The humor is weird but often brilliant - one particularly strange episode reimagines the Scooby gang as a bunch of drug-addled fiends - but what truly stands out about the show is how it has built a vast world full of recurring, oddball characters whose relationships evolve over time. Now the owner of his father’s company, the show follows Rusty, his two sons Hank (Christopher McCulloch) and Dean (Michael Sinterniklaas), and their bodyguard, secret agent/bulky murder machine Brock Samson (Patrick Warburton), through various adventures and schemes, flitting through various genres and story structures. Animaniacs (1993-1998) was a childrens show that attempted to combine entertainment with education. Rusty Venture (James Urbaniak), a once-famous boy adventurer who fizzled out, growing up to become a failed scientist.

Originally built as a parody of ‘60s adventure shows like Jonny Quest, The Venture Bros. is a hilarious, occasionally depressing exploration of failure and legacies, set in a world full of colorful characters. Adult Swim’s long-running (the series has been airing off and on since 2003) dark comedy The Venture Bros.

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