Rating: 
Summary: "Hotchie Motchie!"
Review: New York Film Critic Jay Sherman (Jon Lovitz) reviews movies like "Rabbi Pi" , "Howard Stern's End" , and other movies. The movie clips are really funny. It failed on ABC, it failed on FOX, it even failed on Comedy Central and it really failed on the Internet! But, it won't fail on DVD. The short-lived series is funny no matter how you look at it.
Rating: 
Summary: That kid from Easter Island...
Review: I first caught The Critic on FOX when I was in high school, and although it was canceled, I was pleased to see that Comedy Central picked up the reruns a few years ago. This underrated show, like many others, was simply a victim of politics among network executives. One of the commentators on this DVD (I forget who) quoted Jonny Carson as saying, "TV is only medium that eats its young", and that's very true in this case. Fortunately The Critic developed enough of a following to be released on DVD, and so I will now review the DVD itself. Episodes - 5/5 - Great lines, characters, stories, and movie parodies. The visual gags (such as the cartwheeling hampster) and sign jokes (United Nations School: Teaching Tolerance and Brotherhood To Those Who Can Afford It) have rivaled those on the Simpsons and Futurama. The animation has a unique and naturalistic look that works very well: the people and places feel real. Also, the writing and the acting are quite solid. Commentaries - 3/5 - The commentators are witty and informative, but my main complaint is that there are only eight episodes with commentaries. I would have enjoyed commentaries on all of the episodes. The other problem is that when I played the commentaries, the sound wasn't as good, and I had to turn the volume way up, not only to hear the episode, but to hear Charles Napier and Nick Jameson, who often talk softly. Subtitles/Language Options - 0/5 - There are no subtitles at all, which is particularly irritating when trying to listen to the commentary tracks. And despite the FBI warnings being in both English and French, the audio is only in English. DVD package/menues - 2/5 - The outer package has little info about the DVD's contents. There is a booklet inside that lists the episodes, but doesn't list the special features. The DVD menues are simplified (for instance, there are no submenues for each episode). Episodes with commentary available only have an asterisk in the Episode Selection Menu, and the names of the commentators are not shown, only spoken. Special Features - 5/5 - I was pleasantly surprised with the extras on this DVD. They've included all ten of the internet shorts from 2000, which were cool to watch. I particularly enjoyed the "Making of the Critic" featurette, which contained interviews with Mike Reiss, Al Jean, Jim Brooks, Rich Moore, Maurice La Marche, and Nick Jameson. I like being able to finally match up a face with a voice! Also, the episode "A Pig-Boy and His Dog" had a few scenes where you could view the storyboards and animatic along with the full color animation all on the same screen, which Rich Moore commentating. Finally, I got a kick out of the "Fun Facts" and "Movie Trivia" bits. Overall, I give this DVD 4 stars because I feel the quality of the episodes and special features outweight the problems with the DVD, mainly the lack of subtitles and too few commentaries. Fans of this show, as well as fans of The Simpsons, Futurama, and Dilbert, should definitely get this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Yay for Jay!!
Review: I've always been a fan of The Critic, with loveable loser Jay Sherman and I'm glad to have it on DVD commercial free! Jay (voiced by Jon Lovitz) hosts a movie review show with hilarious movie parodies. He works for a Ted Turner-esque boss, help raise his son, deals with a bitter ex-wife and later gets a sweet girlfriend (voiced by Park Overall). Especially funny are Jay's gravel-voiced makeup lady Doris, who tells it like it is, and his 'eccentric' father who glues the silver to the ceiling and talks to penguins, amongst other things.
There are some slight changes between the first and second season, but they show remains funny. If you enjoy quick wit and pop culture references, peppered with the occasional dirty jokes, check out the Critic - it's a good time.
Rating:
Summary: A welcome gift for Critic fans
Review: The Critic is the television program I know best. I loved it when first appeared in the early 90s on ABC, and continued to love it on Fox and in reruns on Comedy Central. The pop culture references mixed in with Simpsons-inspired craziness simply made this perfect television program for me. For those who were paying attention in the early 1990s, the Critic shined some hilarious and downright silly light on popular things of the time. If you've seen the show on Comedy Central, you know whether or not this DVD is for you. If you like making fun of now almost-archaic pop-culture from the 1990s, you'll enjoy this. If you're looking at this DVD, you've probably enjoyed the show already. Every episode is intact, though the quality is sketchy. First season episode's brightness, contrast, and even color balance seem somewhat questionable on my computer monitor. The first season's colors look somewhat muddy, while the second season seems a little brighter and higher quality. Did someone mishandle the original prints? The commentary is quite good, with some interesting, fast-paced commentary discussing a wide variety of topics. The writers seem quite intelligent and funny, all the more shame this show got cancelled. They discuss whether Jon Lovitz really is like Jay Sherman in real life, the history of the show's acceptance, or lack thereof, on its networks, and even discussing the policies of FOX handling television programs: namely, how incomprehensible, off-putting, and detrimental re-arranging schedules can be to a show's success. The writers even mention when they recorded the commentary; the day of California's gubernatorial vote, which Governor Schwarzenegger won and whose election the writers predict. Am I declaring the commentators psychic? No, otherwise they could have avoided The Critic's failure. Hatchie matchie! It's simply a joy to see this wonderful show getting some wide distribution. Here's to hoping to a future version of the DVD with higher quality video, commentaries for every episode with even more of the cast, and maybe real-life video interviews with the writers and cast. If you liked the Critic on TV, you will like this competently put-together DVD set.
Rating:
Summary: It Zings!
Review: ...a lot of hot topics of the day, actors, politicians and more. It was a fun show and the humor very clever. (maybe too clever for some viewers) The fact that it was so topical and talked about current event may be one of the reasons it failed. Fans of The Simpson, The Family Guy, King of the Hill and Futurama should really enjoy this series. I can't say I like it as much as the aformentioned, but I liked it enough. There are too few good "adult" oriented cartoons on TV today, it is a shame this one never found it's nitch. Those of you who like clever comedy and great celebrity impersonations should enjoy The Critic.
Rating: 
Summary: It stinks ....really
Review: You don't remember the Critic? Not a heck of lot of people do.
Well, fans of the show do. All six of them. The show came and went at a time when every network was trying to emulate the success of the Simpsons. So how does a show made in 1994 hold up? It's as good as it was in 1994. That not really saying all that much. The show was not funny when it fist came out and it's not getting any funnier. The writing is labored and the jokes are few. It is shocking because the writers and creators were for the most part pooled from the Simpsons. The great waste of the show that it had all of Hollywood as a target but it spent way too much time with the hopelessly unlikable cast and it's looser star than taking shots at movies. The DVD allows the few fans of the show to see the show in all it's "glory". Actually the animation is not all that good and the transfer looks very muddy/blurry. The commentary is the saving grace of the DVD set. It's good as the creators are honest about how the show failed, giant boxes of hate mail and the mistakes they made. Refreshing. I think this show has always been overrated by a few vocal fans. It's boring and not very funny and I gave up after the first DVD to be honest.
Go buy a family guy or the Simpsons DVD set. You will thank me.
Rating:
Summary: Not for newcomers
Review: The critic was one of the best most underapreciated shows to ever hit television. It was passed around the networks, and even the internet, till it finally landed on Comedy Central in the form of reruns at 3 in the morning. The show is incredible, but may make a lot of references that some of the really young crowd might not remember or care about. References to old movies, the gulf war, and the like. Still I think anybody who ever saw the show, or even slightly remembers anything close to those movies will love the show. "OK Murphy, your partners have a way of dieing on you, so I've got some new partners for you, a woman, a kid, a dirty old dog, a dinosaur, a lepracaun "I'll be your lucky charm"" That was a quote from beverly hills robo k-9 cop and a half 2.
Rating:
Summary: IT STINKS!!!
Review: Or so Jay Sherman would claim. The subtleties and inside jokes in this series rivaled the Simpsons. The Critic always made me laugh, even though I somehow knew it would never make it. But any fan of the Simpsons/Futurama/Family Guy genre should enjoy this.
Rating:
Summary: An overlooked work of art...
Review: Firstly, i must say that this has to be the worst paced animated show I've ever watched. That is a characteristic you MUST get used to in order to enjoy this set as much as i did. Other than that, and the unchangeable fact that some of the jokes show their age...painfully, this show ranks up there with the smartest and most biting of all sitcoms. Sure this point is covered up by the rampant childish humor, but that is also the genious that was meant to be seen. A show where you must peel away the ill-contrivances to see the true core-meaning of it. It is stupid for the sake of being smart. I think that confusing point i just mentioned was the reason why this series was so short lived. People ,all to often, do not want to think about what they are watching. And since the obvious things that occur in these shows, on the face appear insipid, underneath they are genious. Jon Lovitz is a creative mastermind, (NO i am NOT Jon Lovitz....),who deserves to have his own show. And, the writers of this program worked together perfectly to deliver a show that was worthy of him. Too bad it was not worthy of network television. Actually, i guess that's a good thing. Yes, a good thing.......
Rating:
Summary: 'Bout Time!
Review: For a primetime cartoon show as great as the Critic, the DVD set is a little overdue. But well worth it! I loved the show then and I still love it now. Jon Lovitz is a hilarious voice actor, as I still love his cameos on the Simpsons, as well. The Critic has a similar humor to the Simpsons, and the way it playfully mocked Hollywood and pop culture, it had every reason to be successful. If you missed this on TV, watch it now! You will not be disappointed!
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