THE TICK "Pilot"

By: SONIA MANSFIELD
Date: Thursday, November 08, 2001

THE TICK is the funniest show of the TV season.

It's witty.

It's hilarious.

It's strange.

It's completely loopy.

It's doomed.

Come on, a show this good will never catch on. They never do. Remember SPORTS NIGHT? How about ACTION? I rest my case.

Not only is THE TICK premiering tonight at 8:30 p.m. on Fox too good for this world, it's on opposite SURVIVOR: AFRICA and NBC's "Must-See TV" line-up. I can only hope that viewers, who are too lazy most of the time to change the channel, decide to stray from their normal TV-watching habits and check out THE TICK.

So anyway, let me break it down: Based on the comic book-turned-cartoon, this live-action version of THE TICK stars Patrick Warburton (probably best known as Puddy on SEINFELD) as a blue avenger known as the Tick. Sure, he's not the brightest superhero. He says things that don't make sense, and often can't make sense of what people are saying to him, but he's ready to "spread his creamy justice all over the nooks and crannies of The City." He's a big, dense, clumsy, lovable lug and Warburton plays him to perfection. In fact, he might just be Puddy in a blue, latex suit. I'll have to be on the look out for a Jesus fish on his car.

The Tick teams up with Arthur

(David Burke), who just left his job as an accountant so he can pursue being a superhero full-time. Arthur's superhero hook is he's supposed to be some sort of moth-man, who can fly. Instead, he looks like a bunny, and he tends to fall off rooftops a lot. He's often plagued with insecurity about his decision to become a superhero, but the Tick reminds him that he needs to "squeeze the milk of life into a dirty glass and drink it warm."

One of the show's running gags is the fact that the Tick and Arthur are a great team, but people often mistake their partnership for more. They finish each other's sentences, eat off each other's plate, etc. They are this close to becoming a live-action version of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE's Ambiguously Gay Duo.

So anyway, this dynamic duo doesn't work alone. There's also Captain Liberty (Liz Vassey), a top government agent assigned to fight super villainy. When she's not fighting evil, she's concerned about living her life alone and other single-woman issues. (One day, while she's feeling particularly lonely, she buys a puppy from a pet shop called Woof, There It Is.) She's the Ally McBeal of crime fighting, but not as skinny.

She's also got an on-again, off-again thing going on with Bat Manuel (Nestor Carbonell), a Latin lover/crime-fighter who seems to spend most of his time "saving" supermodels, sometimes twice in one night, as he likes to brag.

Together, this league of superheroes sometimes fights evil, but most of the time hangs out at the local Chinese food restaurant, The Lonely Panda, talking about nothing. The show is just SEINFELD in latex and tights.

I fear that The Tick might be too weird for the public at large, but I think it will be embraced by genre TV lovers - the same people who have memorized every episode of THE SIMPSONS and worship BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. These viewers are more open to shows outside the normal joke to laugh-track set-up.

Let me just say that if TV viewers are looking to escape for a little while and forget the current state of affairs in this country, then THE TICK is a much better option than watching FRIENDS or whatever is on after FRIENDS. THE TICK isn't based in any kind of reality at all.

So, vote SURVIVOR off the screen. Tell NBC's "Must-See TV" line-up you'll see them later. THE TICK is the funniest show of the TV season. Give it a chance. If you could see me right now, you'd see me on my knees begging you to watch this show. I'm trying to be the superhero here, and save this show from the evil clutches of cancellation.

THE TICK - "Pilot"

Grade: A

Reviewed Format: TV Show Series Premiere

Network: Fox

Original Airdate: November 8, 2001; 8:30 p.m. EST

Cast: Patrick Warburton, David Burke, Liz Vassey, Nestor Carbonell

Creator: Ben Edlund

Writer: Ben Edlund

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld