The Tick (2001 TV Series)

The Tick is the 2001 live-action Fox TV series based on the independent comics by Ben Edlund.

The show once again follows the premise of the not-so bright hero (Patrick Warburton) arriving at The City and finding the accountant Arthur (David Burke) suited up in his Moth costume trying his hand at the superhero gang. The pair are joined in their fight against crime by Captain Liberty (Liz Vassey) and Bat Manuel (Nestor Carbonell), who are sort of revamped versions of American Maid and Die Fledermaus from the animated series, which could not be used due to copyright concerns.

Like the animated show, this version was developed by Edlund. It played to generally positive reviews but failed to find its audiences. The ratings were somewhat hampered by Fox's inability to reliably schedule the series during its short run. It was cancelled after only nine episodes of the first season were made.