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Special Features
- 12 episodes on two discs:
- -The Tick vs. The Idea Men
- -The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale
- -The Tick vs. Dinosaur Neil
- -The Tick vs. Mr. Mental
- -The Tick vs. The Breadmaster
- -The Tick vs. El Seed
- -The Tick vs. The Tick
- -The Tick vs. The Uncommon Cold
- -The Tick vs. Brainchild
- -The Tick vs. Pineapple Pokopo
- -The Tick vs. The Proto-Clown
- -The Tick vs. Arthur's Bank Account
- *this collection does not include episode 11
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Even with one episode missing, The Tick vs. Season One offers a dozen good reasons to enjoy one of the wackiest superheroes of all time. From his humble beginnings as an in-house comic book character created by 17-year-old Ben Edlund for a Boston comic shop, the Tick (with his muscular physique, twitching antennae, and form-fitting "blue tights of justice") has proven remarkably popular and versatile as a multimedia juggernaut, attracting a global fan base in comics, then this animated series beginning in 1994, and finally as a live-action comedy series starring Patrick Warburton as "the big blue bug of justice." All three of the Tick's incarnations are wildly entertaining, but the animated series comes closest to capturing the unbridled giddiness of Edlund's comics, albeit somewhat sanitized for a Saturday-morning audience of kids and Tick-loving teens and grown-ups. And while episode #11, "The Tick vs. The Mole Men" (widely considered to be one of the first season's weakest episodes) is missing here for legal reasons (but may be included in a future DVD release), the 12 episodes included are remarkably consistent in their well-written hilarity of character and plotting. "The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale" is just one example of the series' rogue's gallery of oddball monstrosities (the villain's head is a wooden chair, after all!) and the show's clever writers are always finding inventive ways to incorporate in-jokes, show-biz homage (such as the villainous "Uncommon Cold," who sounds suspiciously like James Mason!), and choice bits of throwaway dialogue that will cause older viewers to burst out laughing.
It's regrettable that Buena Vista (i.e., Disney) didn't include any bonus features with this two-disc set (at the very least, the Tick's comic book origins should be acknowledged), and the color and clarity of these episodes varies a bit, from crisp and clean to just a little it fuzzy. But let's face it, the animation (as good as it is) isn't exactly state-of-the-art, and most of The Tick's quality is derived from the outrageous cast of characters (including patriotic superheroine American Maid and the Tick's moth-costumed sidekick, Arthur), all of whom reside in a kind of alternate world of hyper-imagination. Perhaps that's why The Tick has proven so enduring as a pop-cultural touchstone of the late 20th century: Whether he's in a comic book, an animated cartoon, or a live-action sitcom, the Tick is just a goofy, lovable, well-meaning reflection of our better selves, eager (as the saying goes) to swat evil on the snout with the rolled-up newspaper of goodness. Make way for seasons 2 and 3! --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
Attention evil-doers! The Tick is here, and he's wearing the blue tights of justice! Together with his trusty moth-costumed sidekick Arthur, The Tick keeps the streets of The City safe from a rogue's gallery of hilariously malevolent villains. So grab a snack, put your feet up, and get ready to laugh and cheer as everyone's favorite brawny hero swats evil on the snout with the rolled-up newspaper of goodness!
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
226 of 235 people found the following review helpful
By Damon D
Format:DVD
You've been waiting over 10 years for the Tick to come out on DVD. You've eyed Amazon feverishly. You follow up every rumor. You even bought the live action disks.
And then, in seeming answer to your decade of diligent prayers and blue votive candles, it's finally here, and the package looks fan-freaking-tastic.
You call in sick to work, plunk yourself onto your sofa with a box of Lucky Charms, a gallon of milk, a cereal bowl, and your favorite SPOON! and prepare for a six hour TV-watching orgy.
You pop Disk 1 in the DVD player, and (once you get past all the ads) are nearly drowned by a wave of nostalgia. The main screen is full of animated eye candy, and you watch it at least a half dozen times. Finally you grab the remote and flip through the options.
That's odd... no special features. Must be on the other disk. I mean surely no one would release The Tick on DVD without acknowledging its origin as a comic book or its rabid cult following.
Hmm... now that's REALLY odd. There don't seem to be any commentary tracks either. You KNOW Edlund has things to say about the series. You've been scouring the Internet for Tick info since Mosaic was the only graphical web browser.
Well, you reason, all that other stuff is just parsley. The main course is the shows themselves.
So you push play on episode one, and you chuckle through the opening interview sequence, but something is niggling at you. Something doesn't look quite right, and yet the show looks exactly as you remember. It's not until the title sequence that it hits you so hard that you stop singing along in mid "Dum-dwee".... Read more ›
And then, in seeming answer to your decade of diligent prayers and blue votive candles, it's finally here, and the package looks fan-freaking-tastic.
You call in sick to work, plunk yourself onto your sofa with a box of Lucky Charms, a gallon of milk, a cereal bowl, and your favorite SPOON! and prepare for a six hour TV-watching orgy.
You pop Disk 1 in the DVD player, and (once you get past all the ads) are nearly drowned by a wave of nostalgia. The main screen is full of animated eye candy, and you watch it at least a half dozen times. Finally you grab the remote and flip through the options.
That's odd... no special features. Must be on the other disk. I mean surely no one would release The Tick on DVD without acknowledging its origin as a comic book or its rabid cult following.
Hmm... now that's REALLY odd. There don't seem to be any commentary tracks either. You KNOW Edlund has things to say about the series. You've been scouring the Internet for Tick info since Mosaic was the only graphical web browser.
Well, you reason, all that other stuff is just parsley. The main course is the shows themselves.
So you push play on episode one, and you chuckle through the opening interview sequence, but something is niggling at you. Something doesn't look quite right, and yet the show looks exactly as you remember. It's not until the title sequence that it hits you so hard that you stop singing along in mid "Dum-dwee".... Read more ›
52 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I, like tons of other people, have been anxiously awaiting for SOMEBODY to finally start releasing the classic cartoon of The Tick ever since the inception of DVD. It seemed like every single series was getting some kind of DVD attention except for this one.
Finally, someone answered our prayers and Season 1 of the animated Tick has been unleashed on DVD.
But there's a dark side to this.
First of all, this set is missing episode 11 "The Tick vs. The Mole Men" due to what is being labled "creative reasons" whatever in the hell that means. While I know this is regarded as one of the weakest episodes in the entire history, this isn't the full first season due to its ommision.
Secondly, the video quality is HORRIBLE. It literally looks someone took some high quality VHS copies of the show and just slapped them on a couple of DVD's. The colors are washed out & bland and there's a really annoying interlacing issue in almost every episode that causes most animation lines to "shimmer" a bit. The shimmering effect might not be quite as distracting on smaller TV sets, but on big screen sets it is really atrocious.
The sound is also muffled and tinny sounding. There's also little bits of missing dialogue here and there as well. I'm thinking that a few episodes might be cut slightly actually.
So, while I am glad whoever finally got off of their duff to release The Tick animated on DVD, I think that they could have done a much, much better job than this.
I hope they realize the error of their ways with Season 1 and really put forth a whole lot more effort on subsequent season releases.
The show itself gets a full 5 star rating from me but the DVD presentation gets a 1.... Read more ›
Finally, someone answered our prayers and Season 1 of the animated Tick has been unleashed on DVD.
But there's a dark side to this.
First of all, this set is missing episode 11 "The Tick vs. The Mole Men" due to what is being labled "creative reasons" whatever in the hell that means. While I know this is regarded as one of the weakest episodes in the entire history, this isn't the full first season due to its ommision.
Secondly, the video quality is HORRIBLE. It literally looks someone took some high quality VHS copies of the show and just slapped them on a couple of DVD's. The colors are washed out & bland and there's a really annoying interlacing issue in almost every episode that causes most animation lines to "shimmer" a bit. The shimmering effect might not be quite as distracting on smaller TV sets, but on big screen sets it is really atrocious.
The sound is also muffled and tinny sounding. There's also little bits of missing dialogue here and there as well. I'm thinking that a few episodes might be cut slightly actually.
So, while I am glad whoever finally got off of their duff to release The Tick animated on DVD, I think that they could have done a much, much better job than this.
I hope they realize the error of their ways with Season 1 and really put forth a whole lot more effort on subsequent season releases.
The show itself gets a full 5 star rating from me but the DVD presentation gets a 1.... Read more ›
86 of 96 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Originally titled "The Tick: Season 1", this two disc set only included 12 of the first seasons 13 episodes. The missing episode is S1E11, "The Tick vs. The Mole-Men", in which The Tick and Arthur act as guide for a bunch of vacationing mole-men and their mole-king. When the mole-king falls in love with a Cindy Crawford lookalike, things get complicated. Disney swears the episode was left out for "creative reasons", which may have some truth as this episode is widely accepted as the weakest of the series - but some sort of legal complication is more likely (maybe they couldn't fit all 13 episodes on 2 discs?). The point is, don't expect any sort of definitive compilation here, this is Season 1 sans one episode. Maybe we'll see the Mole-Men episode as a bonus for Season 2 or, god forbid, a re-release of this Season 1 set.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I was extremely pleased when I first heard that Disney would be releasing The Tick to DVD. I had been enjoying the repeats of the cartoon on Disney's Jetix block of programing and looked forward to an extra filled edition of my favorite cartoon on DVD. Season one of The Tick released this week and although its great to be able to watch them at my own pace the DVD's are a bit disappointing.
Disappointment 1: This is not the complete season one. Episode 11, The Tick Vs. The Molemen was left out for some reason. Speculative reasons behind omitting E. 11 were that the episode was "weak" and that they needed to fit them on two discs and couldn't with that extra episode. Personally I loved the episode and its parody of Cindy Crawford.. quite fun.
Disappointment 2: Nothing was done to improve the quality of the animation or sound. The quality is still good but it would have been nice to bump up the color or maybe get an improved audio m ix. However, the occasional color changes between the frames and other flaws add to the nostalgic feel of the show.
Disappointment 3: NO EXTRAS! I'm a a nerd and appreciate in-depth commentaries that give insight into the production. I'd love to hear Ben Edlund reminisce about what inspired characters and situations but I am denied that pleasure. No featurettes of any kind are on the discs. The only thing they give you is a Tick lithograph with a random fact about his suit on the back.
Aside from these three problems its great to have the series on DVD. One good thing about the lack of extras is that the price was kept low. Most of the time you'll buy a series on DVD and it will be 30-40 bucks but this one is available for 19.99 from Amazon.com and Target.com. In store at Target it will run you around 25 bucks.... Read more ›
Disappointment 1: This is not the complete season one. Episode 11, The Tick Vs. The Molemen was left out for some reason. Speculative reasons behind omitting E. 11 were that the episode was "weak" and that they needed to fit them on two discs and couldn't with that extra episode. Personally I loved the episode and its parody of Cindy Crawford.. quite fun.
Disappointment 2: Nothing was done to improve the quality of the animation or sound. The quality is still good but it would have been nice to bump up the color or maybe get an improved audio m ix. However, the occasional color changes between the frames and other flaws add to the nostalgic feel of the show.
Disappointment 3: NO EXTRAS! I'm a a nerd and appreciate in-depth commentaries that give insight into the production. I'd love to hear Ben Edlund reminisce about what inspired characters and situations but I am denied that pleasure. No featurettes of any kind are on the discs. The only thing they give you is a Tick lithograph with a random fact about his suit on the back.
Aside from these three problems its great to have the series on DVD. One good thing about the lack of extras is that the price was kept low. Most of the time you'll buy a series on DVD and it will be 30-40 bucks but this one is available for 19.99 from Amazon.com and Target.com. In store at Target it will run you around 25 bucks.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some of the best surreal TV in history
I've always loved The Tick, but hadn't watched the series in years.
It's better than I'd remembered. Read more
It's better than I'd remembered. Read more
Published 2 months ago by John Aaron
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best entertainment bang for your buck!!!
The Tick!!! The best of the best cartoon entertainment. Great for kids. Great for adults and all ages in between. Do yourself a favor and acquire The Tick. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Nancy Jean Rose
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love the Tick
This show is so silly. It is one of my favorite cartoons of all time. If you like puns, sarcasm and something silly, this is for you.
Published 4 months ago by CYNTHIA A SILVA
5.0 out of 5 stars
Served the purpose
one of our better buys, we'd do it again if the opportunity presented itself; we're very satisfied with the product
Published 4 months ago by Joseph J. Doane
5.0 out of 5 stars
yaay
this is a fun cartoon the charactors are zany and smart why they stopped after two seasons i'll never know
Published 5 months ago by salvationforus
5.0 out of 5 stars
Purchased as a gift
Great gift for brother! He got both for the holidays, and they played well first time out of the box.
Published 6 months ago by Mermaid
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious!
Most of these episodes just get funnier each time I watch them, although a few of the characters here and there get tiresome quickly. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Maestro
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Original Seres
The Tick: The Animated Series is an American animated television series adaptation of the New England Comics superhero, The Tick. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Kable
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost but not Quite
I love these cartoons as a child and still now as an adult. I was so happy that they were finally released on DVD. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Corbie&SwisherStudios
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poor US
Oh dear, woz gona buy these coz i liked the cover art but cant seem to find series 3? I got my set in uk instead, nice box, all seasons and ALL episodes.The Tick Vs. Season One
Published on February 28, 2011 by Helen Sangster
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