The Tick (animated TV series)

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The Tick
Format	Animated comedy
Created by	Ben Edlund
Starring	Townsend Coleman Mickey Dolenz (1994-1995) Rob Paulsen (1995-1996)
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	36 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Hank Tucker
Running time	30 minutes (including commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	FOX
Original run	September 10, 1994 – November 27, 1996
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Tick is an American animated television series adaptation of the New England Comics superhero, The Tick. It debuted September 10, 1994 on Fox Network and lasted three seasons, with its last airing on November 27, 1996.

The Tick was written and co-produced by Tick creator Ben Edlund. Writing duties were also given to Christopher McCulloch who had met Edlund prior to their television work and wrote several issues of the Tick comic book series. The two would later work together on McCulloch's Adult Swim series, The Venture Bros..

Rather than being an asylum escapee, as portrayed in the Tick comic book series, the animated version of The Tick crashes a superhero convention to win the "protectorship" of The City.^[1] With its emphasis on superhero parody, The Tick became a Saturday morning staple during the Fox Kids block. Its title character was voiced by the versatile Townsend Coleman and his sidekick, Arthur, by Micky Dolenz for Season 1. Rob Paulsen would take over the Arthur voice roles during Seasons 2 and 3. The series also features Die Fledermaus as a shallow, self-absorbed Batman parody; Sewer Urchin, a Rain Man-like version of Aquaman; and American Maid, a more noble superheroine featuring aspects of Wonder Woman and Captain America.

The show's opening theme consists of big band music and campy scat singing. A typical episode plot would have The Tick and battling a villain until Arthur devises a solution that saves the day. The Tick then declares an absurd moral regarding the previous conflict before the story comes to a close. Although the series was initially aimed primarily at children, it features an absurdist, parody style that appeals to an older audience as well. Comedy Central would later syndicate The Tick and subsequently help make it a cult hit with adults. FOX attempted to capitalize on this growing adult fan base by introducing a live-action version of The Tick in 2001, but it couldn't match the success of its animated predecessor.

In June 2005, Toon Disney began airing The Tick along with other former FOX animated series like X-Men. The Tick currently airs on Midnight Eastern Time. It also occasionally airs on ABC Family as part of the Jetix cartoon block. In May 2008, MTV2 will begin airing The Tick in all episodes while its confirmed from MTV Networks.

[edit] Main cast

[edit] Home video release and DVDs

The first two episodes of The Tick, as well as Season 3's "The Tick vs Arthur," were released on VHS in 1995 and 1998.

On August 29, 2006, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the first season of The Tick on DVD as The Tick vs. Season One. This collection contains only 12 of the 13 episodes. On May 31, 2006, Disney released the following statement regarding the missing episode: "Due to licensing problems, episode #11 ("The Tick vs. The Mole Men") is not included. However, we hope to include it in future DVD releases of The Tick".^[2] The UK edition of the first season, released the following year by Liberation Entertainment Ltd., presented all 13 episodes.

The second season of The Tick, entitled The Tick vs. Season Two, was released on August 7, 2007. ^[3] This DVD release is not the complete set, however, as it is missing the episode "Alone Together." This episode features Omnipotus, a parody of Galactus (though, earlier episodes used similar comic book parodies, and are available on the DVD releases). In the August 6, 2006 entry of his blog, Christopher McCulloch states that he does not know the reason for the exclusion of episode #11 from the Season 1 DVD.

[edit] Merchandising

Main article: List of The Tick merchandise

The Tick: Mighty Blue Justice!

While the Tick comic book series included some extras, such as trading cards, the merchandising of The Tick increased dramatically with the launch of the animated series. Action figures, pogs, T-shirts, hats, party favors, costumes, and a board game were representative. In addition, many fast food restaurant chains such as Carl's Jr. and Taco Bell offered Tick-related give-aways.

Fox Interactive also published a beat 'em up video game based on the animated series and released it on the Super NES and Sega Genesis. The game was criticized for having very long stages with ridiculous hordes of generic enemies to combat and a nonsensical game ending.

In 1997, the year following the series' end, Greg Hyland's The Tick: Mighty Blue Justice! was published as a tie-in with the series.

[edit] References

• The Tick Official Website for The Tick cartoon
• The Tick: Circus Maximus, NEC Comics, 2004.
• The Tick: Mighty Blue Justice!, Hyland, Greg, Berkley Boulevard Books, New York, 1997

[edit] External links

• The Tick (1994 – 1997) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Tick (1994 – 1997) at TV.com