Take 4 TV: Ticks and Moles
The Tick (2001)
What's Going On Here?: The comic book turned television cartoon is now turned into a live-action series. Behold as the great blue crimestopper, The Tick, and his moth-costumed partner Arthur fight evil and injustice in The City, alongside Captain Liberty and Batmanuel. Seriously.
Who's In It That Matters?: Patrick Warburton (you know him as "Puddy" from Seinfeld) plays The Tick...and as a former watcher of the animated series, he does a pretty damn good job of imitating The Tick's voice pattern and mannerisms. No other names you'd likely recognize, although Christopher Lloyd, Ron Perlman and Dave Foley do make guest appearances.
Things To Look Out For: Some laugh-out-loud moments, usually from The Tick. His antennae steal the show at many points, becoming almost a third member of the dynamic duo that is Arthur and The Tick. There are only nine episodes, so it's pretty easy to go through this in an evening. Also, four of them have commentary tracks (mostly by the creator of The Tick). I'd say try to catch one...listen to the others if you enjoyed it. They are pretty easy and interesting to get through.
Random Trivia: Both of The Tick's antennae were remote controlled, and were independently operated on set by a puppeteer.
And I Quote: Batmanuel [asking about Arthur's date]: "Arthur, was last night a success?" Arthur: "Almost." Batmanuel: "'Almost?' I don't understand 'almost.'" The Tick: "Yeah, me neither." Arthurt: "'Almost' means, thanks to The Tick, she went home annoyed at 10pm." The Tick: "10:04, chum. Remember...I was playing "Shout Out The Time."
What Did We Learn Today, Class?: 1) Gravity is a harsh mistress. 2) It's better to be half of a duo than to simply be a sidekick. 3) Don't be an Adolf Quitler.
Curt's Take: "Worth Considering" if you were a fan of the cartoon series. Otherwise, you probably won't "get" much of this, in which case I'd lower it to "Not a Priority." However, that having been said, my mom caught me watching a couple episodes while I was back in Michigan over the holiday weekend, and she wanted me to leave the DVD's behind so she could watch the rest. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Anyway, although the writing was really good, the production value was kind of low...so it isn't anything amazing to look at. Plus, it did get cancelled by FOX...but so was Firefly, so that doesn't necessarily mean anything. The banter is fun, The Tick's innocence and steadfastness is amusing, and it's a good time, overall.
Celebrity Mole: Hawaii (2003)
What's Going On Here?: Seven celebrities collaborate in a series of games to add money to an ever-growing pot (which could reach up to $250,000). However, one of them is actually a mole, being paid to sabotage the efforts of the team. Each episode, the players take a quiz about the identity of the mole (e.g. "Is the mole male or female?", "What did the mole drink with dinner?"). After each quiz, the player with the fewest number right is eliminated from the game. This goes until there are three players left...one is the winner, one is the loser, and one is the mole.
Who's In It That Matters?: Well, let's just give a rundown of the participants. First, it's hosted by Ahmad Rashad (sportcaster). Playing the game, you have Stephen Baldwin (from The Usual Suspects); Corbin Bernsen (from Major League and LA Law); Kim Coles (from Living Single and In Living Color); Kathy Griffin (stand-up comic who was in Suddenly Susan); Frederique van der Wahl (swimsuit model); Erik von Detton (from The Princess Diaries and Dinotopia); and Michael Boatman (from Spin City and Arli$$). Yep...not exactly the cream of the crop, but a pretty amusing bunch.
Things To Look Out For: Well, I like to think you see some of the true personalities of these stars come out, so that's kind of interesting. I was pleased to see that there were, however, bonus features on the last disc. You have deleted and extended scenes, confessionals from the players, post-execution interviews. Kind of fun stuff.
Random Trivia: Queen Latifah originally signed on to participate, but dropped out a month before shooting to be with her family.
And I Quote: Michael Boatman: "I smell something burning. Oh, it's my career!"
What Did We Learn Today, Class?: 1) Always go for the exemption. 2) Ahmad Rashad is no Anderson Cooper. 3) Cliffdiving is not for the weak of heart.
Curt's Take: "Not a Priority" - It's mildly entertaining if you haven't seen it once before (and it's only six episodes long). However, Celebrity Mole pales in comparison to the regular Mole television series, of which there were two seasons. You had more players, more conflict (I think because they weren't celebrities), more money (up to $1,000,000) and Anderson Cooper...best host ever. That having been said...the whole Mole concept is pretty good as far as competition-based reality television goes, so don't completely turn your nose up at it. If you're one of the few who actually saw this on television...and you liked it...you may want to check out the third and final disk of the set, just to catch the special features.
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Next Time on Take 4: It's mystery theme time...I show you the movies, you find what they have in common...and win a prize!
What's Going On Here?: The comic book turned television cartoon is now turned into a live-action series. Behold as the great blue crimestopper, The Tick, and his moth-costumed partner Arthur fight evil and injustice in The City, alongside Captain Liberty and Batmanuel. Seriously.
Who's In It That Matters?: Patrick Warburton (you know him as "Puddy" from Seinfeld) plays The Tick...and as a former watcher of the animated series, he does a pretty damn good job of imitating The Tick's voice pattern and mannerisms. No other names you'd likely recognize, although Christopher Lloyd, Ron Perlman and Dave Foley do make guest appearances.
Things To Look Out For: Some laugh-out-loud moments, usually from The Tick. His antennae steal the show at many points, becoming almost a third member of the dynamic duo that is Arthur and The Tick. There are only nine episodes, so it's pretty easy to go through this in an evening. Also, four of them have commentary tracks (mostly by the creator of The Tick). I'd say try to catch one...listen to the others if you enjoyed it. They are pretty easy and interesting to get through.
Random Trivia: Both of The Tick's antennae were remote controlled, and were independently operated on set by a puppeteer. And I Quote: Batmanuel [asking about Arthur's date]: "Arthur, was last night a success?" Arthur: "Almost." Batmanuel: "'Almost?' I don't understand 'almost.'" The Tick: "Yeah, me neither." Arthurt: "'Almost' means, thanks to The Tick, she went home annoyed at 10pm." The Tick: "10:04, chum. Remember...I was playing "Shout Out The Time."
What Did We Learn Today, Class?: 1) Gravity is a harsh mistress. 2) It's better to be half of a duo than to simply be a sidekick. 3) Don't be an Adolf Quitler.
Curt's Take: "Worth Considering" if you were a fan of the cartoon series. Otherwise, you probably won't "get" much of this, in which case I'd lower it to "Not a Priority." However, that having been said, my mom caught me watching a couple episodes while I was back in Michigan over the holiday weekend, and she wanted me to leave the DVD's behind so she could watch the rest. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Anyway, although the writing was really good, the production value was kind of low...so it isn't anything amazing to look at. Plus, it did get cancelled by FOX...but so was Firefly, so that doesn't necessarily mean anything. The banter is fun, The Tick's innocence and steadfastness is amusing, and it's a good time, overall.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Celebrity Mole: Hawaii (2003)
What's Going On Here?: Seven celebrities collaborate in a series of games to add money to an ever-growing pot (which could reach up to $250,000). However, one of them is actually a mole, being paid to sabotage the efforts of the team. Each episode, the players take a quiz about the identity of the mole (e.g. "Is the mole male or female?", "What did the mole drink with dinner?"). After each quiz, the player with the fewest number right is eliminated from the game. This goes until there are three players left...one is the winner, one is the loser, and one is the mole.
Who's In It That Matters?: Well, let's just give a rundown of the participants. First, it's hosted by Ahmad Rashad (sportcaster). Playing the game, you have Stephen Baldwin (from The Usual Suspects); Corbin Bernsen (from Major League and LA Law); Kim Coles (from Living Single and In Living Color); Kathy Griffin (stand-up comic who was in Suddenly Susan); Frederique van der Wahl (swimsuit model); Erik von Detton (from The Princess Diaries and Dinotopia); and Michael Boatman (from Spin City and Arli$$). Yep...not exactly the cream of the crop, but a pretty amusing bunch.
Things To Look Out For: Well, I like to think you see some of the true personalities of these stars come out, so that's kind of interesting. I was pleased to see that there were, however, bonus features on the last disc. You have deleted and extended scenes, confessionals from the players, post-execution interviews. Kind of fun stuff.
Random Trivia: Queen Latifah originally signed on to participate, but dropped out a month before shooting to be with her family. And I Quote: Michael Boatman: "I smell something burning. Oh, it's my career!"
What Did We Learn Today, Class?: 1) Always go for the exemption. 2) Ahmad Rashad is no Anderson Cooper. 3) Cliffdiving is not for the weak of heart.
Curt's Take: "Not a Priority" - It's mildly entertaining if you haven't seen it once before (and it's only six episodes long). However, Celebrity Mole pales in comparison to the regular Mole television series, of which there were two seasons. You had more players, more conflict (I think because they weren't celebrities), more money (up to $1,000,000) and Anderson Cooper...best host ever. That having been said...the whole Mole concept is pretty good as far as competition-based reality television goes, so don't completely turn your nose up at it. If you're one of the few who actually saw this on television...and you liked it...you may want to check out the third and final disk of the set, just to catch the special features.
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Next Time on Take 4: It's mystery theme time...I show you the movies, you find what they have in common...and win a prize!
posted by Curt at 11:42 PM
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