The Venture Bros. has long been one of the most referential comedies on television, with a good deal of the fun coming from the obscure allusions dropped by creators Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick. However, it can be a bit tough catching them all when the show returns as a single action-packed, hour-long special, as it did Monday with “All That and Gargantua-2.”
Luckily, your good friends at Paste have your back, having watched and re-watched the damn thing until every last visual gag and in-joke was properly documented. Here are nine references there’s a good chance people missed last night—and you should definitely be on the look out for next time.
1. Lobot
One of Star Wars’ most weirdly intense background characters has a blink-and-you-miss-it background cameo in “All That and Gargantua-2” as part of the space station’s android staff. Sadly, the icy-eyed cyborg has a lot less to do on Gargantua-2 than he did in Cloud City, appearing onscreen for all of half a second.
2. “That big talking head is burning down the house!”
Similarly, General Hunter Gathers passing reference to Talking Heads’ signature cut “Burning Down the House” isn’t particularly esoteric, but it goes by in a flash, making it easy to miss. Adding to the joke is that Gathers is talking about The Sovereign, a character seemingly designed after David Bowie for the sole purpose of injecting groan-worthy puns about New Wave artists into the show.
3. “Does my little Waterbaby want to bunk with his mommy?”
“Waterbaby” might seem like a generic term of endearment, but Bill Quizboy’s uncanny resemblance to Waterbabies—the ‘90s waterbottle-cum-doll brand—can’t be denied. I mean, Jesus, just look at the things:
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