The Tick

It's been announced recently that this show is being canceled and I couldn't be more disappointed. Wonderfully-clever, it's probably just too smart for network TV. But then again, many shows that are canceled seem to be -- a darn shame when good TV is so good that it doesn't stand a chance of succeeding.

I don't think any other actor than the towering, deadpan Patrick Warburton could pull of the role of the blue-clad buffoon The Tick. The Tick may be dim-witted, prone to making long-winded, nonsensical soliloquies and may be the most unintentionally destructive hero since Sledge Hammer, but he also has a heart of gold and is willing to stand up to any challenge. Whether it's stopping petty crooks or throttling an uncooperative coffee machine, the Tick is just the hero The City needs... whether they like it or not! Joining the Tick in his quest for justice are loyal but nebbish moth man Arthur (David Burke), tough cookie Captain Liberty (Liz Vassey), and blasé ladies' man Bat Manuel.

Like many TV shows, the live action version of "The Tick" suffered an early death on the Fox network, but it has thankfully become a cult classic. I actually found this one to be funnier than the animated series. Not that I'm diminishing the legacy of the great cartoon, but to see flesh-and-blood adult actors dressed in these ridiculous costumes, uttering ludicrous lines ("Abso-doodle!") and fighting comical villains (Apocolypse Cow, Destroyo), makes "The Tick" so literal and so rewardingly hilarious.

Fox is such a lame-ass network these days. Always canning shows because they aren't instant hits but never thinking that they should give them a decent time slot to begin with.

The Tick is a classic piece of comedy that really should have been given at least two seasons to develop. Instead we got, what, 9 episodes or something. Just as you were beginning to really like the characters the series is over.

Most of the humour comes from The Tick's complete lack of understanding of anything resembling normal human values or maturity. All he knows is that he must fight evil (and utter priceless lines of dialogue in the process).

Batmanuel (originally Deflator Mouse in the cartoon) started off a little weakly, but quickly grew to match the Tick in humour value.

It's a crime worthy of the Tick himself sorting out that this show did not last longer. Another season and we could have got a lot of the superheroes from the cartoons involved, and perhaps some really awful cheese-laden SFX to add to the mix. But it was not to be.

Watch what there is and mourn the missed oppportunity.

Every aspect of this show shines - The writing, casting, directing and comic timing raise this series to a level of quality that few other TV shows have been able to achieve in recent years. Especially Patrick Warburton as the Tick is perfectly cast.

Unfortunately, it only ran for one season - A reflection of the dismal state of TV programming these days. Fortunately, all episodes have been released on a 2-DVD set!

Do not let this gem pass you by...

True, they should've played it more like the 60s Batman series with lots of goofy villains in every episode as opposed to superheroes-in-sitcom-situations, but this was show pretty darn funny. Hulking supporting player Patrick Warburton was an ideal Tick. Yeah as some others pointed he wasn't quite as excitable as the cartoon version (in fact, his Tick was like a mix of Tick and Puddy) but he still brought a lot of hearty energy to the part and managed to be endearingly goofy just like the Tick should be. David Burke was a good foil as Arthur, Liz Vassey was great eye candy and of course, Nestor Carbonell was hilarious as Batmanuel.

Another problem I think is that Fox just didn't have enough faith in this show so they didn't put a lot of effort into advertising it, which is why we're still stuck with a lot of bad new episodes of "The Simpsons" instead of getting new episodes of "The Tick". And maybe Patrick Warburton himself is just too closely identified with his Puddy character from "Seinfeld". It's a shame, really.

Long Live the Tick.

In closing, the pilot with the Soviet Robot, the second episode with the superhero funeral and the 8th episode where Tick got frustrated with the legal system were all great. Truly I shall miss this show.