The Critic

I started watching this show again after I remembered the show vaguely from my childhood. I remember the show for the way that the title character looked. I also remembered that said character appeared on an episode of The Simpsons.

I randomly decided to watch this show again, and I am glad that I did. The Critic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Critic) is about a 36 year old film critic named Jay Prescott Sherman (played by the talented Jon Lovitz). He hosts the show within a show called Coming Attractions, a show where he talks about and reviews movies--something that I didn't truly appreciate until I re-watched the show. He often puts the movies that he watches down with his surly and sarcastic put downs.

The show features parodies of movies like The Lion King (The Cockroach King) and celebrities like Marlon Brando. As a big fan of movies, I really did enjoy seeing all of the creative things that they came up with in terms of celebrity appearances and the absurd movies that never happened. The humor also has to do with Jay being fat and pathetic, and I do like how they made those jokes. A lot of thought went into the entire show as a whole, and that's one of the many things that I love about it.

Jay is not the only memorable character in the show. This show is full of great characters that make this show more entertaining. In fact, I love most of the supporting cast on the show.

His adoptive parents, Frank and Eleanor, are both rich and have a butler named Shackleford. Jay often goes to visit them, which always leads to hilarity.

Eleanor is very prim and proper, but she can be mean and under-handed when it benefits her, such as threatening to shoot Margo's horse if she doesn't go to the debutante ball. She's often embarrassed by her family and their accompanied eccentricities. One of my favorite things about her is that she truly does love Jay, although she doesn't always show it.

Franklin is one of the weirdest characters on the show, and does a lot of things to show that--such as gluing the silverware and the dog to the ceiling, dressing up as the Energizer bunny, getting stuck to an ice sculpture, among other things. But despite his erratic behavior, he does prove to be competent, such as the time he trained Jay to run the marathon.

He's a former Governor of New York, a former ambassador, a Rhodes Scholar, a Cabinet member, and a heavy contributor to the Republicans.

Margo Sherman (the biological daughter of Franklin and Eleanor Sherman)  is one of my favorite characters (voiced by Nancy Cartwright). She's 16 years old and attends the Miss Hathaway's School for Untouched Girls as a junior. I like her because she's normal. It balances out the strange behavior of her dad, and I think that's important. And last but not least, my favorite quality about her: she cares deeply for her brother, Jay, even going as far as to take a horse ride with Jay's girlfriend to make sure that she isn't using him for a good review.

Duke Phillips is one of the best characters on the show. He's the boss of Jay Sherman and runs Phillips Broadcasting. He's able to do impressive things such as walking through walls like nothing, and being able to pick Jay up and use him as a weight for his workout. He's also looking for more ways to improve the ratings and maximize the profits. He has his own news network, PNN (Phillip News Network), has his own amusement park (Phillips Land), which is dubbed "The Happiest Place in Jersey," and built his own preschool on a dare, among other things that are a treat to witness. Duke can be selfish, but he has a good heart deep down, and I think that's what makes him a great character.

Dorris is Jay's makeup lady, and is a chain smoker. She has been through a lot with Jay, and was there for him when his liposuction backfired. They also had an episode in which it was believed that she was Jay's real mother. All in all, a good character.

Jeremy Hawke (Maurice LaMarche) is an Australian actor that became Jay's friend after Jay gave his movie its only positive review. He has been in several action movies such as The Crocodile Gandhi movies. He's a fun character to watch whenever he's on screen. He's a good guy that truly does care for Jay, often giving him advice. He's easily one of my favorite characters.

Last but not least, Alice Tompkins (Park Overall). She, along with her daughter, Penny, were introduced in the first episode of season 2. Alice and her daughter moved from Knoxville, Tennessee to New York when she suspects her then husband, Cyrus, of cheating on her. This was later proven to be true due to his album: "I'm Being Unfaithful to My Wife, Alice Tompkins. You heard me, Alice Tompkins." She moved to New York to prove that she could make it without a man. She used to wait tables and is a talented painter--being able to replicate popular masterpieces on the walls of her apartment.

She pepper sprays Jay upon meeting him, and he actually didn't mind it because it was Jalapeno flavored. Alice eventually takes a liking to him and they date. Their relationship was one of my favorite parts of the show because of their great chemistry together. One of the things that I liked was that their relationship wasn't rushed. Their affection towards each other felt genuine. And not only that, but they're fun together. They're a great match.

The show's art differed from season to season, which really did emphasize the change from networks--as the show was originally on ABC but then moved over to Fox. Overall, though, I prefer the second season with the introduction of Alice to the show. She quickly became one of my favorite characters. I also liked the fact that Jay was less pathetic and actually ended up in a meaningful relationship with a great character.

This show is very good, maybe even great, but one of the things that takes a few points off for me are the webisodes that were released in 2000. Most of the characters were dropped except for Jay Sherman, and a single appearance from Vlada. These episodes are animated using Adobe Shockwave. They're very short, around 3 to 5 and it's 10 webisodes. These shorts have Jay is talking about films while trying to get with his new make up lady, Jennifer. I was disappointed that Alice never made an appearance.

The webisodes do drag it down, but I still think this show is very enjoyable. They do cut away gags that would be popularized by Family Guy. The humor is smart and the jokes are well done. I'm definitely glad that I gave this show a chance.