The Critic

Last updated

The Critic
TheCriticLogo.svg
Genre Animated sitcom
Parody
Satire
Created by Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Voices of Jon Lovitz
Nancy Cartwright
Christine Cavanaugh
Gerrit Graham
Doris Grau
Judith Ivey
Nick Jameson
Maurice LaMarche
Charles Napier
Park Overall
Tress MacNeille
Kath Soucie
Russi Taylor
Theme music composer Hans Zimmer
Composer Alf Clausen
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2 (+ 10 shorts)
No. of episodes23 (+ 10 shorts) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers Al Jean
Mike Reiss
James L. Brooks
Producers Rich Moore
Richard Raynis
Richard Sakai
J. Michael Mendel
Running time22 minutes (1994–1995)
2–4 minutes (2000–2001)
Production companies
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseJanuary 26 (1994-01-26) –
July 20, 1994 (1994-07-20)
Network Fox
ReleaseMarch 5 (1995-03-05) –
May 21, 1995 (1995-05-21)

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.

Contents

Episodes featured film parodies with notable examples including a musical version of Apocalypse Now ; Howard Stern's End ( Howards End ); Honey, I Ate the Kids ( Honey, I Shrunk the Kids/The Silence of the Lambs ); The Cockroach King ( The Lion King ); Abe Lincoln: Pet Detective ( Ace Ventura: Pet Detective ); and Scent of a Jackass and Scent of a Wolfman ( Scent of a Woman ). [1] The show often referenced popular films such as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and The Godfather , and routinely lampooned Marlon Brando, Orson Welles, Woody Allen, [2] and Dudley Moore, usually as his character Arthur Bach from the 1981 film Arthur .

Despite the ratings improving, [3] [4] The Critic was cancelled after two seasons. [nb 1] It continued to air through reruns on Comedy Central and then on Locomotion. From February 1, 2000, to 2001, ten webisodes were produced using Macromedia Shockwave, and were broadcast on AtomFilms.com and Shockwave.com.

In the late 2000s, reruns of the show aired again on ReelzChannel in the US and on Teletoon's programming block Teletoon at Night in Canada.

Premise

The show follows the life of a 36-year-old film critic from New York named Jay Sherman. His televised review show is called Coming Attractions, which airs on the Philips Broadcasting cable network. He is widely considered to be "cold, mean-spirited, and elitist" as a movie critic and when he is not working, he is a nice guy. [2] His signature line, upon seeing a terrible film, is "It stinks!" Each episode is full of film references and parodies. Some of the secondary characters that are a part of Jay's story include his nutty adoptive father, his well-meaning son Marty, the Australian film star Jeremy Hawke, Margo—the 17-year-old biological child of his adoptive parents, his snide make-up lady Doris, his ex-wife Ardeth, and his boss Duke Phillips. In the second season, Jay acquired a love interest: a Southern woman named Alice Tompkins, who later became his long-term girlfriend.

Cast and characters

Jon Lovitz voiced Jay Sherman Jon Lovitz Mercedes-Benz Carousel of Hope Gala 2014 (cropped).jpg
Jon Lovitz voiced Jay Sherman

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRank
First airedLast airedNetwork
1 13January 26, 1994 (1994-01-26)July 20, 1994 (1994-07-20) ABC #76, 8.6 rating [6]
2 10March 5, 1995 (1995-03-05)May 21, 1995 (1995-05-21) Fox #106, 7.5 rating [7]
Webisodes 10December 12, 2000 (2000-12-12)September 17, 2001 (2001-09-17)(ekd) [8] AtomFilms and ShockWave TBA

Production

Al Jean by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg Mikereiss.jpg
Al Jean Mike Reiss

The show was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who, along with James L. Brooks, served as executive producers. The Critic was produced by Gracie Films, the same company behind The Simpsons , in association with Columbia Pictures Television. The show's animation was done by Film Roman, who were also still working on The Simpsons at this time. It was co-produced by Patric Verrone.

Jean and Reiss were showrunners on The Simpsons and had been approached by series creator Matt Groening to design a spin-off centered on Krusty the Clown. Their pitch featured many similarities to The Critic – Krusty would be a single father in New York with a prickly make-up lady and an eccentric boss resembling Ted Turner. Groening turned down the idea, instead wanting the Krusty spin-off to be a live-action series led by the character's animated voice, Dan Castellaneta. [9]

In 1993, Brooks approached Jean and Reiss with the idea of a sitcom based on a morning television program. The pair adapted their Krusty pitch to the new idea. Brooks recommended Jon Lovitz as the lead, based on his performance in A League of Their Own . He initially turned down the role due to his commitments with three upcoming films, so at the last moment, the series became an animation. [10]

The show sometimes included appearances of real life critics, such as Gene Shallit, Rex Reed, Gene Siskel, and Roger Ebert, who provided their own voices. [2] When choosing things to parody, Reiss and Jean made a conscious decision to find the right balance between current pop culture and references that would stand the test of time. [11]

Broadcast

The Critic was "the first major non-family sitcom animated program to appear in primetime." [2] The show started out on ABC on January 26, 1994, where it aired 13 episodes. It was cancelled by the network after half a season, and was then moved onto Fox the following year where it ran for another ten-episode season. Around this time, it was included in a "shameless plug" crossover with The Simpsons (in their episode "A Star Is Burns") and assumed the timeslot immediately after the show in the TV schedule, in an attempt to popularize it. [12] But despite improvement of the ratings, [3] [4] Fox moved it to a different timeslot after five episodes, and also cancelled it after this run had finished airing in May 1995. [12] According to The TV IV, nine scripts were already written for the planned third season and the show was going to be moved to UPN, but an agreement was not reached. [13] [14] Also, Fox refused to officially cancel the show until much later. [13] [14] The show was not renewed on any network, and effectively became cancelled. The show returned in Flash-animated webisode form in 2000–2001, for a third season with 10 three- to five-minute installments. In Spain, it aired on Canal+ in the 1990s and on Cartoon Network alongside Duckman from 2000 to 2001 on late-nights, vaguely as a pre-beta to Adult Swim.

Design

David Silverman designed Jay Sherman David Silverman 2014.jpg
David Silverman designed Jay Sherman

Four people have a design credit on the show: David Silverman, Rich Moore, David Cutler, and Everett Peck. Silverman designed the look of Jay Sherman. Moore and Cutler designed the general look of the show including some of the backgrounds and supporting cast. The character of Doris was based on Peck's drawings. Cutler helped in the hard task of standardizing all these animation styles. Moore was the supervising director, so oversaw a lot of the design process—and was also responsible for how the action would play out, and how each shot would be framed. Rich Moore explains "the design of Jay Sherman began as a sketch done by David Silverman" on a napkin/place-mat in a restaurant. He was designed as "Kaufmanesque," and Jim Brooks liked the design, so his design remained much the same for the pilot episode. Moore had his reservations as the character had a "flat head and tiny eyes that were hard to act with", and was composed of shapes that were difficult to turn in a 3D space. It was decided the drawing encapsulated the humanity and reality of the critic, so was left unchanged. Over the course of the two seasons, however, the design was altered slightly. The flat head was made more round, and his eyes became bigger—in order to make Sherman more appealing and easier to animate. The design team never intended to make the characters too cartoony as it would not have fit tonally with the type of show. The characters were designed via a general think-tank process of "what do we like about the characters and what are we trying to say about them?". Quick sketches were completed in front of the full creative team after a discussion about characters, which were then critically analysed. In particular, the design of the parents caused some issues. Jim Brooks described the father as a "crazy wasp." The designs were eventually based on a photo of a professor and his wife. Moore explains that the animation should never "step on the voices or the writing." [11]

Vlada, an Eastern European restaurateur, was named after Jean and Reiss's film professor at Harvard University, Vlada Petrić. The character's physical appearance was based on Gábor Csupó, a Hungarian animator on the early seasons of The Simpsons. Though some believed Sherman to look like the film critic James Wolcott, this was not intentional. [15]

Casting

Script supervisor Doris Grau, who had played Lunchlady Doris on The Simpsons, was cast as Sherman's make-up lady, Doris. Four actresses, including Margaret Cho, were hired and dismissed as the voice of Sherman's younger sister Margo. The role eventually went to the voice of Bart Simpson, Nancy Cartwright, who was pleased to finally be voicing a female. [16] Duke Phillips, Jay's Ted Turner-esque boss was played by Charles Napier, using his real voice. Due to the sheer number of film and TV parodies, the team also sought character actors who could play many different roles. During the audition process, they asked them to perform their acts, which Reiss described as "very entertaining." Maurice LaMarche impressed Jean by doing "perfect" impressions. LaMarche even beat out genuine Australians for the role of Australian actor Jeremy Hawke. He was often asked to work on his accent of a pop culture figure related to media just released or that would have been released by the time of the episode's airing. Depending on who could do the voice better, the characters were divided up between Nick Jameson and LaMarche. Each would play about 20–30 characters per show. According to LaMarche, he played twenty-seven characters in one episode. [17] He specialized in impressions, while Jameson's specialty was accents and dialects. [11]

Relationship with The Simpsons

Nancy Cartwright was a member of the cast on The Simpsons and The Critic Nancy Cartwright.jpg
Nancy Cartwright was a member of the cast on The Simpsons and The Critic

Nathan Rabin of 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". [18] Nevertheless, there are many similarities between the two series. Gen X TV: The Brady Bunch to Melrose Place argues that The Critic became a critical success while other animated shows of the early 1990s flopped was because "the makers of these shows failed to realize that The Simpsons didn't become a hit because of animation [but] because of its style of humor", and says that The Critic understood this. It adds the show "took the media-obsession/parody portions of The Simpsons and created a separate show around them". [19] Planet Simpson describes the show as "the closest thing The Simpsons ever had to a spin-off." [12] The Critic also shares The Simpsons' love for criticizing Fox and the audience, such as Jay's frequent line "You're watching Fox, shame on you" and "The Critic will be right back, you TV-addicted couch monkeys" [20] before the show went to commercial break. [19] Rabin said "The Critic made its protagonist the anti-Homer Simpson. Where Homer is a booze-sodden everyman, Jay Sherman is an unabashed elitist. Where Homer is a rudely physical creature, Jay leads a life of the mind. Homer is a slob. Jay is a snob." [18] While "Springfield is very aggressively and deliberately Anywhere, United States, The Critic is an extended Valentine to a certain kind of pointy-headed East Coast elitism." [18] PopMatters said "The Critic's humor is very much in the spirit of The Simpsons, taken in a more brazenly surreal direction." [21]

Matt Groening had no part in its inception, and wanted to make this very clear, so he would not be associated with any success or failure the show would have. He claimed that in the public consciousness, this was his show—a direct spin-off to The Simpsons. [22]

Many voice actors appear in both The Simpsons and The Critic, and regulars on both shows have made cameos in the others. For example, Nancy Cartwright, Doris Grau, Tress MacNeille, Russi Taylor, and Jon Lovitz have all played primary/secondary characters on both shows. Maurice LaMarche, who played many characters on The Critic, "played George C. Scott getting hit in the groin with a football" in the crossover episode. His only line was "Ow, my groin." He also did Jay's belch in the episode. [17]

Crossovers

In "Dukerella", Jay and Alice attend a costume ball dressed as Homer and Marge. [2] Homer and Bart Simpson made a brief appearance in "Dial M for Mother". During an interview with Geraldo Rivera, Jay is asked about talking over the heads of his audience and does just that in his answer. An annoyed family watching changes the channel to The Simpsons , where Homer—after stepping on a rake—exclaims, "D'oh!" and Bart replies, " ¡Ay caramba! " The family's father comments, "Now, this I understand." [2]

Jay makes a guest appearance on The Simpsons in "A Star Is Burns" presiding over a local film festival. When Jay enters the Simpson household, Bart is watching a Flintstones - Jetsons crossover show, which he criticizes; he then praises Jay and Coming Attractions/The Critic, before shuddering and saying to himself "I feel so dirty." At the end of the episode, as he is leaving for New York, Jay offers the Simpsons an appearance on Coming Attractions/The Critic, but Bart declines, saying, "Nah, we're not going to be doing that." Jay has yellow skin when he appears on The Simpsons but pink skin on The Critic. [23] This episode caused some conflict between Simpsons creator Matt Groening and executive producer James L. Brooks. Groening decided to take his name off the credits and did not appear in the DVD commentary. He publicly complained about the episode, which went to air in the end. He said "for more than six months I tried to convince Jim Brooks and everyone connected with the show not to do such a cynical thing, which would surely be perceived by the fans as nothing more than a pathetic attempt to...advertise The Critic at the expense of the integrity of The Simpsons." In response, Brooks said "[Groening] is a gifted, adorable, cuddly ingrate. But his behavior right now is rotten. And, it's not pretty when a rich man acts like this." [12]

Jay appeared briefly on The Simpsons a few more times. In the episode "Hurricane Neddy", he was in a mental hospital, apparently unable to say anything more than his catchphrase ("It stinks! It stinks! It stinks!") In the episode "The Ziff Who Came to Dinner", he is seen at Moe's Tavern with all the other characters on the show that Lovitz voices or has voiced. [24]

Hallmarks

Much like the opening sequence in The Simpsons with its chalkboard, sax solo, and couch gags, The Critic has a distinctive opening sequence featuring minor gags. Jay is always awakened by a disquieting phone call or radio news report, and eventually watches a clip that parodies a well-known film before delivering the same negative opinion: "It stinks!" He watches the closing credits in a theater and delivers a comeback line to an usher who tells him the show is over.

Themes

One of the main elements featured on The Critic is the lampooning of the entertainment industry. The A.V. Club mentioned that Jean and Reiss's The Simpsons episodes have a high number of parodies, spoofs and homages from the characters watching television and films: "They didn't need any such excuse for film parodies on The Critic since Jay's life was inherently and organically filled with film. It proved the perfect delivery system for an endless series of clever, bite-sized spoofs." [18] The book I'm an English Major—Now What? epitomises this by recounting a scene where Jay is forced to rate films "on a scale of good to excellent"—thereby negating his credibility as a film critic. Sherman says "but what if I won't like something," to which his boss Duke replies, "That's what good is for." This shows the corruption of an industry that aims to provide unbiased thoughtful analyses of films, due to bribery and politics. [25] Another example is in the June 22 episode "L.A. Jay," where after trying to break into the film business by writing a script, which is revealed to be rather good, a studio buys it off him for $100,000 in order to bury it, thereby keeping quality out of the industry. [2] While episodes typically dealt with his private life, Jay's position as a film critic "offer[ed] numerous opportunities for the show to satirize the film industry, establishing a dialogue with popular culture" in a very similar way to what The Simpsons had been doing for years. [2]

The Critic often made fun of celebrities and also frequently comments on television. For example, one episode satirizes Duke's project involving making the films "more attractive to a contemporary audience" by "inserting computer-generated happy endings" (ex: Casablanca 's Rick Blaine gets his girl while the restored version of Stanley Kubrick's "deadwood" Spartacus combined with a chase scene spoofing Smokey and the Bandit ). [2] [26] The article "Ten Frighteningly Prophetic Parodies from The Critic" claimed that some of the show's spoofs "have come true (or close to true), proving that there really isn't anything that's too stupid for Hollywood to make". [27]

GrabBagCinema said the show would appeal to cinema fans "because it really understood movies, celebrities, Hollywood and humour...[you would understand] the references and [see] the effort the writers and animators put in, to recapture the movies you grew up loving and remembering... but they did it with clever humour that wouldn't offend you." The same review praised how unlike many modern critics, Sherman was honest with how much he disliked certain films. [28]

Reception and legacy

Contemporaneous

The Critic received mixed to positive reviews when it first aired. In 1994, The Chicago Sun-Times gave a typical review of the show with, "Jay Sherman, the eponymous culture vulture of The Critic, would undoubtedly say his new animated comedy on ABC 'stinks.' Fortunately for him [The Critic] smells pretty good to me." [29] The show has since developed a cult following, [3] [30] [31] [32] with much of it coming through the show's weekend reruns on Comedy Central up until about 2005.

The DVD set also got many positive reviews, such as one from Animated Views which gave it an overall rating of 10/10. [33] Mike Reiss's favourite episode is the Siskel and Ebert one. [11]

In September 2006, IGN ranked The Critic ninth on its list of the Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time. [34] In January 2009, they ranked the show 26th in their other list of the Top 100 Best Animated TV Series. [35] In the latter article, IGN said: "Of all the projects completed by ex-Saturday Night Live players, The Critic is the most fully realized, hilarious and heartwarming. It took its cues from Woody Allen movies like Annie Hall and Manhattan , and offered up a style of random abstract humor that wouldn't really be seen again until Family Guy." [36] In December 2011, Complex ranked the show 6th in their list of The 25 Most Underrated Animated TV Shows Of All Time. [37]

People magazine gave it a B, saying "This animated series is slyly amusing when sticking it to showbiz, taking sarcastic swipes at everyone from Steven Seagal to Gene Shalit. At its best, it's still several strides behind the savage, protean wit of The Simpsons, and the humor sputters when the focus is personal." [38] Of the third season, IGN said "I was thrilled to find out that Gracie Films has started producing new episodes of the cancelled ABC/Fox/Comedy Central show The Critic—and for web cartoons that don't depend on the violence/swear cop-out for the humor, the shows are actually really well produced." [39]

Early on in its run, Siskel and Ebert did a review of the show. It was the only television series they ever reviewed. Some of the criticisms they provided, if left unattended to, may have been factors to the show's cancellation. They said the show didn't have as many memorable characters as The Simpsons, and encouraged the writers to work on that. They said the second episode was a let down because "it didn't seem to be about the world of a movie critic," and was instead about "a single dad and his geeky son." They said the jokes involving Jay's dad get tiresome, and that the station boss isn't as sharp a parody as he could be. Gene Siskel said, "if The Critic is gonna succeed—and I hope it does—it desperately needs to refocus itself on the movies and the way critics interact with them." He added that the show needs a second critic, and jokingly said he and Roger Ebert should (and would love to) save the show by writing scripts for them. Ebert said the show should have 2 to 3 movie/genre parodies per episode. He added he would like to see Jay watch television to allow the show to satirize that medium as well. This would focus the show on the media, and not let it become another show about a man and his problems. Siskel said the writers should keep Jay as a smart critic. Regardless of his personality, if his critiques are witty and intelligent, by extension the show's satire becomes much sharper. [40] [41] The two critics later appeared as themselves in an episode where they ended their partnership and each recruited Jay to join them for a new series; when Jay realized that Gene and Roger deeply missed working together, he engineered their reconciliation and went back to his own series.

Later analysis

AOL TV published an article in 2009 entitled Gone Too Soon: The Critic, in which they analyzed the cancellation of the show. It said "The creators and Lovitz seem to [care about the show], as there are always talks cropping up of a revival of The Critic, either as an animated project, or possibly a live-action one. There are fan sites out there, but as time passes with no new material, many of these are becoming floating time capsules". [42] Plus, a lot of effort was put into the release of the DVD (for which there was a lot of demand), meaning there is still a fan base as well as a passionate cast and crew. [11]

Drawn to Television says that like Jay's show-within-a-show Coming Attractions, "audiences never quite warmed up to Sherman and his surrounding cast of characters" in The Critic, perhaps due to the lack of warmth between character interactions in both shows. He also criticized the sometimes rather mean-spirited ways the fat jokes were directed at Marlon Brando or Orson Welles. [2] The book The Magic Behind the Voices put its cancellation down to "so-so ratings and network politics." [17] Planet Simpson says it "failed to click with Simpsons fans." [12] In 1994, Austin American-Statesman said "The Critic never had a prayer on ABC, where the comedy overload consists of domestic sitcoms". [43] The show is generally considered one of the great TV shows cancelled too early into its run. The Columbia Spectator said the show was "one of television's great lost causes." [44] Voice actor Maurice LaMarche considered The Critic one of his "personal favorites," saying "I would almost give anything to bring back The Critic, along with Pinky and the Brain ; those are the two most satisfying jobs I've ever had." [17] Ogeeku said "This show did not last as long as it should have and that is truly a shame. The Critic was in its time, one of the greatest animated shows ever made and one of the funniest shows period on television." [45] Reiss thinks the show holds up very well. [11]

PopMatters considered Sherman a perfect role for Lovitz, due to his strengths of "sarcasm and ironic overacting," but believed that there were too many jokes about the character's obesity, and these were too similar to and inferior to such jokes about Homer Simpson. [21] The same review called the show "outlandish in a way that The Simpsons would not adopt until later", and likened its cutaway humor to Family Guy . However, it considered the cutaways on The Critic to be better than those of Family Guy, due to a lack of Family Guy's reliance on shock value. [21]

Awards and nominations

YearNominee / workAwardResult
1994 Gracie Films and Film Roman Productions Annie Award for Best Animated Television Program [46] Nominated
1995 Al Jean and Mike Reiss Annie Award for Best Individual Achievement for Creative Supervision in the Field of Animation [47] Nominated

Streaming and home media

Responding to the successful DVD sales of Family Guy and The Simpsons, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment decided to release The Critic: The Complete Series DVD box set on January 27, 2004, which includes all 2 seasons and 23 TV episodes (in their original production order) and the webisodes. [48] The show achieved good sales, jumping onto the DVD list at 14 on Amazon, and quickly going through five issuings. [23]

On June 8, 2021, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released The Critic: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. [49]

As of 2017, the series can be viewed for free on Crackle. [50]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Simpsons</i> American animated sitcom

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Developed by Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon, the series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, it caricatures society, Western culture, television, and the human condition.

<i>The Itchy & Scratchy Show</i> Fictional animated series on The Simpsons

The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a fictional animated series featured on The Simpsons. The cartoon depicts a sadistic mouse named Itchy who repeatedly maims or murders a black cat named Scratchy. It is typically presented as 15- to 60-second sketches that are a part of The Krusty the Clown Show. Itchy & Scratchy is filled with graphic violence, unsuitable for children, that almost invariably prompts laughter from The Simpsons characters, especially Bart and Lisa.

<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.

"Half-Decent Proposal" is the tenth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 10, 2002. In the episode, Homer's snoring interferes with Marge's sleep. To earn money to cure Homer's snoring, Marge agrees to spend a weekend with Artie Ziff if he vows to not grope her as he did during their high-school prom date. While spying on Marge and Artie, Homer mistakenly thinks they are making out, so he leaves with Lenny to work on an oil rig.

"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.

"The War of the Simpsons" is the twentieth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 2, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets drunk at a dinner party and embarrasses Marge, so she enrolls them in marriage counseling at a lakeside retreat with Reverend Lovejoy.

"Three Men and a Comic Book" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 9, 1991. In the episode, Bart finds the rare first issue of Radioactive Man for sale at a comic book convention. Unable to afford it, he convinces Martin and Milhouse to pool their money to buy the valuable comic, only to see it destroyed by their selfishness and inability to share. This episode contains the first appearance of the Android's Dungeon and its owner, Comic Book Guy, voiced by Hank Azaria.

"Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 9, 1995. The episode was written by Mike Scully and directed by Bob Anderson. Frank Welker guest stars as Santa's Little Helper and various other dogs. In the episode, Santa's Little Helper has puppies with a dog that he met at the greyhound racetrack.

"Lisa's Pony" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 7, 1991. In this episode, Homer goes drinking at Moe's Tavern instead of buying a new reed for Lisa's saxophone, making her flop at the school talent show. Desperate to win back his daughter's love, Homer gives Lisa the one thing she has always wanted: a pony. Homer struggles with two jobs to cover the cost of sheltering and feeding it. After seeing the sacrifices he endures to pay for it, Lisa decides to part with her pony.

<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 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993, and May 19, 1994. The showrunner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes, with the season being produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs that were produced for the previous season. The season contains some of the series' most acclaimed and popular episodes, including "Cape Feare", "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", "Homer Goes to College", "Deep Space Homer", and "Rosebud". It also includes the 100th episode, "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song". The season was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and won an Annie Award for Best Animated Television Program as well as an Environmental Media Award and a Genesis Award. The DVD box set was released in Region 1 on December 21, 2004, Region 2 on March 21, 2005, and Region 4 on March 23, 2005.

<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.

<i>Treehouse of Horror</i> Series of Halloween-themed episodes of The Simpsons

Treehouse of Horror is a series of annual Halloween-themed anthology episodes of the animated sitcom The Simpsons. Also known as The Simpsons Halloween Specials, each episode typically consists of three separate, self-contained segments. Each segment involves the Simpson family in some comical horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting; plot elements operate beyond the show's normal continuity, with segments exaggeratedly more morbid and violent than a typical Simpsons episode. With 35 episodes as of 2024, each Treehouse of Horror episode is numbered in Roman numerals, one less than the respective season it is in.

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).

"Pilot" 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, and aired on ABC.

"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. ↑ Scent of a Wolfman on YouTube. RetrievedNovember 4, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Keith Booker, M (January 1, 2006). Drawn to Television: Prime-Time Animation from the Flintstones to Family Guy . Greenwood Publishing Group. p.  103. ISBN   0275990192. jay sherman the critic.
  3. 1 2 3 Epstein, Daniel Robert. "Al Jean interview (including some discussion of The Critic)". UGO.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2003. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Al Jean on getting cancelled "What really killed it was when it was on Fox and the guy who ran the network then, John Matoian, just didn't like the show." ... "Even though our ratings were better, he cancelled us. It was very infuriating."
  4. 1 2 O'Neal, Sean (December 29, 2010). "Random Roles: Jon Lovitz". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2011. Jon Lovitz on the ratings of The Critic on Fox "We went on Fox and did like 10 shows, and on Fox it was better because it aired after The Simpsons, and actually it was a hit show, because The Simpsons was like getting a 14.1 rating, and we had an 11.1. We retained 90 percent of the audience."
  5. ↑ "7/30/95 Ratings". tvtango.com. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  6. ↑ "The TV Ratings Guide: 1993-94 Ratings History". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  7. ↑ "The TV Ratings Guide: 1994-95 Ratings History". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  8. ↑ "AtomFilms - The Critic #10". September 17, 2001. Archived from the original on September 17, 2001. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  9. ↑ Reiss 2018, p. 209.
  10. ↑ Reiss 2018, pp. 209–211.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Critic DVD Extras – Creating The Critic". YouTube. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Turner, Chris (2005). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation . Introduction by Douglas Coupland. (1st revised ed.). London: Ebury Press. p.  133. ISBN   978-0-09-190336-7. OCLC   56457550.
  13. 1 2 The Critic at The TV IV
  14. 1 2 The Critic/Season Two at The TV IV
  15. ↑ Reiss 2018, pp. 212–213.
  16. ↑ Reiss 2018, pp. 211–212.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Lawson, Tim; Persons, Alisa (December 9, 2004). The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN   1578066964.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Rabin, Nathan (November 6, 2011). "The Critic | The Critic". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  19. 1 2 Owen, Rob (1999). Gen X TV: The Brady Bunch to Melrose Place . Syracuse University Press. p.  66. ISBN   0815605854. jay sherman the critic.
  20. ↑ The Critic Will Be Right Back on YouTube
  21. 1 2 3 Jesse Hassenger (February 23, 2004). "The Critic: The Complete Series". PopMatters. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  22. ↑ Ortved, John (2009). Simpsons Confidential: The Uncensored, Totally Unauthorized Account of the World's Greatest TV Show by the People that Made it. Ebury. ISBN   9780091927295.
  23. 1 2 Epstein, Daniel Robert. "Simpsons Producer Mike Reiss Talks Critic". UGO.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  24. ↑ Weinstein, Josh. (2006) Commentary for "Hurricane Neddy", in The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  25. ↑ Lemire, Timothy (2006). I'm an English Major—Now What?: How English Majors Can Find Happiness, Success, and a Real Job. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books. ISBN   1599633299.
  26. ↑ Introducing Phillipsvision | The Critic | Throwback Toons on YouTube
  27. ↑ Kurp, Josh (February 4, 2013). "Ten Frighteningly Prophetic Parodies from 'The Critic'". UPROXX. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  28. ↑ Lindley, Jade (April 13, 2013). "The Critic: Have We Forgotten How To Accept Film?". GrabBagCinema.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  29. ↑ Chicago Sun-Times:: Search
  30. ↑ Weprin, Alex (March 12, 2008). "ReelzChannel Reels in 'The Critic'". http://www.broadcastingcable.com . Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  31. ↑ Albertson, Cammila. "The Critic (Animated Series)". http://www.allmovie.com . Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  32. ↑ Benson, John (April 23, 2010). "Now Jon Lovitz is a stand-up guy". The News-Herald . Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  33. ↑ Simon, Ben (July 4, 2007). "The Critic: The Complete Series". animatedviews.com. Retrieved November 3, 2009.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg
  34. ↑ IGN – Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time (page 4)
  35. ↑ IGN – Top 100 Best Animated TV Series
  36. ↑ "IGN – 26. The Critic". Au.tv.ign.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  37. ↑ Serafino, Jason (December 13, 2011). "The 25 Most Underrated Animated TV Shows Of All Time". http://www.complex.com . Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  38. ↑ Hiltbrand, David. "Picks and Pans Review: The Critic". People.com. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  39. ↑ "The Critic Interviews Pikachu – IGN". Au.ign.com. January 22, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  40. ↑ "Siskel & Ebert Review The TV Show The Critic – Starring Jon Lovitz". YouTube . December 10, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  41. ↑ Blue Chips, Midnight Cowboy, Reality Bites, The Scent of Green Papaya, The Critic, 1994 – Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews
  42. ↑ Jason Hughes (November 17, 2009). "Gone Too Soon: The Critic". Aoltv.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  43. ↑ NewsBank for Statesman | www.prod.statesman.com
  44. ↑ Kenigsberg, Ben (February 6, 2010). "Two Big, Sarcastic Thumbs Up". http://www.columbiaspectator.com . Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  45. ↑ "Things That Annoy Snotsnit Issue 4: Things Which Aren't The Critic". Ogeeku. March 19, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  46. ↑ Annie Awards - 22nd Annie Awards
  47. ↑ Annie Awards - 23rd Annie Awards
  48. ↑ The Critic/The Complete Series at The TV IV
  49. ↑ The Critic – The Complete Series – DVD – Mill Creek Entertainment
  50. ↑ "Best TV Shows on Crackle to Watch Right Now". Thrillist . May 3, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2024.

Sources

Notes

  1. ↑ Although the series wasn't renewed, most of the Fox episodes reran until July 30, 1995, where it was replaced by Living Single reruns [5]
  1. Sony Pictures Digital produced the web series, with Unbound Studios providing the web series' animation.
  2. Seasons 1-2 animation outsourced to Film Roman and Rough Draft Korea.
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.