What are people watching on Summer television that is a sea of talent shows, dancing shows, and reality shows? I thought I would suggest 3 good programs that are getting me through the void, and see if others had suggestions of TV shows or DVDs that people should check out...
The Venture Bros.
For everyone that loved "The Tick", this is your show. The show is a whacked out version of Jonny Quest with other characters being caricatures of Marvel & DC comic heroes & supervillians. Pick up the season 1 dvd & you'll laugh your ass off.
The 2nd season began last sunday with an episdoe called "Powerless in the Face of Death" that dealt with the aftermath of the deaths of Hank & Dean & revealed their "true nature". Among the characters...
- Doctor Venture - Fills the same role as Dr. Quest on "Jonny Quest", but more a "what if" Jonny grew up to be a bitter less intelligent version of his father.
- Brock Samson - Serves the same role as Race Bannon on "Jonny Quest", but is more of a mix between "24"'s Jack Bauer & Bo Duke from "The Dukes of Hazzard". He is an agent in the Office of Secret Intelligence. His role is to protect Dr. Venture, and Hank & Dean Venture. He doesn't use a gun, only a bowie knife.
- Doctor Orpheus - a parody of Doctor Strange, who is a necromancer. He speaks with overly dramatic flair, like in a bad Vincent Price movie.
- The Monarch - The chief archvillian to Team Venture. He's sort of "what if" Batman was evil & incompetent. Where Bruce Wayne was affected by an encounter with bats, for the Monarch it was monarch butterflies. He has used his family fortune to build an ellaborate butterfly cocoon base, complete with assorted idiot henchmen, and dresses himself in a butterfly costume.
- Dr. Girlfriend - Physically she looks exactly like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, but speaks with a deep male voice. She's the beloved of the Monarch, but is partly responsible for him being sent to prison by the "Guild of Calimitous Intent" (similar to DC's Legion of Doom). Supervillian Phantom Limb (has invisible arms & legs) wants Dr. Girlfriend & sends the Monarch to jail to steal her away.
- King Gorilla - Was Inprisoned with the Monarch. He is a what if Gorilla Grodd was a violent repressed homosexual who had a thing for Tarzan. Last week, it was revealed that he was in jail for sodomizing Vince Neil on an episode of "The Surreal Life".
- Professor Impossible - Voiced by Stephen Colbert, he's a parody of Reed Richard's Mr. Fantastic. He's largely a take on the joke of how much of a prick does someone have to be to name themself "Mr. Fantastic". It's also revealed that the other Fantastic Four/Impossible counterparts didn't turn out quite as well. Doctor Impossible's wife Sally has similar powers to the Invisible Woman, however she can only turn her skin invisible, leaving muscle tissue visible. Sally's brother Cody can turn into fire, just like the Human Torch, with the exposure to oxygen. However, he feels his skin & body burning, and has to be kept in isolation. Their mentally handicapped cousin Ned turned into a giant callous, similar to The Thing, but it hurts when he is touched or comes into contact with anything.
- Baron Ünderbheit - He's been called a "dime store Doctor Doom" on the show, and speaks like Schwarzenegger. His story is largely similar to Doctor Doom. He has a large metal jaw due to some lab accident that happened when he & Doctor Venture were lab partners.
- Race Bannon - The Venture Universe exists in the same one as Jonny Quest. He shows up & is a colleague of Brock Samson. He dies in Brock's arms, with his last words being "Tell Jonny I love....".
Entourage
I haven't watched tonight's episode yet, but so far the best episode has been the James Woods episode. The young girl with the big breasts in that episode is James Woods real girlfriend. She's 20, and the daughter of one of his golfing buddies.
Dallas
This is an oldie but a goodie. I blame my mother for getting me hooked on this show. All hour dramas, like "Melrose Place" & "Desperate Housewives" descend from this show. It just began from season 1, monday thru friday at 2pm est on SoapNet.
For people who've never heard of or watched it, it's sorta of a mix between multiple Shakespeare stories. Pam & Bobby are a relationship that is based on "Romeo & Juliet" with both coming from 2 families that despise the other. Bobby's evil brother J.R.'s relationship with his wife, Sue Ellen, is similar to the relationship between Macbeth & Lady Macbeth. Over the entire Ewing family is father Jock, who is a sort of a King Lear figure, & Miss Ellie his wife. J.R. is one of the greatest villians in television history...