Like many others, I'm a long time fan of the franchise. I too held off from watching this latest incarnation for fear of being let down. I finally cracked the ice last night and ended up binge watching the entire first season. A disappointment it is not.

That out of the way, it is important to clarify this latest iteration of The Tick is not just a rehash/recreation of previous series. Many of the same characters are present but the overall tone is darker and more 'real' and less straight up silly and cartoonish. Whether that is good or bad will depend on how much you are insistent that this iteration duplicate what the prior series had already done.

I was not overtly impressed by the first couple episodes. The need to explain Arthur's neurosis as the product of a deeply traumatic event seemed heavy handed and largely unnecessary. The first two episodes really lag because of this burden. But once Arthur's obsessions are established and validated and the crew is set on their purpose, the relevance of that heavy origin story gets mostly shoved to the back and the episodes get MUCH better.

At this point we get introduced to the wonderful cast and can immerse ourselves in the overall great production. Most all the performances are top notch, with a special shout out to Haley as the Terror, though my favorite character hands down is Ms. Lint. Such an inspired bit of writing to introduce the down side to a super power. Martinez plays the role with such nuance. Many of the characters walk a moralistic middle ground but none so sharply as Ms. Lint and I delighted in every scene was in.

Oddly, the only real disappointment for me, albeit a minor one, is the Tick himself. Serafinowicz tackles the role well enough but I still can't help but feel he's not quite right in the part. But even more to the point, it is odd to find the titular character so subordinate in this series to be almost irrelevant. The series is clearly centered around Arthur and quite frankly Overkill could easily fill the roll of protecting Arthur. That doesn't mean The Tick isn't enjoyable when on screen; he is. But the focus of the series is clearly moved away from him and the overall tone shifted as to make The Tick's own bizarre existence seem almost out of place. The Tick's origin is only briefly touched upon, then sidelined even further back than Arthur's.

Many have commented on the darker tone in this series and yes, that is a noticeable difference. However, the humor is still there though it too is often dark and much less cartoonish than one might expect. The series is also considerably more mature than previous iterations; this is not for the kiddies despite visual appearances. Indeed, the show can get quite graphic or vulgar in an instant and it's not hard to imagine that Amazon was inundated with angry letters from parents who had to explain four letter words or slashed throats to their confused eight years olds. It's almost a certainty that is why the series was cancelled. A real shame too, because this iteration of the Tick was really well done; as good as any of the previous iterations despite all its differences. That's a rare feat to achieve in an established franchise.