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Jonny Quest Versus the Venture Bros. by Mike-oh

Jonny Quest's original mummy episode was very scary. The scariest thing about the Venture Bros. mummy episode are those short-shorts that Brock Samson is wearing. Combined with his terry-cloth headband, he looks like a gay tennis instructor on steroids.

Jonny Quest and the Venture Bros. "IGNORE ME!" These words come booming out of the Grand Galactic Inquisitor, a twelve foot tall, Galactus inspired alien from the second season of The Venture Bros. The Venture Brothers are trying to track down the three disassembled components of Jonas Venture's "greatest invention" when they are confronted by the less-than-subtle alien threatening to annihilate the entire planet. Along the way, Jonas Jr., Dr. Thadeus "Rusty" Venture's long-lost twin brother (who he had been consumed in the womb forty-three years ago and then was finally freed through surgery) and the Captain of their X-2 scuba-dive to a bathysphere called "Quest Bell One." Inside, they are confronted by an emaciated, paranoid, gun-waving Jonny Quest, now apparently in his forties.

The madness all started over 40 years ago. In 1964, Hannah Barbera sought to capitalize on the then recent success of James Bond by creating an animated prime time action/adventure series that would deliver on the ultimate boyhood fantasy. Dragons, monsters, robots, dinosaurs, tanks, submarines, Antartica, scuba divers, gargoyles, hypnotists, volcano islands, King cobras, crocodiles, Yetis, invisible creatures, dark jungles, mad scientists, jets, hover craft, haunted castles, jet packs, pirates, lizard men, voodoo dolls, treasure temples, pygmies, and werewolves top the exhaustive list of dangers, devices, and destinations that comprised this weekly thrill ride.

At the bottom of this adventure cocktail was an exemplary cast of characters. Dr. Benton Quest, a scientist regarded so highly by the U.S. government that they had assigned their greatest government agent, Race Bannon, to guard the doctor and watch over his son, Jonny. Along the way, they picked up a young Indian boy named Hadji who has the magical powers of levitation and hypnosis. The group's constant companion was a rascally dog named Bandit. Having the boys and the dog was a stroke of genius, making it a cinch for every kid watching the thrilling series to project themselves into Jonny's weekly adventures.

And project themselves, they did. Jonny Quest inspired a generation of young people to let their imagination go wild. And after thirty years or so, these inspirations began finding their expressions in contemporary pop culture. The following list from Wikipedia highlights some of the most notable examples.

* Several elements of Jonny Quest have become parts of American pop culture. The original 1960's series is notable as being representative of the Cold War, with most of the villains being of Eastern European or Asian origin. When said villains are defeated, they, more often than not, scream a heavily accented "aiieee!" as they fall to their deaths, a scream that has been heavily parodied (ever) since.

* In 1991, Hi-Tec Software published Jonny Quest in Doctor Zin's Underworld, an officially licensed Jonny Quest platform game for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 home computers.

* A speculated homosexual relationship between Dr. Quest and Race was the basis of the "Bannon Custody Battle" episode of Adult Swim's Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

* In Channel Chasers, an animated film featuring characters from the Fairly OddParents television series, Timmy Turner uses a magical remote control to go inside the "TV Universe," where all the shows seem to be parodies of real TV shows and meets characters such as Jonny Hunt (Jonny Quest).

* In 1994, The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer" featured an astronaut named "Race Banyon" who is similar in appearance to Race Bannon except with dark hair instead of white.

* Another notable Jonny Quest parody is the "Toby Danger in Doomsday Bay" episode of Freakazoid from 1995, which featured several members of the original voice cast. According to reports on the AOL Jonny Quest Forum from that period, "Toby Danger" was the catalyst in replacing the "Season One" creative team on Real Adventures of Jonny Quest with the "Season Two" team, who argued that Warner's parody was more faithful to the original show than H-B's own series.

* Several elements of Pixar’s The Incredibles (2004) animated feature film show direct inspiration from Jonny Quest, particularly a one-eyed robot who terrorizes the populace the same way Dr. Zin’s one-eyed robot does in the 1964 episode “The Robot Spy.” Similarly in 2003, the Samurai Jack episode "Chicken Jack" also featured this type of robot.

* In 2005, Warner Brothers debuted a new action/adventure animation series about a boy named Johnny Test, which is a pun on Jonny Quest.

* In the 2005 direct-to-DVD Family Guy movie Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story makes reference to the show as Jonny Quest, Dr. Benton and Hadji attempt to board an airplane, with Stewie as the flight screener. After Jonny and Dr. Quest are allowed to board, Hadji is informed that he has been 'randomly' selected for "additional screening."

* Also there is a Less Than Jake song, “Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts” [sic], from their 1995 Pezcore album. This song was based on a hometown fan who had the nickname of "Johnny Quest".

* The experimental noise/hardcore band Racebannon take their name from the show.

Of course, most notable of the Jonny Quest inspired take-offs is the Quest parody, The Venture Bros. This cynical and hilarious take on the old action/adventure series features Dr. Thadeus "Rusty" Venture, celebrated inventor; his secret agent/bodyguard, Brock Samson; and Dr. Venture's two sons, Hank and Dean. Absent from the cast is a Bandit replacement.

At first blush, the good doctor seems like a direct takeoff of Dr. Benton Quest but the lines become greatly blurred when it is revealed that Dr. "Rusty" Venture is the less than capable son of the famous inventor, Dr. Jonas Venture. Other stories blur the lines further by including Race Bannon in one episode, revealing that Bannon and Samson are both agents of the same government agency, The Office of Secret Intelligence. Later, when Jonas Jr. and the Captain meet Jonny himself, the parody has been completely turned upside down. And in its place is a wild, adventure universe that occupies the same space and time continuum as the original Jonny Quest stories.

Despite the similarities and obvious sources of inspiration, The Venture Bros. is not another Jonny Quest. The most notable difference is the over-the-top irreverence employed by the creators of the Venture Bros. Where Jonny Quest maintained a certain level of "aw, shucks" corny down-home Republican values, the Venture Bros. makes a transvestite, Atheist, Democratic primal-therapist seem like Mother Teresa. To say that the humor of the Venture Bros. is sometimes inappropriate is like suggesting that Tony Montana is sometimes violent, or Dr. Phil is sometimes annoying, or politics are sometimes a good thing. In one episode, the Monarch is in prison, participating in a "Scared-Straight" program where he makes several references to the rough sex lives of inmates.

In the same episode, there are several faux-homosexual references to the relationship between Dr. Venture and Brock, including a nurse assuming that Brock is Dr. Venture's domestic partner and Dr. Venture patting Brock's hand and saying "See? There was nothing to worry about, you big silly."

In "Mid-Life Chrysalis" Venture and Brock pull up to a pathetic, nearly deserted strip club. While Venture flirts awkwardly with the strippers, the bartender mocks Brock's mullet, sending the bodyguard into further depression since he can no longer kill with impunity. He meets one of the strippers in the restroom for a sexual encounter, but is unable to perform due to tantalizing memories of his secret agent adventures. Improbably, a woman begins showing interest in Venture; he fails to recognize that "Charlene" is a thinly-disguised Dr. Girlfriend. She continues the charade while remaining in contact with The Monarch through a communications link. Venture takes her back to the compound, where he begins fumbling for a condom; while he is distracted, Dr. Girlfriend delivers an injection to his neck that knocks him out cold.

Not exactly Mom's apple pie or Boy Scouts on parade. But it's absolutely, freakin' hysterical. Watching this show is so irresistible, it becomes a guilty pleasure, like loitering around the Victoria's Secret in the mall. Or ordering the three-meat platter at Baker's Ribs. You know you really shouldn't do it. And you'd probably be a better person if you abstained. But screw that. The show is going to be off the air and just another blip on the pop culture radar in another season or two, so enjoy it while you can. "IGNORE ME!" I don't think so.

The entire first season of Jonny Quest is now available on DVD and the extras are a real treat. Not every episode is one you'll want to watch again and again. But there are at least eleven that should be considered all-time classics:

”Mystery of the Lizard Men”
"Arctic Splashdown"
"The Curse of Anubis"
"The Robot Spy"
"Double Danger"
"Shadow of the Condor"
"Dragons of Ashida"
"Turu the Terrible"
"The Invisible Monster"
"House of Seven Gargoyles"

The entire first season of The Venture Bros. is also available on DVD. And although I'm not so sure that it will ever achieve all-time classic status, it holds together much better as a whole than the series that inspired it.

So, what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Give us your feedback.