Venture Bros. and the Back Nine

I've never worked in TV, so I only have the books I've read and the stuff I've seen in various shows and online to go by, but I heard somewhere that any show that is picked for a season is actually 13 episodes. Only if the show is a hit does the network extend the contract for "the back nine," making it a full 22 episodes for the year.

Venture Brothers has not been on 22 weeks, but tonight was the season finale. I am trying to think... it could have been on for thirteen weeks, but it seems much shorter. I don't feel like looking it up because I am on dial-up and those sites take forever to load. It's on [Adult Swim] Sundays at 10:30/9:30 PM, CST.

If you haven't seen Venture Brothers, you are seriously missing out. It's a high-concept superhero/comedy cartoon in a 30-minute format. The characters, situations, and relationships are twisted versions of those found in comic books and family-friendly adventure cartoons, like Johnny Quest. The adventures are generally in chronological order, so there is a definite history with which it often plays fast and loose. It is very true to its source, which makes you appreciate how sharp and funny it really is -- it doesn't go for the cheap laughs.

And I don't understand why [Adult Swim] doesn't push for more episodes. I know they complained about having to pay a lot for royalties on the song used in the season premere -- some dance hit I've heard before, which sounds a bit like... every dance hit I've ever heard -- and I know Patrick Warburton's probably not cheap either, but this is one of the best things they have on there! 

They let Aqua Teen hang for a year or so (though they claim to have made a movie, and the only new episode I've seen in the past couple of years was a a two-parter with deleted movie scenes, which came on back in the summer) -- new episode next week, though; they lost Futurama to Comedy Central; they've become overrun with poorly-made, barely edited shows like 12 Oz. Mouse...

The best thing on Sunday night TV aside from Venture Bros. is IFC's The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman and The Business, which air back-to-back at 10:00 PM, CST. I think they both only ran for maybe 6 episodes, but... I mean, it's IFC.