#!/opt/local/bin/perl
my $a = "Tick F***ing Tock";
my $b = "Friday night at 11:30pm the start of a new series, 'Tick F***ing Tock' explores...";

$a =~ s/([\(\)\[\]\{\}\\\*\?\.\$\^\@\!\&])/\\$1/g;

if ($b =~ /$a/)
{
  print "..do something..\n";
}