jacksonpublick

If you've never watched one of our episodes on adultswim.com, this is your week to do it!

Why? Because it's the only place (short of the season 3 DVD anyway) to see a full extra two minutes we had to cut out of the broadcast version. Far from the usual "padding" or "meandering bullshit" we normally cut from our episodes, these two minutes are actually an action-packed, hilarious and entirely self-contained scene that you will not want to miss! The new episodes usually premiere online at about 6pm EST, but sometimes they're up earlier than that.

. . .

So here we are again...about to launch into another epic two-part season finale. Season 3 has been a long haul, and it's not even over for us yet. We still have to mix the final final episode and deliver it to the network, which will happen around Monday. We've not had a break since April or May of 2007, and though my load has been lightened in recent weeks, it doesn't look like we'll get a proper one until Season 4 is finished...

...but we haven't exactly started Season 4 yet. Well, we have and we haven't. It seems we were a bit premature and overly optimistic when we launched headlong into production over a month ago. Doc and I struggled to turn our first two scripts in late, and it was immediately apparent that we would not be able to continue on through the season in that vein. So the first two episodes were designed and storyboarded, we recorded one of them (with special guest star, the legendary Kevin Conroy!), and then we sent everyone on the staff home for six weeks. Which is easily the suckiest thing I've ever had to do on this show. The deadlines on the last few season 3 episodes were just too tight, and we were just too exhausted to start sprinting into production full steam right away. Aside from being impossible, the quality would have seriously suffered, so we're taking this month to finish post-production, rest a bit, regroup and recharge. Our plan is to get a couple of scripts ahead and then resume production in mid-September. I'm not sure yet where that puts us in terms of a Season 4 premiere date, but I'm guessing we're looking at next Fall.

In Other News...
• I had a blast at the San Diego Comicon this year. As usual, the fans were fantastic--a pleasure to meet and sign for--and I saw some hysterically great Venture Bros. costumes. The rest of my time was spent drinking with old friends, drooling over turn-of-the-century prints I'll never be able to afford at Century Guild Gallery's booth, ogling Hayden Panettierre from afar, perusing The Watchmen's Owl Ship, and discovering that Patton Oswalt has a huge geek chubby for The Venture Bros. I also received the coolest, weirdest gift from a fan ever--only to discover it missing from my mysteriously open suitcase when it came around the baggage carousel back at JFK.

• Doc and I will be attending DragonCon down in Atlanta together, as it turns out. We're set to do a panel on Saturday--though I don't know what time yet, or who else will be on it--and we'll undoubtedly arrange some sort of signing during the weekend as well.

• The Dark Knight was really excellent.

• I don't know where I've been for the past few years, but I finally discovered and got hooked on Brian K. Vaughan's Ex-Machina comic series last week and blew through every trade paperback and uncollected issue in about two days. Check it out. Especially if you're a New Yorker.

• Persepolis and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly were pretty great. Best DVD double feature I've enjoyed in years. Way better than the night I got In Bruges and 10,000 B.C. on Pay-Per-View.

Lastly, A Quick Update About Shirt Club...
A very small minority of you Shirt Club members have fallen victim to American Apparel's continued ham-handed customer service in that a handful of the Dean, Camp Rusty, and Order of the Triad orders are still outstanding. The full supply of Dr. Girlfriend shirts are shipping as I write this, though, and the O.S.I. shirts are on-track for on-time delivery. The Original Team Venture shirts will probably suffer some delays, however, as ringer style t-shirts always seem to give us the most trouble. Again, apologies to all those affected by these delays, and thanks for your continued patronage.


We Love You,

JP



Life imitates Art, courtesy of The Venture Bros. and Siobhan Mullen's deft camera. Click on Siobhan's name and check out her blog for more delightful photos and the occasional Venture Bros. behind-the-scenes post.