By Robert Scucci
| Published
When The Simpsons was at the height of its golden age, The critic debuted in 1994 on ABC and possessed a similar sense of humor to his yellow-skinned cartoon contemporary on Fox Network. In my personal canon, the Jon Lovitz-starring series functions as an unofficial film. The Simpsons a spin-off that was canceled before it really had a chance to thrive. While the Critical the sense of humor can be attributed to executive producers Al Jean, Mike Reiss and James L. Brooks, all associated with The Simpsonsthis series has stayed in its lane while subtly satisfying The Simpsons fans who needed a break from the typical family sitcom format.
Suspiciously Springfieldian
Executive producers aside, the parallels between The critic And The Simpsons keep it up, as Jon Lovitz has frequently made incidental appearances in the latter series as characters like Artie Ziff, Llewellyn Sinclair, and Professor Lombardo, to name a few.
The critic focuses on Jay Sherman (Jon Lovitz), a bald, overweight, and socially awkward but elitist film critic living in New York. Although Jay is a minor celebrity due to his review show, Upcoming attractionshis personal life is a real disaster. Recently divorced, Jay hangs out with his son Marty (Christine Cavanaugh) on the weekends and spends the rest of his time trying to form a romantic relationship with anyone willing to put up with his cynical demeanor.
Occasionally, Jay will visit his eccentric and extremely wealthy adoptive parent’s estate for a family dinner, where he throws punches or offers sisterly advice to their 16-year-old biological daughter, Margot, voiced by Nancy Cartwright (better known for her portrait of Bart Simpson). Even if a family dynamic is established The criticThe series focuses primarily on Jay’s failed romantic exploits and his loose cannon, ratings-obsessed, bodybuilding boss, Duke Phillips (Charles Napier).
Obvious overlapping gags
The critic has no shortage of sight gags and running jokes that will remind you The Simpsons if you didn’t already know the staff involved in creating the series. From Jay’s secret conversations with his own growling stomach (reminiscent of Homer’s conversations with his own brain) to the glances he takes at his daily schedule, suggesting that his manic and depressive episodes are planned in advance, The critic is a series that cannot be watched passively because the visual jokes are just as prevalent as the dialogue-driven humor in every scene.
Similar to the chalkboard, saxophone and couch gags found at the top of every The Simpsons episode, The critic The introduction also features interchangeable gags in the form of short uncomfortable phone calls to Jay, and parody movie reviews met with Jay’s iconic catchphrase, “that stinks!”
Groening complains
But perhaps the most polarizing overlap is before The critic Season 2 debuted on the Fox network in 1995 after its cancellation on NBC. Before Jon Lovitz made his Fox debut as Jay Sherman, he made an appearance on the legendary The Simpsons episode, “A star burns“, playing a yellow version of the same character living in the The Simpsons universe.
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, who has constantly tried to distance himself from being associated with The criticwas not happy when this episode was conceived and refused to participate in it. In fact, he requested that his name be removed from the credits and he does not appear on the episode’s DVD commentary track. In Groening’s mind, he didn’t want the audience to think The critic was a live The Simpsons spin-off, and he didn’t want to tarnish his own legacy by promoting the series with a crossover episode.
It doesn’t stink!
The critic he may not be an “official” The Simpsons spin-off, but it’s the closest thing to it, despite its short run on network television. Groening may not want to be associated with the series in any way, but that can’t stop any of us from enjoying it anyway.
As of this writing, you can stream The critic for free on Tubi.
