'The Tick vs. Season One'

By Hanh Nguyen, Zap2It.com | August 29, 2006

'The Tick'

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Whip out your spoon for spoofy, crime-fighting goodness

Mighty blue justice shall be meted out in "The Tick vs. Season One," a semi-comprehensive compilation of the cult favorite cartoon's debut season based on the comic book created by Ben Edlund. Disney's DVD is a welcome addition for fans, but disappointingly doesn't offer anything beyond the actual episodes.

Newcomers to The Tick must understand that the titular superhero has nothing to do with the blood-sucking arachnid, but everything to do with superhuman strength and invulnerability, wide-eyed optimism, outrageous spoofiness, and elaborate superhero monologues rife with mixed metaphors, inspirational rhetoric and hilarious hyperbole of the mundane. Those distracted by the inherent silliness of the premise will miss out on the clever dialogue and high-brow references that nestle down with the more obvious gags.

The Tick is a blue-suited superhero assigned to defend The City and teams up with sidekick and former tax accountant Arthur who dresses in a moth suit. The slew of superhero cronies are just as misfit and inspired: the militant American Maid, ineffectual Batman wannabe Die Fledermaus, plaid-challenged Caped Chameleon and Rain Man-inspired Sewer Urchin.

The scat-heavy theme song by Doug Katsaros is like a warm comforter of memory wrapped around my stimulation-starved brain. The introductory episode "The Tick vs. The Idea Men" pits our cerulean hero against bland, one-note villains, mabye in an attempt to not overpower the outrageous hero. The wonderful thing about this series, however, is that over-the-top villains work -- whether it's the furniture-physiqued Chairface Chippendale or, my personal favorite, The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight.

Evildoers beware that this 2-disc set isn't complete. Episode No. 11, "The Tick vs. The Mole-Men," is missing from the set because Disney claims that "creative considerations" caused a bit of trouble. The studio issued a non-committal promise to try and include the albeit lackluster episode in a future disc.

Also, I must confess that I'm perplexed by the absence of juicy -- or any -- bonus features. While having the scintillating episodes is a gift in and of themselves, there are a number of extras that could have been produced with minimum effort to reward loyal fans such as a history of The Tick -- from comic book to defunct live-action series -- an interview with The Tick voice Townsend Coleman or even an overview of its loyal fans.

And really, what has Ben Endlund been doing that he can't find time to promote this pet project from his teenage years? Is he too busy licking his wounds from the fiasco of "Point Pleasant"?

Evidently, this irritation stems from general frustration that anything offbeat (i.e. anything I like) is sure to die an early death. Although "The Tick" lasted three seasons, its live-action counterpart starring Patrick Warburton only endured one. Oh, and the fact that each episode on the DVD apparently defaulted to subtitles without my prompting was a tad irritating.

"The Tick" DVD is worth it to relive the madcap madness, but not for much else.

STUDIO: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: August 29
RATING: Not Rated
PRICE: $34.99 each
TIME: 252 min.
DVD EXTRAS: None, evildoer!
INTERNET SITE: For more info go to www.thetickdvd.com