The Tick arrived about 10 years before its time. The superhero sitcom gained a cult fanbase before it was axed by Fox in 2001 after running for just one season.
So far, so Firefly. And the good news is that unlike Firefly, The Tick is being revived by the original cast and creators.
Starring Patrick Warburton, The Tick was a surreally funny adaptation of the Tick comics, a superhero spoof that combined Seinfeld-esque humor with a protagonist who wore a sculpted blue rubber suit with insectoid antennae. Ben Edlund, the original creator of both the Tick comics and TV series, recently announced a new series would be made and distrubuted online via Amazon, with Warburton coming back for the lead role.
In an interview with MovieWeb, Warburton shared what he could about the new series, which sounds like it is still in its very early stages.
“One thing about The Tick, he is an insane character. I guess he doesn’t have to be 29 years old like Thor. He’ll be 50 battling evil,” said Warburton, who is 49. “I’d love to see what Ben Edlund’s new vision for it is. I think it will be different. Perhaps a little darker and a little edgier.”
He also mentioned the benefits of continuing the series more than a decade after it first aired, particularly when it comes to special effects. “There are so many advantages to the creatives today, that there weren’t 12 years ago. As far as doing things, and creating a whole new world for The Tick. It would have been too costly and hard to do 12 years ago.”
One big change, he theorized, would be the suit. A new series would have to be at least a partial reboot in order to bring in new viewers, and that would include a new costume. And this time, hopefully it wouldn’t require “two tubes of K-Y Jelly” for Warburton to put it on every morning.
Screencap via tvcrit3