The slapstick wild animation really worked in favor of the original animated series of “The Tick.” Mainly because the world based on the Tick and around the character was so beyond reality and surreal that we accepted anything about it. The Barry Sonnenfeld led live action series is not only unnecessary but comes off as so incredibly cheap and bargain basement in production quality. The budget is so low that there’s very little action and slapstick, and so much more eccentric individuals in wild suits bouncing comedic dialogue off of one another and nothing else.
Arthur is rarely shown flying, the Tick is barely knocking stuff over, and every other character are dialed down in favor of cutting corners in story and stunts. It’s not surprising that “The Tick” barely lasted a season on television as it’s a very shoddy and dull attempt to satirize an already popular satire of superheroes. Sonnenfeld and co. seem to think they’re covering new ground, but in reality we’ve seen all of this before and with much better performances all around. Patrick Warburton post-Seinfeld is a great choice for the Tick, but his costume looks so confining and claustrophobic, that it’s tough to believe the hero wears it all the time, let alone that it’s apart of him.
To allow him more face time, the mask is removed so Warburton just looks like his face is popping out of a large plastic mold he can barely move his head in. “The Tick” live action adaptation is never funny, and often times goes through the motions in using these characters for adult themed comedy, and not much else. The once action oriented American Maid is changed in to Captain Liberty. She really does nothing else but storm around holding her torch up, while Die Fledermaus is turned in to Bat Manuel, a cliche Batman clone who is mainly there for comic relief.
That said, “The Tick” does boast a respectable cast of character actors, all of whom seem to be giving it their all. Particularly there’s Patrick Warburton who tries his best to be a great successor to Townsend Coleman. The always sexy Liz Vassey is also a lot of fun and really wears the Captain Liberty outfit well. It’s a shame we couldn’t see her don the American Maid outfit and see if she could kick some ass.
Mill Creek releases the series on a barebones DVD clocking in at over three hours, with nine episodes up for consumption for all five fans of the short lived series.