First let me give a disclaimer, I have been a HUGE Tick fan since they day I saw the first cartoon back in the 90s. People have to remember that the Tick has always a mixed bag, you either love him or hate him. It's a parody of all things super hero, even though this time there is a bit a seriousness. When there is a serious explosion, afterwards you look for the bad guy dangling from rooftop begging for help.
I think the last live action attempt was better in some ways, in other ways I think this one will be better. I won't deny that Patrick Warburton was perfect in the last one. But Peter Serafinowicz is also pretty good. He really doesn't have a lot of screen time to judge by. But when he does he does a good job. His monologue at the end was great and I could really see him as the Tick. As for Arthur, Griffin Newman does a perfect job. The writing is of course spot on, because it's written by the original writer and creator. This new darker story line was a nice twist. And doing an origin story on Arthur was a bold choice for a pilot episode, because it doesn't give much screen time to the Tick.
The jokes are there, but only really when the Tick is around. So I think some people will miss what I think is the writer's intention. Where as before it was non-stop jokes and puns. This show is serious, then bam a joke/pun. I think over all it makes for a better ride.
