Its comic book Wednesday and I thought I’d take that opportunity to review The Tick on DVD. The Tick, a creation of Ben Edlund, began life in the funny books and was an animated Saturday morning show before this live action incarnation.
I had never seen The Tick when I walked into Best Buy that Tuesday morning back in September of 2003 but was immediately attracted to the cover image of the Wild Blue Yonder and his superhero companions. I picked it up and decided to give it a try. Patrick Warburton was hilarious as ‘Putty’ on Seinfeld so I thought, “what can I possibly lose”? The answer, of course, was A LOT! Had I not picked up this DVD I may have missed out on one of the most clever and comical television series ever produced.
Patrick Warburton is outstanding in the role of The Tick, the Big Blue Bug of Justice, he whose job it is to “don the oven mitts of all that’s right and strangle the red-hot throat of all that’s wrong”. From The Tick’s opening narration, to his trip into the city to “spread my buttery justice over your every nook and cranny”, to his battle with Apocalypse Cow, the pilot episode is one of the most entertaining half hours of television I’ve seen. Creator Ben Edlund and producer Barry Sonnenfeld create a world rich in color and detail with brilliant camera angles that really make this show feel like a comic book. The introduction of David Burke as Arthur, the Tick’s sidekick includes a priceless cameo by Christopher Lloyd (Taxi, Back to the Future). Nestor Carbonell as Batmanuel and Liz Vassey as the curvaceous Captain Liberty round out The Tick’s ensemble. I was hooked moments into the pilot episode as the camera panned down from the night sky to see The Tick in all his blue glory, antennae waving heroically. And this is only one of the 9 episodes included on this 2-disc set. The brain trust at Fox decided to squash The Tick after its 8th episode thus the bonus 9th episode was never aired.
The Tick is admittedly one of those shows that you either ‘get’ or you don’t. Patrick Warburton’s dry sense of humor is used to perfection in this role. There are great cameo’s throughout the 9 episodes. A favorite is Ron Perlman’s comedic superhero Firey Blaze. The opening theme music, first heard in the second episode, is great as well. This show is a creative take on superheroes and I really felt guilty about not watching it back when it was on the air.
If you enjoyed Warburton on Seinfeld and if you enjoy ‘stupid’ humor like that found in Monty Python, Police Squad, or the old 1980’s series Sledge Hammer, then you’ll love The Tick!
i think i only saw it once while it was on tv.. i don’t think they had a good timespot, cuz i remember liking it.. especially nestor (batmanuel). very funny stuff.
Would my kids like it?
Probably, but I’m not sure about its appropriateness…there’s a good deal of sexual banter and some time spent in bars.
Oh, well, probably not then.
That’s ok. I just got “Flight of the Navigator” and “The Never Ending Story” from netflix so we will be watching those this weekend.
I posted on Angela’s site last night: I went ahead and used my one month free trial and signed up for Netflix! My first 3 are:
Wonderfalls-disc one
Mostly Martha-foreign flick
The Last Starfighter
I definitely want to see both of those that you just got, will add them to the queue
dude. flight of the navigators is one of my fav’s as well.. i had to get it from ebay last year. couldn’t even wait till the dvd came out.. mine is only a crappy quality vhs. lol
Navigator was a way cool movie! So was Starfighter.
But Carl, I hope your dreams aren’t dashed. I don’t know how it is for you, but for me, some movies of my youth are better kept there. I guess if you still really love Labyrinth, then these others will be fine for you.
I just couldn’t believe how cheesy Starfighter really was after seeing it again last year (netflixed it too). It was pretty groundbreaking. I think they boasted the first actual CGI ever used in a movie.
The Tick rocked hard, I must agree. Warburton is so funny.
Speaking of super hero spoofs, anyone seen The Specials? It’s supposed to be even better than Mystery Men but it wasn’t ever released to the big screen.
Oh, I don’t have high expectations for Starfighter…I’ve seen parts of it on tv over the years. I actually read this book (by awesome sci fi author Alan Dean Foster) as a teenager on a family vacation and couldn’t wait to get back to see the movie. I thought they did a great job of rendering what I had visualized as I read the book. The thing that is appealing about Starfighter to me is that I was from that arcade generation. I spent hours playing Galaga and this movie tied into that phenomenon and every boys dream of going to space so well.
I don’t think Labyrinth will ever be cheesy to me because I think the whole Muppets thing is so timeless. Its such a different type of storytelling. I’m sure I’ll think that TNES looks dated but I’m looking forward to seeing it again.
Did you happen to see Wonderfalls during its EXTREMELY BRIEF stint on television? If not you should check it out cuz its great! I remember telling Mary during the first episode that “this will never last” because so many people don’t “get” that type of humor….and of course it was cancelled almost immediately.
no, never heard of it… but i sure loved Mystery Men.. even though not a lot of others seem to. lol
Mystery Men is great! Jimmy is a fan as well!
MM was freaking great! I laughed so hard. The Spleen was funny. And of course Stiller was great as Mr. Furious! And the best line was from Janeane Garofalo, “There’s just not enough beer in the world, Spleen.”
Loved Mystery Men. Julie and I borrow it from Carl every few months.
Ok, since we have several Netflix’ers here how do we send each other recommendations and stuff?
Rob, you are the Netflix journeyman around here please explain.
“When you get in bed with Evil Incarnate it always takes the covers”….if you guys liked Mystery Men then I think you’ll enjoy The Tick.
Jimmy, just below the movie title on the movie’s page, there’s a big “Suggest to a Friend” button link.
Just invite the other Netflix user to be your “Friend”. If they aren’t a Netflix member, you can still send the message.
Click on the Friends tab for more info.
What email address do you use? I’ll add you to my friends list. :p
rob [AT] electrolund [DOT] com
done
I was just looking at my queue. I have Time Bandits next. hehe
Sweet! Awesome movie.
I have Time Bandits on mine as well. I already have 115 movies and haven’t really spent much time looking.
i tried to find The Specials at one of my local blockbusters, but they didn’t have it in stock. but they had it in their computer, so they said some bb’s do carry it.
is it worth hunting it down at the other video places? lol
i noticed blockbuster has it listed as a “documentary”.. lol
Well, I can’t vouch for it, as I haven’t seen it myself. Here’s a review by the Onion AV Club: LINK
I’ve added it to my Netflix list. I guess I’ll find out if it’s any good.
I remember seeing a trailer for this a long time ago. It looks fun, good review on The Onion link!
This was a great show. I can not believe it didn’t get off the ground. I was enteretained from begining to end of this series. If you like slap stick, puns and ironic truths this show is for you.
Exactly. Its been awhile since I’ve pulled these out and watched them, I need to do that again sometime soon.