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Spooonnn! The live action sitcom based on Ben Edlund's comic The Tick premieres on Fox TV's primetime lineup tonight. At 8:30pm Fox air's the pilot episode of the show featuring Patrick Warburton (The Dish) as The Tick, David Burke as Arthur, Nestor Carbonell (Suddenly Susan) as Bat Manuel and Liz Vassey as Captain Liberty.

But will big-blue ratings justice be done? The show has been garnering critical praise over the past few weeks but it faces some stiff competition in it's Thursday timeslot.  It's up against CBS' Survivor: Africa and NBC's staple "must-see" block. However, Survivor has been pulling an ever-shrinking audience and NBC has benched its 8:30 disappointment Inside Schwartz in favor of reruns.

This may be the perfect time for The Tick to hug his destiny.

The intial episodes of the show were recently screened at the Savannah Film and Video Festival. According to NY Post columnist Neal Travis the show generated an enthusiastic from the college crowd. Travis claims that the good buzz on the show has Fox considering a feature film version.

A scooper for Dark Horizons attended the Comic-Con panel discussion for the Tick TV show this weekend. Ben Edlund, Randolph Heard and Chris McCullough, the writers for the show, were on hand to run a clip and answer question.

Edlund told fans that only characters that were originally part of the comic have a chance of appearing on the show. Characters created for the cartoon will not appear.

Edlund also told fans that he will not work with Fox on an animated movie.

Thanks to FreedomFighter for the lead.

Tick Production Photo © 2000 Ben Edlund.  Used with permission Click for larger image

Last week it was announced that the live action Tick TV show is on Fox's schedule for the next season.  Now, New England Comics has published the first post-announcement interview with Ben Edlund, the writer and producer of the show and creator of the character.  The interview is presented both Real Audio and in text transcript formats, and is accompanied by 20 set photos from the 9 day shoot.

According to Edlund, he was aided with the writing chores on the pilot by Randolph Heard, Chris McCulloch, and Richard Liebmann-Smith, all veterans of the animated show.  Edlund told NEC that the live-action show would slightly shift the focus of the concept. "Well, yeah. I mean one of the keys of live action---well not live action but prime time---is that you really want to humanize the characters to the point where adults can watch a silly superhero show and on some level, connect with the characters there. So Arthur's going to have, I think, a more involved family life."

Fans commented favorably on the look of the big blue character after seeing the publicity photos that were released last week.  However, some expressed disappointment over the completely open-faced mask.  "Yeah, we actually did make both an open-faced and an actual mask. I mean like the two different versions of the Tick," Edlund explains.  "And really what was found was that the mask covers certain really key parts of [star Patrick Warburton's] face: eyebrows, for example---and kind of constricts, because, it would be rubber, you know, a very light rubber, that would almost move with his face. It would be glued on. But, in addition, it gives him a shifty-eyed look. Because you get these blue orbits around his eyes. And every way we sculpted them, it would fix one emotion on his face."

Edlund also said that they contemplated using CGI to animate a set of eyes that followed the look of the cartoon and comic.  However, that notion was thwarted by the expense of it and the possibility that the effect (on top of the costumes) would "probably induce seizures and nausea."

Edlund had high praises Warburton, "Patrick was REALLY good. Like he really got into this role. He invested himself and managed to wear this costume for like five days straight, basically, everyday being strapped into this thing. It was really hot. We had to keep the studio chilled in order for him to not collapse. It was a lot of work"

If the show is a success, the comic, cartoon and film creator is contractually obligated to stick with it for two years.  In general Edlund seems pleased with the show.  "Yes, good, shiny, pretty. It's got stuff in it. It's good, you know. I like it."

Edlund also revealed that Sony now holds the rights for long talked-about animated feature.  Edlund discussed how an animated movie might compare or contrast to the animated TV show.  "My primary focus now would be trying to figure out how to expand The Tick into another medium," Edlund told NEC. "Because that's been what's kept The Tick interesting, in my opinion. As interesting as one might consider The Tick, for me it's been a very effective passport to move through different media. If it came up [The Animated Movie] there's always a chance that the people who own those rights would want to exploit those rights. And that's all fine, but that's not what I'm concentrating at this point upon."

Check out the complete interview where Edlund talks about how the live-action show came into being, his thoughts about co-producer and director Barry Sonnenfeld, the naming of Captain Liberty, rubbing and his other movie projects like Titan A.E. and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

Vigilant readers should be on the lookout for special Tick coverage this week from our buddies over at the on the 4-Color Review website.

The letter column of the recently published The Tick Luny Bin Trilogy #2 indicates that the Tick movie, should it ever get made, would be an animated feature.

The summer edition of the Tick catalog, published quarterly by New England Comics, contains a brief update on the long-in-development movie based on the big blue arachnid.   According to the article, Tick creator Ben Edlund told NEC that he was working on a preliminary script outline for the movie, although he did not disclose any plot details.  NEC has always reported on this movie with skepticism, as rumors of a Tick flick have been circulating for almost as long as there's been Tick comics.  However, they report that never before has Edlund had such a level on involvement.  NEC feels that that fact, along with Edlund's current status as a Hollywood writer/director on Santa Claus Conquers The Martians are good indicators that the movie project is alive and kicking.

An update on the rumored Tick movie comes to us in letters column of the recently published The Tick: Big Blue Destiny #4.  In responding to a reader's question about the movie, the editor of the letter column informs us that the movie has been pushed back.  The delays are due to Tick creator Ben Edlund's commitment to direct a remake of Santa Claus Vs. The Martians.  Edlund told NEC that any Tick movie would have to follow that project, leaving the start of a Tick movie one or two years in the future.

The Tick News column reports the Tick feature film is "on the production schedule for fall of 1998". I don't know if that means the movie will be released in fall 98, or if production will start then. They report that creator Ben Edlund is focusing on a prime time TV special for earlier release, so the film may be delayed by a few months. I'm thinking this may be an animated feature.

AICC reports Ben Edlund is in the process of trying to bring the big, blue bug to the big, silver screen. According to the article, Edlund has said the movie opens with The Tick defeating a villain and getting invited to join the Utopia Squad. Up on the Utopia Squad's orbiting headquarters, the Tick gets "uppity and spoiled".