the tick on amazon

Review by RCRs video producer and resident nerd, JD, follow him @Misadventurer on Twitter

When Ben Edlund was 17, he worked at a small comic book store in New England, and created his own superhero, The Tick, as a way to try to draw people to his store, the book started to get more and more fans and soon became an indie comic darling. Then Fox turned it into a Saturday Morning Cartoon, and it ran from 1994-1996, a few years later Fox and Edlund tried to make the show live action, as many of The Tick’s fans skewed older, the 2001 live action series only got 1 season. Edlund then bounced around Hollywood working as writer on beloved genre shows such as Firefly, Angel and Supernatural. When the opportunity to do a show for Amazon’s Pilot Season, the more mature Edlund brought the big blue bug of Justice back.
This go-round, The Tick is played by Peter Serafinowicz, (who claims the inspiration for his portrayal is half Adam West’s Batman and half, how his kids act around the house), his companion, Arthur, who comes upon a flying battle suit with a Moth theme wants nothing more than to be a super hero, despite always being small and picked on as a kid, with the suit and The Tick by his side, Arthur discovers the courage he’s always had deep down. That’s been the standard set up for all versions of the show, by Arthur having The Tick by his side, he is free to be courageous. What the Amazon version plays with, is whether The Tick is real or not, in the second episode titled “Where is My Mind,” ‘Tin-Foil Kevin’ a transient on Arthur’s block, plays the Radiohead song of the same name on a Kazoo as Arthur is beginning to question his sanity. He had been released from an institution after a traumatic event, his dad dying, at the hands of a super villain who at the same time, killed Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Was The Tick just Arthur’s coping mechanism? Is The Tick’s Childlike persona a projection of Arthur’s lost innocence, and his invulnerability a safety blanket for Arthur to try to come to terms with why he’s pursing masked heroics? To try to save his father 15 years later? Just as the show sets up this Tyler Durden-esque reveal, turns out The Tick really is real, and not a manifestation of Arthur’s id.
So far this version doesn’t have the past cast of characters, no Batmanuel, no Chairface Chippendale or The Ideamen, most of the season Arthur and friends are set upon by a lightning bug of a villainess, Ms Lint, and Ramses IV’s Pyramid Gang, which are identified by their matching Eye of Ra tattoos. The Terror (Played by Jackie Earl Haley), a Red Skull-esque baddie, whose actions 15 years ago killed all the heroes and changed Arthur’s life, also seemingly died, though Arthur has been tracking crimes around the world and has come to the conclusion The Terror is still alive, but laying low, we find out he’s got a Sub-Reddit where he interacts with several other The Terror Truthers, one of which, happens to be a Cyborg-Punisher, named “Overkill” who lives on his sentient tactical attack yacht, “Dangerboat” – Much of the show’s absurdity is steeped in pop culture references.
The first 6 half hour episodes are live now, the second half of Season 1 should premiere around January. Only on Amazon Video, just be warned, Season 1A ends in a CLIFFHANGER!
The Tick (2017) 8/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiFF18KblJ0&t=44s
More about The Tick
From creator Ben Edlund comes the hero you’ve been waiting for. In a world where heroes and villains have existed for decades, a mild-mannered accountant named Arthur has his life turned upside down when he runs into a mysterious blue superhero, The Tick, who insists that Arthur become the brains to his brawn in a crime-fighting duo. Will Arthur resist the call of Destiny or join the fight?

Stream “The Tick” now on Amazon Prime http://bit.ly/AmazonTheTick

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