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The Critic - The Complete Series

The Critic - The Complete Series

List Price: $49.95
Your Price: $39.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: COCOLATE COVERED ROACHES DON'T CRAWL!!!!!
Review: A line that sums up the brilliance of this show, that something so absurd can garner such a riotous amount of laughter.

I remembered watching each episode laughing constantly from beginning to end, a feat even "The Simpsons" couldn't muster. And this show really was an example of "burn out" rather than "fade away" : it seemed that the writers wanted to do nothing more but just go for as many laughs as humanly possible. From Jay Sherman's perfectly sarcastic portrayal by an astounding Jon Lovitz, to his insane dad ("I understand the silverware on the ceiling, but what about the dog?" "You understand the silverware??? Cuckoo!!!"), to the Klingon and Easter Island head children, they took risk after risk with the humor, and while some things weren't successful, it all piled on so much that if you weren't laughing at one thing, you were laughing at three others at once. Sure it might not have had quite the endlessly endearing character of a Simpsons, or the more demented (though it was quite demented in its own right) stlyings of a Family Guy, or the top notch scripts of a Futurama, but in the end this show was about one thing: making you laugh until you hurt, and with the state of most common television, that is something truly commendable. Don't overlook it for a (fourth?) time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: one of the best cartoons ever
Review: IT STINKS!!!
that's how every other cartoon compares to the critic. With Jay's awkward father saying delightful catchphrases such as "The peanut is neither a pea nor a nut" how could you not think about owning it. If you like Family Guy, or can't wait for the next DVD of the Simpsons or Futurama, then pick up The Critic and be prepared to laugh so loud, you wet your pants!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ahchem..The Critic is finally here
Review: The Critic was a very misunderstood and underappreciated masterpiece. Thanks to Comedy Central and recurrent bouts of insomnia I have not been without The Critic these many long years, but not a day went by where I didn't curse those responsible for the show's demise. How could a show with so many writers, producers, and actors from The Simpsons last only two seasons....IDIOT executives, that's how.

Voice Talents:
Jon Lovitz as Jay Sherman
Nancy Cartwright as Margo
Gerrit Graham as Franklin
Doris Grau as Doris
Judith Ivery as Eleanor
Charles Napier as Duke Phillips
Nick Jameson as Vlada Velimirovic, others
Maurice LeMarche as Jeremy Hawke, others
Christine Cavanaugh as Martin

(1) The Pilot (1994): Guest star Valerie Fox as an actress who seduces Jay in order to secure a good review for her latest (sub-par) performance. (4 of 5)
(2) Marty's First Date: It's career day at Marty's school (Jay's son) where Jay is embarrassed and Marty meets the girl who is to be his first date. (5)
(3) Dial 'M' for Mother: Test audiences find Jay cold, uncaring, and homely and less warm and cuddly than Hitler. He goes on Geraldo with his mother in order to soften his image-with disastrously hilarious results. (5)
(4) Miserable: An obsessed projectionist kidnaps Jay so that he can tell her what movies are good. On the plus side, Jay did get some action. Jay is rescued by Jeremy Hawke, his best bud and Australian action hero. (4)
(5) A Little Deb Will Do You: Margo (Jay's sister) is reluctant to attend a debutante ball despite pressure from her mother (...to starve yourself to fit into a dress, to dance with boys who feel you up, to drink so much you fall into a well, it's a magical night...). Secondary to threats to shoot her beloved horse, Margo agrees to her mother's will and has a miserable time. (5)
(6) Eyes on the Prize: Jay celebrates his 1000th episode but poor ratings and no visitor turn-out at his party spur him to quit and focus on winning a Pulitzer. Guest stars Phil Hartman as Adolph Hitmaker, Adam West as himself, and Tress MacNeille make the episode a hit. (4)
(7) Every Doris Has Her Day: Jay and Doris (yep, Lunch lady Doris) go to a show and as they get to know each other better, it becomes apparent that Jay may in fact be Doris' child given up for adoption years earlier. (4)
(8) Marathon Mensch: To prove his machismo, Jay agrees to train for and run the NY Marathon. Guest star Bob Costas. (4)
(9) L.A. Jay: Jay writes a screenplay and takes it to LA but it's too good for the illiterate , ex-gigolo executive to produce (instead opting for Revenge of the Nerds 4). Jay is then hired to write 'Ghost-Chasers III' and in so doing must abandon his creative ideology. (5)
(10) Dr. Jay: As Duke announces his plan to change the endings of Holly Woods greatest hits he is stricken with a terminal illness. Jay vows to find a cure. (4)
(11) A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera: Jay is voted Time Magazine's Wittiest Man Alive and to improve ratings Duke offers to pay any viewer $100 if they don't find Jay funny. Upon failing, Duke and Jay are taken to court in a mass class-action suit. Guest stars Steve Allen and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. (5)
(12) Uneasy Rider: Jay refuses to endorse products on his show and quits his job to become a truck driver. In order to impress his fellow truckers he volunteers for the high-risk jobs. (4)
(13) A Pig-Boy and His Dog: Jay's mother writes a children's book whose main character (pig-boy) resembles the critic and he is tortured by the consequences. (5)
(14) Sherman, Woman, and Child (1995): Here we are introduced to Alice, Jay's assistant and on-again off-again love interest. Alice re-creates Jay's image thereby saving his job and Jay teachers her how to survive in NYC. (4)
(15) Siskel and Ebert & Jay and Alice: This episode guest stars Roger Ebert, Gene Siskel, Rex Reed, and Gene Shalit. Siskel and Ebert splt and each want Jay as their new partner. (4)
(16) Lady Hawke: Jay falls for Jeremy's twin sister, Olivia. Olivia is a man-eater and Jeremy fights to protect his friend. Meanwhile, Alice finds herself caught in this love triangle. (4)
(17) A Song for Margo: Margo falls for her dangerous new neighbor, Johhny Wrath from the group Nuns in a Blender. When she denies his advances, he abandons her for another, looser woman. (4)
(18) From Chunk to Hunk: Jay and Marty go to a fat camp for diet, exercise, and torture. Marty is successful both in losing weight and subsequently with the ladies. (4)
(19) All the Duke's Men: Jay is enlisted as a speech writer for Duke Phillips' presidential campaign. Jay's writing gains him respect and Duke the loyalty of the masses. When Jay refuses to write a speech where Duke drops Franklin (Jay's father) as his running mate Duke fires him and reveals his true plans for the country. (5)
(20) Sherman of Arabia: Marty has a slumber party and Jay regales the children with his story of capture and subsequent heroism during the Gulf War. (4)
(21) Frankie and Ellie Get Lost: Following their 40th anniversary, Jay's parents get lost at sea when their penguin-piloted aircraft crashes. Recall that "penguins can't fly." (5)
(22) Dukerella: Miranda, Alice's sister (Alice is Jay's girlfriend), visits NY and proceeds to irritate all with her great beauty, naivety, and deep southern ways. Just as Miranda hit's rock-bottom she meets and falls in love with Duke. (5)
(23) I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show: Jay and pals are held hostage at his 10th anniversary show. Although this is a flash-back episode and no way for a show like the Critic to leave us, it did have Milton Berle as the saves-the-day ninja. (4)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: BOUT TIME!
Review: I loved this series and was sad to see it was cancelled. John Lovitz is hilarious and some of my fav characters were created in this cartoon, i esp love jay sherman's father. its about time all the episodes were put on DVD. It always puts a smile on my face when i turn on comedy central late at night to find a re run but now i can finally watch it. Hey maybe if the DVD sales are good enough this show might come back on the air. It worked for Family Guy!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A little dated but still pretty funny
Review: At one point on the Simpsons' Season 3 commentary, Matt Groening says he thought it was great Al Jean and Mike Reiss got to do "The Critic," since they could finally write all the film parodies they wanted. Jean's response, basically, is "Look how far it went."

Not as far as it deserved, sadly, and "The Critic" feels like a creature of its time. Satires of films like "Cliffhanger" and "Scent of a Woman" were a lot funnier when the movies were fresh in people's heads. Still, "The Critic" had one-liners only "The Simpsons" could rival, from Jay's "And that's why I'm glad the Beatles broke up" to Franklin's should-have-been-classic "As the first black female head of the Ku Klux Klan, I'd like to say America stinks!"

No surprise, then, that this was the first prime time cartoon that could hold its own with and frequently surpass Homer and the gang (if you remember "Capital Critters," you'll see my point). I personally prefer the Fox episodes, which rub down some of Jay's harsher edges (Alice is a big help) and go into loonier directions than the ABC episodes, but each show has achingly funny moments, whether it's Orson Welles narrating a video will or a "Have A Nice Day" poster calling Jay "a scum-sucking loser."

Unlike "The Simpsons," though, "The Critic" often targeted specific fads or celebrities, which are funny as long as those targets are in the public mind. A scene of Roseanne terrorizing New York was a lot funnier when, well, Roseanne was, and some of the Clinton jokes are already frayed around the edges. If "The Critic" had survived longer, as it should have, these things might have been less noticeable, but with only 23 episodes in the can, there isn't as much timelessness as there is with "The Simpsons."

Still, the energy and excellent writing makes this a good addition to the collection of any Evergreen Terrace fan, who can see that the talents of that show's extraordinary crew weren't limited to Springfield.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Well, it's about time........
Review: ........that they finally released this show on DVD. This is one gem of a series, that I appreciated when it was on the air in 1994. I never saw it again after that, but I re-discovered it on Comedy Central in 2000, and I'm happy to say- I love this show!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the sadly missed..
Review: I could not agree more with the other reviewers. I am placing this next to my Family Guy DVD's(which I absolutely miss). Doris cracks me up everytime.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: FINALLY
Review: finally the critic is on dvd.i watch the critic on comedy central on sundays whenever they put it on.i love this show.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Teen and Adult cartoon about satire,movies,and people
Review: The Critic was a hilarious 90s show about cartoon satire spoofing movies,people,and New York.Jay Sherman was a short,chubby movie critic that lived in New York with his son Marty which was in most episodes,his wife was a mean woman that took care of Marty,until Jay found a woman named Alice and her daughter Penny.Jay would review movies like The Cockroach King and Orson Welles.Jay's friends were Ethan,a Australian man that would copycat Crocidile Dundee,Doris,his hair dresser that smoked,and his mean but friendly boss Duke Phillips.Jay's parents were Eleanor and Franklin that acted weird and Margo was Jay's sister that lived with Jay's parents.The best cartoon ever.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's about time!
Review: Amazon may want to double-check the year they have for this series: 1979. I think it was actually 1997.
The Critic is an excellent show that just wasn't given a fair chance. Perhaps it was a little too irreverent for mainstream America. It was the best imitator of The Simpsons up until that point. Now we have Futurama and Family Guy but The Critic is still worthy of a place in your DVD collection...especially since we're getting the whole series (short as that may be).
Thank goodness for DVD, that allows us nerds to get our grubby little hands on obscure shows like Family Guy, The Ben Stiller Show and The Critic.


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