Starring Townsend Coleman, Micky Dolenz
Written By: Ben Edlund
Directed By:
Studio: Disney/Buena Vista
Buy on Amazon.com link

Spoon! Can’t do plaid. Fire me boy. Cool, they got a blimp. Whoa…roof pig…most unexpected. Those were some of the lines that made The Tick the show that it was…one of the funniest cartoons ever. Based on the comic book created by Ben Edlund, the Tick made his animated debut way back in 1994. I remember watching it with my friends back in high school and we would laugh our butts off with every episode. I loved that show. The show lasted for a few seasons and soon disappeared off of the television all together for quite a few years. Flipping through the channels just last year, I noticed that Toon Disney was doing promos for a new Saturday night lineup and it included…guess what? The Tick. Having not watched an episode in forever, I made it a point to catch it. I was a little worried that the show might not hold up and I might not find it as funny as it used to be. To quote Mike Ness, I was wrong. I laughed just as hard as I can remember. After that episode, I remember thinking to myself that they had better release The Tick on DVD and soon. Now here I am with the first season in my hands for my viewing pleasure and to spread the greatness of The Tick to the masses.

The Tick VS. Season One includes 12 of the 13 first season episodes. For some reason beyond my knowledge, episode 11 (The Tick vs. the Mole-men) is not included in this collection. I remember that episode and there was a model that parodied Cindy Crawford and maybe with her vast powers, prevented it from being released. Damn you Cindy Crawford. Season One contains some of the best Tick episodes with some of the best quotable lines. We are introduced to the foulest of all the evilness anywhere. The Tick squares off against Chairface Chippendale, The Evil Midnight Bomber (What Bombs At Midnight), The Breadmaster, El Seed, Brainchild, Mr. Mental, Dinosaur Neil, The Proto-Clown, Pineapple Pokopo, The Uncommon Cold, The Idea Men, Barry (who calls himself the Tick), Eyebrows Mulligan, Professor Chromedome, Zipperneck, Boils, The Guy With Ears Like Little Raisins and even Arthur’s bank account. Egad! But fear not, for the Tick has allies against his war on bad. We are also introduced to the other “protectors” of The City; Sewer Urchin, American Maid, The Human Bullet, Bipolar Bear, Die Fledermaus, The Crusading Chameleon, Big Shot and let’s not forget the accountant turned moth man superhero sidekick, Arthur.

The Tick is a classic tongue-in-cheek parody of your everyday superhero but it stays true to the superhero linage with just as much action and excitement as any comic book on the shelves. The Tick is given a city to protect named The City. He makes his way to The City and begins his war on evil only there is no evil to be found yet. The Tick meets up with Arthur who dons a moth suit that look suspiciously like a rabbit suit and the two decide to team up against all things bad with Arthur’s apartment being their headquarters. What makes the show so great is everything that happens afterwards. The writers had their hands full with this show trying to come up one zany villain or hero after another and all of the great quotable lines. Most of the stuff didn’t get much explanation like why there is a man made up entirely of butter or why Chairface Chippendale has a chair for a head, but that is why the show was so fun. You just had to accept that this was a crazy place to be in that was far, far away from every conceivable law of nature. The Tick was nigh invulnerable just because he was the Tick. Brainchild just has a big brain. The only cartoon that has ever come close to the craziness and the humor would have to be The Venture Brothers. I love The Venture Brothers but give me the Tick any day. The Tick always had more consistent laughs and even though it was directed more towards kids, it had strong enough stories to make any teenage comic book geek chuckle from behind the pages of Spawn. The only negative about this release was the lack of bonus material. It would have been cool to see some creator commentary or some early character sketches. Oh well…maybe on Season Two.

If you have never heard of the Tick or never watched the cartoon, think X-Men meets Looney Tunes with a large dose of Laugh In and some Dick Tracy for good measure. I can watch the same episode two times in a row and still laugh at the same parts. Humor was The Ticks best quality but it wasn’t the only thing that the show had going for it. Just about every character on the show was memorable in his or her own way. The stories were always accessible even though some episodes seemed a little rushed at certain points. You could always expect the unexpected. And who can forget the lines? “Well once again my friend, we find that science is a two-headed beast. One head is good – it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences. But the other head is bad. Oh beware the other head of science, Arthur! It bites!! And it can really ruin a good day off.” Go pick up the Tick now!!! For justice and all that is right in the world!

Features:
none

Audio:
English and French language tracks, Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound

Video:
Full Frame (1.33:1)

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: The Tick vs. The Idea Men, The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale, The Tick vs. Dinosaur Neil, The Tick vs. Brainchild
Rating: NR
Running Time: 252 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: