Bubble UK Review: Sticky “Pilot”

The UK hasn’t had a solid adult animated series in quite some time…but could Sticky be the answer?

BBC iPlayer debuts a new animated series called Sticky created and produced by Ed Tracy that features a stellar cast that includes Tom Hardy as the lead character ‘Herbert’, a local paper news reporter who is tasked, along with his whacky sidekicks Ziggy (voiced by Hardy’s wife Charlotte Riley), Jay (voiced by Kayvan Novak) and Ashley (voiced by Jayvone Prince).

The pilot episode sees the ragtag group investigate possible leads for whoever the hell shut off the internet. Along the ways, Vladmir Putin, Donald Trump, and more are considered suspects with the actual perpetrator being a silly surprise that shouldn’t come as a shock once you get to know him.

And for those wondering, yes, Tom Hardy’s really good in this show, and who knew? It blows my mind that fucking Bane can voice multiple voice characters well, and makes for a goofy animated character that is able to deliver even the drabbest of dialogue that is presented in the series. As a matter of fact, I thought the entire voice cast was solid. and they’ll have to be because the premise revolving around a group having to investigate silly mysteries has been done before, but the cast can be strong enough to carry the series if need be. Fans of Knuckleheads will recognize the artistic direction of the series only this time around we get characters that are way funnier looking and better produced.

The problem is, a lot of the jokes aren’t that original, and the dialogue is very weak, kept only alive by its good cast. The premise is solid enough that it could make for a good run as a series, but the producers will wanna be careful as to not be TOO comfortable in the Scooby-Doo trope because that could cause complacency down the road.

The pilot episode of Sticky isn’t exactly mind-blowing, but there’s enough here for a decent show, just so long as we get some more sass in the writers’ room to offer us a meatier dialogue for future episodes.

Score
7/10