Peter Serafinowicz might havethethankless title role of this TV year.
AsThe Ticks Tick, hes mod-podged into a bright blue uniform.
This isnt one of those fancy, functional, mesh-and-basketball-material super-suits.
Credit: Jessica Miglio/Amazon Prime Video
First, let me begin by thanking Serafinowicz profusely.
Well cross that bridge after weve burned it!
he might intone, or I broke a few eggs, but the omelet ishuge!
But the characters never come to life for me as vividly as he does the moment Serafinowicz walks onscreen.
And execution matters a lot for the newTickseries.
Theres a long history of comedic riffing on superheroes, and a longer history of archetype-deconstructing meta-sagas.
Edlund was still a teenager in the 80s when he came up with the character.
Most recently, he was a writer forPowersandGotham.
Those were two attempts at putting a new spin on the superhero saga.
When the show begins, were following loner sadsack Arthur (Griffin Newman).
Initially, you think Arthurs sad backstory is merely a reference to every sad hero backstory.
(His father died on the outskirts of a long-ago supervillain fight.)
The Tick appears, seemingly out of nowhere, and begins following Arthur everywhere.
Yes, the pilot episode ofThe Tickis so completely a superpowered riff onMr.
Robotthat I initially hesitated to even call it a parody.
Part of the problem with a self-aware superhero story is thateverysuperhero story now is self-aware.
Robert Downey Jr. turned Iron Man into a snarkbot peddling commentary on superhero tropes long beforeDeadpool.
The latest trailer forJustice Leagueclimaxeswith the kind of Batman Vanishing gag thatviral comedy videoswere rocking last decade.
But so far,The Tickworks.
Maybe its because Edlund has grown up over the last three decades as a creatorandconsumer of superhero stories.
Or maybe its because Edlund and his collaborators have found the just-right mix of dark humor and inventive world-building.
The ensemble swells quickly.
Theres Ms. Lint (Yara Martinez), a henchman without a villain to believe in.
Wouldnt be surprised, slash I hope so.
Six episodes in, Arthurs journey of self-discovery starts to lose my interest.
But although I like Newmans everyguy-in-a-mad-world performance, theres some recognizable notes of origin fatigue.
But the gags, people, the gags!
Theres a talking superdog peddling a nihilistic self-help book on the morning show circuit.
Theres a superpower that flavors bad coffee with pumpkin spice.
Theres an exploration of bureaucracy in the world of superheroes that implies a whole separate David Simon-worthy spinoff.
Theres Serafinowicz, a true delight.
