| "The Venture Bros. & The Curse of the Haunted Problem" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Venture Bros. episode | |||
 The Head of Jonas Venture Sr. suspended inside the PROBLEM. | |||
| Episode no. |
Season 7 Episode 1 | ||
| Directed by | Juno Lee | ||
| Written by | Jackson Publick | ||
| Production code | 701 | ||
| Original air date | August 5, 2018 | ||
| Episode Chronology | |||
| |||
| List of The Venture Bros. episodes | |||
The Venture Bros. & The Curse of the Haunted Problem is the first episode of Season 7 and the overall seventy-second episode of The Venture Bros.
Plot[]
When the Venture family begins to experience signs that their New York home and headquarters is haunted, Dean calls in the Order of the Triad to help. They discover the remains of Jonas Venture Sr. in the PROBLEM box that survived the de-orbiting of Gargantua-1.
Meanwhile, Hank has continued to pursue a relationship with Sirena Ong, daughter of Dr. Venture's arch-nemesis Wide Wale. When his straightforward attempts to speak with Wale are thwarted by Wale's henchmen, Hank revives his "criminal" alter ego, Enrico Matassa, and attempts to become part of Wale's gang. As an initiation test, Wale tells Hank he must shoot a man - The Monarch, who is seen tied to a chair while wearing his Blue Morpho costume, without the mask.
Episode Cast[]
- James Urbaniak: Dr. Venture, Dr. Jonas Venture Jr.
- Patrick Warburton: Brock Samson
- Mike Sinterniklaas: Dean Venture
- Chris McCulloch: Hank Venture, Pete White, Sgt. Hatred, Col. Gentleman, Action Man
- Doc Hammer: Billy Quizboy, Rose
- Mark Gagliardi: Rocco
- Hal Lublin: Wide Wale, Boy, Wale Lice Henchman 2
- Cristin Milioti: Sirena, Millinery Ghosts
- Steven Rattazzi: Dr. Orpheus, Vincenzo
- Charles Parnell: Jefferson Twilight
- Dana Snyder: Alchemist, Bonibozo Tribesman
- Brendon Small: Hector, Swifty, Wale Lice Henchman 1
- Paul Boocock: Jonas Venture Sr.
First Appearances[]
Connections To Other Episodes[]
- The reference to the theme from Sharky's Machine was first introduced in Careers in Science as part of the "Phantom Spaceman" horror story.
- When the original Team Venture mention that the Problem light has not lit up in 30 years, Dean mentions that it has before being silenced by Dr Venture.
Escape To The House Of Mummies Part II
- Sergeant Hatred says that the on-fire ghosts are the victims of The Great Venture Millinery Fire of 19-aught-7. In Escape To The House Of Mummies Part II Doctor Venture tells Dr. Orpheus that he believes that his great grandfather was a milliner (hat maker).
- Sergeant Hatred states The Great Venture Millinery Fire of 19-aught-7 was started in the attic when a dumpster full of felt scraps was struck by a zeppelin. This may refer to The Guild's zeppelin seen in ORB.
- The Order of the Triad was last seen in All This and Gargantua-2.
- Dr. Venture explains that the writing on Dean's stomach are residual nanobots. Dean had the nanobots inserted into him in Faking Miracles.
- Master Billy Quizboy still thinks that Rusty is Blue Morpho, which he came to believe in Rapacity in Blue.
- When Billy enters Col. Gentleman's apartment you can see the Jade Dragon on the end table to the left of the couch. This was last seen being acquired by the Blue Morpho from Dr. Z in A Party for Tarzan.
Cultural References[]
Alien (1979)
- Jonas Venture Sr.'s preserved head and the innards of the PROBLEM are visually based on the android Ash in the original 1979 film Alien.
Hackers (1995)
- Pete White mentions "Acid Burn" and "Zero Cool", the main characters from the 1995 film, Hackers.
- Dr. Orpheus says The Order of the Triad have been temporarily living at the Rancho Feo Motor Hotel on I-25 since the Venture compound burned to the ground. Interstate 25 runs through Colorado Springs, Colorado, the location of the former Venture compound.
Living for the City (1973)
- The Alchemist's line: "Wow, New York, just like I pictured it. Skyscrapers and everything" after first arriving at VenTech Tower is a reference to the song "Living for the City" by Stevie Wonder, in which the same lines are spoken with a similar inflection
Poltergeist (1982)
- Brock screaming "What's happening?!" as VenTech Tower shakes and sways is similar to the scene in Poltergeist when the teenaged daughter screams the same thing.
- Hank Venture finds himself unable to have sex with his girlfriend, Sirena Ong, as he keep prematurely ejaculating in his pants before he can even remove them.
- While exploring in the desert and encountering an ancient artifact, Jonas Venture Jr. says "Well I'm no Robert Langdon," a reference to author Dan Brown's fictional (in our world) expert in religious iconology.
- When attempting to open the PROBLEM machine, Dr. Orpheus requests that Jefferson Twilight hand him the "Prisebar of St. George". Saint George was a Roman soldier who was canonized as a Christian saint for refusing to recant his faith under penalty of death. He is historically one of the most popular saints, was venerated by the Crusaders, and is the patron saint of England.
Sharky's Machine (1981)
- The theme song from the 1981 Burt Reynolds film Sharky's Machine plays several times throughout the episode, a reference to the film played aboard Gargantua-1 during the Movie Night Massacre in 1987.
Stargate (1994)
- The opening scene where the boy calls Jonas Venture Jr. over because the team has found the crashed remains of Gargantua-1 mirrors the opening scene of the 1994 sci-fi film Stargate.
Street Life (1979)
- The Crusaders' song Street Life, the theme from the film Sharky's Machine, plays several times throughout the episode.
The Exorcist (1973)
- The demon statue in the desert is a reference to the statue of Pazuzu which appears in The Exorcist.
- The word "PROBLEM" appears on Dean's stomach as if written from the inside, like the words "help me" appeared on Regan's stomach in The Exorcist while she was possessed.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
- Vincenzo having to fire hank Hank at the behest of a mob boss, then catching up to Hank to offer him a pizza as he leaves is similar to a scene in the film The Godfather Part II where Vito Corleone is fired from the grocery store at the behest of a mob boss, then is offered groceries as he leaves.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)
- The Great Venture Millinery Fire of 1907 is likely based on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on March 25, 1911.The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers – 123 women and girls and 23 men, mainly because the doors to the stairwells and exits were locked.
Trivia[]
- Sergeant Hatred, as the tour guide in the lobby of VenTech Tower, boasts that Colonel Lloyd Venture was part of the first real moon landing in 1902.
- It is confirmed that Jonas Venture Sr. survived in the Movie Night massacre in 1987, despite previously being considered dead for the first six seasons of the series.
- First episode of the "Morphic Trilogy", which comprises the first three episodes of Season 7 and was originally intended to the be the three-part finale for Season 6.
Info[]
- The first half of the season addresses the cliffhangers that happened at the end of Season 6.[1]
References[]
| Preceded by: "Red Means Stop" |
The Venture Bros. episodes Original Airdate: August 5, 2018 |
Followed by: "The Rorqual Affair" |