Tik-Tok (Oz)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tik-Tok
Oz character
Sean Barrett (1985 film)
In-universe information
SpeciesRobot
Gendermale in likeness
TitleAdviser to Ozma of Oz
NationalityEv

Tik-Tok is a fictional "mechanical man" from the

Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum.[1] He has been termed "the prototype robot",[2] and is widely considered to be one of the first robots to appear in modern literature,[3] though the term "Robot" was not used until the 1920s, in the play R.U.R.

Baum's character

Tik-Tok (sometimes spelled Tiktok) is a round-bodied mechanical man made of copper, that runs on

suit of armor. Being a machine, he is quite strong, allowing him to single-handedly overpower a whole horde of Wheelers without much difficulty, as demonstrated in a scene of the 1985 film Return to Oz
.

As Baum repeatedly mentions, Tik-Tok is not alive and feels no emotions. He therefore can no more love or be loved than a sewing machine, but as a servant he is utterly truthful and loyal. He describes himself as a "

slave
" to Dorothy and defers to her.

Tik-Tok was invented by Smith & Tinker at their workshop in Evna. He was the only model of his kind made before the two disappeared. He was purchased by the king of Ev, Evoldo, who gave him the name Tik-Tok because of the sound he made when wound. The cruel king also whipped his mechanical servant, but his whippings caused no pain and merely kept Tik-Tok's round copper body polished.

Appearances in the works of Baum

Tik-Tok first appears in Ozma of Oz (1907) where Dorothy Gale discovers him locked up in a cave, wound down and immobile. He becomes Dorothy's servant and protector, and, despite his tendency to run down at crucial moments, helps to subdue the Nome King. That novel also introduces Tik-Tok's monotonic, halting mode of speech: "Good morn-ing, lit-tle girl."

Tik-Tok in Little Wizard Stories of Oz, 1914.

Later Baum published "Tik-Tok and the Nome King," a short tale in his

Kaliko
secretly reassembled Tik-Tok, but does not tell his master. Ruggedo then mistook the rebuilt Tik-Tok for a ghost. Ever after, he was colored whitish-grey in color plates, apparently a mistake.

The Tik-Tok Man of Oz was a stage musical loosely adapted from Ozma of Oz;[4] and the play was adapted back into a novel called Tik-Tok of Oz, the eighth Land of Oz book, published on June 19, 1914. Although Tik-Tok is a major character in that latter book, he in no way drives the plot. Tik-Tok also appears in most other Oz novels as a notable inhabitant of the Emerald City, most prominently in The Scalawagons of Oz, in which he operates the production of the Scalawagons.

Tik-Tok in Tik-Tok of Oz, 1914.

Appearances in adult fiction

In the comic book Oz Squad, Tik-Tok's "Internal Clockwork Morality Spring" winds down and causes him to act violent and sexual, though he closely resembles Neill's depiction.

A somewhat sinister version of Tik-Tok is a minor character in

Doctor Dillamond
, on Madame Morrible's orders. Though no great detail is spent on the topic, Grommetik eventually becomes independent, and, possibly due to disgust at the things he was forced to do, tries to foment rebellion among the tik-toks.

Galactic Empire
play a major role in the novel.

Later works

Tik-Tok was played by Wallace Illington in the 1908 film,

The Wizard of Oz. Corresponding to Fred Stone's Scarecrow or clown part was Shaggy Man, played by Frank F. Moore, who would later play the Scarecrow in His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz. Tik-Tok did not appear in any of the productions of The Oz Film Manufacturing Company
.

Tik-Tok appeared in the 1980 television special Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz voiced by Joan Gerber.

Tik-Tok was a main character in Disney's

Sean Barrett
provided his voice, while Tim Rose remotely-operated the head.

Tik-Tok appears in the 2017 TV series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz voiced by Jess Harnell. Just like the books, Tik-Tok was created by Smith & Tinker.

Other appearances

Tik-Tok's design was used in the video game

Epic Mickey 2
as a design for the "Basher" Beetleworx.

See also

References

  1. ^ Jack Snow, Who's Who in Oz, Chicago, Reilly & lee, 1954; New York, Peter Bedrick Books, 1988; p. 213.
  2. ^ Thomas P. Dunn and Richard D. Erlich, eds., The Mechanical God: Machines in Science Fiction, Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1982; p. 85.
  3. ^ Raylyn Moore, Wonderful Wizard, Marvelous Land, Bowling Green, OH, Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1974; p. 144.
  4. ^ "Tik Tok To Tick Tonight," Los Angeles Times (Mar. 31, 1913), p. III1.
  5. ^ TheElstreeProject (22 January 2014). "The Elstree Project: Operating Tik Tok". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 14 April 2018 – via YouTube.

External links