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''The Tick'' is an American sitcom based on the character Tick from the comic book of the same name. It aired on Fox in late 2001 and was produced by Columbia TriStar Television. With a pilot airing on November 8, the series ran nine episodes on broadcast television. It was released to DVD in 2003. ==History== The 2001 sitcom was the first attempt at a live action incarnation of ''The Tick'', a comic book created by Ben Edlund, which had previously been adapted for television as a successful animated series, ''The Tick'', which ran 3 seasons from 1994 to 1996. The pilot for the live-action series, completed in May 2000, was written by the four main animated-series writers, Edlund, Randolph Heard, Richard Liebmann-Smith and Chris McCulloch, and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld with production design by Bo Welch. Executive producer Larry Charles sought to create a character camaraderie similar to that of ''Seinfeld''. He discussed this approach at a July 2000 press conference: If the show is perceived as merely a superhero show or merely a superhero parody show, I don't think it's going to work on a weekly basis. What's great about the comic book and what was great about the cartoon also has to be great about the live-action show, which is the characters and the interaction of the characters and creating a world that you believe is real. It's a world in which the characters being superheroes is almost a secondary consideration, so that the characters are more important than their costumes. While working on the pilot episode, Ben Edlund described the series as "closer in tone to the comic book, favoring character over action, painting a superheroic portrait of genuine human lameness."〔(Ben Edlund comments from alt.tv.the-tick ) TheTick.ws (2000). Retrieved on 5-15-09.〕 It features a parody style similar to the animated series and the bulky Patrick Warburton in the title role. Guest stars include Ron Perlman, Christopher Lloyd, Kurt Fuller, Armin Shimerman, and Dave Foley.〔Naugle, Patrick (''The Tick: The Entire Series'' ) DVDVerdict.com (October 31, 2003). Retrieved on 1-05-08.〕 The series also featured appearances by then unknowns T.J. Thyne and Missi Pyle. The Walt Disney Company inherited Fox's previous children's programming lineup and therefore owned the rights to many of the show's names and trademarks. For this reason, American Maid and Die Fledermaus, two major characters in the animated series, were unable to be written into the new show; they were replaced by Captain Liberty and Batmanuel. Disregarding the back stories given in both the comic books and animated series, the sitcom has The Tick being tricked into moving to (and protecting) The City after irritating employees of a remote bus station he had sworn to protect. It is also more adult oriented, including more sexual innuendo and adult situations. As such, the series virtually eliminated action scenes and significantly reduced emphasis on extravagant supervillains, both of which were often featured in the animated series. Regarding the mature tone, Edlund expressed his desire for less vulgarity, particularly in a moment of the pilot where The Tick said "Java Devil, you are now my bitch." However, Edlund lacked the authority to remove such phrasing.〔(Thus Spake Tick Creator Ben Edlund ) Slashdot.org (November 27, 2001). Retrieved on 5-16-09.〕 The Tick's costume, designed by Colleen Atwood, bore a notable difference from previous incarnations in that the Tick's face would be entirely exposed. This eliminated the large pupil-less eyes seen in previous incarnations and allowed Warburton to utilize his expressive face; according to Edlund, "There was no way to cover his eyes and get the same range, intensity, and specificity of emotion. With face unfettered, Patrick has created a three-dimensional, hilarious, totally convincing Tick." The antennae of Tick's mask were also remote-controlled by puppeteer Mark Setrakian for comedic effect. The production design is by Emmy-nominated Michael Wylie. Over a year and a half after its development, ''The Tick'' was finally picked up by the network for an 8:30 p.m. prime time slot on Thursday nights. Due to budget constraints, additional episodes were shot with several-month gaps between filming. Fox had initially wanted to premiere the series in early 2001 as a midseason replacement but opted to air it in prime time both due to its ratings success and the network's fear that a strike might delay the fall season. Cast, crew, and journalists expressed early concern over the high-stakes slot, with Fox's Sunday night comedy schedule looking more favorable. Nevertheless, Fox Television Entertainment Group president Sandy Grushow assured that promoting ''The Tick'' during the 2001 World Series would work and that "Baseball is a terrific promotional platform for a show like ''The Tick''." Grushow also noted that if the series were to perform well, the network would have until December 2001 to order new episodes, though they would not likely be ready until late spring or summer at the earliest.〔Owen, Rob ('The Tick': Tick, tick, tick ... ) ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' (November 5, 2001). Retrieved on 5-16-09.〕 While Fox has been criticized for its lack of investment in the series, N2Toys produced a line of action figures based on it. The live action ''Tick'' ultimately failed to recapture the success of its animated predecessor; however, its popularity was strong enough that the series would be released on DVD in 2003. The series led to Christopher McCulloch, who wrote for the ''Tick'' comic book, animated series, and sitcom, meeting Patrick Warburton during filming; shortly after, he cast Warburton as the voice of Brock Samson for his Adult Swim series, ''The Venture Bros.'' ''Tick'' creator Ben Edlund also wrote for ''The Venture Bros.'' on occasion. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Tick (2001 TV series)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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