Amazon released the second half of the first season of The Tick a couple months ago, but I just got around to watching it. All my criticisms from the pilot and season 0.5 continue to hold true, only much more so. The writers seem to be attempting to solve the jarring juxtaposition of camp and depressing bleakness by throwing the camp out the window and going full dark. The lighthearted fun of the pilot and first half of the season is mostly gone, and all we’re left with is yet another grim, supposedly edgy superhero show.
This is due, in large part, to the introduction of too many new characters. The need to juggle so many characters and subplots severely limits the screen time for any one person. The worst offender here is The Terror (Jackie Earle Haley). Limited to a few flashbacks in the first half, he becomes the main focal point in the second half, and the show suffers because of it. He’s too graphically violent for a comedy or spoof and, at the same time, too ridiculous for a serious show. Watching him quickly becomes an irritating chore, and he’s on screen a lot.
Jackie Earle Haley. IMDb.com
Sadly, the biggest casualty is the Tick (Peter Serafinowicz) himself. Easily the best part of the earlier episodes, he becomes a minor footnote in his own show during the later ones. Arthur (Griffin Newman), Overkill (Scott Speiser), and a couple new characters are the major focus on the protagonist side. The Tick is pushed into the background, and without him to hold the comedy end up, any sense of fun the show had evaporates. Arthur’s sister Dot (Valorie Curry), the one other saving grace of the early season, is also largely relegated to the sidelines.
Valorie Curry. IMDb.com.
The attempts at humor fail miserably, even as black comedy. I don’t think I laughed once during any of the final 6 episodes. The writers’ attempts to create a bizarre spoof come across as a Kafkaesque nightmare. Overall, it’s tone is similar to Gremlins, but it’s darker and less funny, if you can believe that.
A second season the The Tick has been announced, with the premiere likely to happen some time in 2019. I’m probably going to skip it.
Overall rating: 3/10