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18 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Evildoers, I say to you - Knock off all that evil! (this means you, Fox), 12 March 2004
10/10
Author: DarthBill from United States

Ludicrous, over the top and often hilarious cartoon based on the cult comic book character created by Ben Edlund. If you've read the other reviews, you know by now that the Tick is a 7-foot tall, 400 lbs blue superhero who is in fact a spoof of other superheroes and more often than not, feels as though he were based on the Adam West interpretation of Batman (from the 1960s TV series). The Tick is ungodly strong and ungodly tough, but he's a bit too dense and cheery for his own good, so he relies on his pudgy sidekick Arthur to be the brains between the two. The City they oversee is crawling with superheroes but most of them are either incompetent or cowards or both or maybe just plain crazy (American Maid is one of the few exceptions; Sewer Urchin is a true fish out of water, as he's not very useful on land but quite a bad ass in his natural environment: the sewer), so it's usually up to Tick and Arthur to save the day.

The first season was by far the best, pitting the Tick against the Idea Men, a mad chef, a giant man-dinosaur (Dinosaur Neil), another guy who used the name Tick, a giant lava monster, a mutant killer clown, a big Jaba-the-Hutt like alien, a green clone of himself, and even Arthur's bank account among others! It's hard to believe that Townsend Coleman, who voiced the Tick, was also the voice of Michaelangelo on "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (former turtles-in-arms Cam "Leonardo" Clarke and Rob "Raphael" Paulsen also worked on this show, Clarke as Die Fleadermouse and Paulsen as the 2nd voice of Arthur).

Sadly, both this show and the live action one that starred "Seinfeld" alumnus Patrick Warburton as the Tick, kept getting canceled by Fox.

A while back I picked up "The Tick: The Naked City", which was a collection of the first six Tick issues done by Ben Edlund. I can't quite place my finger on it, but there was something different about the Tick in the original comic book from his cartoon and live action incarnations. The comic book humor, while still zany, was a bit darker. Seeing as how some of the original comics and classic moments from the original comics were adapted for the cartoon (like Tick tearing up Arthur's apartment because he thinks it's a secret headquarters) makes me wish they'd have adapted the ninja story line for the show or at least featured Oedipus (a ninja babe who was kind of like a spoof of the Elektra character who appeared in the Daredevil comics) and Paul the Samurai (the man with the sword disguised as French bread) once. I still haven't read or found any of the other Tick comics so I have no idea really if the comic book Tick eventually evolved into what his cartoon counterpart is or not.

But overall, I loved this show and miss it greatly.

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15 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
SPOOOOOON!!, 27 August 2002
Author: (robocoptng986127@aol.com) from U.S.A

This was a good show! A great spoof of all those action packed cartoons. First, there's The Tick: Seven feet tall and 800 pounds of blue and muscle, but not brains. Next, was his sidekick Arthur, who wore a moth suit. He could also fly, or rather glide. Tick and Arthur would always defeat evil wherever it is and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat each time. They had their share of superhero friends: Die Fladermaus, who talked big but was really a coward. Sewer Urchin, who was braver than Die Fladermaus but lived in a sewer so nobody wanted to be around him much. American Maid, whom Die Fladermaus had a crush on, but always chose to childishly insult her. Dinosaur Neil, who is Arthur's brother in-law. But they also had their share of villains: El Seed, the human flower, Chairface Chippendale, The Terror, Forehead, Mr. Mental, Multiple Santa, etc. There were some good episodes, like the one "Tick Loves Santa", where the friends battle Multiple Santa who kept multiplying. Or how about "Tick vs. Arthur's Bank Account" where Tick spends all Arthur's money on a frivilous investment. "Tick vs. Tick" was a classic! Tick, Arthur, Die Fladermaus and Sewer Urchin attend a superheroes convention and Arthur has to stay in the sidekick lounge. Another superhero who called himself The Tick was there. Yeah, but now The Tick isn't on TV anymore, which is too bad; Townsend Coleman is the voice of The Tick, Rob Paulsen is Arthur, Cam Clarke is Die Fladermaus. You know, those three did the voices of Michaelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Just recently, a live-action Tick series premiered. Patrick Warburton was The Tick, David Burke was Arthur, Liz Vassey was Captain Liberty (American Maid), and Nestor Carbonell was Batmanuel (Die Fladermaus), but it only lasted one season. So in conclusion, The Tick was very funny! I'm sure those of you who remember it would agree.

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12 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Poetry in motion., 5 July 2004
Author: Rhetoric from Sydney

The Tick, the cartoon adaptation of the comic book that didn't see nearly enough comic stores. From an Australian perspective, the Tick cartoon series was the first tier of the Tick empire (spanning comic books to live action TV shows) that we experienced, and I must say that the cartoon series 'made it' for me.

With the addition of animation, a comic series has a whole new layer added to it, and in the case of the Tick, the layer only improved what was a solid comic performance. The voices are perfectly cast and the animation (while repetitive or slow at times) captures the illogical (and often insane) nature of the Tick's world.

I would say (after reading the comics and seeing the live action attempts) that the cartoon series stands at the top of the heap, bringing motion of intercharacter relationships to the mix, while still remaining true to the original ideas of the author (without becoming too corny). There is nothing like hearing one of the Tick's rants going on and on and making little to no sense and just laughing it off at the end. This sort of comedy ran into trouble in the comic form, having page upon page of text without action and in the live action form by having static actors on screen who could just not sustain the melodrama needed for this kind of satire.

In all, if you want to see heroic satire through the Tick, then the cartoon is the best medium to obtain it.

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11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Let's Hang Ten For Justice!!!, 23 March 2002
Author: KMM from Topeka, KS

The Tick ran on Saturday mornings for kids, but I knew of numerous adults that watched this show and loved it. The show is not for everyone, mind you. You will either understand the humor and love it, or not get it and quickly turn the channel. I was hooked on it from day one. The show had memorable characters, villains and very witty dialogue. It often left me thinking to myself that many kids were not going to get the humor because the show came off as more of a comic book satire than a kiddie show. The show did offer enough action and colorful characters to appeal to the Saturday morning crowd, though.

The writers of the show, which included Tick creator Ben Edlund, really hit a bull's-eye by creating such memorable heroes like Sewer Urchin (sounded very much like Dustin Hoffman in Rainman) and Die Fledermaus and great villains like The Terror and the unforgettable Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight. I also felt that Townsend Coleman did a wonderful job in bringing The Tick to life. He gave The Tick some real heart and soul. This show will always be one of my all-time favorites because of its satirical humor and memorable characters. I never get tired of it. I have as much fun watching The Tick now as I did when I first saw the show in the mid 1990's.

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12 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
"And you don't eat crackers in the bed of your future...", 10 September 2003
Author: grendelkhan from Xanadu

Ah, the Tick. For those of us who were privileged enough to know the Tick before his Saturday Morning debut, this series was a delight. It perfectly captured the demented world of our favorite blue lunatic; and, we finally got to see some of the stuff that Ben Edlund never got around to.

The voice casting was perfect. Townsend Coleman gave Tick the right combination of heroic, but insane. I really preferred Mickey Dolenz to Rob Paulsen as Arthur, but, both were good. The additions of Die Fledermaus and American Maid were superb. The only parts I missed were Oedipus and Paul the Samurai.

This was a series that was too sophisticated for its environment. It didn't really fit in with the Saturday Moning kiddie fare and should have been shown in prime time. Still, it was worth getting up Saturday Morning to catch it.

It's hard to pick a favorite episode, there are so many good ones. A few of the best: Tick vs Tick, Thrakkorzog, Tick in Belgium, the Tick's hero class, and the Brainchild episodes.

Thankfully, this series is about to come out on dvd. Now we can relive those halcyon days. SPOOOOOOONN!!

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Rocking The City, 19 January 2001
Author: Chrissie from United States

Justice comes in many forms, and in The Tick it comes in at about 400 pounds in blue tights and wrapped in mixed metaphors.

The Tick is that rare beast -- a cartoon the adults will enjoy as much as the kids. In the tradition of Bullwinkle and the Alf cartoons, The Tick is sophisticated if silly, intellectual if infantile, a one-liner of truth in the hyperinflated monologue of network television. It's... oh, never mind. Watch it and see.

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best..., 11 February 2000
Author: Darren Boucher from Ottawa, Canada

This was just a perfect show. It's too bad it appealed almost exclusively to a more mature audience. That is why it was cancelled. To stay on the air on Saturday morning you have to be able to sell toys to kids. If only FOX could have realized that this show could have been a huge success if they placed it in a timeslot that the more mature audience could be the target audience for the commercials.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Best Cartoon Superhero Spoof, 4 August 1999
Author: Kai-18 from The City

The Tick is really one of the most hilarious and original cartoons I've seen in a while. It's about a Stupid and clueless but good-hearted Superhero called the Tick (when asked if he could destroy the world he says "Egad, I hope not. That's where I keep all my stuff"). When he moves to The City he meets up with a meek accountant who becomes his sidekick. Based on the Comic book of the same name, the Tick has proven itself repetedly that superhero spoofs still work. Watch it when you can.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Makes me laugh to death, 22 March 2000
Author: Op_Prime from Ardmore, PA

This show was great. It was very funny. All the characters were (obviously) reminiscent of the famous DC and Marvel comics characters. Probably what made it so funny. This show was way to short lived and deserved longer time on the air. I look forward to the new live action show that is coming and hope is equals, if not surpasses, this show in quality.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Move Over, Bullwinkle!, 12 June 1999
Author: Chrissie from United States

I thought it was impossible to find cartoons that parents can enjoy as much as (if not more than) the kids. The Tick proved me wrong. I laughed until I cried. Highly literate, The Tick is set in The City, a metropolis overrun with superheroes and villains. See Die Fledermaus, The Civic-Minded Five (yes, they drive a Civic), and American Maid as they battle evil with The Tick and his sidekick Arthur ("I'm not a bunny! I'm a moth!)

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