The Tick

I'm still partial to the cartoon, but this was a scream! Yes, American Maid and Die Fledermaus had to be changed to Captain Liberty and Batmanuel, but dammit if this show wasn't just as screwy. So, of course, Fox cancels it and gives us high quality programming like Joe Millionaire. Somebody take Rupert Murdoch out to the woodshed and bring along the Fox executives, please!

The cast was great and were obviously having fun. Although I prefer Townsend Coleman's more excitable Tick, Patrick Warburton conveyed that loopy perspective that has always been the hallmark of the Tick. David Burke gives Arthur that repressed, but eager quality he had in the comics. Liz Vassey is sexy and funny as Captain Liberty, but I really would have loved to see her in that American Maid costume. But, it is Nestor Carbonell who steals the series. His look, attitude and delivery are all classic.

If ever a show deserved time to find its audience, this was the one. Monty Python ad Fawlty Towers weren't immediate hits and the Tick carried those sensibilities. Given an entire season, I think this would have caught on. Lord knows, it was better than Smallville or that aborted Birds of Prey show. The Tick has been great in every medium he has invaded, but he never quite gets a fair shot at glory. The only thing missing from this show was the cast of evildoers that the cartoon had. Oh well, at least this version is available on dvd; wish the cartoon was. Anyway, SPOON!!!!!!!!!!!!

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...

I'm really enjoying this show. Seeing how it is live-action though, it can't go all out in the bizarre the way the animated series easily could. So they seem to be concentrating on more down-to-earth storylines, if that's possible in a show like this, making it a kind of "Seinfeld" with superheros. So far it has been keeping me laughing with its stories of hero-sidekick relations and more adult humor. Patrick Warburton is excellent in the title role. He's bound to shout out "SPOON!" sooner or later, so don't worry about that. The show is very funny and clever, and I'm really hoping it doesn't get abused like the cartoon did, or worse, get axed too early.

Unquestionably one of the funniest and most original comedies to come down the pike in years, this show was nevertheless canceled by Fox after airing only a relative handful of episodes. Why? According to the producers, Fox execs were caught up in the minutiae of the character: Who is The Tick really? Where did he get his superpowers? One of the most important answers that eluded Fox was that THE VIEWERS DON'T CARE!! The show is funny! If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Beyond clever writing, the characterizations were spot on. The choice of Patrick Warburton as The Tick was little short of inspired. In fact, all of the characters were perfectly cast even though, when approached to do the character of Batmanuel, Nestor Carbonell initially turned it down, claiming that he was tired of doing Hispanic parts. The producers said nonsense; you'll do it, and you'll be brilliant. They were right. Time was when a network announced it's fall lineup, you could pretty much count on any given show hanging around for at least a season (although, to be fair, "Batman" was a mid-season replacement on ABC), but not any more. With "The Tick", Fox had a winner and didn't see it, which is our loss. Happily, "The Tick" is available in it's, er, "entirety", on DVD. We heartily recommend this one.