The Tick (2017)

The inner lives of its characters is the real meat of this new series, even as it provides all the nonsensical one-liners, giant naked men, and superhero parodies that fans of these characters have come to expect.

Edlund’s latest run at the big blue lunkhead and his nebbish sidekick Arthur isn’t quite a “dark and gritty” reboot, thank jumping Jehoshaphat, but it’s tonally and structurally unlike any other.

The latest version of The Tick is very enjoyable; it’s smart and visually imaginative.

The series enjoys deconstructing superhero tropes but in its own offbeat way. You will probably need a few episodes to get into “The Tick, but the first part of the first season builds up nicely. By Episode 6, the series is all powered up.

The latest version remains as wonderfully quirky as all the others, but cleverly adds new layers of depth and character development that will (one would hope) allow it to play out over multiple seasons.

With key episodes written by Edlund and directed by Wally Pfister (who photographed "The Dark Knight,” ironically), the show is clever and crazy in the right proportions; it is always, in its outsized way, human and believable. It's everything I like in a thing like this.

Peter Serafinowicz summons just the right amounts of bravado, good cheer, and idiocy to be thoroughly endearing. Like the trademark antennae that dance on the Tick’s head, Serafinowicz has his character’s oddball rhythms down pat.

The series’ winking self-awareness makes for a fun, weird, intriguing show that has a strong sense of itself and the world it portrays.

Serafinowicz, with sharp, sunny delivery, nails the sort of delusion underpinning the myth, the cracked psyche that it would take to put on a form-fitting costume replete with bobbing antennae and leap toward the sky. And Newman, as the civilian roped into the Tick's schemes, comes up with a coherent way to sell a situation fundamental to the superhero story.

Though it's not perfect, The Tick is a giddy and enjoyable romp. It's at its best moments when it focuses on the interplay between Arthur and the Tick.

All of this is played for laughs, but the kind of laughs Edlund goes for may be challenging for some viewers. It's silly, of course, but mostly, the show is droll. There are few, if any, sidesplitting moments and you have to listen carefully to catch some of the deadpan moments. ... Any time you have Jackie Earle Haley playing a supervillain, you are in good, lethal hands.

This Tick moves like a movie, each episode more a chapter in an extended tale than a half-hour payoff.

The Tick shows its spirit. The half-hour action comedy moves briskly as Arthur struggles to shed that super-suit that comes with awesome powers and responsibilities he so does not want.

Big, colorful and goofy, The Tick returns at a more hospitable place and time -- on a streaming service (Amazon) that doesn't mention ratings, at a moment when pop culture is already crawling with superheroes. That could make the third time the charm for Ben Edlund's comic-book spoof, which is fun, even if it doesn't quite get under your skin.

The Tick is never boring, and viewers young enough to not remember the other iterations may find it fresher than I did. I just wanted something a bit sharper and funnier, something that felt as new as the original live-action TV show.

Arthur's distinct humanity acts as a buoy when The Tick's cynicism becomes off-putting, and his story lends the gravity necessary to bring balance to the show's ironic silliness. As it incessantly mocks the excesses of the superhero genre, The Tick threatens to alienate its target audience by incidentally suggesting the show's own insignificance.

Too much angst weighs down the casual juvenile nature of the series. And Serafinowicz inevitably pales in comparison to Patrick Warburton, who originated the live-action version of the character in 2001. ... The energy of the series noticeably improves once [antihero Overkill (Scott Speiser)] inserts himself into The Tick and Arthur’s adventures, in part because he provides a surly, pointed balance to our soft-hearted heroes.

It has more back story, more exposition, more special effects, more (and more graphic) violence. It’s more knowing, more layered, more self-conscious. ... Is that an improvement? It’s a matter of taste.

If The Tick lightened up any more, it might float away, and we'd gladly go along for the ride. [21 Aug - 3 Sep 2017, p.13]

There are just too many notes and written in the wrong key. Arthur’s denial becomes tiresome after a few episodes and creates an adversarial relationship with The Tick. The two will likely get along by the end of Season 1, but that’s too much time wasted watching Arthur create his own obstacles to a better life. Worse yet, it bogs down a show that doesn’t listen to its own inspirational narrator.

Neither a hilarious parody nor an engrossing superhero story, this version of The Tick ends up in a dissatisfying middle ground.