Pilot (The Critic)

Last updated
"Pilot"
The Critic episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 1
Directed by Rich Moore
Written by Mike Reiss
Al Jean
Featured music Alf Clausen (Theme by Hans Zimmer)
Original air dateJanuary 26, 1994 (1994-01-26) [1] [ self-published source ]
Running time22 minutes
Guest appearances
Jennifer Lien as Valerie Fox
Gene Shalit as himself
Episode chronology
← Previous
—		Next →
"Marty's First Date"
List of episodes

"Pilot" [2] [3] [4] (also known as "The Critic") is the first episode of the first season of the U.S. animated TV show The Critic , a series created by The Simpsons writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss which ran for the 1994 season. The episode was animated by Film Roman, [5] and aired on ABC. [6]

Contents

Production

The A.V. Club explains "in creating The Critic, Al Jean and Mike Reiss set out to make the show as dissimilar from The Simpsons as humanly possible". [7]

The character of Jay Sherman is "the butt of many of the jokes on The Critic but he's also an extraordinarily accomplished figure". For this reason the show needed to find the right balance between the two. The A.V. Club explains that "the pilot episode of The Critic errs on the side of making him seem altogether too accomplished". [7]

The opening sequence, first seen in the pilot, "elegantly establishes the world Jay lives in, a world where, in the parlance of Jeff Daniels in The Squid and the Whale , people read books and see interesting movies and care about art and ideas". [7]

Plot

According to TV.com, the synopsis is "When Jay has actress, Valerie Fox, on his show, they both fall in love with each other and get involved in a caring relationship. A relationship that may be threatened if Jay pans her performance in her new movie." [8]

Cast

Cast reads as follows: [5]

Gags

Cultural references

The movie spoofs/parodies in this episode include:

Critical reception

The A.V. Club notes "Watching The Critic in 2011 is an exercise in nostalgia: the very first image is of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers resting high atop the rest of a now sadly outdated New York skyline." [7] It explains that "many of the episode’s sharpest gags pit Jay’s battered dignity against a world that never stops mocking him [and] Jon Lovitz...gives the character a perpetually wounded dignity that’s incongruously hilarious". [7] It says "the big problem with the series’ pilot lies with the character of the starlet/girlfriend/actress", arguing that she is merely a "plotpoint rather than a flesh and blood character, a way of compromising Jay’s ethics rather than an autonomous human being". It adds "like pretty much all première episodes, The Critic's has a lot to unpack. It’s not as quick or as dense as it could be because it has characters to introduce and a rich, lovely, and multi-faceted milieu to introduce", but says "the show had a strong, clear voice and sensibility from the very beginning. It knew exactly what it wanted to do and how it wanted to do it". [7]

Nielsen ratings

The original airing of the episode easily won its timeslot, earning a 15.5 household rating and a 23 percent audience share, ranking 16th out of 92 programs that week, [9] and was watched by 26.5 million viewers.[ citation needed ]

DVD release

The episode was included in the 2004 DVD release of The Critic. The commentary was performed by creators/executive producers/writers Mike Reiss and Al Jean, actors Maurice LaMarche and Nick Jameson and director Rich Moore. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>NewsRadio</i> American television sitcom

NewsRadio is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995, to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Stephen Root, Andy Dick, Maura Tierney, Vicki Lewis, Joe Rogan, Khandi Alexander, and Phil Hartman in his final regular role before his death in 1998; Jon Lovitz joined the show after Hartman's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Hartman</span> Canadian actor (1948–1998)

Philip Edward Hartman was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. After graduating from California State University, Northridge, with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including Poco and America. In 1975, Hartman joined the comedy group the Groundlings, where he helped Paul Reubens develop his character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Lovitz</span> American actor and comedian

Jonathan Michael Lovitz is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990 for which he was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

<i>The Critic</i> American primetime adult animated sitcom

The Critic is an American primetime adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as writers and showrunners on seasons 3 and 4 of The Simpsons. The Critic had 23 episodes produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994, and finishing its original run on Fox in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice LaMarche</span> Canadian voice actor (born 1958)

Maurice LaMarche is a Canadian voice actor and comedian. He has voiced The Brain in Animaniacs as well as its spin-off Pinky and the Brain, Big Bob in Hey Arnold! (1996–2004), the title character from Inspector Gadget, and a variety of characters in Futurama, including Kif Kroker. He also voiced Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters and its follow-up Extreme Ghostbusters.

Treehouse of Horror (<i>The Simpsons</i> episode) 3rd episode of the 2nd season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror" is the third episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 25, 1990. The episode was inspired by 1950s horror comics, and begins with a disclaimer that it may be too scary for children. It is the first Treehouse of Horror episode. These episodes do not obey the show's rule of realism and are not treated as canon. The opening disclaimer and a panning shot through a cemetery with humorous tombstones were features that were used sporadically in the Treehouse of Horror series and eventually dropped. This is also the first episode to have the music composed by Alf Clausen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Jean</span> American television writer and producer (born 1961)

Alfred Ernest Jean III is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on The Simpsons. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss. Together, they worked as writers and producers on television shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, ALF and It's Garry Shandling's Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Reiss</span> American screenwriter

Michael L. Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a showrunner, writer, and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic. He created and wrote the webtoon Queer Duck; he has also written screenplays including: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Simpsons Movie and My Life in Ruins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Way We Was</span> 12th episode of the 2nd season of The Simpsons

"The Way We Was" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 31, 1991. In the episode, Marge tells the story of how she and Homer first met and fell in love. Flashing back to 1974, it is shown how Homer falls in love with Marge in high school and tries to get close to her by enlisting her as his French tutor. After several hours of verb conjugation, Marge falls for Homer too, only to become enraged when he admits he is not a French student. Marge rejects Homer's invitation to the prom and goes with Artie Ziff, who turns out to be a terrible date and Marge realizes that it is Homer she really wants.

"A Star Is Burns" is the eighteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on March 5, 1995. In the episode, Springfield decides to hold a film festival, and famed critic Jay Sherman is invited to be a judge.

"A Streetcar Named Marge" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on October 1, 1992. In the episode, Marge wins the role of Blanche DuBois in a community theatre musical version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Homer offers little support for his wife's acting pursuits, and Marge begins to see parallels between him and Stanley Kowalski, the play's boorish lead male character. The episode contains a subplot in which Maggie Simpson attempts to retrieve her pacifier from a strict daycare owner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Springfield Files</span> 10th episode of the 8th season of The Simpsons

"The Springfield Files" is the tenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 12, 1997. In the episode, Homer believes he has discovered an alien in Springfield. It was written by Reid Harrison and directed by Steven Dean Moore. Leonard Nimoy guest stars as himself and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson guest star as agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, their respective characters on The X-Files. The episode serves as a crossover with The X-Files and features numerous references to the series. The story came from former showrunners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who returned to produce this episode while under contract with The Walt Disney Company. It received positive reviews from critics; Jean and Reiss won an Annie Award for producing it.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 6 Season of television series

The sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994, and May 21, 1995, and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional city of Springfield, and lampoons American culture, society, television and many aspects of the human condition.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 3 Season of television series

The third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991, and August 27, 1992. The showrunners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes for the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, and Sam Simon, with it being produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. An additional episode, "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?", aired on August 27, 1992, after the official end of the third season and is included on the Season 3 DVD set. Season three won six Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" and also received a nomination for "Outstanding Animated Program" for the episode "Radio Bart". The complete season was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 26, 2003, Region 2 on October 6, 2003, and in Region 4 on October 22, 2003.

History of <i>The Simpsons</i>

The Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom starring the animated Simpson family, which was created by Matt Groening. He conceived of the characters in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office and named them after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. The family debuted as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show called The Simpsons, which debuted on December 17, 1989. The show was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the top 30 ratings in a season (1990).

"I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show" is the 10th episode and series finale of the second season of the US animated sitcom The Critic.

References

  1. ↑ "Christine Cavanaugh Tribute - the Critic - Episode Guide".
  2. ↑ "Watch TV Online - TVRecaps.com". www.tvrecaps.com.
  3. ↑ "Critic, The (1994) S1 - Garn's Guides". garnsguides.com.
  4. ↑ "The Critic 1x01 Pilot - ShareTV". sharetv.org.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Critic - starring Jon Lovitz". Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  6. ↑ "The Critic (an Episode Guide)". epguides.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rabin, Nathan (6 November 2011). "The Critic: The Critic". The A.V. Club .
  8. ↑ TV.com. "The Critic: Pilot". TV.com.
  9. ↑ https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-02-07.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  10. ↑ "The Critic: The Complete Series (1994) DVD/Blu-ray commentary track review - RateThatCommentary.com". www.ratethatcommentary.com.
  11. ↑ "tv audio commentary database: The Critic". tvacdb.sandboxen.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.