EVAN: Wow, I’d forgotten that the Steve Austi… er, Summers and Sasquatch characters showed up this early in the continuity! “Do you know how long it takes to pay off six million dollars on a government salary?!” Priceless.
MICHELLE: Yeah, I’ve always wondered why Steve Austin would want to stick around after the government forced him to become a robot without his consent. That line explains everything. Plus, what could $6 million get you today? Perhaps just a bionic arm, but not both legs. And definitely not the eye.
Also: What’s with the outfit? How was he supposed to be a world famous spy in crimson workout clothes? Anyone could see him. As Brock pointed out, “Better lose the bright red tracksuit too.” Summer’s reply: “But that’s my thing!”
EVAN: I vividly remember watching those Six Million-Dollar Man vs. Sasquatch episodes, too. They’re like the perfect recipe for awesome for pre-teen boy entertainment. A cyborg dude fighting Bigfoot?! Are you kidding me?
GRAEME: And the OSI! I could’ve sworn that didn’t come up until much later, but there Brock is, talking about being a member of the Office of Secret Intelligence, and the soldiers are suitably wowed. “Dibs on his cigarette butt!”
I love that so much of what will become so important later is already making appearances – The OSI, the Guild of Calamitous Intent with all of its rules and arcane bylaws. I wonder if half of what would form the basis of storylines for the next few years was even a twinkle in anyone’s eyes at this point, but it feels like forward planning nonetheless.
GRAEME: You’re right about Steve Summers and the Sasquatch – who sounds like Chewbacca, amusingly – who are spectacular. I love Steve’s grumpiness about the idea of having to pay back the six million dollars. Again, there’s a weird and wonderful reality being pushed onto the genre fantasy there that’s hilarious and depressing all at once. Where would this show be without the sadness?
Also: “Dude! That was a shaved bigfoot! And Steve Summers in a wig! Made out of shaved bigfoot!”
EVAN: And, seeing how their VB analogues wind up makes me realize that Doc Hammer and crew were probably setting up the tradition of effed-up, subversive pastiches of genre characters right from the beginning.
GRAEME: Talking of genre pastiches, Hank trying to do the Dukes of Hazzard jump out the car window, only to fall on the ground, was one of my favorite silly jokes of the episode. I always wanted to try that as a kid, but I probably would’ve been as successful as Hank, sadly.
EVAN: Given the slaugther it wreaks at show’s end, the Spider-Slayer type robot that Dr. Venture whips up is probably his most functional invention ever, right? I’ll have to keep track of the efficacy of the other stuff Doc invents as the show continues.
GRAEME: Rusty really isn’t the screw-up he’ll become later at this point – Remember, in the first episode, he was actually being paid to teach people, and then other people were asking him to go into space to fix things. I don’t know if it’s just that Jackson and Doc hadn’t decided to make him into the pathetic failure he’d end up yet, or whether it’s been a slow, slow slide into obscurity for his talents, but he’s still a reasonably good scientist right now.
That said, G.U.A.R.D.O. isn’t his most functional invention – It’s just that we haven’t even really got to the foreshadowing of what that really is (Spoiler: Cloning Hank and Dean) yet.
MICHELLE: We also have to remember that Guardo’s big undoing was being run over by Brock’s Charger so technically he’s not that functional in a battle. He can destroy hundreds of minions, but he’s not technologically advanced enough to move out of the way when Brock is coming through.
EVAN: Most WTF line of the episode: “It’s fairly common for some men to lactate involuntarily in situations of extreme stress.” That just comes out of nowhere.
GRAEME: My favorite line: ” G.U.A.R.D.O.? Does that stand for something?”
MICHELLE: Mine: “You have to give me this one, I’ve loathed Venture since college.” Dr. Venture didn’t look out for his lab partner, and as any university student knows, those who violate the bonds of lab partnership deserve the death penalty.
More on Techland:
Preview: “Sweet Tooth: In Captivity”
“WoW Cataclysm” Can Be Enjoyed By Newbies, But Pisses Off Old Players
Joint Venture 101: “The Venture Bros.” from the Very Beginning