The Tick

This was a great series cancelled before its time.

It did start a little slow but by the fourth episode it was picking up. I had only seen a couple of episodes of the cartoon so I'm not able to compare the two. But as a stand alone series this was very funny and if you are starting to get sick of the flood of superhero movies coming out at the moment watch this for a laugh it will allow you to look at superheros in a new light.

After seeing it here in oz on cable I just had to buy the DVD although it really has no extras for what was not a cheap DVD.

But all the same I would say it was worth its money for what is a very funny series.

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.

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.

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 started out watching the pilot of this show with quite a bit of apprehension, but about 12 minutes in, when they introduced Batmanuel, I was hooked. His introduction alone was enough to make me a fan, but they didn't stop there. 'The Tick' is surprisingly well written, and manages to be truly funny without being stupid. Watch this show and give it half a chance. You won't be disappointed.