Post by Heineken Skywalker on Aug 18, 2006 12:05:17 GMT -5
YES!! Finally! This has been on my "top ten most wanted tv series on DVD" list, since I started buying DVDs.
If your only knowledge of this classic superhero spoof based on the cult comic, is the average and very short-lived live-action version that aired on tv a couple of seasons ago, then you are missing out on the real Tick goodness. The first season of the animated series is finally released on Aug. 26th.
From scifi.com:
The Tick vs. Season One DVD
Everyone's favorite Big Blue Dumb Arachnid returns to suck the blood out of superhero cliches
The Tick vs. Season One
Starring Townsend Coleman, Micky Dolenz, Rob Paulsen, Cam Clarke and Kay Lenz
Two-disc set
MSRP: $34.99
By Paul Di Filippo
This sprightly, wacky, often hilarious animated series ran in various incarnations from 1994 through 1997. But that doesn't stop the warped creators from labeling this DVD release the "belated 10th anniversary" one. So be it. No matter what the chronological complexities, we're lucky to have it.
We start with the Tick (Coleman) and his sidekick Arthur (Dolenz) being interviewed talk-show style in a nonepisode segment by an offscreen voice. This handily establishes their characters and relationship. But this segment is somewhat superfluous, as the initial episode ("The Tick vs. The Idea Men") (all episodes begin with the phrase "The Tick vs. ...") brilliantly and rapidly conveys the same info. The Tick is a good-spirited, not unintelligent muscleman intent on becoming the protector of "The City." His Achilles' heel is his resolute refusal to see the world in any terms other than his own comic-book ones. Arthur, aka The Moth, is a pudgy accountant in possession of a low-tech costume that allows him to fly. He also dreams of superherodom. The two men meet, the Tick co-opts Arthur's dreams (and apartment), and their adventures begin. In this first one, they stymie thugs in Rocketeer-style helmets, whose slow getaway blimp remains inconspicuous despite flashing a giant lightbulb on its side.
In "Chairface Chippendale," the eponymous villain literally features a chair for a head. Lurking as waiters at his villainous cocktail party, our heroes—along with supergal American Maid (Lenz)—manage to thwart his schemes. "Dinosaur Neil" finds our boys enjoying a day at the dinosaur digs. But when their guide, Neil, swallows a hunk of living dinosaur flesh, it's Godzilla time. Would you be suspicious of a place called the Evil Eye Café? Not the Tick. In the show titled "Mr. Mental," our bumbling hero brings Arthur there for a night of accordian music, only to be hypnotized by a stage magician and forced to steal the gasoline-powered Thinking Cap.
"The Bread Master" depicts an evil baker whose giant soufflé threatens to engulf The City—until the Tick punctures it with his own flaming body. A giant living daisy—it resembles those animatronic dancing flowers that were such a fad—who is angry at all mankind comes to the fore in "El Seed." "The Tick vs. The Tick" features a visit to another nightclub—this one for superheroes only, not even sidekicks allowed—where our Tick faces off with a jealous rival of the same name.
Battling "The Uncommon Cold," the Tick has the misfortune to receive some attention from a bad alien who lives next door to Arthur. Thrakorzog wants to clone the Tick—and a handy Kleenex will provide the cells. The "Brain Child" is a genius youngster named Charles—whose brain is on display in a glass globe where his skull should be. Naturally, his robot dog shares the arrangement. "Pineapple Pokopo" is the ruler of a South Seas dictatorship. When he comes into possession of an American space monkey named Yank, it's the Tick to the rescue. Clowns can be deadly, and none more so than "The Proto-Clown," who's fond of saying "Clown smash!" Finally, "Arthur's Bank Account" finds the Tick bankrupting his sidekick host, then going on a mystical quest, all while the Terror threatens the citizens.
A delirious, delicious derangement
It's easy enough to itemize what makes this series so enjoyable. The art, the writing, the acting and the tone.
With original comics creator Ben Edlund onboard, the series has a beautiful retro look. We're in Max Fleischer/Chester Gould/Will Eisner/Dave Stevens territory. Vehicles are streamlined, skyscrapers art deco, robots 1939 World's Fair. But not totally in the vein of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004). There's a sly overlay of modernity that makes the look of the series unique. Then there's the high quality of the animation to consider. The characters are very expressive, their movements fluid and rich. Interior shots are dense with eyekicks. Big set pieces, such as the march of the corn soldiers in "El Seed," are reminiscent of Fantasia (1940). Lastly, we enjoy the costume designs on the superheroes, all of which are eye-catching and humorous. Pay attention to the Tick's autonomous antennae. And let's not forget the great scat-singing theme song by Doug Katsaros.
The scripts are rich with homages. Die Fledermaus is plainly Batman, American Maid is Wonder Woman, and so forth. The Civic-Minded Five capture every team dynamic ever written. More subtly, modeling the Proto-Clown on the Hulk subtly refers back to a very early episode of the Hulk's own career, when he masqueraded as a clown. Edlund and his fellow writers know and love comics history and can burlesque it endlessly. Their plotting is very clever and compressed and fresh, extending even across episodes. When Chairmaster begins to carve his initials on the moon, he is thwarted after lettering only "CHA." Ten episodes later, there's a shot of the night sky with the Moon floating serenely—and still scarred with "CHA."
The dialogue snaps as well. The Tick's verbose oratorical speeches—his first words in episode one are "Destiny's powerful hand has made the bed of my future"—are perfect. The banter among the many heroes and villains that infest The City is first-rate.
All the voice actors inhabit their parts thoroughly. Even throwaway characters—Bipolar Bear, anyone?—are instantly appreciated, thanks no doubt partially to the efforts of ex-Firesign Theater guy Phil Proctor. Townsend and Dolenz are "onscreen" 90 percent of the time, and yet we never grow tired of their schtick.
Finally, despite its satirical nature, this series never ventures into the hip cynicism and nihilism of later shows like Sealab 2021 or Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It's a pure love note to six decades of superhero comics. It just happens to be delivered by a 400-pound bug.
If your only knowledge of this classic superhero spoof based on the cult comic, is the average and very short-lived live-action version that aired on tv a couple of seasons ago, then you are missing out on the real Tick goodness. The first season of the animated series is finally released on Aug. 26th.
From scifi.com:
The Tick vs. Season One DVD
Everyone's favorite Big Blue Dumb Arachnid returns to suck the blood out of superhero cliches
The Tick vs. Season One
Starring Townsend Coleman, Micky Dolenz, Rob Paulsen, Cam Clarke and Kay Lenz
Two-disc set
MSRP: $34.99
By Paul Di Filippo
This sprightly, wacky, often hilarious animated series ran in various incarnations from 1994 through 1997. But that doesn't stop the warped creators from labeling this DVD release the "belated 10th anniversary" one. So be it. No matter what the chronological complexities, we're lucky to have it.
We start with the Tick (Coleman) and his sidekick Arthur (Dolenz) being interviewed talk-show style in a nonepisode segment by an offscreen voice. This handily establishes their characters and relationship. But this segment is somewhat superfluous, as the initial episode ("The Tick vs. The Idea Men") (all episodes begin with the phrase "The Tick vs. ...") brilliantly and rapidly conveys the same info. The Tick is a good-spirited, not unintelligent muscleman intent on becoming the protector of "The City." His Achilles' heel is his resolute refusal to see the world in any terms other than his own comic-book ones. Arthur, aka The Moth, is a pudgy accountant in possession of a low-tech costume that allows him to fly. He also dreams of superherodom. The two men meet, the Tick co-opts Arthur's dreams (and apartment), and their adventures begin. In this first one, they stymie thugs in Rocketeer-style helmets, whose slow getaway blimp remains inconspicuous despite flashing a giant lightbulb on its side.
In "Chairface Chippendale," the eponymous villain literally features a chair for a head. Lurking as waiters at his villainous cocktail party, our heroes—along with supergal American Maid (Lenz)—manage to thwart his schemes. "Dinosaur Neil" finds our boys enjoying a day at the dinosaur digs. But when their guide, Neil, swallows a hunk of living dinosaur flesh, it's Godzilla time. Would you be suspicious of a place called the Evil Eye Café? Not the Tick. In the show titled "Mr. Mental," our bumbling hero brings Arthur there for a night of accordian music, only to be hypnotized by a stage magician and forced to steal the gasoline-powered Thinking Cap.
"The Bread Master" depicts an evil baker whose giant soufflé threatens to engulf The City—until the Tick punctures it with his own flaming body. A giant living daisy—it resembles those animatronic dancing flowers that were such a fad—who is angry at all mankind comes to the fore in "El Seed." "The Tick vs. The Tick" features a visit to another nightclub—this one for superheroes only, not even sidekicks allowed—where our Tick faces off with a jealous rival of the same name.
Battling "The Uncommon Cold," the Tick has the misfortune to receive some attention from a bad alien who lives next door to Arthur. Thrakorzog wants to clone the Tick—and a handy Kleenex will provide the cells. The "Brain Child" is a genius youngster named Charles—whose brain is on display in a glass globe where his skull should be. Naturally, his robot dog shares the arrangement. "Pineapple Pokopo" is the ruler of a South Seas dictatorship. When he comes into possession of an American space monkey named Yank, it's the Tick to the rescue. Clowns can be deadly, and none more so than "The Proto-Clown," who's fond of saying "Clown smash!" Finally, "Arthur's Bank Account" finds the Tick bankrupting his sidekick host, then going on a mystical quest, all while the Terror threatens the citizens.
A delirious, delicious derangement
It's easy enough to itemize what makes this series so enjoyable. The art, the writing, the acting and the tone.
With original comics creator Ben Edlund onboard, the series has a beautiful retro look. We're in Max Fleischer/Chester Gould/Will Eisner/Dave Stevens territory. Vehicles are streamlined, skyscrapers art deco, robots 1939 World's Fair. But not totally in the vein of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004). There's a sly overlay of modernity that makes the look of the series unique. Then there's the high quality of the animation to consider. The characters are very expressive, their movements fluid and rich. Interior shots are dense with eyekicks. Big set pieces, such as the march of the corn soldiers in "El Seed," are reminiscent of Fantasia (1940). Lastly, we enjoy the costume designs on the superheroes, all of which are eye-catching and humorous. Pay attention to the Tick's autonomous antennae. And let's not forget the great scat-singing theme song by Doug Katsaros.
The scripts are rich with homages. Die Fledermaus is plainly Batman, American Maid is Wonder Woman, and so forth. The Civic-Minded Five capture every team dynamic ever written. More subtly, modeling the Proto-Clown on the Hulk subtly refers back to a very early episode of the Hulk's own career, when he masqueraded as a clown. Edlund and his fellow writers know and love comics history and can burlesque it endlessly. Their plotting is very clever and compressed and fresh, extending even across episodes. When Chairmaster begins to carve his initials on the moon, he is thwarted after lettering only "CHA." Ten episodes later, there's a shot of the night sky with the Moon floating serenely—and still scarred with "CHA."
The dialogue snaps as well. The Tick's verbose oratorical speeches—his first words in episode one are "Destiny's powerful hand has made the bed of my future"—are perfect. The banter among the many heroes and villains that infest The City is first-rate.
All the voice actors inhabit their parts thoroughly. Even throwaway characters—Bipolar Bear, anyone?—are instantly appreciated, thanks no doubt partially to the efforts of ex-Firesign Theater guy Phil Proctor. Townsend and Dolenz are "onscreen" 90 percent of the time, and yet we never grow tired of their schtick.
Finally, despite its satirical nature, this series never ventures into the hip cynicism and nihilism of later shows like Sealab 2021 or Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It's a pure love note to six decades of superhero comics. It just happens to be delivered by a 400-pound bug.