While the shows don't have to be seen in order, it does enrich the experience because unlike other shows the characters don't return to the same starting point at the beginning of each episode. The mythology of the characters continues, such as the ever-evolving love triangle between Dr. Girlfriend and her two suitors, the super-villains Phantom Limb and The Monarch.
This season brings back Prof. Impossible, voiced by Stephen Colbert, and Brock's ex-girlfriend, the former Russian spy Molotov Cocktease. It also expands the universe of characters with the Grand Galactic Inquisitor, an observer from beyond the stars who is hard to ignore, and based a similarly named gonzo journalist, Hunter Gathers, Brock's mentor when he previously worked at OSI, the Office of Secret Intelligence.
The Tick creator Ben Edlund contributes to the series with a co-story credit on "Guess Who's Coming To State Dinner?" and writing the episode "¡Viva los Muertos!" featuring a bizarre amalgamation of characters that combine the Scooby Doo gang with notorious Americans, such as Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz, and Pamela Hearst.
The DVDs don't present the shows unedited, so the cursing is still bleeped and the nudity pixilated, which is probably funnier. There are deleted scenes that weren't animated, so the audio plays over sketches. As with the previous release, the commentaries by creators Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick are dull and only occasionally deal with the episode. If these two were talking like this at a party, you would get up and leave the room. Publick doesn't sound mic'd properly, and after the first couple I gave up. After seeing Hammer and Publick during the tour of Astro-base Go, I believe characters Pete White and Master Billy Quizboy are based on them, and in a funny twist, they perform the voice of the other character.
Do yourself a favor and pick up this DVD set or watch the program on Cartoon Network. You're on your own for the rest of life's mysteries, although Jimi Hendrix is hard to argue against.
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