The Tick v. The Tick v. The Tick

There's a new Tick Television series airing on Amazon Prime. Some reviewers compare it unfavorably to the 2001 Tick TV series which ran for 9 episodes in 2001 saying it was a more innocent series than this grittier reboot.

To be honest, I actually only watched the first episode of the 2001 series and got turned off, even though I'm a huge Tick fan. I've read all the comics up until 2016 in which the Tick was the main character as well as the Tick spin-off series Paul the Samurai.

So, what was the 2001 TV series and how is it different from its 2017 counterpart and the 1990s Animated series? I spent most of the weekend, flat on my back which gave me an opportunity to binge watch both series.

Of course, before either series was the 1994 Animated series, a classic Superhero spoof. with that catchy theme music, and so many memorable moments. The series introduced Barry, a character from the comic books who claimed the identity of, "The Tick" and resented the Tick's use of it. The opening of that confrontation is classic:

Barry: Where's the jerk who calls himself the TICK?!
The Tick: I am that jerk!

There's the Tick's battle cry of, "Spoon," a sewer dwelling Superhero who talks like Rainman named Sewer Urchin, a cowardly suave superhero named Die Fladermaus. They battled amazing villains like the Terror, Chairface Chippendale, Brainchild, and Pineapple Pokopo.

The Tick and Arthur had amazingly goofy adventures such as when both of them lose their arms and have to hide the fact or when the Tick wakes up with a mustache with a mind of its own.

It lasted for just three seasons but made a lasting cultural impression. So of course, it made sense to make a live action TV series.

Fans of the show proclaim it's greatness and the unfairness of it being cut.

Yet, watching the series so many years later, it's easy to see why it didn't last. While the Tick Animated series was a comedy adventure series, the Tick live action series was a sitcom about being a superhero. That's a key difference.

During the run of the series, The Tick and Arthur actually only engaged with a villain twice, in addition to fighting a crazed Soviet robot they accidentally unleashed with programming to kill Jimmy Carter.

What were the other episodes spent on? There's the episode where the Tick is invited to join a superhero team, only to discover they're a bunch of sexist racists), and the one where the Tick encounters a superhero/sidekick duo that Tick admires for their teamwork but Arthur sees the darker side of their relationship. There's the one where Arthur gets locked in an insane asylum by his family who are determined to cure him of being a superhero.

There's some funny concepts, but less derring do. The show has a silly sense of humor. It had the best take on the Clark Kent/Superman dichotomy with the Champion having dressed in his civvies and the Tick unable to recognize him as the Champion with his glasses on and then able to recognize with his glasses off. I laughed so hard, I hurt.

The series could have worked as a family comedy that would have drawn kids. The reason it didn't could be summed up in a single word, "Batmanuel." The live action replacement for Die Fladermaus is a stereoetypical Latin Love type that can't stop talking about his sexual prowess. The same problem can also be had with Captain Liberty , the replacement for the animated American Maid, which you think would be an upgrade. However, Captain Liberty is a sexually frustrated career woman with a string of failed relationships, including an on again off again thing with Batmanuel.

So in essence, the goofy over the top nature of the comedy turns off a lot of the adult audience, while the constant innuendos and sexual related plot twists turns off the family viewers.

The show had its strong points. Patrick Warburton was a superb Tick, playing the character with great delight and charm. Still, that wasn't enough to save it.

So, what's the new series like? It starts off really differently. The Tick is still the Tick, but Arthur doesn't have a supersuit magically dropped into his lap. The Terror killed Arthur's father right before his eyes, but while the world insists the Terror is dead. Arthur thinks he's alive, just very old.

In many ways, the series serves as a parody of other original Superhero series that are *clears throat* that other streaming service, as Arthur makes his journey to actually becoming hero. This is somewhat fitting as the early Tick comics were somewhat direct parodies of other Superheroes including Superman and Frank Miller's run on Daredevil.

The Tick is still the Tick and I have to say that Peter Serafinowicz' take on the character may be the the best yet. He's still goofy and not all quite there when it comes to understanding normal life. Yet, he's also a voice of courage and inspiration, pushing Arthur on to being a hero rather than shrinking back in fear of the villains or his own family's reaction. Tick is weird, but not as weird in other versions. He shows up without being invited as Arthur's Stepfather's birthday party and manages to be just a bit goofy, while delivering one of the best lines in the Tick's history when he's asked whether he's wearing a suit or if he's just him. "Am I never naked or am I never not naked?"

At the same time, the Tick doesn't inhabit a G-rated world. There's a couple bits of somewhat graphic violence as well as some foul language. However, that language never comes nor the violence from the Tick or Arthur. It comes from the villains as well as anti-hero Overdrive.

Tick remains a Blue beacon of righteousness in a gray, often dark Streaming Service universe. He warns Arthur away from doing things Overdrive's way. The more dark and bleak the world he's in, the more welcomed the Tick's buoyant blue presence is.

Overall, while I'll always prefer the animated series, I find this new take to be pretty servicable, even though it's definitely not for younger viewers.