The Tick (1994 TV series)

The Tick
Genre Superhero
Comedy
Satire
Created by Ben Edlund
Starring Townsend Coleman
Voices of Micky Dolenz (1994–95)
Rob Paulsen (1995–96)
Cam Clarke
Kay Lenz
Jess Harnell
Composer(s) Doug Katsaros
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 36 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Joe Bacall
Tom Griffin
C.J. Kettler
Producer(s) Hank Tucker
Running time 30 minutes (including commercials)
Production company(s) Sunbow Entertainment
Graz Entertainment
Fox Children's Productions
Distributor BVS Entertainment
Release
Original network FOX (Fox Kids)
TCC and Fox Kids (UK)
Original release September 10, 1994 – November 24, 1996

The Tick: The Animated Series is an American animated television series adaptation of the New England Comics satirical superhero, The Tick. The series aired for three seasons from 1994 to 1996 on the Fox network's Fox Kids block, which introduced the character to a mainstream audience. The Tick has been syndicated by various networks, further increasing the show's cult following, and has been released on both VHS and DVD. A live-action series aired in 2001.

History

While still in college, Tick creator Ben Edlund was producing his independent comic book series based on the character. He was eventually approached by Kiscom, a small, New Jersey-based toy licensing and design company. Kiscom wanted to merchandise The Tick, much in the way that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a rival independent comic series, had been merchandised the previous year. Major TV networks and studios were reluctant to take on an animated series based on the absurd character. Kiscom stayed in touch with Edlund and finally Sunbow Entertainment, the small, New York-based animation company that created The Transformers, G.I. Joe, and The Mask, paired him up with writer Richard Liebmann-Smith. Neither had any experience in animation or television, but for two months they worked vigorously on the first episode of The Tick. Neither man held high esteem for their final script, and their feelings were validated when FOX turned down the first pitch. They were given one more chance to refine it in five days. Over one weekend, they worked "instinctively" with little sleep and ended up satisfying FOX. Edlund later reflected, "We kind of defined in one weekend exactly where the show went for that first season, which was cool."

While some darker characters and sexual innuendo seen in the comic series would be removed for its animated counterpart, Sunbow's Tick series would hold to its satirical roots. 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. They would much later work together on McCulloch's Adult Swim series, The Venture Bros.. Edlund, a co-producer of The Tick, remained very hands-on during production, causing delays. According to Edlund:

“ There was a period where I was extremely attentive to everything that had to be solved, and these efforts ultimately made the show a year late. I saw the storyboards that were being done and realized that if The Tick were animated off of those, it would fall apart. It would be a shadow of what it is now, which is something that isn't massively successful, but has this real staying power. So now instead of looking like bad '90s animation, it kind of looks like bad '70s superhero animation, which definitely has a unique style about it. ”

The Tick finally premiered on September 10, 1994 and was a success. Edlund later expressed his view that, because the series did not reach the commercial heights of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, its merchandising success deteriorated by the end of its first season. However, he admitted "That's essentially good as far as I'm concerned; although, I would be much more wealthy at this point. That failure, to me, makes The Tick a much more sincere proposal."

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. With its emphasis on superhero parody, The Tick became a Saturday morning staple during the Fox Kids block. Its title character was voiced by Townsend Coleman and his sidekick, Arthur, by Micky Dolenz for Season 1. Rob Paulsen took over the latter role for Seasons 2 and 3. The series also features Die Fledermaus as a shallow, self-absorbed Batman parody; Sewer Urchin, an Aquaman parody who resembles Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man; and American Maid, a more noble superheroine featuring aspects of Wonder Woman and Captain America.

The show's opening theme, written by Doug Katsaros, who also composed the scores for every episode, consists of big band music and campy scat singing. A typical episode plot would have The Tick 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 style that appeals to an older audience as well.

After three seasons, The Tick's final episode aired November 24, 1996. The following year, FOX began talks with Sunbow Entertainment about producing a prime time Tick special, but this never came to fruition. Comedy Central syndicated The Tick during this time and subsequently helped make it a cult hit with adults.[1] In May 2000, the pilot episode for a live action series of The Tick was completed. FOX attempted to capitalize on the growing adult fan base by introducing this new incarnation in November 2001, but the series 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. It would also occasionally air on ABC Family as part of the Jetix cartoon block.

Principal voice actors

Additional voices

Episodes

Season 1 (1994–95)
No. Title Original air date Prod.
code
1"The Tick vs. The Idea Men"September 10, 1994 (1994-09-10)101

The Tick moves to The City and meets Arthur, convincing him to become his partner in the battle against evil.

Villain: The Idea Men
2"The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale"September 17, 1994 (1994-09-17)102

The Tick attempts to thwart Chairface Chippendale's plan to commit the "Crime of the Century": using a powerful heat ray to write his name across the face of the moon.

Villain: Chairface Chippendale
3"The Tick vs. Dinosaur Neil"September 24, 1994 (1994-09-24)103

Dinosaur Neil, chief paleontologist at a dig known as "Dinosaur Grotto", is attempting to grow a fully functional dinosaur from tissues found in fossils. After accidentally ingesting some of the culture he mutates into a 70-foot-tall (21 m), 180-ton dinosaur and goes on a rampage across The City.

Villain: Dinosaur Neil
4"The Tick vs. Mr. Mental"October 1, 1994 (1994-10-01)104

The evil Mr. Mental takes control of The Tick's mind and forces him to steal the Thinking Cap, a device which will give Mr. Mental the "powers of the gods".

Villain: Mr. Mental
5"The Tick vs. the Breadmaster"October 8, 1994 (1994-10-08)105

A villain known as The Breadmaster orders large quantities of baking supplies to build the sinister City-Smothering Lemon Soufflé.

Villain: Breadmaster
6"The Tick vs. El Seed"October 15, 1994 (1994-10-15)106

The insane El Seed uses his powers over plants to enact revenge on all animal life. To battle him, the Tick and Arthur join forces with The Civic-Minded Five: Captain Mucilage, The Carpeted Man, Feral Boy, 4-Legged Man and Jungle Janet.

Villain: El Seed
7"The Tick vs. The Tick"October 22, 1994 (1994-10-22)107

The Tick battles with Barry Hubris, a wannabe superhero who also calls himself "The Tick", over rights to the name. Meanwhile, The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight plans to blow up the Comet Club.

Villains: Barry "The Tick" Hubris and The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight
8"The Tick vs. the Uncommon Cold"October 29, 1994 (1994-10-29)108

The Tick has a cold, which affects his ability to overcome the alien invader Thrakkorzog, who plots to take over the Earth with an army of evil Tick clones.

Villain: Thrakkorzog
9"The Tick vs. Brainchild"November 5, 1994 (1994-11-05)109

Brainchild (aka Charles) wants to use his Mega-Devastator Multi-Cannon to make his mark on the earth, with the moon.

Villain: Brainchild
10"The Tick vs. Pineapple Pokopo"November 12, 1994 (1994-11-12)110

The Tick, Arthur, and American Maid are sent to Pokoponesia to rescue Yank, a hyperintelligent astronaut monkey, from the evil dictator Pineapple Pokopo.

Villain: Pineapple Pokopo
11"The Tick vs. the Mole-Men"November 19, 1994 (1994-11-19)111

The Tick and Arthur play host to a group of Mole-Men and their King (not included on US DVD set "The Tick vs. Season One" for legal reasons).

Villain: Lava Man
12"The Tick vs. The Proto-Clown"February 4, 1995 (1995-02-04)112

The Tick and Arthur return to The City from a trip to discover the genetically engineered Proto-Clown terrorizing the city. The Tick is knocked into his own mind, for a journey of discovery.

Villain: Proto Clown
13"The Tick vs. Arthur's Bank Account"February 11, 1995 (1995-02-11)113

The Terror meets The Tick for the first time, and tries to take over The City.

Villain: The Terror

Season 2 (1995–96)
No. Title Original air date Prod.
code
14"The Little Wooden Boy and the Belly of Love"September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09)214
Arthur ditches the Tick on Hobby Night to go on a date with Carmelita, so Tick builds himself a new wooden sidekick. Meanwhile Swiss Industrial Spies are after Dr. Vatos' notebook.
15"Alone Together"September 16, 1995 (1995-09-16)215
The Tick is sent to the moon to revert Chairface Chippendale's attempt to write his name on it. He ends up blasting through space on Omnipotus (a parody of Galactus), while The City believes the blue hero is dead. (This episode was not included on the US DVD set "The Tick vs. Season 2," although it was included on the UK DVD set.)
16"Armless but Not Harmless"September 23, 1995 (1995-09-23)216
Tick and Arthur's arms get removed and attached to crude look-a-likes to work for the evil Venus and Milo.
17"Coach Fussell's Lament"September 30, 1995 (1995-09-30)219
Brainchild uses his baby-sitter, The Mad Nanny, to capture The Tick and turn him into a bird to match his brain.
18"Leonardo da Vinci and His Fightin' Genius Time Commandos!"October 7, 1995 (1995-10-07)218
A villain called the Mother of Invention travels back in time to kidnap history's greatest inventors and plants a bomb in the Renaissance so the world will revert to the dark ages, allowing him to re-invent everything and claim credit.
19"Bloomsday"October 21, 1995 (1995-10-21)220
The return of El Seed with his newest monster Rosebud.
20"Evil Sits Down for a Moment"November 4, 1995 (1995-11-04)221
A villain known as the Ottoman tries to marry and corrupt Die Fledermaus to take over The City together.
21"Heroes"November 11, 1995 (1995-11-11)222
A camera crew follows The Tick & Arthur for a day of crime fighting.
22"Ants in Pants!"November 18, 1995 (1995-11-18)223
The Tick checks himself into Captain Sanity's Superhero Sanitorium, letting a large colony of ants capture the other superheroes and lock them into a giant people farm.
23"The Tick Loves Santa!"November 25, 1995 (1995-11-25)217
A small-time bank robber, dressed as Santa, is chased into an electric billboard, giving him miraculous powers to multiply, becoming the evil Multiple Santa.
24"Tick vs. the Big Nothing"February 3, 1996 (1996-02-03)224
The Whats, an alien race, kidnap The Tick and Arthur to thwart their enemies, the Heys, from destroying the universe.
25"Tick vs. Reno, Nevada"February 10, 1996 (1996-02-10)225
While performing in Reno, former performing dolphin The Fin (AKA Mr. Smarty Pants) plans to bury Reno with his Fish Magnet. Arthur and Tick come to the rescue only to find that Tick has a gambling problem.
26"Grandpa Wore Tights"February 17, 1996 (1996-02-17)226
An aging Terror sends his somewhat villainous son Terry to recover his Desire-O-Vac from the aging Decency Squad.

Season 3 (1996)
No. Title Original air date Prod.
code
27"That Mustache Feeling"September 14, 1996 (1996-09-14)327
The Tick wakes up with a mustache, only to find out that it has a mind of its own. Not to mention Jim Rage is after it.
28"Tick vs. Dot and Neil's Wedding"September 21, 1996 (1996-09-21)329
Dot and Dinosaur Neil are to get married, but Chairface's new henchman, The Indigestible Man, messes with Neil's medication, causing him to mutate into a dinosaur again.
29"Sidekicks Don't Kiss"September 28, 1996 (1996-09-28)330
While on a date with Carmelita, Arthur is kidnapped by the Deertown Aztecs. The Tick teams up with Carmelita to find and rescue Arthur and, in the process, gets a pet capybara named Speak.
30"Tick vs. Arthur"October 5, 1996 (1996-10-05)332
Arthur confiscates a belt capable of enlarging its wearer's muscles from a new super-villain known as Baron Violent, and, tired of being out of shape, decides to keep it. Along with his muscles, the belt increases the size of his ego, leading him to challenge The Tick.
31"Devil in Diapers"October 6, 1996 (1996-10-06)328

Mr. Mental, disguised as a baby, hides in the Tick and Arthur's apartment while working on a super-weapon.

Note: This episode premiered on Comedy Central.
32"Tick vs. Filth"October 26, 1996 (1996-10-26)331
The Tick and Arthur gain a newfound respect for the Sewer Urchin, who shines beneath the streets of The City as SewerCzar unleashes an army of intelligent Filth.
33"Tick vs. Europe"November 2, 1996 (1996-11-02)333
The Tick is sent to Antwerp, Belgium on a superhero exchange program with the sidekick Blitzen to battle Octo Paganini and the Eastern Bloc Robot Cowboy while his Belgian counterpart Eclair helps Arthur deal with the Breadmaster.
34"Tick vs. Science"November 9, 1996 (1996-11-09)335
Professor Chromedome strikes at a Mad Science Fair, and chaos erupts when he uses a mind-swapping machine to cover his escape. Arthur finally manages to kiss Carmelita, only to find out that The Tick's mind is in Carmelita's body.
35"Tick vs. Prehistory"November 16, 1996 (1996-11-16)334
The Tick and Arthur travel back in time over three million years, join a tribe of Australopithecines and work in a restaurant for time travelers from the distant, distant future.
36"Tick vs. Education"November 24, 1996 (1996-11-24)336

In the series finale, The Tick and Arthur become teacher and teacher's aid at an Extension Class for people who want to become superheroes. While on a field trip, they encounter Uncle Creamy, a disgruntled former employee of an ice cream company on a mission.

Note: This episode premiered on Comedy Central.

Home video

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.

DVD releases

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, the writer for all of the omitted episodes, states that he does not know the reason for the exclusion of episode #11 from the Season 1 DVD.

In the UK the complete Seasons 1–3 have been released as a box set. The UK versions of seasons 1–3 are uncut unlike the US versions of seasons 1 and 2, which are syndicated edits and not the original broadcast versions.

Reception and legacy

During its original run, The Tick was nominated for several Annie Awards as well as Emmys and, in 1995, won two of the former. In March 2008, Wizard magazine ranked The Tick #16 on its Top 100 Greatest Cartoons.[4] In January 2009, IGN ranked The Tick #6 on its Top 100 Animated Series list. IGN went on to regard it "the first great lampooning of the superhero genre" and compared the series to Mel Brooks and Monty Python.[5]

The character Sentinel Prime from Transformers Animated was voiced by Townsend Coleman and, thus, intentionally designed to look like The Tick with his heavy jaw and enormous chest. This was confirmed by Transformers: Animated writers at BotCon '08.

Chairface Chippendale appeared in the Robot Chicken episode "We are a Humble Factory", where he tries to get Kim Kardashian to sit on his chair head.

Awards and nominations

Annie Awards

Year Category Nominee Result
1995 Best Individual Achievement for Creative Supervision in the Field of Animation Ben Edlund (co-producer) Won
Best Individual Achievement for Writing in the Field of Animation Ben Edlund, Richard Liebmann-Smith for "The Tick vs. Arthur's Bank Account" Won
Best Animated Television Program The Tick Nominated
1997 Best Animated TV Program The Tick Nominated
Best Individual Achievement: Voice Acting by a Male Performer in a TV Production Townsend Coleman for playing The Tick Nominated

Daytime Emmy Awards

Year Category Nominee Result
1996 Outstanding in Animation Andres Nieves, Claude Denis, Phillip Kim, David Manners, Richard Liebmann-Smith, Susan Blu, Larry Latham, Elaine Hultgren, Chuck Harvey, Christopher McCulloch, Hank Tucker and Ben Edlund Nominated
Outstanding Sound Editing - Special Class Marty Stein, David John West, Rick Hinson, Anthony Torretto, Chris Fradkin and Terry Reiff Nominated
1997 Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class Stuart Calderon, Deb Adair, John Boyd and David John West Nominated

Merchandising

While the Tick comic book series included some extras, such as trading cards, 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 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.

References

  1. ↑ Reber, Deborah Tick Fever Endures: Ben Edlund Talks About the Evolution of Everyone's Favorite Blue Superhero Animation World Magazine, Issue 2.4 (July 1997). Retrieved on 5-16-09.
  2. ↑ TVShowsOnDVD.com item
  3. ↑ TVShowsOnDVD.com item
  4. ↑ Wizard Magazine's Top 100 Greatest Cartoons TheComicForums.com (March 25, 2008). Retrieved on 5-16-09.
  5. ↑ http://tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/6.html

External links

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