Gone Too Soon: "The Critic"

[JamesG]

Gone Too Soon: The Critic
Posted Nov 17th 2009
by Jason Hughes

Before The Simpsons begat Futurama, current executive producer of The Simspons Al Jean, along with Mike Reiss, created a short-lived animated series about a film critic who hated almost every film he ever saw.

Starring Jon Lovitz in some brilliant voice work, The Critic ran through two networks in two seasons. Like Futurama and Family Guy, it found some success with reruns on cable -- in this case, Comedy Central -- and a subsequent DVD release. But unlike those series, The Critic remains but a distant memory.

I still think The Critic has what it takes to be a hit on television; if not on a major network, then certainly on Comedy Central or Cartoon Network. Hell, shorten it to fifteen minutes and make new installments a part of the Adult Swim lineup.

The series had a madcap zany streak running through it that audiences of the mid-'90s just weren't prepared for. Looking at the animation we embrace today, it looks like The Critic was truly ahead of its time.



What was it?

"It Stinks!"


Jay Sherman was the host of Coming Attractions, making him "New York's third most popular early-morning cable-TV film critic." Mainly, though, he was a bit of a schlub. He was known for his mostly negative reviews of virtually every film he ever saw. And The Critic was known for putting goofy spins on real movies for Jay to critique. It was also known for quick cutaways to moments throughout Jay's life, much like (but slightly less fanciful than) the way Family Guy uses them.

Jay was the adopted son of a very well-to-do New England family, so despite his own slovenly existence, there were regular peeks into the world of eccentric socialites. He was also divorced, and had an equally overweight 13-year-old son, Marty. I say equally, but the show often made a special point of saying that Jay weighed an obscene amount, despite him not looking anywhere near that heavy.

With its quick wit, sharp satirical tongue and wacky characters, The Critic is a show that might have fared very well in the post-Seth MacFarlane era on FOX. I always felt that both the quick jabs at film and the lackluster home life of Jay Sherman were great fodder for ongoing adventures, but the series never seemed to find a foothold with a large enough audience to satisfy its networks.

In the two half-seasons it was on, The Critic managed to flesh out quite an impressive roster of characters, and like The Simpsons, it kept adding new and more intriguing characters seemingly every week. But it was far more over the top than its sister series, and perhaps that was the problem.




Why did it have to go?

ABC premiered it as a 1994 winter series, but quickly punted it to the summer to wrap up its first and only season there. FOX picked it up for a second season, which seemed a logical choice considering it was the home of The Simpsons.

They tried again in the winter of 1995, but again the series didn't catch ratings fire, and FOX let it go as well.

Rumor has it there were scripts prepared for yet a third shift to UPN, but that never panned out. I still think the show was a little "out there" for prime time audiences of the time.




How do I find out what happens next?

Creators Al Jean and Mike Reiss did bring back Jon Lovitz and The Critic in 2001 for a series of short 3-5 minute webisodes where Jay continued lampooning the movies, and trying to make it with his new make-up lady.

While there's been nothing done with the character since, it remains a strongly remembered chapter of Lovitz' career, and a highlight of the '90s for fans of animation.




Where did the cast wind up?

Jon Lovitz (Jay Sherman) continues to do voiceover work for The Simpsons, as well as appearing in myriad television series and movies, most notably replacing Phil Hartman in the final season of NewsRadio.

Nancy Cartwright (Margo Sherman) continues to voice Bart Simpson and many other cast members, but has also done other voiceover work, including as Rufus on Kim Possible.

Christine Cavanaugh (Marty Sherman) continued working in animation voiceover until her retirement in 2001, notably working as the voice of Chuckie on Rugrats, and the first Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory.

Gerrit Graham (Franklin Sherman) continues to work in animation, film and on television, notably in the starring role of Roger Bender on Now and Again.

Doris Grau (Doris Grossman) continued doing voiceover work, notably as Lunchlady Doris on The Simpsons, until she succumbed to lung disease in 1995.

Judith Ivey (Eleanor Sherman) finds most of her work in the realm of theater these days, appearing as Ann Landers in The Lady with All the Answers and Amanda in The Glass Menagerie.

Nick Jameson (Vlada) works extensively in video game voice work, but continues to appear in guest roles on television and in film as well.

Maurice LaMarche (Jeremy Hawke) went on to voice The Brain in Pinky and the Brain, as well as myriad characters in Futurama and simply tons of other animated series and films.

Charles Napier (Duke Phillips) continues playing badass military types in film and television. He was also the first voice of the Sheriff on Squidbillies.




Who cares?

The creators and Lovitz seem to, 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.




When can I see it?

At this point, it looks like your best bet is to pick up The Critic: The Complete Series on DVD.

The set offers all 23 produced episodes, as well as the 10 webisodes from 2001.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/11/17/go...on-the-critic/

[catlover79]

I watched that show when it was originally on. Loved it!! Jon Lovitz was perfect in the title role.

[Scoobiedoo30]

I watched The Critic was a great show and I miss the show

[Marvo301]

This was a great show but as mentioned was ahead of it's time. I Loved picking out all the references to actual movies in this show. I also enjoyed the many interesting characters.

[MrCleveland]

I liked that show, especially the episode called "A song for Margo".

Best scenes...?

Shawn Young as Bloat Beer Lady....





And Doris as Pleghm Fatale Cigarette Lady....





Too bad Doris' career was done when she got pregnant by the Fruit-of-the-Loom Banana.

[catlover79]

My dad, especially, found this show hilarious. I hope Jon Lovitz & co. can bring back The Critic in some way.

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by catlover79

My dad, especially, found this show hilarious. I hope Jon Lovitz & co. can bring back The Critic in some way.

I love to see "The Critic - The Movie"! (How ironic would that be? A movie critic getting his own movie!). But even more than that I'd love to see "The Critic" come back as a weekly series. Jon Lovitz was so great in this show!

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

I love to see "The Critic - The Movie"! (How ironic would that be? A movie critic getting his own movie!). But even more than that I'd love to see "The Critic" come back as a weekly series. Jon Lovitz was so great in this show!

I also loved Jon Lovitz's bit in The Wedding Singer. Hilarious!!

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by catlover79

I also loved Jon Lovitz's bit in The Wedding Singer. Hilarious!!

I also thought Jon Lovitz was hilarious went he guested on Seinfeld as Gary Fogel (aka the scufflaw) the guy who lies about having cancer in order to get Jerry to pay for his toupee.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

I also thought Jon Lovitz was hilarious went he guested on Seinfeld as Gary Fogel (aka the scufflaw) the guy who lies about having cancer in order to get Jerry to pay for his toupee.

I must have missed that one.

[Marvo301]

The episode was called "The Scufflaw" and it was the 13th episode of season 6. It originally aired on January 26, 1995. (in case you ever want to track it down and watch it!)

[R.jsheedy]

I loved that show!!! It Was nevar rely given a fair chance. love to see it come back "One Day"!

[browneyes106]

It was canceled way too soon. I think Reelz Channel or TV Guide Network aired reruns for awhile.

[MrCleveland]

Originally Posted by browneyes106

It was canceled way too soon. I think Reelz Channel or TV Guide Network aired reruns for awhile.

I saw reruns on Comedy Central.

[TMC]

http://uproxx.com/tv/the-critic-mike-reiss-al-jean/

When Jon Lovitz was asked during a radio interview in September 2015 if he would ever consider bringing The Critic back, fans everywhere rejoiced when he replied, “I would do it in a second.” Jay Sherman would likely thrive in this era of the internet critic. He’d be a king among mere mortals, freed from his television shackles and shouting, “It stinks!” across the digital universe. Just thinking of all the new movies The Critic could parody is enough to bring a smile, but there are a few problems that have kept this triumphant return from happening.

For starters, sadly, some of the show’s core cast members — Christine Cavanaugh (Marty Sherman), Doris Grau (Doris Grossman), and Charles Napier (the one and only Duke Phillips) — have passed away. Additionally, co-creator Al Jean is preoccupied with his obligations to The Simpsons, so he would be unable to join Lovitz in Jay’s Maron-like resurrection. But the biggest advantage, and the reason fans should get their hopes up, is that there’s simply more opportunity today for an animated series like The Critic than there was in 1995, when all it took to torpedo the series was a network president who didn’t get the joke.

To find out why we have yet to see a Sherman revival, we spoke with The Critic creators Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who were also more than happy to tell us how Lovitz came to be such a darling denigrator and why ABC and Fox just never gave The Critic the chance it deserved.