The Tick: Vs. Season One

If there's a better superhero sendup than this animated series, which aired on Fox primetime from 1994-1997, I've yet to discover it. Based on Ben Edlund's underground cult-favorite comic, these are the adventures of a mighty blue—and mighty dumb—masked avenger known only as The Tick, who protects The City from Evil, which comes in many forms. Like Chairface Chippendale, whose head is a chair and whose evil plans include a scheme to graffiti his name across the moon. And then there's Die Fledermaus, who is actually a Good Guy (and a riotous parody of Batman), but is frequently his own, and The Tick's, worst enemy. The Tick is ably assisted, in his nightly swath of destruction across The City, by Arthur (the voice of former Monkee Micky Dolenz in these first-season episodes), a mild-mannered accountant turned super moth...though his moth-suit antennae frequently are mistaken for giant bunny ears. Words cannot do justice to the series' wild humor and expansive exuberance, but perhaps this offers a hint of explanation of the show's continuing appeal: episode 11, “The Tick vs. The Mole Men,” is missing from this set due to mysterious “creative considerations” that, the Internet rumor mill has it, are connected to a certain megacelebrity's displeasure with how she is satirized in that particular installment (okay, it's Cindy Crawford). Also missing, unfortunately: any DVD extras. Still, the show is grand entertainment enough. Compiling 12 of the first season's 13 episodes, this is highly recommended. (M. Johanson)