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Television Media

The Tick to be Cancelled 302

Posted by CmdrTaco from the no-more-steamy-piles-of-justice dept.
mr.buddylee writes "This is a short write up, but evidently The Tick is going to be cancelled. " There really isn't much there to read except the notice. I'll keep watching until the last episode airs on Jan 24. I enjoyed it even if it was put in a terrifying time slot guaranteeing that nobody saw it. I think if it had a full season to find a footing it would have been a real winner. Ah well, good luck to Ben and his future projects.
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The Tick to be Cancelled More

The Tick to be Cancelled

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  • Good riddance (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Kutsal ( 514445 )
    I didn't like it at all anyways :P
    • Neither did I. I love the cartoon, but this show had none of the silly magic that made the cartoon great. It was just...dumb. Sad but true.

      • Re:Good riddance (Score:3, Insightful)

        by aka-ed ( 459608 )

        IMO, it had a different "silly magic." I loved Warburton's Tick, though it was as different from the animated version as Tom Welling's "Superboy" is different from Kirk Allyn's "Superman." His deadpan simplicity remins me of Dave Einstein ("Super Dave") before he got old and lost a bit of his skills.

        I lost all hope for the series' continuance just a few minutes ago when I checked the TV sched and found an all-night marathon of the crappiest cartoon on earth, "The Family Man."

        This does not make the world a better place. YMMV.

  • We'll have to go back to watching the cartoon series i guess.
    • yes, the cartoon series was much better - especailly the endings. Does anyone know if they're going to do any more of those?

    • Invader Zim (Score:3, Interesting)

      by NickFusion ( 456530 )
      On, of all places, Nickelodeon, has much the same twisted sensibility as The Tick cartoon (I love them both, truly I do.)

      Also the brainchild of a independent comic...uh...guy, the fellow who did Johnny the Homicidal Manic.

      Doom Dooom Doom Dooom Doom Dooom De Doom Dooom....
  • I even have it on a season pass on my TiVo.. but I never watch it.. There's far better shows other there that I'd rather watch..

  • Yes, apparently I'm the other guy who watched it. I really enjoy what they did with the Batmanuel character.

    Oh, well, I watched it on ReplayTV and skipped the commercials anyway, so I'm sure I made them no money.

  • Spooon? Spooon! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Audent ( 35893 )
    The Tick can NEVER be cancelled because the Tick is INDESTRUCTABLE!

    all I can say is: grip too tight. Must... Break... Free...

  • Jeez Louise, Man - Where's the Villainy? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by coljac ( 154587 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:40PM (#2821187) Homepage
    I'm a big fan of the Tick - the comic book is one of the few I can stand and the cartoon series is pure magic. But the live action show just didn't get its groove going after the pilot. One thing that was missing was the EVIL - most of the episodes spent more time on antics involving dates, sexual misunderstandings, etc, which are fine in their place but not really the best medium for The Tick's histrionics. To really show what the Tick can do, he needs to be yelling "Spoooon!" whilst crushing evil. If he has to overcome some sexual innuendo to do that, so much the better. But as a Seinfeld-like sitcom, the Tick was so lacklustre I actually forgot to watch a couple of episodes.
    • well, if they had a kitten eating scene, that would qualify (according to the cartoon series) as pure evil

    • Re:Jeez Louise, Man - Where's the Villainy? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Golias ( 176380 ) on Friday January 11, 2002 @04:06AM (#2822236)
      Villains, you say? I think your memory of the book might be a little colored. The fact is that the book seldom focused on fighting villians at all! Let's review, shall we? (spoiler warning)

      Issue 1: The Tick jumps around buildings, meets some ninjas (but does not bother to fight them much, as they clearly pose no threat to him whatsoever), sits in a diner and argues with a waiter about being a tick, passes out and wakes up in a subway tunnel, is rescued by "Clark", a badly disguised superhero.

      Issue 2: Tick spends the entire issue trying to become Clark's friend, mostly pissing him off.

      Issue 3: The Tick actually fights some Ninjas, but 90% of the book is dialogue between Tick and Oedipus, or funny dialogue among the ninjas.

      Issue 4: More ninjas, but mostly time spent getting to know Arthur and Paul The Samurai.

      Issue 5: Ninja story resolved.

      Issue 6: Tick fights The Red Scare, who is not, in fact, a real villain, but an actor hired to pretend he is a villain. A lot of the focus is really on building the relationship between Arthur and Tick. ("You're not... funny, are you?")

      Issue 7: Chairface.

      That's right, folks, it took 7 issues (of a comic that only ran for 12) before the first major villain was actually introduced.

      And then from there... Issue 8 Tick and Arthur argue with Arthur's sister, and decide to leave the City.

      Issue 9 is a road trip story.

      Issue 10 is more road trippin'

      Issue 11, Tick and Arthur coping with New York superhero culture.

      Issue 12, Tick moves into his new home.

      The truth is that The Tick live-action show, with all of the time spend hanging around exchanging funny dialogue, was much closer in pace and tone to the original than the cartoon was. The cartoon could not really spend time pondering stuff like the sexuality of superheroes (which the book did A LOT, although in more subtle ways that the recent show did). Most of the fights in the comic were over in one or two panels, as the Tick was so absurdly hard for anybody to seriously hurt.

      • That may be true, but the animated version was a lot funnier than the live version. There are just too many abuses you can put animated characters through that require expensive special effects for live footage.

        While I've watched all the live episodes I've been able to, I've rarely found myself laughing out loud, which happened regularly with the animation.

        If I had to blame the death of "The Tick" on something, it would be weak writing.

      • OK, perhaps a comparison to the cartoon is more relevant.

        Episode 1: The Idea Men
        2: Chairface
        3: Dinosaur Neil
        4: Mr Mental
        5: The BreadMaster
        6: El Seed
        ... and so on.

        Practically every episode had a humorous villain, which gave every episode focus but made the general "life" problems more funny because of the disconnect between supervillainy and trying to fix the microwave, etc.
  • Sorry, I was brought up on the Tick Cartoon, not the comic book. Missing all m favorite villians was one strike. The loss of Tick's yperKinetic movements was a 2nd strike. There really was no third strike, but I didn't see the show getting a hit anyway. It was a good try though...
  • The show, albeit crazy, was so predictable after a certain amount of time and it became a pain to sit through it. Of course, who can sit through a first season's episode of the Simpsons now?

    • Re:*yawn* (Score:2, Interesting)

      by DNS-and-BIND ( 461968 )
      Actually I rather like the first season of Simpsons...the show was just a show back then, and didn't carry around the baggage that it does now. That being said, I'm glad the Tick was cancelled. I watched an episode, and it was just the usual sitcom formula that hasn't been refreshed since 1972. Better to have it dead and gone, than possibly become popular and tarnish the Tick's image.

  • Patrick Warburton (Score:2, Interesting)

    by cliffy2000 ( 185461 )
    Will always be David Putty in my heart of hearts.
    (Before this gets modded down, Warburton portrayed the Tick. Not completely random.)

  • Dang (Score:5, Funny)

    by JWhiton ( 215050 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:41PM (#2821195) Homepage
    I suspected this would happen. The thing is about The Tick is that your average Fox viewer isn't intelligent enough to get any of the jokes.

    Now, I'm not saying everyone who watches Fox is cranially deficient, but think about the kind of shows the network survives on. Ally McBeal. Melrose Place. Temptation freakin' Island! The network is built on running low-brow shows that copy from other successful shows. When The Tick delivers one of his trademark metaphors, most of the audience is wondering why they aren't seeing any car chases or strippers.

    Now I'll admit that Fox's early reason for surviving was the Simpsons, but that's an exception in a sea of low-quality knock-offs.

    I'll miss ya, Tick.

    • Re:Dang (Score:3, Insightful)

      by alexmogil ( 442209 )
      What other shows, especially sitcoms, are *not* idiotic today? Hell, even NBC's wildly-successful show Emeril had (BAM!) a sex plot in one of it's episodes. Or, better yet - Onnna the Friends is gonna havea baybeee outta wedlock! Who could it beeee!?To say FOX has nothing but low-brow shows tells me you've ne'er watched Malcom, King of the Hill, or Futurama.There's good writing there. You just gotta look for it.

    • Re:Dang (Score:2, Insightful)

      by breon.halling ( 235909 )

      Fox's early reason for surviving was the Simpsons

      Actually, if I recall correctly, it was "Married with Children..." that was Fox's first major success.

      This, however, lends even more credence to your argument. ;)

      • And the only reason that *it* was a success is that that woman (in Michigan?) raised a hullabo when someone said, "bra." The series was only meant for half a season, but people watched it because of the attention she gave it.


        Kind of like the topless donut shops that pop up in California: an incredibly stupid idea, but you're pretty much guaranteed that NOW will show up and protest, getting you press coverage, and the thing works for a few months (before succumbing to the "incredibly stupid idea" thing).


        hawk

    • Re:Dang (Score:2)

      by Otter ( 3800 )
      The thing is about The Tick is that your average Fox viewer isn't intelligent enough to get any of the jokes.

      Or, maybe, the show only has three or four jokes and, while they're funny, they wear out after a few weeks. The Tick speaks in weird metaphors, his fellow superheros have the foibles and frustrations of ordinary mortals and -- OK, two jokes. Oh, and he used to yell "Spoooon!" but he doesn't do that any more for copyright reasons.

      It was good for a few laughs but did you guys really think this was going to stay on the air for more than a season or two?

    • Re:Dang (Score:2, Funny)

      by _J_ ( 30559 )
      But I loved the metaphors....

      "You're on a first name basis with lucidity, chum. I have to call him Mr. Lucidity, which is no good when you're in a pinch."

      J:)
    • Wow! I wouldn't have said this at all. Granted there are some really, REALLY terrible shows on fox (Temptation Island). However, The Family Guy, Futurama, and The Simpson's all are shows that require some sort of intelligence (and attention span) if you want to catch all of the jokes. In any of these shows, if you laugh for more than 5 seconds you're probably going to miss an obscure joke. For instance, take the "All you're base are belong to us," in Futurama in this past week's episode.

  • The Simpsons? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by sterno ( 16320 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:42PM (#2821197) Homepage
    Any idea what the history of the Simpsons ratings were? I'm just wondering if back in the day they were as quick to axe as they are now.

    • Re:The Simpsons? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Uberminky ( 122220 )
      I don't know the history of the Simpsons ratings. I did enjoy the couple of episodes of The Tick I saw. But one thing I do know: The Tick is no Simpsons. It just doesn't have the depth to be comparable, IMO.
      • Agreed, but in the history of television, how many shows really have the success that the simpsons did. I think the Tick was a fun show and I think it was worth a few more seasons. Then again, I'm not a TV exec :)
        • how many shows really have the success that the simpsons did

          Try Simpsons DOOOOOO

          they are still running new seasons man.......the last simpsons episode is going to be a real lost to an entire generation of people....I grew up with them....I still remember the first season and how it was such a scandal for Bart to say "Eat My Shorts man" ahhh....how inocent we were in the late 80s :-)
    • The Simpsons didn't have its own ratings in the very beginning. IIRC, it debuted as part of the Tracy Ullman Show, so Fox probably knew that it would be safe to give it half an hour of prime time based on previous experience. The Tick didn't have that advantage...

    • Re:The Simpsons? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:27PM (#2821371)
      The Simpsons was a runaway hit from the very beginning, it only took a handful of episodes for it to catch on. Plus, Fox was only in its second or third season as a network at the time, even a moderate hit would have been a pretty big deal to them at the time, and The Simpsons was much more than that. It's quite possibly the only reason Fox still exists as a network today.

      The commentary on The Simpsons season 1 DVDs explains some of that history, especially how ripoffs of simpsons merchandise started appearing even before the end of the first season.

      And I gotta say, I saw The Tick's pilot a long time before the series actually debuted, and loved it. But aside from the pilot, the show itself has been a big letdown. Though I held out hope it would get better, I'm not at all surprised it's being cancelled. It just wasn't that funny. Maybe someone'll give Mr. Edlund another cartoon instead. Whether it was the Tick or something else, I'd watch it.
      • As I recall, The Simpsons had a "running start" since it began as short segments on the Tracy Ullman Show. I forget exactly when it was spun off, but it's interesting that it so outlived the show where it started. Are the segments from the Tracy Ullman Show on the Season 1 DVD? That would be mighty cool.
        • When I saw War of the Roses, it had a Simpsons short--which was the reason I didn't bother looking at the first couple of years of the series . . .


          hawk

  • Maybe not so bad news (Score:1, Interesting)

    by MaufTarkie ( 6625 )
    Maybe Ben can finally get his Tick movie bankrolled. I believe he's got a script ready, and now he has the actors (if they're willing to be on the big screen).

    I think it could work. It won't be a huge success, but it'll definitely have a cult following.
  • I wonder if Comedy Central would have any interest in picking the series up. I think the demographics of Comedy Central would be a perfect fit for the show. Oh well, that's just wishful thinking. It was fun to watch while it lasted.

    • Re:Comedy Central? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by MagikSlinger ( 259969 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:00PM (#2821273) Homepage Journal

      It's certainly in their price range. How much did they spend on production values? $1.98?

      Without the epic grandeur that was the Tick comic book and animated series, the live-action series became smaller than life, becoming more of an ironic statement than a big, steaming cup o' hommage to the glorious yesteryear of comic book superheroes!

      Ahem, but I degress. Where were the villains? The villains with villany so insane they could be called mad! Where was Charles, the evil brain-child? Where was Chairface Chippendale? Without these larger than life adventures for the Tick to rail against with his child-like enthusiasm for Justice, I just don't see the point. I mean, where's that call to the Heroe's Quest, chum? Where's the kind of adventure that makes you want to cry, "SPOOOOON!!!"

      Ahem. Sorry, I don't know what came over me. I haven't been the same since I found moth suite at a garage sale the other day.

      • what they need to do is take it to HBO......then you can get realy rounchy and real....I have always thought that all of TV should be like HBO...then you can have the good real life stuff like "OZ" and "the Sapranos" and "sex in the city" and "six feet under" and "the mind of the married man" and "curb your enthusiasm" and "dream on", and "the larry sanders show"......and....."the Rounchy Tick"!!!

  • Advertising (Score:5, Interesting)

    by alexmogil ( 442209 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:44PM (#2821209) Homepage Journal
    How is it possible that we saw SO much advertising for this show during the World Series (A secret message.... from my TEETH!), but I never saw commercial one for the show while it was on the air?Honestly if they would have advertised it a *little* more, perhaps I could tell you what time the show was on. Heck, I don't even know what day it was on. Just like Family Guy.Yet, I am pretty sure we're all sick of 'A Very Special Boston Public' and 'That Goddamned 80's Show' commercials.

  • Frontline (Score:1, Funny)

    by MTNhike ( 241629 )

    The Tick is gone?!?!?

    I bet its because PBS [pbs.org] put Frontline [frontline.com] against it!

    -Michael
    Take a hike! Go to http://www.mtnhike.com

  • Live Action Tick (Score:3, Funny)

    by skroz ( 7870 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:47PM (#2821221) Homepage
    ...was cool, though the time slot was awful. What I REALLY want to see is a live action Johnny Bravo.
    • I dunno... I saw one episode, and kept thinking, "But... He doesn't have the googly white eyes! It just doesn't look right!"

      As for live-action Johnny Bravo... Why do I get the feeling that parts of it would look like a Tool video?
  • I never thought the current show was all that great. The cartoon had a twisted bent to it that was enjoyable from time to time. Course, I never watch cartoons - its for the kids, yeah - that's it. he kids.

  • Oh well... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    It is too bad for the people involved, but I vastly prefer the cartoon. I only watched the pilot of the live action series. I think that cartoons are very difficult to bring to life, and the Tick is such an over-the-top character that it shouldn't even have been attempted. Loved Batmanuel though.

  • Sigh... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Enry ( 630 )
    Having gotten started with the cartoon, then buying a bunch of comics on EBay, the TV show seems to be more of the comic-book-style Tick, which was pretty good. Too bad they didn't bring in Samuri Paul(? it's been a while..) or the ninjas. That would have been a great episode.

    "Jeez. I thought Ninjas just got sucked up into jet engines.."

    Given Fox's recent fare of programming, I didn't expect it to last. The only thing left is the Simpsons, since I can only get the last 15 minutes of Futurama because football runs over. C'mon guys, if the game goes too long EVERY WEEK, don't you think you can schedule around it?

    • Re:Sigh... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by shanek ( 153868 )
      The thing that pisses me off about it was that last week it didn't run over; the game stopped right at 7:00, but those idiots kept talking for 20 minutes. Guys, when you run over your time, shut the frell up!!!!

  • Typical Network Antics (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Afrosheen ( 42464 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:54PM (#2821248)
    Come on, you all saw it coming. The Tick was never gonna succeed with all the crap the Fox nimrods edited into it. I remember when the creator of the Tick was interviewed about the live action show...he said alot of the stupid dialogue wasn't his idea and he seemed kinda pissed that some knucklehead edited it to be that way.

    Networks are great at shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to innovation. Remember the Clerks animated cartoon? It only lived long enough to spawn 6 episodes but was hilarious and had the trademark Clerks humor out the wazzoo. The episodes built the plot successively, so if you didn't see episode one before 2 you could be slightly lost.

    Guess what. NBC (or was it CBS) aired the 4th episode as the pilot! People were lost and wondering what the hell was going on when they saw it. After 4 was 5 and 6 but that was it. It got canned. I suggest everyone go grab it on DVD. A true jewel.
    • "Guess what. NBC (or was it CBS) aired the 4th episode as the pilot! People were lost and wondering what the hell was going on when they saw it."

      Worse, it was ABC (Disney)...

    • Actually Clerks was cancelled before it ever aired. Thats why there were only 6 eps, they were contractually obligated to make at least 6 so they made the minimum and then aired it during the summer in obscurity. Crusade faced a similar fate on TNT. JMS refused to make it the bikini sci-fi adventure and so it got cancelled before a single episode aired. Its network politics.

  • Potential wasted (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    It was a good idea. I even thought the casting was appropriate. The first episode was nothing short of unbelievably hilarious. However, every episode to follow was not so funny. They had the potential to introduce new and hilarious "Superheros" every episode or so, instead of focusing on Bat Maneul and Captain Liberty. I would have loved to see the Swiss Army!

  • The Seinfeld Curse! (Score:5, Funny)

    by lostchicken ( 226656 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @09:57PM (#2821261)
    It strikes again!

    For those who don't know, Patrick Warburton (The Tick) had a part on Seinfeld as David Puddy.

    Like all the ex-Seinfeld cast members before him, Warburton's show seemed doomed from the start. This makes the 3rd flop.

    Hmm. I wonder if Julia Louis-Dreyfus' show will be cancelled before it starts. Good luck.
    • Well, I don't know if he's the kiss of death for any new show. He (Warburton) has been on Family Guy for a few seasons. He's the voice of Peter's disabled neighbor, whose name escapes me at the moment. Joe?
  • I really liked the TV show. I am in the 'college crowd' so I like dry ramen as well. I think that if it got a better time slot, a little more money put into it and some advertisements it would have taken off. This kind of reminds me of Brisco Country Jr. Wasn't around for very long but people did like it.

  • The world simply wasn't ready for The Tick (Score:5, Funny)

    by foxtrot ( 14140 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:04PM (#2821285)
    No, surely, our beloved City is unprepared for gigantic blue justice striding upon the rooftops of their daily lives. The forces of truth and justice fall silent this day, but they shall rise again like the head to the top of a cold one, if you know what I mean, chum. Yes, evildoers and television programming execs, you have won this round, but as sure as the sun will rise over the dark jungles of Tibet, your day in that sun will be over, and then you shall again face... The Tick.
  • someone could find the episodes to download?

  • Maybe if it'd been on (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Octal ( 310 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:05PM (#2821289) Homepage Journal
    Maybe if they had actually showed episodes, instead of pre-empting it with other crap, it'd have worked better. Or they could've started showing the episodes at the start of the season, when people haven't figured out viewing schedules yet.

  • Won't be missed ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by ez76 ( 322080 ) <(slashdot) (at) (e76.us)> on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:08PM (#2821298) Homepage
    The series was pretty lyme if you ask me.

    • Re:Won't be missed ... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Fesh ( 112953 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:36PM (#2821399) Homepage Journal
      Shhhhhh! There are some pretty devoted fans hanging around here... You might tick someone off!
    • I think if it continued to use the animated format instead of the live-action format, it would of gained more viewers. Some things aren't cut out for live-action. Tick was one of them -- it was good, very good, as an animated show.

      Other shows that should of been better off animated:
      Power Rangers (all series)
      Most(if not all) live-action shows comming from Saban Enterntainment (usually on Fox).

  • Well, one less Tick for me to be confused with... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Tickenest ( 544722 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:08PM (#2821299) Homepage Journal

    Seriously, though, I think the two biggest problems were 1) flimsy plots (i.e. crimefighters not really fighting much crime and 2) FOX.

    It is unfair to say things like, "How did the Simpsons do in its first season?" as I've seen a few people do, since the series, as everybody knows, spawned from the Christmas special, which came from the Tracy Ulmann show short pieces, so it had at least a little exposure before its first true season. Also, the expectations of new shows are different now than they were in the late 1980s. It used to be that networks would be willing to give shows more of a chance to build a fan base. Nowadays, if a show isn't a serious hit by midseason, it gets swept away. Sad, but true.

  • I loved the episodes I could see.. but since the local fox affiliate couldn't seem to play the show, its no wonder they are canceling it...
  • Family Guy Back to Back... wasnt the Tick supposed to be on Thursdays?
  • Did September 11th kill "That's my Bush"? If so, then Osama bin Laden better watch his back. . .
  • I never watched a full episode of it and I was never really a huge fan of the tick cartoon or comic, but it kind of seemed to me like it was a bad gimmick, if fox wanted to bring back the tick they should bring it back as the cartoon series. The only reason for making it live action I see besides "hey! it's a cartoon but with REAL PEOPLE!!!" is that animated series cost more money. Either way I don't like fox.

    Gimmick? Evil.
    Cheap? Evil.

    by the way, I can sit through the first season of the simpsons and I did this christmas with my brother because he brought home the DVD set. Not only did I watch them but I watched them with commentary as well.

    The Simpsons analogy doesn't go well because it was popular when it came out. I mean they were made into a series because the Tracy Ullman shorts were popular (even though those, for the most part, are REALLY lame). The reason why the first season simpsons seem kind of lame now is just because it's a totally different time now. I mean, the first season was 12 years ago, can you think of many things from 1990 that don't seem a little lamer now than they did then?

  • Once again, the networks screw the show (Score:3, Interesting)

    by bryan1945 ( 301828 ) on Thursday January 10, 2002 @10:16PM (#2821333) Journal
    It seems that over and over again networks put good, or at least promising, shows in awful spots or against established leaders. Hello? Put a good show in a dead spot (Thursday at 8 maybe, c'mon Survivor?!), let it build up an audience, then move it to a stronger slot.

    Futurama at 7 on Sundays?! This show is as good, if not better than, the Simpsons, yet it flounders...
  • I think anyone who didn't see this coming was fooling themselves simply because they liked the cartoon.

    The live action show was not funny at all. The closest I got to a chuckle was when they did a closeup on his face and the antennas would wiggle depending on his emotion. But then that just got creepy.

    Now if someone told me they were going to cancel The Family Guy, then I'd be shocked and start talking about bad time slots. But in The Tick's case, it just wasn't funny, sorry.
  • I never saw this show lasting long at all. I did see a few episodes, mainly because nothing else was on, and I had liked the cartoon. But this show looked like a loser from the start, and now it's confirmed. People have raised the point of lack of advertising, but I think that's not it. I personally am sick of all the advertising fox does for it's programming. "Coming in six months" over and over for six months really makes me more inclined to flip it over to PBS when the damn show actually airs. Fox has it's few good shows but like all good things, they must continue for at least ten years. Or so Fox thinks. Like married with childeren was any good after they bumped off Steve, and started all that inane hooting and hollering. And I hate to admit it, but the Simpsons is getting less funny with each episode. I think if Fox stopped with the 6 or so months of hype before a show starts, they might actually get a better response. The Family guy seriously needs to go though. Christ, I can feel my IQ drop while watching it. Less effort in the family guy, and more for Futurama. Every few months I see an ad for "An all new Futurama" and I always think the same thing, Jesus, wasn't that cancelled last year? And for the LOVE OF GOD! stop with the X-Files!!!
  • Write a nice letter to Fox and the sponsors telling them you don't want to see it canceled. It only takes a few positive responses to get them to turn it around.

  • Save it (Score:1)

    by dkh ( 125857 )
    I loved the animated show. Never caught the live action show, not sure I even cared for the concept.

    However, you can always try to save that show [savethatshow.com].

  • here [npr.org] is an interview with the tick himself on npr's freshair. talks about the show among other things... interview is pre-cancelation however
  • I don't watch TV anymore (just DVDs & tapes), but the bogus time slot sounds like exactly what happened to The Single Guy when I was at college. It used to be a good show in a great slot--between Friends and Seinfeld. Then they moved it to its own night and ran it head-to-head with some show I don't recall anymore, but which was better. It was suicide, plain and simple: like sending out a poodle to fight a hippo. And there was no reason for it. The network had a guaranteed audience for an hour-and-a-half, and three good shows in each slot. But they killed that, for no reason I can discern. And a good show died for no good reason.

    That sort of nonsense is not, actually, why I don't watch TV. The simple fact of the matter is that television is finely crafted to be as appealing as possible. As such, it s deuced difficult not to be attracted to it. And if one's not careful, one might spend all one's time in front of the tube. So I play on the computer, which is slightly less bad, or read books, which is much better. More of the former than the latter, I'm afraid:-)

  • Time slot? Who cares? I almost never watch a show "live" these days. Who has the time to schedule their lives around network broadcasts? I have two VCRs and they are both programmed to the hilt. (Why do VCRs only have 8 program slots? A salescritter I asked said "most people don't use them at all." He's probably right.) I watch shows when *I* want to. And I fast forward through the commercials. Phthbppppt!

    • Re:Time Slot (Score:3, Insightful)

      by IronChef ( 164482 )

      I cannot believe no one has posted a "Get a Tivo" or "get a ReplayTV" note yet. So I'll do it.

      2 VCRs? Dude, get a Tivo or ReplayTV. Then it will take a month to wipe the smile off your face.
  • So they decide to cancel it just as Survivor ends?

    I think that was drawing a lot of people away. Perhaps it will pick up a bit, but it sounds like it wouldn't be soon enough to save the show.
  • I went to hear Ben Edlund speak a few years ago, and after he had fielded a couple dozen questions about minutiae from Tick cartoon episodes, I asked "What are you working on besides The Tick?" And he smiled and said, "You know, I'm really glad you asked me that."

    So, while I'm sorry to see The Tick go, I got the impression that Ben's ready to move on. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing what's next. Ben, you made the world a little weirder - thanks.
  • As compared to the animated version, the live action Tick (the character, not the entire show) was positively flat, unrewarding, and generally a disappointment. Whether it was poorly cast, or just lacklustre writing, the Tick blew relative to his animated predecessor.

    So long, live action Tick. I hardly knew thee, and now I won't have to.

  • I disagree that the timeslot had anything to do with the demise of the show. Timeslots become popular because of the shows, not the other way around. NBC has 0wn3d Thursday evenings ever since the cosby show, but before the cosby show it was fair game. After that, they put their best crap their to maintain their thursday night audience. Of course now they are losing to survivor but that is besides the point. Thursday night is the biggest TV night for no reason other than the popularity of the cosby show. My basic point being that, aside from like the 2am-7am time slots, the quality of the show dictates it's popularity far more than the timeslot.

    Furthermore, as TiVo and similar technology popularizes, hopefully the networks will realize that they can run more series in the 2am-7am timeslots, because suddenly timeslots are irrelevant because people will watch the show whenever they want to. It'd be nice if they would run entire seasons of the simpsons, etc. marathon style during the off hours for the convinience of tivo viewers.

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