The Tick Vs. Season One

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre animated Starring Townsend Coleman, Micky Dolenz, Rob Paulsen, Cam Clarke, Kay Lenz Directed by Henry Tucker, Art Vitello Publisher Buena Vista Home Entertainment External Links Official Buena Vista Home Entertainment Website

In 1986, fellow comic book nerd Ben Edlund created a mascot for the New England Comics retail store in Boston. Little did he, nor did anybody in this Universe, know that this brawny, tentacle-sporting superhero would become the focal point of a highly-popular animated television series as well as a short-lived but well-received live action show. From 1994 to 1997, The Tick was one of the best damn cartoons on the planet. It was zany, original and loaded with quotable dialogue.

For those who are unaware of this cartoon of godly proportions, The Tick was about a 7-foot, 400 lb, square jawed superhero named...uh...The Tick, who was more or less a spoof on Adam West's Batman. Since his powers are a tad bit hazardous to everyone's health, the Superhero Commission sends The Tick to..."The City." No, really, that what its called. Apparently, the City is the place where the Commission sends other rejected superheroes. So not only does the Tick and his stubby sidekick Arthur have to contend with the City's endless wave of crime, he also has to deal with other contending superheroes who vie to get to the job first.

This over-the-top but lighthearted Saturday morning classic has finally come to DVD. I'd have to say that the first season was my favorite; it contained many of the more memorable episodes and characters. Included in this set are "The Tick vs. Dinosaur Neil", "The Tick vs. The Idea Men" and my personal favorite, "The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale". When the show was on syndication, there were notable cuts and edits from the original source. Thankfully, each episode on this two-disc set is left untouched and unscathed. Unfortunately, there is some bad news to report.

The first season of The Tick consisted of 12 episodes. Sadly, the set only contains 11 of them. The absent episode in question is "The Tick vs. The Mole Men." While I do say that its not exactly one of the best episodes of the series, its removal does the make the set feel a little curtailed. However, the reason for its absence is due to a legal issue and Buena Vista has declared that as soon as this dispute is settled, the episode will appear on a future DVD release. Don't get too excited yet, the trouble does not stop there.

I am ashamed at Buena Vista for putting absolutely no effort into any sort of supplements. That's right! There is not a single extra to behold within this DVD set. No commentaries! No featurettes! Not a damn thing! For such a good show, you would think that they would let the creators, the writers or the cast members give us some insight!

Upon receiving this DVD, I was set to give it a raving evaluation. Alas, a missing episode and a complete lack of extras puts some hurting on the final score. Don't get me wrong, I love The Tick and I am very eager to picking up Season 2, but this DVD could've had a little more effort.