(Minor spoilers)
As Whoopi puts it… “People be cray cray” and that statement holds true in a world where superheroes & villains have roamed around for decades. Now I never really watched the old The Tick show so I wasn’t really sure on what I’d be getting into. I knew the old one was kind of a comedy superhero satire or at least that’s what I heard, and I knew Patrick Warburton was The Tick. I wasn’t even aware they got a new Tick, but more on him later. Either way I was’t sure what to expect but I did expect something, I assumed The Tick would have a reputation that it would try to live up to and I believe it succeeded, not without a few bumps and bruises but it got the job done like a true superhero does.

Amazon’s The Tick pilot is one of the few pilots during this Amazon pilot season that subscribers get to take a peek at. The Tick is a reboot of The Tick show/comic/cartoon (the show starred Patrick Warburton) and it’s written by the original creator Ben Edlund. The pilot is directed by Wally Pfister, director of Transcendence and cinematographer of The Dark Knight trilogy. The Tick stars Griffin Newman as future side kick extraordinaire Arthur, and of course Peter Serafinowicz (aka European horn-dog from Spy, or Denarian Saal from Guardians of the Galaxy) as The Tick.

Warburton most likely had some big shoes to fill and for what its worth (as someone who never saw the original show) I think Serafinowicz does a fairly decent job. His speeches are pretty funny and he carries himself like a superhero should. Serafinowicz has a solid presence and is enjoyable to watch as the blue hero who apparently has the strength of “a bus stop full of men”. Unfortunately the pilot keeps him a little close to the chest. We don’t get to spend too much time with him and we’re left wanting more. On the one hand its good that we want more, on the other hand for a pilot it felt a little lacking and I think a little more of The Tick would have done the trick.

Arthur’s history and really his whole character is a bit corny but I get the feeling it’s more of a joke of the corny nature of the superhero genre in general. I’d liked to see how he turns out, and I’d like to know what’s up with his EMT pal Dot, played by Valorie Curry.

Then we have Jackie Earle Haley as The Terror, the ultimate villain in the world of The Tick. He also happened to indirectly murder Arthur’s dad by blinding a group of superheroes using some mutated form of syphilis… which I can’t deny was pretty funny. I’m not sure what his deal will end up being but I hope they don’t underuse Jackie Earle Haley’s awesome acting abilities.

The episode ended on a couple of enjoyable moments (including The Tick monologuing to himself) leaving me with a yearning for more Tick, Arthur, Terror, and Whoopi. I’m not sure what the deal is with Amazon’s pilot season and if this show is guaranteed a season or if it’s future depends on the ratings and reviews. I’m hoping we’ll get to see at least another nine episodes soon so Amazon, give ‘em a shot.

The Tick pilot gets… 3.5/5 stars

If you liked The Tick, or didn’t like The Tick, please feel free to leave a comment, and thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: Snagged from idigitaltimes.com