It's a bird, it's a plane, it's -- wait what is that weird-looking blue thing? Before you reach for the nearest flyswatter, tune in for "The Tick," Fox's new comedy about an insect qua superhero whose laid-back approach to crime-fighting is anything but ordinary. This mysterious arthropod of justice leaps from rooftop to rooftop defending a city known as "The City." His innocent -- and ignorant -- understanding of the workings of the world fails to stop this caped-crusader.
"The Tick" immediately caught my attention because it's not about a) teenagers battling the perils of high school, b) single 30-somethings with high-paying jobs and incredibly active sex lives or c) one million ways to risk your life to win a million dollars. For some reason, the idea of a crazy man with antennas in blue tights jumping off buildings and battling crime with an accountant dressed as a flea who thinks it's his destiny to save the world from evil, really appealed to me.
One thing that the show definitely has going for it is its originality. But is that enough? Will people actually want to watch such a daring, unconventional program?
The show stars Seinfeld veteran -- remember Elaine's boyfriend Puddy? -- Patrick Warburton as the Tick. From his absurd metaphors ("Life is your chance, Arthur! Grab it! Squeeze the milk of life into your dirty glass and drink it warm!") to his surprisingly passive approach to battling evil -- and not to forget that perpetually confused yet confident look on his face -- Warburton definitely has his own unique style and makes his title character completely his own.
In the opening scene, the Tick meets his first opponent: the vending machine in an intense battle of wits that may not be appropriate for those little tikes. As he pushes the machine against the bus station wall, this bright blue manchild yells boldly, "Armless bandit! Empty your bladder of that bitter black urine men call coffee! It has its price and that price has been paid! Java devil, you are now my bitch!" and then proceeds to give an innocent man his coffee. "Well, here you are, weary traveler," he tells the man, "one steaming hot cup of justice!"
After fixing the coffee machine, the Tick decides his duties at the bus station are complete, so he journeys to The City to fulfill his destiny. "Well, destiny honks the horn of gotta go," he so eloquently states as he departs.
Puns are ubiquitous in the pilot episode and, if you can focus your attention away from the fact that you are spending valuable time watching a wacko in a tight blue suit and his messed-up superhero friends, you'll notice that many of the lines are extremely witty and intelligent. My fear, however, is that a lot of the humor is too esoteric for the average prime-time Fox viewer.
Along the way, he meets fellow superduds BatManuel and Captain Liberty, who would rather lock lips than lock up criminals. The suave Batmanuel is a self-promoting "Rico-suave" whose character is a real parody of the Latino stereotype, and Captain Liberty does a good job of representing the single, neurotic female stock character who likes to put him in his place (when's she's not passionately embracing him that is). When he first meets Batmanuel, Arthur recognizes him as the one who saved the bus full of supermodels.
The Tick also meets his soon-to-be sidekick, Arthur, who, at the start of this week's installment, quits his job as an accountant to follow his destiny as a fighting flea.
The Tick and company also set out to destroy an evil robot, appropriately named "The Red Scare," programmed to kill ex-President Jimmy Carter. The Tick, along with sidekick Arthur, battle and eventually destroy the ex-President-killing machine while trying to calm down a nervous Jimmy Carter whose head, according to the Tick, is "remarkably spry."
Neither the outrageous characters nor the unconventional plot mimicks those that have come before; the show is truly one of a kind. But will it last? Or will it follow in the footsteps of other failed ventures by Seinfeld alumni like last-year's "The Michael Richards Show" or this season's already-cancelled "Bob Patterson?"
Such a preposterous and daring "out-there" plot can only do one of two things; it can be a big hit and amass a cult following (like the hilariously honest "Seinfeld" or the unconventional comedy "Will and Grace") or it can completely miss its target audience and join the television Hall of Shame along with such notable failures as "Emerill" and "Daddio." While the witty puns and the sincerely ridiculous acting give the show the potential to stick, if the television public doesn't immediately catch on, not even our favorite blue-suited insect will be able to save the show from its inevitable doom.
