The Tick: Thoughts on the Amazon Pilot

The Tick

Created by Ben Edlund
Starring Peter Serafinowicz, Griffin Newman, Valorie Curry

Review by Robert Coffil

Amazon recently finished its pilot season and ended up greenlighting quite a few new series. Chief among them is a reboot of fan-favourite The Tick. Now, I only have passing familiarity with this character. I watched The Tick: The Animated Series as child, but I couldn’t tell you a thing about it that stuck with me. I do remember playing the SNES game for hours on end. I remember a live action series headlined by Patrick Warburton, but I’ll admit I didn’t watch that series when it aired.

After watching the new pilot, I have to say that Ben Edlund, the creator of the character, must be the luckiest guy in the world. Not only has he received a third chance at getting his series on the air, but this time might be the one where it sticks because The Tick has struck gold with this Amazon iteration.

Even though the title of the show is The Tick, it’s the character of Arthur who takes centre stage as the heart and centre of the series. Griffin Newman does a good job of bringing this character to life, displaying a fully emotive range. Arthur is a man trying to reintegrate back into society. After a troubled childhood, Arthur has some unsolved questions he just can’t let go. His sister Dot (Valorie Curry) is the person who keeps Arthur from descending into conspiratorial madness, but even she can’t stop him at every turn.

This version of the Tick is played as a square jawed hero with a loose screw or two. He doesn’t have the brains to take down organised crime, but he certainly has the brawn. Arthur and the Tick seem to be the perfect combo in the making. Newman’s interactions with Peter Serafinowicz’s Tick are spectacularly fun to watch.

Unlike previous stabs at the show, Edlund has said in an interview with Polygon, “what the previous shows lacked was a dramatic element, a human element, that this version of the series definitely made up for.” We live in a ‘geek chic’ era. A less satirical look at the superhero genre will be well received given that some of the biggest movies, and TV shows coming out nowadays are based on comics.

The Verdict:

Watch It! I enjoyed the Amazon pilot. It set up a great premise that I look forward to seeing continue. What streaming networks give creators is the freedom to tell a story without pressure of ratings. Given that a streaming network like Amazon doesn’t have to worry about revenue from commercials, they receive a set amount of money because of subscriptions, there is less pressure about who is watching it and there can be more focus on how it is received. I definitely think that approach works for The Tick and will help it become the best it can be.