#49

The Tick (2001)

Spooooooooooooooon!!!!!!!!!!

“He is the big, blue “I am the wild blue yonder. The front line in a never-ending battle between good and not-so-good. Together with my stalwart sidekick, Arthur, and the magnanimous help of some other folks I know, we form the yin to villany’s malevolent yang. Destiny has chosen us. Wicked men, you face The Tick.“

Based on the NEC comic book and the animated series that followed, ths was the first attempt to bring The Tick into the live action superhero world. FOX brought the show to TV, making it a Seinfeld-like show. The network did not have much confidence in the show as they bounced it around the schedule and hardly promoted it.

Created by EYG Hall of Famer Ben Edlund, The Tick was a loving parody of superheroes and their tropes. It starred Patrick Warburton, in a great bit of casting, as The Tick. The show also had David Burke as Arthur, Liz Vassey as Captain Liberty and Nestor Carbonell (who would go on to be Richard on LOST) as Batmanuel.

There was more emphasis on character and dialogue than action, so some Tick fans found it less exciting than the animated show despite Edlund stating that this show was closer to the concept of the comics.

The show only broadcast 8 of the 9 episodes created and was canceled because of budget reasons. Still, this very short series was an awesome breath of fresh air and gave us another, some times more adult, look at The Tick.

The Tick will appear again during this Top 100.