like a grown-up Johnny Quest in the real world. He isn't as good a scientist as his father was, so he just tries to get by on family patents. Everything he does is sub-par. His bodyguard is a jerk (voiced by Patrick Warburton) and his 2 sons are idiots. To top it off, his arch-nemesis (The Monarch - like a butterfly) is a crappy super villain.
It's a great and hilarious show about how that generation grew up and suddenly had to face the real world.
The first 2 seasons are on DVD. And Season 3 starts this sunday around 10PM on Cartoon Network. You should check it out.
And if you're already a fan, then check this out. They are releasing Venture Bros t-shirts each week after the new episodes air. You can preview the first one by clicking on the banner below.
