kids encyclopedia robot

The Tick (1994 TV series) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
The Tick
The Tick 1994.png
Genre Superhero
Comedy
Satire
Created by Ben Edlund
Based on The Tick
by Ben Edlund
Starring Townsend Coleman
Voices of Micky Dolenz (1994–95)
Rob Paulsen (1995–96)
Cam Clarke
Kay Lenz
Jess Harnell
Composer(s) Doug Katsaros
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 36
Production
Executive producer(s) Joe Bacall
Tom Griffin
CJ Kettler
Producer(s) Hank Tucker
Running time 30 minutes (including commercials)
Production company(s) Sunbow Entertainment
Graz Entertainment
AKOM
Fox Children's Productions
Distributor 20th Television (formerly)
Saban International (currently)
Release
Original network Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox Kids)
Original release September 10, 1994 (1994-09-10) – November 24, 1996 (1996-11-24)

The Tick is an American animated TV show based on the funny superhero The Tick from New England Comics. This cartoon was shown for three seasons, from 1994 to 1996, on the Fox network's Fox Kids block. It helped many people discover The Tick character.

The Tick has also been shown on other TV channels, making its cult following even bigger. You could even buy it on VHS tapes and DVDs. Later, two live-action TV shows were made, one in 2001 and another by Amazon in 2016. The show was also aired in Canada on Teletoon and in the UK on BBC2.

The Story of The Tick

The Tick is a superhero who goes through special tryouts at the National Super Institute in Reno, Nevada. Superheroes who pass these tests get sent to the best cities to protect them from bad guys. After passing, The Tick is sent to The City. There, he becomes friends with Arthur, who used to be an accountant. Arthur then becomes The Tick's sidekick.

With help from other heroes like Die Fledermaus, American Maid, and Sewer Urchin, The Tick and Arthur keep The City safe. They fight against many villains, including Chairface Chippendale, Breadmaster, El Seed, and The Terror, who all want to cause trouble.

Meet the Voices Behind the Heroes

Many talented actors gave voices to the characters in The Tick.

Main Voice Actors

Episodes Guide

Series Overview

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 13 September 10, 1994 (1994-09-10) February 11, 1995 (1995-02-11)
2 13 September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09) February 17, 1996 (1996-02-17)
3 10 September 14, 1996 (1996-09-14) November 24, 1996 (1996-11-24)

Season 1 (1994–95)

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
1 "The Tick vs. The Idea Men" Sue Peters, John Kafka and Russel Mooney Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith September 10, 1994 (1994-09-10) 101

The Tick moves to The City and meets Arthur, convincing him to become his partner in fighting evil.

Villain: The Idea Men
2 "The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale" Sue Peters, John Kafka and Russel Mooney Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith September 17, 1994 (1994-09-17) 102

The Tick tries to stop Chairface Chippendale from writing his name on the moon with a giant heat ray.

Villain: Chairface Chippendale
3 "The Tick vs. Dinosaur Neil" Sue Peters, John Kafka and Russel Mooney Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith September 24, 1994 (1994-09-24) 103

A scientist named Dinosaur Neil accidentally turns into a giant dinosaur and causes chaos in The City.

Villain: Dinosaur Neil
4 "The Tick vs. Mr. Mental" Sue Peters, John Kafka and Russel Mooney Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith October 1, 1994 (1994-10-01) 104

The evil Mr. Mental controls The Tick's mind to steal a device called the Thinking Cap.

Villain: Mr. Mental
5 "The Tick vs. The Breadmaster" Sue Peters, John Kafka and Russel Mooney Ben Edlund, Richard Liebmann-Smith and Martin Pasko October 8, 1994 (1994-10-08) 105

The Breadmaster plans to cover The City with a giant lemon Soufflé.

Villain: Breadmaster
6 "The Tick vs. El Seed" Sue Peters Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith October 15, 1994 (1994-10-15) 106

El Seed uses his plant powers to get revenge on all animals. The Tick and Arthur team up with other heroes.

Villain: El Seed
7 "The Tick vs. The Tick" Art Vitello Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith October 22, 1994 (1994-10-22) 107

The Tick fights another hero who also calls himself "The Tick." Meanwhile, a bomber plans to blow up a club.

Villains: Barry "The Tick" Hubris and The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight
8 "The Tick vs. The Uncommon Cold" Art Vitello Henry Gilroy October 29, 1994 (1994-10-29) 108

The Tick gets a cold, making it hard to fight the alien Thrakkorzog, who wants to take over Earth with evil Tick clones.

Villain: Thrakkorzog
9 "The Tick vs. Brainchild" Art Vitello Art Vitello and Ben Edlund November 5, 1994 (1994-11-05) 109

Brainchild wants to use his Mega-Devastator Multi-Cannon to make a mark on the moon.

Villain: Brainchild
10 "The Tick vs. Pineapple Pokopo" Art Vitello Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith November 12, 1994 (1994-11-12) 110

The Tick, Arthur, and American Maid go to Pokoponesia to rescue a smart astronaut monkey from Pineapple Pokopo.

Villain: Pineapple Pokopo
11 "The Tick vs. The Mole-Men" Art Vitello Christopher McCulloch November 19, 1994 (1994-11-19) 111

The Tick and Arthur host a group of Mole-Men and their King.

Villain: Lava Man
12 "The Tick vs. The Proto-Clown" Art Vitello Henry Gilroy February 4, 1995 (1995-02-04) 112

The Tick and Arthur return to The City to find a genetically engineered Proto-Clown causing trouble.

Villain: Proto Clown
13 "The Tick vs. Arthur's Bank Account" Art Vitello Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith February 11, 1995 (1995-02-11) 113

The Terror tries to take over The City and meets The Tick for the first time. Villain: The Terror

Note This episode is where The Tick first says his famous catchphrase "Spoon!"

Season 2 (1995–96)

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
14 "The Little Wooden Boy and the Belly of Love" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09) 214
Arthur goes on a date, so The Tick builds a wooden sidekick. Meanwhile, spies are after a scientist's notebook.
15 "Alone Together" Hank Tucker Chris McCulloch September 16, 1995 (1995-09-16) 215
The Tick is sent to the moon to fix Chairface Chippendale's writing. He ends up flying through space on Omnipotus.
16 "Armless but Not Harmless" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith September 23, 1995 (1995-09-23) 216
The Tick and Arthur's arms are removed and used by the villains Venus and Milo.
17 "Coach Fussell's Lament" Hank Tucker Pippin Parker and Andy Yerkes September 30, 1995 (1995-09-30) 219
Brainchild uses The Mad Nanny to capture The Tick and turn him into a bird.
18 "Leonardo da Vinci and His Fightin' Genius Time Commandos!" Hank Tucker Michael Rubiner October 7, 1995 (1995-10-07) 218
A villain kidnaps famous inventors from history and tries to send the world back to the dark ages.
19 "Bloomsday" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith October 21, 1995 (1995-10-21) 220
El Seed returns with a new monster named Rosebud.
20 "Evil Sits Down for a Moment" Hank Tucker Jed Spingarn November 4, 1995 (1995-11-04) 221
The Ottoman tries to marry Die Fledermaus to take over The City together.
21 "Heroes" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Randolph Heard November 11, 1995 (1995-11-11) 222
A camera crew follows The Tick and Arthur as they fight crime for a day.
22 "Ants in Pants!" Hank Tucker Ralph Soll November 18, 1995 (1995-11-18) 223
The Tick checks into a superhero hospital, and a colony of ants captures other superheroes.
23 "The Tick Loves Santa!" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith November 25, 1995 (1995-11-25) 217
A bank robber dressed as Santa gets powers and becomes the evil Multiple Santa.
24 "Tick vs. The Big Nothing" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith February 3, 1996 (1996-02-03) 224
Aliens called The Whats kidnap The Tick and Arthur to stop their enemies, The Heys, from destroying the universe.
25 "Tick vs. Reno, Nevada" Hank Tucker Pippin Parker and Andy Yerkes February 10, 1996 (1996-02-10) 225
A former dolphin named The Fin plans to bury Reno. The Tick and Arthur come to help.
26 "Grandpa Wore Tights" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith February 17, 1996 (1996-02-17) 226
The aging villain The Terror sends his son to get back his Desire-O-Vac from the Decency Squad.

Season 3 (1996)

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
27 "That Mustache Feeling" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Christopher McCulloch September 14, 1996 (1996-09-14) 327
The Tick wakes up with a mustache that has a mind of its own, and Jim Rage is after it.
28 "Tick vs. Dot and Neil's Wedding" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith September 21, 1996 (1996-09-21) 329
Dot and Dinosaur Neil are getting married, but a new villain makes Neil turn into a dinosaur again.
29 "Sidekicks Don't Kiss" Hank Tucker Richard Liebmann-Smith and Christopher McCulloch September 28, 1996 (1996-09-28) 330
Arthur is kidnapped by the Deertown Aztecs. The Tick teams up with Carmelita to rescue him.
30 "Tick vs. Arthur" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith October 5, 1996 (1996-10-05) 332
Arthur finds a belt that makes his muscles bigger, but it also makes him challenge The Tick.
31 "Devil in Diapers" Hank Tucker Randolph Heard and Christopher McCulloch October 6, 1996 (1996-10-06) 328
Mr. Mental, disguised as a baby, hides in The Tick and Arthur's apartment while building a super-weapon.
32 "Tick vs. Filth" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith October 26, 1996 (1996-10-26) 331
The Tick and Arthur learn to respect Sewer Urchin as SewerCzar unleashes an army of intelligent Filth.
33 "Tick vs. Europe" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith
Story Concept by: Eric Stangel & Justin Stangel
November 2, 1996 (1996-11-02) 333
The Tick goes to Belgium for a superhero exchange program. He battles villains while Arthur deals with the Breadmaster.
34 "Tick vs. Science" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund, Richard Liebmann-Smith and Christopher McCulloch November 9, 1996 (1996-11-09) 335
Professor Chromedome causes chaos at a science fair with a mind-swapping machine.
35 "Tick vs. Prehistory" Hank Tucker Randolph Heard November 16, 1996 (1996-11-16) 334
The Tick and Arthur travel back in time over three million years and join a tribe of early humans.
36 "Tick vs. Education" Hank Tucker Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith
Story Concept by: Eric Stangel & Justin Stangel
November 24, 1996 (1996-11-24) 336
In the final episode, The Tick and Arthur become teachers for people who want to be superheroes. They meet Uncle Creamy on a field trip.

Home Video Releases

The first two episodes of The Tick were released on VHS tapes in 1995 and 1998.

Later, in 2006, the first season of The Tick came out on DVD. It was called The Tick vs. Season One. This DVD set had 12 out of 13 episodes. One episode, "The Tick vs. The Mole Men," was not included because of licensing issues. However, the UK version of the first season, released later, had all 13 episodes.

The second season, The Tick vs. Season Two, was released on DVD in 2007. This set was also missing one episode, "Alone Together." This episode featured a character similar to Galactus from comic books. The UK version of season 2 included all 13 episodes.

In the UK, a company called Liberation Entertainment Ltd. released all three seasons of the show. These versions were complete and had no missing episodes.

Awards and Nominations

Annie Awards

Year Category Nominee Result
1995 Best Creative Supervision in Animation Ben Edlund (co-producer) Won
Best Writing in Animation Ben Edlund, Richard Liebmann-Smith for "The Tick vs. Arthur's Bank Account" Won
Best Animated TV Program The Tick Nominated
1997 Best Animated TV Program The Tick Nominated
Best Voice Acting by a Male Performer in a TV Show Townsend Coleman for playing The Tick Nominated

Daytime Emmy Awards

Year Category Nominee Result
1996 Outstanding in Animation Andres Nieves, Claude Denis, Phillip Kim, David Manners, Richard Liebmann-Smith, Susan Blu, Larry Latham, Elaine Hultgren, Chuck Harvey, Christopher McCulloch, Hank Tucker and Ben Edlund Nominated
Outstanding Sound Editing - Special Class Marty Stein, David John West, Rick Hinson, Anthony Torretto, Chris Fradkin and Terry Reiff Nominated
1997 Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class Stuart Calderon, Deb Adair, John Boyd and David John West Nominated

Cool Merchandise

When The Tick animated series came out, there were lots of cool products you could buy! You could find action figures, pogs, T-shirts, hats, party supplies, costumes, and even a board game. Many fast food places like Carl's Jr. and Taco Bell also gave away Tick-themed toys.

Fox Interactive also made a beat 'em up video game based on the show. It was released for the Super NES and Sega Genesis.

  • The Tick: Circus Maximus, NEC Comics, 2004.
  • The Tick: Mighty Blue Justice!, Hyland, Greg, Berkley Boulevard Books, New York, 1997

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: The Tick: The Animated Series para niños

kids search engine
The Tick (1994 TV series) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.