The Critic

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The Critic Opening Title Shot.

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The Critic.

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Jay Sherman posing on The Critic.

The Critic is an American animated series that was originally broadcast on ABC in 1994 (and later on the Fox in 1995). The show was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who were two writers and producers on The Simpsons. The show was produced by Columbia Pictures Television in association with Gracie Films and Film Roman. The series revolves around the life of movie critic Jay Sherman. Each episode featured at least one or two short movie parodies based on current releases at the time or movies that were at least two or three years old. Many of these parodies were featured on Jay's show Coming Attractions. Notable examples include Howard Stern's End (Howard's End), Honey, I Ate the Kids (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), The Cockroach King (The Lion King), and Scent of a Jackass (Scent of a Woman). It also made parodies of old but well know movies such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Godfather.

The show was controversial in many of its episodes, with one showing apparent S&M content, in which Jay was tied up and to be killed by an obsessive, psychotic woman (a spoof of Misery by Stephen King). It was cancelled after two years, though a half-dozen brief "Internet only" episodes were produced later on and were included as a bonus on the DVD box set. Today, cable's Comedy Central airs reruns of the show.

Characters

• Jon Lovitz - Voice of Jay Sherman
• Nancy Cartwright - Voice of Margo Sherman
• Christine Cavanaugh - Voice of Marty Sherman
• Gerrit Graham - Voice of Franklin Sherman
• Doris Grau - Voice of Doris
• Judith Ivey - Voice of Eleanor Sherman
• Nick Jameson - Voice of Vlada Veramirovich
• Valerie Levitt - Voice of Jennifer (make-up girl)
• Charles Napier - Voice of Duke Phillips
• Park Overall - Voice of Alice Tompkins
• Russi Taylor - Voice of Penny Tompkins
• Kath Soucie - Various Voices

Jay Sherman

"New York's third most popular early-morning cable-TV film critic." His catchphrases include his exclamation of surprise ("Hotchie motchie!"), his common putdown of sub-par films ("It stinks!") and his distinctive cough. He is known for his surly and sarcastic putdowns of the majority of films he reviewed.

Jay Sherman is the adopted son of wealthy couple Franklin and Eleanor Sherman. He has a teenage sister named Margo. He has a young son, Marty, who visits often when not staying with Jay's ex-wife, Ardeth and her "personal trainer," Alberto.

Jay appeared in a guest role on one episode of The Simpsons, in which he presided over a local film festival, much to Homer's envy. Simpsons creator Matt Groening, for his part, detested the act of a current Fox show (which The Critic was at the time) crossing over with another current Fox show, and refused to allow his name to be shown in the credits.

Since then, he appeared briefly on The Simpsons a few more times. In one episode, he was in an insane asylum apparently unable to say anything more than his catchphrase. In another episode, we find him at Moe's Tavern with all the other characters on the show that Lovitz voices.

Jay has also held several other jobs in his time, including a truck driver and a writer for the film Ghost Chasers 3. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for criticism.

Marty Sherman

Jay's 11-year-old son, Marty, usually stays with his mother at Alimony Towers but visits Jay often. He is just as portly and dorky as Jay, but it rarely causes him problems at his U.N.-inspired elementary school. Elected eighth-grade president thanks to a speech written by his father, he also dated Fidel Castro's granddaughter and discovered he has a gift for belly-dancing.

Margo Sherman

The youngest child of the Sherman family, and the only biological child of Franklin and Eleanor. She is 16 years old and attends a finishing school for "untouched girls." Margo is an activist who often protests her mothers' socialite lifestyle. She also cares greatly for Jay, making sure his girlfriends aren't just dating him to get good reviews and having him escort her to the debutante ball. Dated hard rock singer Johnny Wrath until he cheated on her. In revenge, Jay called up his long-lost, embarrassing Jewish stereotype parents.

Franklin Sherman

Jay's adoptive father and Eleanor's husband, Franklin always carries a drink in his hand and wears slippers. He is completely insane, after drinking some punch spiked by a young Ted Kennedy, with past activities including gluing the silverware and the dog to the ceiling, leaving the oven on and burning down the house and speaking to a stuffed animal as his son (trying to set him up with Barbie). His family sometimes explains this behavior by saying he had a stroke ("He didn't really. We just say that to explain his personality"). He also has a Zorro-like dual identity, calling himself "El Kabong" and hitting people on the head with his guitar. He is a former governor of New York, as well as a former ambassador and a heavy contributor to the Republican Party. Was also Secretary of Balloon Doggies at his own request. He was Duke Phillips's running mate when he ran for president, though Duke tried to remove him when he claimed to be the black female head of the Ku Klux Klan. He also led a trucker's union for a time, and apparently buried lots of money and some bodies in the backyard.

Eleanor Sherman (née Wigglesworth)

Jay's adoptive mother and Franklin's wife, Eleanor is very prim and proper. She can be very nasty and underhanded when it suits her purposes, willing to shoot her daughter's horse to force her to go to a debutante ball. She is often embarrassed by her family and its eccentricities. Her strongest belief is that all poor people should be shot into space, and when she wrote a children's book about Jay called "The Fat Little Pig" she promised to put all its funds toward that goal. She is a little too concerned with her outward appearance, despite her lack of tear ducts. This is brought to light when she is asked how her skin is so smooth, and she replied that she scrubs her face rigorously with steel wool, and then soaks her face in boiling hot water for two minutes. (She serves the broth to the crusty old captain in the boat house which he calls "hag face soup")

Duke Phillips

Duke is Jay's boss, and head of Philips Broadcasting (formerly Duke Philip's House of Chicken and Waffles). He somewhat resembles Ted Turner. He runs the network that shows Coming Attractions, and is always trying to change things to increase ratings and maximize profits, uncaring if it forces Jay to change things. He owns an amusement park, dubbed "The Happiest Place In Jersey", runs PNN (Philips News Network), created "Phillips-Vision", and also tried to run for president with Franklin as his running mate. Contracted a fatal disease, later dubbed "Duke Phillips" disease, the treatment for which includes an 8 ounce injection of an concoction of Jay Sherman's, into his eyeball. He believes Jay is gay and in love with him, and wastes no opportunity to belittle him in public about this. Towards the end of the series, he marries Jay's girlfriend's sister, Miranda Tompkins.

Jeremy Hawke

Jeremy is an Australian actor, and is one of Jay's best friends since Jay gave his first film its only positive review. He has starred in action movies, and also played former president James Monroe (as a spoof of James Bond eg. "Monroe, James Monroe"). He has a sister, Olivia, who tries to win Jay's affection. Jeremy is the star of the "illogical, blasphemous, and ultra-violent Crocodile Gandhi movies." He's likely a combination spoof of Australians Paul Hogan in terms of the exaggerated accent, and Mel Gibson with his luck with the ladies as well as his action film roles.

Doris

Doris is Jay's make-up artist, a chain smoker and possibly Jay's biological mother (tests were negative but there are many similarities between his circumstances and her own adopted son). She also tries to be attractive to Duke, by purring and sending him nude photos of herself. She only has one lung and anytime a cigarette is removed from her mouth a new one appears.

Alice Tompkins

Introduced in the second season, Alice somewhat becomes Jay's girlfriend. She moved to New York from Knoxville, Tennessee, to show her daughter Penny that a woman can make it in this world. She was once married to a country singer, Cyrus Tompkins. Originally an artist, she quickly found work as Jay's assistant.

Vlada Veramirovich

Vlada runs a restaurant called L'ane Riche (French for "The Wealthy Jackass"), which Jay and Jeremy both frequent. He hates Jay, but loves his money, frequently belittling him quietly or in a foreign language to the staff. Best known for his greeting to Jay, "Meeester Sherman", he has a keen understanding of who is hot and who is not in New York and a pose built for schmoozing. Has an equally effeminate and disturbing son, Zoltan, who attends the same school as Jay's son Marty.

The Devil

Appearing in several episodes, Jay blames him for many of Hollywood's problems (such as unnecessary sequels and Cher winning an Oscar, although he's only the reason Marisa Tomei won). He was once contacted by the cast of WINGS, who wanted to stay on the air for another year (His response was "There are limits to even MY powers!"

Season One Synopsis

Pilot

Episode 1x01 - Airdate: January 26, 1994

Film critic Jay Sherman falls in love with actress Valerie Fox. Jay's family and friends worry that Valerie is using him to get a good movie review. Does she truly care for him?

Marty's First Date

Episode 1x02 - Airdate: February 02, 1994.

Jay's son Marty falls for a classmate: Fidel Castro's granddaughter. Jay smuggles himself into Cuba to rescue his son, and upon being captured, Castro, feeling benevolent, orders the firing squad, "shoot to wound." As the episode ends, Jay is freed by telling the guards he gave thumbs up to "The Mambo Kings."

Dial 'M' For Mother

Episode 1x03 - Airdate: February 16, 1994

Jay is considered to be one of the most unpopular men on Earth (ranking even worse than Hitler) so Duke attempts to spruce up the show to get more people interested. When this doesn't work, Jay decides to soften his image by going on the "Geraldo Show" with his mother but Jay gets an even worse reputation when his mother embarrasses him to the point where he tells her to "shut up".

Miserable

Episode 1x04 - Airdate: February 16, 1994

Jay, noticing everyone in New York has a fiancee except him, begins to feel unloved. Things change when he goes to review the movie, Indecent Proposal II, and falls in love with the projectionist screening the movie. They arrange a date at her house where she is revealed to have an obsession with Jay to the point where she kidnaps him and ties him to a bed holding him hostage.

A Little Deb Will Do Ya

Episode 1x05 - Airdate: February 23, 1994

Eleanor is determined to have her daughter, Margo, attend the annual debutantes ball, a tradition in her family. When Margo is reluctantly forced into it, Jay decides to accompany her. Meanwhile, Jay competes in his time slot against children's idol Humphrey the Hippo.

Eyes on the Prize

Episode 1x06 - Airdate: March 02, 1994

Jay gets fired and is forced to host an early morning television show, "English for Cab Drivers." Jay decides that the best way to get his old job back is to win another Pulitzer, which he does.

Every Doris Has Her Day

Episode 1x07 - Airdate: June 01, 1994

Jay is given two tickets to a new play based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He tries to find a date but no woman will go with him so he goes with Doris instead. Surprisingly, Jay and Doris have a good time and their relationship eventually blossoms. One day Doris recalls she has a son she put up for adoption. Jay mentions he is adopted and both start to think they are biological mother and son and must find more evidence.

Marathon Mensch

Episode 1x08 - Airdate: June 08, 1994

When the studio catches fire during Jay's show, he collapses and must be rescued from the fire by Doris. When the news reports Jay's being rescued, he gets a reputation as being a wimp so he tries to prove his manliness by running in the New York marathon which tends to be more tiresome than it seems.

L.A. Jay

Episode 1x09 - Airdate: June 22, 1994

Jay is offered to write the screenplay for a new movie, Ghostchasers III, so he takes a break from his show to go to L.A. to write the new movie and experience Hollywood life but the movie producer isn't satisfied with Jay's script.

Dr. Jay

Episode 1x10 - Airdate: June 29, 1994

Jay's boss, Duke, has just made a new invention, "Phillips-Vision" which alters movies to make them more "likeable". Jay is disgusted with Duke's invention but when Duke is discovered to have a fatal disease, Jay must find a cure for Duke's ailment.

A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera

Episode 1x11 - Airdate: July 06, 1994

After Marty fails to win an event at his school field day, he is feeling very low so Jay tries to improve his self-confidence by getting him interested in playing guitar and putting him in the school talent show. Meanwhile, Them Magazine names Jay "the wittiest man alive" so Duke offers to pay everyone who doesn't laugh at Jay's show $100 which doesn't go over very well.

Uneasy Rider

Episode 1x12 - Airdate: July 13, 1994

Jay is asked by Duke to use his show to promote a new product, "Savvy Indian Chewing Tobacco". Jay doesn't want to promote tobacco so he tears up his contract and quits. He finds a new career in truck driving where he is praised by the other truckers but starts to realize the importance of his other job.

A Pig-Boy and His Dog

Episode 1x13 - Airdate: July 20, 1994

Eleanor is bored and feeling depressed with her life so she attempts to become an author and write a book. She writes a children's book, The Fat Little Pig, which Jay learns is modelled after him. Meanwhile, Jay tries to get along with his new pet dog.

This was the last episode aired on ABC. The rest of the episodes were broadcast by the FOX Network.

Season Two Synopsis

Sherman, Woman and Child

Episode 2x01 - Airdate: March 05, 1995

Jay's ratings are not doing very well and Duke is about to fire him so Jay is feeling depressed. His feelings become better when he meets Alice Thompkins and her daughter Penny. Alice is needing a job, so Jay has her become his new assistant. Alice gives Jay tips on how to improve his image and her advice works. Jay wants to get to know Alice better but discovers she has an ex-husband whom she hates and wants to reject, but can't.

Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice

Episode 2x02 - Airdate: March 12, 1995

After Jay attends the Academy Awards ceremony, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert (themselves) have a fight on the plane ride home and split up. Jay sees his golden opportunity to be a partner to either Siskel or Ebert, but feels they weren't right to be apart, so he tries to get them reunited.

Lady Hawke

Episode 2x03 - Airdate: March 19, 1995

When Jeremy Hawke's sister, Olivia Newton Hawke, visits New York, Jay meets her and is smitten with her which puts his relationship with Alice on the line when she begins to feel left out. So Jay then must decide who he really loves.

A Song for Margo

Episode 2x04 - Airdate: March 26, 1995

Margo gets a new neighbor, Johnny Wrath (a spoof on modern grunge rockers), who is the lead singer in the rock group, "Nuns in a Blender". Margo falls in love with him but doesn't feel the relationship is right when she finds him with another girl. Meanwhile Alice tries to find a suitable preschool for Penny. On an interesting side note, the butler in Jay's parents' house reveals that he loves the band "Nuns in a Blender" and leaves them to be Johnny's butler

From Chunk to Hunk

Episode 2x05 - Airdate: April 02, 1995

Jay and Marty begin to feel a little big so they enroll in a weight loss camp. Marty loses a remarkable amount of weight which makes him feel more self- confident but when he is placed as the star in a school play, he doesn't feel his skinny self is right for him. Meanwhile, Jay receives a death threat from Belgian actor Jean Paul Le Pope (a spoof on Jean Claude Van Damme) whose movie he panned.

All the Duke's Men

Episode 2x06 - Airdate: April 23, 1995

After Jay gets his son Marty elected class president, his boss Duke decides to run for president. He is off to a good start, with Jay as his speechwriter. Things go downhill, however, when Jay's adoptive father Franklin is chosen as Duke's running mate, and makes his ratings plummet after a vice-presidential debate. To kill the ticket, Duke tells the world he'll run on a platform that includes "dumping oil in the ocean" and "selling our best assets to the Japanese".

Sherman of Arabia

Episode 2x07 - Airdate: April 30, 1995

At Marty's slumber party, Jay is asked to tell his story in which he got caught up in the Gulf War. Jay tells how he was attending an Iraqi film festival and eventually was thrown in jail where he escaped and lead a troop of men across the desert.

Frankie and Ellie Get Lost

Episode 2x08 - Airdate: May 07, 1995

Franklin and Eleanor celebrate their 40th anniversary by going on vacation but the plane crashes and Franklin and Eleanor find themselves marooned on an island. Back in New York, Margo and Jay find out about their disappearance and discover they have willed Jay their entire fortune which Jay decides to put to use by cleaning up New York.

Dukerella

Episode 2x09 - Airdate: May 14, 1995

Alice's sister, Miranda, comes to visit them which Alice is not comfortable with. Miranda must find work in New York so she joins "Mattress in an Hour" delivering mattresses. When everybody attends a party held by Duke, Miranda falls in love with Duke but is shy because of a wrinkle. She runs out on Duke at midnight and Duke must find the woman who fits her slipper. When it turns out to be Doris, Jay must get Duke and Miranda reunited.

I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show

Episode 2x10 - Airdate: May 21, 1995

Jay is hosting his 10th anniversary show held at Carnegie Hall where he showcases a number of movie clips from old episodes such as Jurassic Park 2 (Note: The movie 'Jurassic Park 2' referred to is a fictional parody of the original movie. At this time, the actual sequel, The Lost World, had not been created) Every Which Way but Lucid, and Rabbi P.I. The show is later held hostage by a number of terrorists who threaten to blow the place up with a bomb tied to Jay's waist. Fortunately, everybody is eventually rescued by Milton Berle.

External link

• The Critic Episode List