The Fox Network has postponed the live action series based on The Tick comic (see 'N2 Does the Tick, Matrix &More') and cartoon until the start of the fall TV season.  The series is currently in production and all thirteen episodes for the first season will be completed by the May 2 deadline for the Writer's Guild (WGA) strike.  Fox had originally planned to broadcast the new Tick series this spring, but deliberately held it back.  Like the other networks, Fox is stockpiling shows so that it will have new episodes to run in the event a WGA strike drags on through the summer.  The previous WGA strike caused a delay of several months in the launch of the new TV season, but this time the networks, armed with 'reality' shows that don't require writers or actors and stockpiled material like The Tick, appear to be capable of mounting some sort of a new season next fall regardless of strikes by the WGA or the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

 

Based on the popular comic book series by Ben Edlund that deftly parodied the classic superheroes, the new live action Tick television show features Patick Warburton, who played the mesomorphic David Putty on Seinfeld.  An animated incarnation of The Tick became a cult classic on Saturday morning TV where it was easily the funniest and smartest show of its era.  With comics, cartoons (on VHS), and toys (see 'N2...') The Tick has already spawned a great deal of merchandise.  Retailers will have to wait until next fall to see if the new live action series will be able to revive the property and generate new interest in Tick products.