One of the last channels I expected to watch after the upgrade was “Toon Disney.” But I discovered tonight that on Saturday nights (at least), the channel has reruns of one of my all-time favorite animated shows: “The Tick.”
“The Tick,” a superhero satire which seems really more aimed at adults than children, was even made into a short-lived (but also quite funny) live-action series, starring Patrick Warburton in the title role. At its peak, the animated version ran both during the Fox network’s weekend children’s programming and on Comedy Central in prime time. The approach of the humor is really very similar to one of my favorite shows on Adult Swim, “The Venture Brothers,” except that “The Venture Brothers” is a little edgier.
The big blue title character and his sidekick, the moth-suited nebbish Arthur, battle villains like Chairface Chippendale (who, literally, has a wooden chair for a head) or an invading Swiss army equipped with five-foot-long Swiss Army Knives. They can be a little clueless, and so at times the Wonder Woman parody American Maid must come to their rescue.
I see on the TV listings at MyWay that the show is running not only on Toon Disney but on its sister channel ABC Family as well. If you have a TiVo or other DVR that allows you to watch for your favorite shows, find this and check out an episode or two.