The Venture Bros./Return to Spider-Skull Island

Return to Spider-Skull Island
Season 1, Episode 13
Airdate	October 30, 2004
Production Number	111
Written by	Doc Hammer Jackson Publick
Directed by	Jackson Publick
← 1x12 The Trial of the Monarch	S1 → A Very Venture Christmas
The Venture Bros. — Season One

Return to Spider-Skull Island is the thirteenth episode of the first season of The Venture Bros., and the fourteenth episode overall.

Guest stars: Michael Sinterniklaas (ER Doctor), Christopher McCulloch (King Gorilla, Shame Face, Orderly, Diner Hick #1, Monarch Henchman #2), Stephen Ratazzi (Scared Straight Kid #2, Diner Hick #2), Doc Hammer (Monarch Henchman #1), Paul Boocock (Highway Cop, Scared Straight Kid #1), Lisa Hammer (Waitress #1 & #2)

Plot Overview

Dr. Venture finally learns the secret of his recurring womb nightmares when a stomach tumor turns out to be something far more sinister. In a fit of jealousy over their mistaken belief that their father is pregnant, the boys run away from home. But their refound freedom is short-lived once they run afoul of the law and land themselves in a "Scared Straight" style outreach program headed by none other than the recently incarcerated Monarch.

Notes

• Previously titled My Brother's Creeper, and before that Vanishing Twin Syndrome.
• Show writer and designer Doc Hammer contributed one of his oil paintings to this episode.
• Ending Theme: Look Away by Nick Demayo.

Stinger

• The Noodlesoup and Astrobase---Go! logos are non-animated and in greyscale.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Dr. Venture has a mysterious tumor removed from his abdomen. At the hospital, the tumor disappears and steals the X-1. Once back at the compound the tumor is revealed to be Dr. Venture's long-lost brother. Brock manages to defeat him, but Dr. Venture asks Brock to spare his brother's life.

• Dean and Hank think their father is pregnant, so they run away. They are picked up by the cops and put into a "Scared Straight" program. Dr. Venture and company pick them up, but on the way home, the boys are accidentally shot by two of the Monarch's henchmen.

• Triana goes to what her father calls "an electronic music recital" (most likely a rave).

Characters

• Jonas Venture Jr.: Thaddeus Venture was actually a twin, but he swallowed his brother whole while still developing in his mother's womb. It appears that mentally, his brother developed normally despite being trapped, and so he is just as brilliant as their father. He claims to be smarter than Thaddeus, supported by the fact that he manages to fix an invention that Thaddeus had problems with. At the end of the episode the brother assumes his father's name.

• Dr. Venture gives Jonas Jr. the X-2 (the boat) and their father's old base on Spider-Skull Island.

• Triana ran away from home once. She only went to her friend Rachel's house, though.

• The Monarch is in jail now. Dr. Girlfriend hasn't come to visit him. Henchmen 21 and 24 have been tasked with a long to-do list, including leaving messages on Dr. Girlfriend's answering machine, filling Phantom Limb's garage with static-clingy packing peanuts, and killing the Venture brothers. As of the end of the episode, they have done everything on the list.

• Dr. Venture doesn't seem particularly bothered by the deaths of his sons. His only comment is, "Get their clothes."

Referbacks

• Two of the guys in the scared straight program are the blue and green-hooded jacket wearers who robbed Hank and Dean of their watches in the pilot episode.

Trivia

References

• Rocky Horror Picture Show: The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a movie musical (adapted from a stage play) that poked fun at horror and science fiction movies. The movie was so campy that theater audiences began interacting with the film by calling out to the screen, bringing props, and dressing up as the characters. Midnight showings of Rocky Horror still occur today. The Venture family attends one of these screenings dressed as Rocky Horror characters (presumably to blend in because they were undercover) - Dr. Venture is Dr. Frankenfurter, Brock is Rocky, Hank is Riff-Raff, Dean is Columbia, and HELPeR is Magenta.

• Scooby Doo: The Ghost of the Cinema turns out to be a guy in a rubber mask. Again, this is a reference to the running gag on Scooby Doo where the ghosts they chase after are almost always men in rubber masks.

• Animal Planet: Dr. Orpheus tells the Venture twins that his TV is stuck on Animal Planet. Animal Planet is a basic cable network that features programming about animals and their relationships with human beings.

• Cider House Rules: Dr. Orpheus says, "Good night you princes of Venture, you kings of sleepovers." He is metaphrasing the good night ritual from The Cider House Rules, where Dr. Wilbur Larch would tell the children at the orphanage, "Good night, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England."

• Homies: Dr. Orpheus tells the waitress that he purchased a "Homeboy figurine". The Homies are small 2" figures of urban people that are sold via vending machines in supermarkets and other low-rent, high-traffic locales.

• Scared Straight: Scared Straight was a 1978 documentary where several juvenile delinquents were taken to a prison and introduced to some of the convicts, who proceeded to terrify and threaten the teenagers into not doing anything that would land them in prison. The film won the Oscar for Best Documentary and inspired many states to start their own "scared straight" programs.

• Master Blaster: Dr. Venture suggests to Jonas Jr. that he could ride on Dean's back like Master Blaster. Master Blaster was two characters from the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Master was a highly intelligent midget who rode on the back of Blaster, a strong but mentally-challenged man.

• Jovan Musk: Hank says their new uncle is probably going to give them Jovan Musk gift packs for Christmas. Jovan Musk is a brand of men's cologne that is supposed to smell sexy. A gift pack would most likely include cologne, aftershave, and deodorant.

• Easy Rider: Hank and Dean's death at the end is a direct revisioning of the end of Easy Rider, where the characters of Wyatt and Billy, riding on their motorcycles, are shot by two rednecks in a pickup truck.

Quotes

The Monarch: Get up. I said GET THE ***K UP! What's your name?
Dean: Dean Ven-
The Monarch: Your name is bitch!! And I own you. You're property! And when I'm tired of having sex with every hole God drilled in your slender frame...King Gorilla! You got a cigarette?
[Monarch gives Dean to King Gorilla and takes the cigarette]
The Monarch:There. I just sold you for a cigarette. And I don't smoke! (double take) Holy sh**! You're Dean f****ng Venture! King, I gotta buy my bitch back. H-here's your cigarette.
King Gorilla: F*** you, gimme a dollar.

Dr. Orpheus: Pumpkin! Get me my cloak!
Triana: Can't you just wear your....
Dr. Orpheus: Alright, fine. Get me my BLUE WINDBREAKER!!

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