According to People Magazine, Patrick Warburton will once again be playing The Tick..
Destiny’s powerful hand has made the bed of my future, and it’s up to me to lie in it. I am destined to be a superhero. To right wrongs, and to pound two-fisted justice into the hearts of evildoers everywhere. And you don’t fight destiny. No sir. And, you don’t eat crackers in the bed of your future, or you get all… scratchy.
(I know, that’s from the animated series, but funny and at least somewhat relevant nonetheless, and besides, the cartoon was much better written IMO)
I am mighty. I have a glow you cannot see. I have a heart as big as the moon. As warm as bathwater. We are superheroes, men, we don’t have time to be charming. The boots of evil were made for walkin’. We’re watching the big picture, friend. We know the score. We are a public service, not glamour boys. Not captains of industry. Keep your vulgar moneys. We are a justice sandwich. No toppings necessary. Living rooms of America, do you catch my drift? Do you dig?
Not in the face! Not in the face!
The animated series was better, but the live action series was good and getting better- it just never had the chance to reach its full potential. The actors were all great. The look of it was great. The writers had some good gags and lines and they were steadily finding the right relationships and chemistry for the characters. With a full season one to develop, season two could have been awesome.
But, it premiered the fall of the 9/11 attacks.
That was a hard time for television. Viewers weren’t in the mood for . . . much of anything.
Warburton is 13 years older than he was his first time around.
I’m having trouble thinking of a better choice among younger actors though. Comic acting and Superhero physique rarely go hand in hand.
Best line from the live action series:
The Terror: I’ll fold you into my wallet and spend you on a whoooore!
Well, I had no idea who Warburton was when the live action show premiered, so for me he is and will forever be Brock Samson.
Having been a fan of the animated series (I thought that Townsend Coleman did a better job at voicing him than Warburton) I was excited to see the live action series. But ultimately I found it very disappointing. It had some of the whit of the animated series but not enough character development & interaction or nearly enough of the humor. It just wasn’t a show that should have been done live action. Like I said above it’d be like trying to do The Venture Bros live action. It wouldn’t work.
Arthur, my mustache is TOUCHING MY BRAAAIN!!
<Tick’s subconscious> sorry I haven’t been around much, I’m easily distracted by shiny objects
<Tick> yees, shiny objects are good!
Bad man hit dog…with street
It’s starting to smell a little like danger in here …<sniff sniff> …or heavily fried food…
Woooooooooooot! 
Yesss!
And, isn’t sanity really just a one-trick pony anyway? I mean all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you’re good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit.
I’m like a god when I do that.
Gravity is a harsh mistress.
I just have to say, I love the character name of “Batmanuel.”
I liked that the guy who played Batmanuel was also the mayor of Gotham in the last Batman trilogy.
Yes, Batman helped Batmanuel!
Many series need the better part of the first season to really set. The actors come to understand their characters and the writers come to understand how to write for the actors’ interpretations of the characters- incorporating elements of character that have organically come from the actors despite maybe not being on the page of the scripts from the pilot and first few episodes. Also, as the chemistry among the cast develops it better sets the direction the show should explore.
I do think everything was slowly falling into place and I really think it was showing the potential to be a great series.
For example, Batmanuel was a much better character than Die Fledermaus- and I say that as someone who loved Die Fledermaus. Nestor Carbonell did a wonderful job with this character even having little to work with. There’s a commentary track on the DVD and the writers are saying they had been disappointed with themselves for not yet figuring out how to write for Batmanuel- being in the midst of trying to set so much else that had to establish the world of the show- and they would turn in scripts thinking “Gee, we wish we had something better for Nestor, he’s so great.” Then the episode would be shot and Nestor Carbonell would take the very little that had been given to him and he would make it funny- really funny.
I don’t know that I think Captain Liberty was a better character than American Maid (I do really like American Maid), but still I think Captain Liberty was a great character and I think Liz Vassey did a great job and would have developed the character into something much better with time.
The interaction and chemistry between Vassey and Carbonell was far better than anything that had ever happened in the animated series.
I do think they struggled with how to define a “real” Tick. The writers establish a world where the other characters are very real. They’re superheros but we know them as their alter egos. They have problems that we relate to- dating, parking tickets, family. Then you have Tick. Within the context of a non-cartoon world that feels real to us, the audience, they never really establish what Tick is. He’s just The Tick. He’s a superhero. He is The Tick. Well, that seems off in this otherwise real world that they’ve created. We’re left feeling like, well “Is he a guy with amnesia?” (which was explored in one episode), “Is he an alien?”, “Is he delusional?”, “Is he just really dumb?”, “Where did he come from?” We never ask these questions in the cartoon because the cartoon is not presented with the same realness.
But, much as we do not understand Tick, we do get to see him through Arthur’s eyes- Arthur, who also doesn’t understand Tick. And I think David Burke as Arthur did a great job filling this role. For the most part, we accept that we don’t understand The Tick because Arthur just accepts it. At times when we get a little frustrated that the character doesn’t make sense or fit into this world, we see Arthur expressing frustration at The Tick for not making sense or fitting in the world. So, they had potential to even figure out how to deal with that.
I do have the DVD set, and I’ll admit that it wasn’t until the third time viewing the series all the way through that I began to really like it as much as I do now.
I can’t understand your crazy moon language!
This reminded me of what was one of the most memorable bits from the first episode where Arthur meets The Tick:
Arthur:*** Apparently superheros are just a bunch of egotistical, self-centered, sexually frustrated kindergarteners. [Stops and Looks at The Tick] No offence intended.
The Tick: [looking elsewhere] None comprehended.
Well, I won’t claim sole credit for reigniting interest in this character, but I did dress as The Tick for the spring tournament at my curling club.
Does anyone know how Amazon shows work? Do you have to have Prime? Do they ever release DVDs?
My favorite line from the live-action show:
The Tick, Arthur, Miss America, and Batmanuel are standing on a rooftop, while discussing a mission (I think, it’s been a while since I’ve seen this one). Batmanuel’s cell phone starts ringing. The rest of the crew are standing there, talking, and Batmanuel is pacing behind them while on the phone. At one point, The Tick says something. During the silence following that, you can hear Batmanuel say “I’m on a rooftop. Where else would I be?”