I only recently discovered that the third, brilliant season of The Venture Bros. is running a great promo gimmick: The Amazing T-Shirt of the Week Club. Each week, after an episode is first broadcast, you can get a t-shirt based on that week’s adventure. By the next week, the shirt is gone and another becomes available. Sadly, I only discovered this in week 7, but thankfully that was in time to nab the sweet Order of the Triad shirt. (Truth be told, the only other shirt I really wish I had is the one for the Guild of Calamitous Intent.)
The Order and the Guild only some of the many — nay, the endless — things about the show that are not only deliciously well-written, but apparently written precisely for my eclectic alternative-music/sci-fi/superhero-focused pop culture sensibility. It is, undoubtedly, pure animated perfection. Let’s face it, have you ever seen another send-up of a certain particular medical condition?
That particular affliction is only one of the many experiences that I have in common with the episode’s writer and show’s co-creator, Doc Hammer. Others include the weddings of Doc’s cousins — one of whom is my oldest, best friend — a variety of family get-togethers, and a few visits to hang out with Doc and his former wife in New York. Not that I’m bragging or anything. It’s just another example of the many people with whom I’ve crossed paths in my life who’ve gone on to do a hell of a lot more glamorous things than I have.