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Episodes Disc One: “Pilot”, “The Terror”, “Arthur Interrupted”, “The License”, “Arthur Needs Space”, “Couples”
Episodes
Disc Two: “The Funeral”, “The Tick Vs. Justice”, and “The Big
Leagues”
Stars:
Patrick Warburton, David Burke, Nestor Carbonnell, and Liz Vassey
Guest
Stars: Christopher Lloyd, Dave Foley, and Ron Perlman
Writers:
Ben Edlund, Richard Liebmann-Smith, Larry Charles, David Sacks, Ross Venokur,
Christopher McCulloch, and Lon Diamond
Directors:
Barry Sonnenfeld, Boris Damast, Dean Parisot, Craig Zisk, Bo Welch, Danny Leiner,
Andrew Tsao, and Mel Damski
Created
By: Ben Edlund
Executive
Producers: Barry Sonnenfeld, Barry Josephson, Larry Charles, Ben Edlund, and
David Sacks
Feature
length: 201 minutes
Extras:
Select Episode Commentaries and Trailers
Languages:
English Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions
Packaging:
Double-Disc Amaray Keep Case
Sound:
Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2001-2002/DVD Release: 2003
Home
Video Distributor: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
I
used to catch episodes of the animated series “The Tick” occasionally on
Saturday mornings back when I was in college. Unfortunately I never caught the
live action series when it ran on Fox and actually have only had the chance to
see the 9 produced episodes that make up the entire series in Columbia TriStar
Home Entertainment’s recently released 2-disc set. “The Tick” (Patrick
Warburton) is a big buffoon of a superhero, but a loveable and innocent lug at
the same time that truly does his best to fight for justice and usually
inadvertently succeeds in saving the day. His sidekick Arthur (David Burke) was
an accountant, but now is perhaps the saner side of the duo despite his moth
suit that looks more like a rabbit. Assisting them in their off hours in between
keeping the streets safe are Batmanuel (Nestor Carbonnell) and Captain Liberty
(Liz Vassey), who have there own somewhat strange relationship somewhere between
bickering colleagues and semi-intimate friends. As Director and Executive
Producer Barry Sonnenfeld and Series Creator, Writer, and Executive Producer Ben
Edlund state in their respective episode length commentaries, the series is more
about the time our satirical characters spend their lives outside of crime
fighting than it is about crime fighting.
Barry
Sonnenfeld provides a feature length commentary for the series “Pilot” while
Ben Edlund provides episode length commentaries for “Arthur Interrupted”,
“”Couples” and “The Tick Vs. Justice.” The commentaries by Edlund are
quite good with rather serious discussion of the characters and series and what
he had hoped the series would develop into had it not been cancelled before
it’s time. Sonnenfeld’s commentary is more screen specific, but not
technical. Collectively they add a nice thoughtful touch to this DVD
presentation of one of the most requested TV on DVD series to be released by
Columbia TriStar this year. Personally I think the series might have taken off
better if Fox advertised it as something more for the college crowd since I
discovered the animated series while I was in college and found it quite
humorous despite the fact it was marketed as a part of a Saturday morning
animated kids’ lineup. I also found the series to be somewhat reminiscent of
the feature film adaptation of “Mystery Men,” which had various
“wanna-be” super heroes struggling for legitimacy in a city where the main
respected hero has long since sold out to advertisers and a dangerous super
villain is on the loose. If you have not seen “Mystery Men,” I recommend
renting it out especially if you like “The Tick.” They make for a good
double feature of DVD programming.
All
9 episodes within “The Tick: The Entire Series” are presented in their
anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio and the stylized world of “The
Tick” truly comes to life almost like a theatrical feature on this DVD. The
picture quality is quite solid with a nice mix of vibrant colors and darker
earth tones. A clear and well-mixed English Dolby Surround Soundtrack is
provided along with optional English Closed Captions for the hearing impaired.
The average episode length is about 22 ½ minutes and the episodes can be viewed
individually or as one reel on each disc. The first DVD is dual layered while
the second is single layered. Both discs come housed in a “Tick” blue
single-sized two-disc Amaray keep case that fits in handsomely in one’s DVD
library.
Bonus
theatrical trailers with full 5.1 Surround Sound are provided on the second disc
and include “Bad Boys II” (2:11), “Men In Black” (1:44), and “Men In
Black II (2:09) along with an advertisement for “The King Of Queens” (: 58)
and Columbia TriStar TV on DVD promos for action shows (1:50) and comedy series
(2:05). The menus are well rendered with the episode selections made to look
like the pages of a comic book. The menus are all standard interactive still
frames with the show’s theme music playing over the main menu and are all easy
to navigate.
One
thing is for certain; they could not have picked a better guy to play “The
Tick” than Patrick Warburton. If you are familiar with the animated series and
have not yet seen the live action series then you just have to see it for
yourself. Sonnenfeld says in his commentary that he is very proud of the series
to a point that he hopes if enough DVD sets are sold maybe a feature length film
can be produced. So go online or to your local retailer and pickup a copy of
“The Tick: The Entire Series,” which is available on DVD-Video now from
Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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