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Why do we watch SuperJail/VentureBrothers/etc.
azith28
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
The other day someone linked the pilot of Superjail into a thread i was reading. I had not seen it before, and my immediate reaction was that the artwork was not a style i typically appriciate. But i watched it...and i simply couldnt NOT watch it. Its like watching a train wreck. Sure, its occasionally funny but overall, and i say this not in disgust or disapproval...im simply describing it, Its Massively violent, disgusting, crazy and disturbing.
Given my opinion, i found myself at a loss to explain why i wanted to see more of it. I purchased the entire first season and watched it in one sitting.
I kept thinking to myself that sure...if i wanted something to watch while on an acid trip this would certainly fit the bill. But as that is not something in my want to do...I still couldnt think of a good reason to watch it. The occasional laugh that it gave me didnt seem to justify continued watching, i simply had to see what they had to show me.
The next day i was bored and pulled out the copy of venture brothers latest dvd that just came out. last half of the last season. Unlike superjail i typically laugh my ass off at venture brothers. But I also have the same sense of confusion about why it makes me smile broadly through practically the entire episode, even when it deals with topics that dont really pertain to me. (Like the Progressive rock references).
I know that the venture brothers love at least partially comes from pure nostalgia. Watching them rape my childhood cartoons in such twisted, yet completely logical/realistic way is dark humor at its finest. But theres so much more. For instance, watching a Venture Bros episode on Adult Swim compared to watching it on a DvD feels at times like a badly edited show. They obviously in several instances run a little long and they trim things for broadcast that when i see them on the DvD make me wonder why those bits were cut as they actually explain the reasons why they did some crazy shit at the end of the episode. For instance the episode called 'assisted suicide' has further conversations with the ego/superego/id that make the final solutions more understandable.
Still, there is something missing from the why of the shows. I'm curious what about them make you smile.
Given my opinion, i found myself at a loss to explain why i wanted to see more of it. I purchased the entire first season and watched it in one sitting.
I kept thinking to myself that sure...if i wanted something to watch while on an acid trip this would certainly fit the bill. But as that is not something in my want to do...I still couldnt think of a good reason to watch it. The occasional laugh that it gave me didnt seem to justify continued watching, i simply had to see what they had to show me.
The next day i was bored and pulled out the copy of venture brothers latest dvd that just came out. last half of the last season. Unlike superjail i typically laugh my ass off at venture brothers. But I also have the same sense of confusion about why it makes me smile broadly through practically the entire episode, even when it deals with topics that dont really pertain to me. (Like the Progressive rock references).
I know that the venture brothers love at least partially comes from pure nostalgia. Watching them rape my childhood cartoons in such twisted, yet completely logical/realistic way is dark humor at its finest. But theres so much more. For instance, watching a Venture Bros episode on Adult Swim compared to watching it on a DvD feels at times like a badly edited show. They obviously in several instances run a little long and they trim things for broadcast that when i see them on the DvD make me wonder why those bits were cut as they actually explain the reasons why they did some crazy shit at the end of the episode. For instance the episode called 'assisted suicide' has further conversations with the ego/superego/id that make the final solutions more understandable.
Still, there is something missing from the why of the shows. I'm curious what about them make you smile.
Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
azith28 on
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You're right in pointing out nostalgia with Venture Brothers. That's generally why I watch it along with the particular brand of nerd humor.
And Superjail is pretty awesome.
but they're listening to every word I say
anyways after that I was laughing so hard at how bizarre the scene was that I had to watch more. I think I enjoy SuperJail because I enjoy Metalocalypse. Similarly violent shows done in a fantastical/hilarious ways. Neither take themselves very seriously and I dig that.
Bother me on steam: kabbypan
But that doesn't mean it's not a good show.
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
I could never, ever watch that show while hallucinating. I would probably be reduced to tears.
Venture Bros. is quite a different beast. It also has a preoccupation with human ugliness, and shares the cynicism behind Superjail!, but it is, to put it as briefly as possible, about things. Superjail! is about being bombastic and trippy and offensive and violent, and being excessive in everything it does. Venture Bros. is about aspiration and failure, family, the decisive and unforgiving power of chance, and finding humour in pain. It reconciles a fantastical world of heroes and super-villains with the the way people really behave and the profound vulnerability found in reality.
The action is fun, novel, and used with appropriate frequency and intensity. Its humour is varied and deliberate- it's got the aforementioned pop culture references, but it also relies on witticisms, running jokes, Freudian slips, physical comedy and schadenfreude. It includes mean-spirited humour but keeps it in perspective.
The way characters encounter failure, usually in a humourous way, also makes it far more rewarding when characters come into their own, or even achieve an instance of success. It's a show crafted with a lot of care and thoughtfulness, and over time it's grown in complexity. The creative team understands the danger of becoming attached to characters or tropes, or dwelling too long on any one theme, and accepts the necessity of variation as the series progresses.
So long story short, I began watching Venture Bros. because it was funny and very well-written. I still watch it because it is still funny and still well-written, but also has genuine character development, a tendency to re-think, defy and re-define its formula, and shows absolutely zero sense of complacence. It is never about continuing to do what works; it's about acknowledging that what was done worked, and then consistently and continuously building on it, experimenting and refining. This is what makes me believe that Venture Bros. is one of the absolute most well-made television series out there, and what makes it probably my favourite (the probably qualifier can be attributed to Batman: TAS, it is a very close race).
I watch Superjail! because it is fucking ridiculous and indulgent and cathartic and cynical. I don't think the shows are comparable at all, in any respect other than that they are both animated. The difference is that Venture Bros. is taken seriously by its creative team- this alone isn't what makes it superior, but rather what makes the two shows pretty much apples and oranges.
The orange is large, perfectly round with nuanced flavour and a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness, where every bite is distinct from and better than the last; the apple is small, unripe, bruised, laced with acid, and there are human baby teeth and fragments of a razor blade inside.
So, all of the above, plus pot.
I enjoy the comedy, storylines, characters, trippy visuals. It's amazing to see how the artist gives us a perspective on things since there is no camera to look through and the screen can become anything.
I always saw it as a TV series done in the style of an animated 80s metal music video.
I don't watch Superjail because it's functionally retarded.