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    Soylent GreenJohn Hugar
    2/24/18 8:51am

    How great was that gag where the Terror’s escape pod was shaped like a lower-case “t?” That feels like a bit straight out of the ‘90s cartoon.

    It’s stuff like that that really makes this show work for me.

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      hammy watersSoylent Green
      2/24/18 12:01pm

      I thought it was like something out of The Electric Company. I agree it was a funny bit.

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      L.S. DogSoylent Green
      2/24/18 12:20pm

      As much as I love this show, the escape pod gag may be the only time I nearly had to pause the episode until I stopped laughing. I can’t even explain why that struck me as so damn funny.

      Maybe because the comedy largely tapered off in favor of drama by the end of the season. (my one major complaint with the season)

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    misterbonesJohn Hugar
    2/25/18 11:56am

    No mention of Walter’s “I know that sound?” Between that and his ass-kicking skills, it’s pretty obvious that he’s had previous run-ins with The Terror. Whether that means he’s a former AEGIS agent or superhero, not sure. But it’s significant, and I love it. I like Walter.

    This second half of the season was a lot of fun. I binged it in an afternoon, and now I’m desperate for it to come back. It’s like a savory snack in the form of a TV show.

    Superian’s not such a good dude, I suppose?

    Lastly, am I the only one impressed at the effects on Midnight? I’ve seen worse talking-dog fx on big screen movies. They nailed it. Looked only slightly goofy but in the way that a talking dog would look.

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      The Amazing Potatomisterbones
      2/25/18 5:06pm

      Some of the fx were pretty ropey but Midnight always looked really good!

      I wonder if Walter’s stream of consciousness is a side effect of some physical trauma he experienced as a hero/agent?

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      aucartermisterbones
      2/25/18 6:02pm

      Yeah! What’s going on with Walter?

      I feel like he’s just “Clark Kent-ing” it full-time now. And only let “Superman” out to protect his wife.

      I really NEED to know about Walter!

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    Belly Button Lint ConnoisseurJohn Hugar
    2/24/18 12:54pm

    This seems like a silly show to be getting into crazy fan theories about, but at the end of the first season, I’m left questioning whether or not Superion is really as great as society has made him out to be.

    The Terror makes a comment about how he’s not trying to take over the world, but rather he’s trying to take it back. And immediately after that, he is frozen by Superion.

    That being said, he might have been referring to the AEGIS drones that were ominously following Arthur at The Tick at the end of the episode.

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      GG Tim AllinBelly Button Lint Connoisseur
      2/24/18 1:33pm

      I read that as an on the nose “Take our country back!” nod. Maybe it’s just me.

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      txtphileBelly Button Lint Connoisseur
      2/24/18 5:24pm

      A couple things:

      Superian came to Earth in some sort of craft made from big bismuth (instead of it following behind him, like our other favorite ubermensch) suggesting a prison instead of escape pod

      Superian said himself, while recovering from the bismuth, that he wanted to be a good person, subtly hinting that maybe he wasn’t such a good person in the past.

      That is to say, I think Superian might be more General Zod than Superman. Or I could be completely wrong.

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    The Shape of Pkunk to ComeJohn Hugar
    2/24/18 3:13am

    What’s the point of just dumping these reviews all at once in the middle of the night?

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      Van Gogh's Good EarThe Shape of Pkunk to Come
      2/24/18 7:00am

      I was wondering the same thing............

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      Soylent GreenThe Shape of Pkunk to Come
      2/24/18 8:16am

      The cynic in me says it’s so the editors can say, “well, we just didn’t get the reader engagement to justify covering it” when we learn they aren’t covering Season 2.

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    madame curieJohn Hugar
    2/24/18 5:59pm

    Walter didn’t fight off the minions with Arthur, they fought them separately and then Walter lied about having anything to do about it, “I thought you did that”. seems like a lot of little plot things were missed in these reviews in the rush to get them out. this show is really funny and cool, IMO best show on Amazon Prime, and I feel like you didn’t take enough time to digest the episodes because there was a rush to put the reviews out. I enjoyed your reviews and thoughts throughout season 1A, so why the rush for season 1B? the first half had a review every few days, that pace would’ve been fine for the second half.

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      Drinky the Drunk Guymadame curie
      3/02/18 11:25am

      “Maybe they turned on each other!?”

      That line slayed me!

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    Brock TuneJohn Hugar
    2/24/18 3:23am

    I really want to like this show but I come away from it mostly feeling like its just “fine.” There are some good gags, but overall it doesn’t really go for the humor as much as I had hoped it would, and the plot and character arcs they’re developing are fine, but not terribly involving or resonant. I have no emotion when they cut to an earnest montage with sentimental music that seems to be completely un-ironic. Generally, while I can appreciate the world building, I don’t really care that much about it. I’m not entirely sour on the show though and will come back for the second season, but I hope the second season is more of a comedy than this first season was.

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      Soylent GreenBrock Tune
      2/24/18 8:44am

      I thought it had a good mix of comedy, action, and drama, although most of the gags and Tick-based insanity seemed to drop off a bit in the second half. I think that was necessitated by the story approaching it’s climax.

      I do think The Tick himself was pushed aside a little too much in the second half. I get that Arthur’s really the main character here, but us it too much to ask that The Tick feature more of The Tick?

      I hope season two focuses more on the relationship between Big Blue and his still-grappling-with-what-it-means-to-be-a-hero partner.

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      hammy watersSoylent Green
      2/24/18 12:27pm

      I liked it a lot, but it did struggle with inconsistencies. The biggest was Arthur’s early mental issues and the suggestion that The Tick was his creation, and I’m glad they walked away from that. I thought the occasional heavy violence, like the throat cutting scene, and the sometimes gratuitous swearing didn’t work - that’s better for Deadpool than here. The dialogue sometimes had great banter but other times seemed to be slow and just filling up time.

      Still, I liked it a lot. The acting was great. Serafinowicz did a great job, and I liked Yara Martinez and Scott Speiser a great deal. I thought Jackie Earle Haley took a while, but by the end he was tremendous as The Terror.

      And despite some flat spots, it had a lot of great bits - Tinfoil Kevin, The VLM, Dangerboat, Tick’s robot identity, and plenty of other scenes were hilarious. I hope they work out the identity of the show because it could be great.

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    noturtlesJohn Hugar
    2/25/18 3:24pm

    I like this show. This version of The Tick reminds me a bit of The Venture Bros, though it takes the “jobs” of superheroism and supervillany a bit more seriously.

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    thescottJohn Hugar
    2/25/18 2:55pm

    I really loved this, even as someone who’s been following The Tick in its every form from the beginning.

    A few things:

    This version seems to take the view that Arthur is the superhero and The Tick is his sidekick, not the other way around.

    Are Dot and Overkill going to be this show’s rounding out of the group of four, ala American Maid and Die Fledermaus/Captain Liberty and Batmanuel? I kept expecting Miss Lint to turn and join the group, which well still may happen, but I also like the suggestion that she might be some Catwoman-ish player between hero and villain in the future.

    The lowercase t escape pod was a great gag.

    Walter is surely either a retired super or AEGIS agent.

    Superian will maybe be next season’s villain? The Terror is obviously evil, but maybe his intentions aren’t entirely ill in trying to destroy Superian.

    I fanboyed at the very subtle callbacks to previous The Tick incarnations sprinkled throughout—Townsend Coleman as Midnight with The Tick noting what a beautiful voice he has; the alarm buzzer; “Spoon!”; Arthur muttering “Not in the face, not in the face”. And I’m sure there were many more that I didn’t catch on first viewing. It was very well done—funny asides for those in the know, but not distracting to those who aren’t or don’t care.

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      Soylent Greenthescott
      2/25/18 3:52pm

      I missed “not in the face!” That’s one of my favorite bits from the cartoon.

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    Soylent GreenJohn Hugar
    2/24/18 8:21am

    I thought a lot of Superian’s aloofness came from the low-level Big Bismuth poisoning he had suffered due to his efforts to keep VLM away from The City.

    Speaking of which, in an earlier review you referred to The City as New York. I know they filmed the season there, and I know New Yorkers often refer to it as “the city,” but is this version of The Tick officially set in NYC?

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      SktroopSoylent Green
      2/24/18 11:13am

      Traditionally, Tick is set in The City. No actual real location is ever mentioned or referenced.

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    txtphileJohn Hugar
    2/24/18 5:41pm

    I forgot this show even existed. Watched the pilot when it came out two(?) years ago and I wasn’t super (heh) impressed. But after devouring the finished product, I’m glad to say I was wrong. It’s been like 25 years, but it might live up to the memory of my all-time favorite comic book.

    PS: I know the actor isn’t Japanese, but is there a chance that Walter is Paul the Samurai!? Will we get some wacky ninjas? Ah, ridiculous nostalgia...

    PPS: spoon!

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