| "A Very Venture Halloween" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Venture Bros. episode | |||
 Dean with Ben as he reveals the truth | |||
| Episode no. |
Season 5 Special | ||
| Directed by | Jackson Publick | ||
| Written by | Doc Hammer | ||
| Original air date | October 28, 2012 | ||
| Episode Chronology | |||
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| List of The Venture Bros. episodes | |||
A Very Venture Halloween is a Venture Bros. special that takes place during the events of What Color is Your Cleansuit?, which spans three months time. It aired on October 28, 2012.
Plot Synopsis
The story began four years ago on Halloween, with Hank and Dean trying to scare their father Thaddeus and their bodyguard Brock with a traditional "Haunted Bedroom" with a Dracula theme to little effect. Hank, dressed as a hunchback, offered his father a drink of "blood" that was actually ketchup and Pepsi cola.
A year later, they tried again with an Egyptian Mummy theme but were met with the same result as last time.
A year after that Dr. Venture entered the bedroom to find the boys' bodies mangled and crushed. Thaddeus ordered Brock to clean up the mess as he went to "heat up the slugs", but it turned out that it was another Halloween prank. Hank and Dean, both still alive, expressed puzzlement and irritation at their father's reaction.
Present day Dr. Venture walked into the bedroom to find his sons were not doing a Haunted Bedroom this year. He was instead horrified to receive an e-mail about his "malignant lump", learn Dean had an STD, and hear Sergeant Hatred complaining about water dripping from the light sockets. Teetering on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Dr. Venture was pleasantly surprised when Hatred and the boys revealed that it was all just a Halloween prank. With Dr. Venture calm and happy, and now knowing what scares him, the boys and Hatred wished Thaddeus a Happy Halloween.
After the intro the scene shifted to the kitchen, with Dr. Orpheus asking Dr. Venture if he could host the 331st annual Brimstone Assembly in his quarters, to which Dr. Venture agreed. Dermott walked in dressed as The Crow. Thaddeus immediately ordered him to go back outside and ring the doorbell to be let in, much to Dermott's disbelief. Rusty justified this to a confused Orpheus with "I have my reasons."
When Dermott walked back in he revealed that he'd come to pick up Hank and Dean to cause Halloween mischief. Hank got dressed in a last-minute California Raisin costume while Dean, sporting a new emo look with an angular haircut and a black speedsuit, went with them as he was.
While Orpheus was getting everything ready with help from The Alchemist and Jefferson Twilight, Red Mantle and Dragoon arrived early. The elemental magic user Red Mantle, knowing Dragoon's hatred for magic, convinced him to attend the Brimstone Assembly by telling him it was a costume party. Dragoon chose to dress as Rosey Grier's character from the 1972 film The Thing With Two Heads, complete with blackface and an afro wig, to Jefferson Twilight's visible displeasure.
Dr. Venture chastised Sergeant Hatred when he found him putting King Sized candy bars in a large bowl, telling him they only distribute Fun Size candy at the Venture compound. Hatred justified the larger candy based on how far out they are and the compound's security system, insisting that any kid who safely made it past the electric fence and the motion-sensitive laser defense modules to the front door deserved "the big candy bar".
Outside Dermott showed off his bag of tricks, which included shaving cream for cars, rotten eggs for houses, and toilet paper for "trees and bushes". Hank, however, suggested going to "Old Man Potter's house" as it was supposedly haunted. Dean tried to back out because their father told them to never go there, but Hank and Dermott goaded him into going anyway.
Back at the compound all of Orpheus' guests had arrived and festivities begun for the Brimstone Assembly.
Pete White as "the thinner, whiter Duke" and Billy Whalen as Rusty Venture, boy adventurer.
Sergeant Hatred and Dr. Venture made bets on whether any Trick-or-Treaters could pass the security system. Instead they were visited by Pete White dressed as David Bowie and Billy Quizboy dressed as Thaddeus' younger "Rusty Venture, boy adventurer" self--which Dr. Venture found "more disturbing than flattering". They marveled at the king size chocolate bars Hatred gave them, saying Dr. Venture gave them a single package of Smarties to split between the two of them last year, before Dr. Venture slammed the door in their face. Dr. Venture and Hatred went back to their wagering only to be interrupted by the doorbell ringing several times--Billy was still there; he and White came to hang out with them.
At the Brimstone Assembly meeting Dr. Orpheus and Jefferson Twilight showed off the "light as a feather, stiff as a board" trick from The Craft, effortlessly raising The Egoist from the floor using only their index fingers. An incredulous Dragoon called it "the work of the Devil".
At the front yard of Old Man Potter's house, Dermott and Hank--not wanting to go in the house themselves--elected Dean to go inside. Dean sourly agreed, grabbing the flashlight and walking into the house alone. The flashlight beam showed a dusty, cobweb covered house filled with taxidermied animals of all types; Dean cried out several times with nobody answering. On his way in Dean passed by an unknown ape-like creature that initially appeared to be stuffed. As he attempted to leave the creature came to life, blocked his exit, and attacked him, knocking Dean unconscious.
Dean returned to semi-consciousness to find an old man examining him and the ape creature sniffing his crotch. As the man conducted his medical examination he dictated his notes into a handheld tape recorder. The man noted that Dean was overall healthy, with no sign of fetiform teratoma, but already showed clear signs of losing his hair. The ape-like creature, named RICO, began obsessively sniffing Dean's testicles and was disciplined for it by the old man, who shouted admonishments and smacked RICO with his clipboard. Dean's eyes closed again as he fell back unconscious.
At the Brimstone Assembly the party continued with Curse apologizing for a botched conjuring attempt that burned off the left half of his beard followed by Red Mantle attempting the Rabbit from a Hat trick with real magic instead of prestidigitation. Red Mantle insisted this was actually really hard to do.
A girl and her father cautiously approached the Venture compound only to be scared off by the defense turrets. Billy won ten dollars from the three others, as he and Pete had joined Dr. Venture and Hatred in betting on trick or treaters. Pete attempted to drink a ketchup and bourbon based "doctail" called a "Hunchback", inspired by Hank and Dean's Halloween prank from years before.
Outside the Potter house, Dermott and Hank talked about Chex-Mix before the Hank expressed concern for his brother. Inside Dean woke up to the old man, who revealed his name to be Ben . Ben smacked away the ape creature RICO (Ricombinate lusus naturae) once more, noting it had taken a liking to Dean's balls. At Dean's request Ben set him free, telling Dean that he wasn't a prisoner, Ben was just studying him to see how he turned out. Ben revealed that the "Potter" Thaddeus told him and Hank to stay away from was the field outside the house: a mass grave called a "Potter's Field" where all the enemies of Thaddeus and Jonas Venture Sr. who died on the Venture compound lie buried.
Looking like a scene from Hellraiser, the Brimstone Assembly watched a BDSM-themed trick performed by The Outrider and Tatyana. The Outrider, skinless and suspended on chains by metal hooks through his shoulders, attempted to solve a Rubik's Cube while Toaster Face, an apparent cenobite, gushed about "pleasure toast". Toaster Face disappeared and the room returned to normal when The Outrider solved all six sides of the Rubik's Cube, with nearly the entire Assembly applauding. Red Mantle, however, joined Dragoon in his disgust with this trick, saying it was way too kinky for him. A visibly upset Dr. Orpheus expressed his concern that this kind of magic was happening in the home where his daughter Triana was being raised. At The Alchemist's urging he stepped outside to get some air. The Alchemist, whom Orpheus had left in charge, then convinced everyone to raise some zombies.
Outside in the Potter's Field, Hank and Dermott were met with the zombies the Assembly had summoned. The saw them rise from underground and ran away in terror. Inside the house, Dean has been told that his conception was a drunken accident when Rusty forgot to wear a condom and that Dean and Hank were clones. Dean started to freak out before Ben reassured him that he IS the one and only Dean and that Ben, Jonas Sr., and Thaddeus used, and justified, the cloning as a means of protecting Dean and Hank from the consequences of the boy-adventurer lifestyle. Dean finally calmed down.
Outside as the zombies approached the house, a bright light shone before revealing Santa Claus, who destroyed the zombies with a single blast of energy.
At the compound, Sgt. Hatred won the bet as three lucky kids made it through the defenses to the front door.
Santa Claus appeared in the midst of the Brimstone Assembly and revealed himself to be The Master. Everyone bowed down before him except The Alchemist and Jefferson Twilight, who questioned his identity. Red Mantle told them who he was, with The Alchemist replying "Ah, about time!" The Master reprimanded the group, chastising Red Mantle for bringing a non-magical outsider like Dragoon and taking them all to task for raising the dead. Orpheus, who came back to get some snacks for the trick-or-treaters, found out what the group did and was about to yell at them for potentially endangering children before The Master stopped him, saying he already took care of it. After The Master left, Al and the others apologized to Orpheus. He forgave everyone by giving a speech about how the "true magic" of Halloween is one of self-discovery. Dean walked back to the compound and looked at it in contemplation as Orpheus' speech ended.
After the credits, Hank climbed up onto the roof to check up on Dean. He asked his brother what he found in the house. Dean, who didn't know how to tell his brother the truth, instead told him that "Beer tastes like pee-pee.".
Episode Cast
- James Urbaniak: Dr. Venture
- Mike Sinterniklaas: Dean Venture
- Chris McCulloch: Hank Venture, Sgt. Hatred, Pete White, Dragoon, Curse
- Doc Hammer: Dermott, Billy Quizboy, The Outrider, Red Mantle, Toaster Face
- J.K. Simmons: Ben (Old Man Potter)
- Steven Rattazzi: Dr. Orpheus
- Charles Parnell: Jefferson Twilight
- Dana Snyder: The Alchemist
- H. Jon Benjamin: The Master
First Appearances
- Ben ("Old Man Potter")
- Brimstone Assembly
- Hunchback (Doctails)
- RICO
- Toaster Face
Connections to Other Episodes
- When Dean states that "Beer tastes like pee-pee" he may be speaking from actual experience from when Brock pressed his face against the public bathroom floor in The Trial of the Monarch to avoid the effects of a Guild Freeze Team.
- Ben says that Dean is "free of any fetiform teratoma", referencing Jonas Venture Jr., who was believed to be a tumor before Dr. Venture "birthed" him in Return to Spider-Skull Island.
- Magic: The Gathering was previously referenced in the episode Hate Floats, when Henchman 21 gave a handful of cards to Dr. Venture to use as projectile weapons against the new recruits who have taken over the Cocoon.
- Ben states that Dean would look good wearing Buddy Holly glasses. This is similar to the statements made by Triana's friend, Kim, in the episode Victor. Echo. November.
- Dr. Orpheus mistakenly calls Curse by the name "Chris", as he did during the guild tryouts in the episode Fallen Arches. Curse is also seen with legs again for the first time since this episode.
- Jefferson Twilight and The Alchemist finally get to meet The Master. They expressed frustration about this topic previously in What Goes Down, Must Come Up.
Cultural References
Acrofrontofacionasal dysostosis
- Ben says that Dean has "no acrofrontofacionasal dysostosis with comorbid idiopathic hirsutism in the orbital region, yet clear early stage androgenic alopecia." Acrofrontofacionasal dysostosis is an extremely rare disorder, characterized by intellectual disability, short stature, hypertelorism, broad notched nasal tip, cleft lip/palate, postaxial camptobrachypolysyndactyly, fibular hypoplasia, and anomalies of foot structure.
- RICO may suffer from acrofrontofacionasal dysostosis.
- Ben says that Dean shows "clear early stage androgenic alopecia." Dean is losing his hair, like his father.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
- One of the guests at The Brimstone Assembly appears to be Lo Pan (played by James Hong) from the 1986 film Big Trouble in Little China.
- Ben tells Dean that he has the onset of ocular degradation, but he thinks he'll look good in Buddy Holly glasses. Musician Buddy Holly famously wore thick, black horn-rimmed glasses that became so synonymous with his image that they're now called "Buddy Holly glasses".
- The Alchemist replies to The Outrider that he heard Cher had her lower ribs removed, not Marilyn Manson.
- Albino Pete White describes his Halloween costume as "the thinner, whiter Duke", a reference to "The Thin White Duke", David Bowie. White's costume is a tribute to 1973 post-Ziggy Stardust David Bowie, using the red kabuki wig, striped Kansai Yamamoto bodysuit, and lightning bolt facial makeup from his Aladdin Sane tour.
Dracula (1931)
- Dean dresses up as Count Dracula in the Venture boys' first attempt to turn their bedroom into a "haunted bedroom".
- Ben says that Dean is "free of any fetiform teratoma". A teratoma is a tumor made up of several different types of tissue, such as hair, muscle, or bone. Fetiform teratoma is a rare form of mature teratoma that include one or more components resembling a malformed fetus. It may contain or appear to contain complete organ systems, even major body parts such as torso or limbs.
- Toaster Face, the character who appears during the trick that The Outrider and Tatyana perform at the Brimstone Assembly, is inspired by the Hellraiser films.
- The Rubik's Cube that The Outrider solves to send Toaster Face away is based on the "Lament Configuration" puzzle box from the Hellraiser films. The "Lament Configuration" originated in the 1986 Clive Barker horror novella The Hellbound Heart, which Barker adapted into the first Hellraiser film in 1987.
- Ben says that Dean has "no acrofrontofacionasal dysostosis with comorbid idiopathic hirsutism in the orbital region, yet clear early stage androgenic alopecia." Hirsutism is excessive body hair in men and women on parts of the body where hair is normally absent or minimal, such as on the chin, chest, face or body.
- When Ben refers to "idiopathic hirsutism in the orbital region" it is implied that he is referring to excessive eyebrow growth, as displayed by Malcom Fitzcarraldo (The Monarch).
- RICO is short for Ricombinate lusus naturae. Ricombinate refers to his DNA having been recombined. Lusus naturæ is a Latin term that roughly translates to "sport of nature", "God's joke", or "freak of nature".
- As Red Mantle / Dragoon arrives at the party in costume, Red Mantle mentions that Dragoon would refuse to come if he had told him it was a "magical gathering", to which Dragoon responds that he finds those card games very confusing. This is a reference to the Magic: The Gathering trading card game.
- The Outrider claims he heard a rumor that singer/songwriter Marilyn Manson had his lower ribs surgically removed so he could fellate himself.
Mordru the Merciless (DC Comics)
- The sorcerer Curse of the Brimstone Assembly bears a striking resemblance to Mordru the Merciless, an immortal sorcerer in the DC Comics universe.
- "Potter's Field" is a term for the burial site of unknown (often indigent) persons. The term is derived from a biblical reference to a specific piece of land used for the extraction of potter's clay.
- Dermott calls Dean "Richie Rich" when Dean says he thinks Old Man Potter's House and the surrounding area is all part of the Venture property.
- The Outrider completes his trick and sends Toaster Face away by completing all six sides of a Rubik's Cube.
- Hank's last-minute Halloween costume idea is a black trash bag and orange sunglasses, claiming to be a California Raisin.
The Craft (1996)
- The Alchemist says that if they were in the film The Craft he would be Fairuza Balk and Jefferson Twilight would be Rachel True.
- At the Brimstone Assembly meeting Dr. Orpheus and Jefferson Twilight show off the "light as a feather, stiff as a board" trick from The Craft, effortlessly raising The Egoist from the floor using only their index fingers.
The Crow (1994)
- For his Halloween costume Dermott dresses as Eric Draven, the lead character from the film The Crow.
The Mummy (1932)
- Dean dresses up as The Mummy in the Venture boys' second attempt to turn their bedroom into a "haunted bedroom".
The Thing With Two Heads (1972)
- Dragoon wears blackface and an afro wig to dress as "Mr. Rosey Grier" in an ill-conceived tribute to the film The Thing With Two Heads, in which a dying white doctor's head was transplanted onto a black man's body to save his life.
- A Wilhelm Scream is heard when The Master appears and fires an energy blast at the zombies.
Production Notes
- One of the animation directors (Kimson Albert) has a "nickname" inserted into his credits. The nickname is an unusual line or word from the preceding episode. For A Very Venture Halloween the credit reads Kimson "Pleasure Toast" Albert.
Trivia
- Dr. Venture introduces a new "Doctail": a Hunchback, consisting of ketchup and bourbon.
- Billy again shows his obsession with the old Rusty Venture cartoon series through his Halloween costume.
| Preceded by: "What Color is Your Cleansuit?" |
The Venture Bros. episodes Original Airdate: October 28, 2012 |
Followed by: "Venture Libre" |