From Robert Scucci
| Published
When The Simpsons was at the height of its golden era, The Critic He made his debut on ABC in 1994 and had a similar sense of humor to his yellow-skinned cartoon counterpart on the Fox network. In my personal headcanon, the series starring Jon Lovitz functions as an unofficial series Simpsons Spin-off that was canceled before it really had a chance to thrive. While the criticism Sense of humor can be attributed to executive producers Al Jean, Mike Reiss and James L. Brooks, all of whom are associated with The SimpsonsThis series stayed in its own lane while still being subtly satisfying Simpsons Fans who needed a break from the typical family sitcom format.
Suspiciously Springfieldian
Aside from the executive producers, there are parallels between them The Critic And The Simpsons Carry on as Jon Lovitz appeared frequently in the latter series as a supporting actor as characters such as Artie Ziff, Llewellyn Sinclair and Professor Lombardo, to name a few.
The Critic The focus is on Jay Sherman (Jon Lovitz), a bald, overweight and socially awkward but elitist film critic living in New York City. Although Jay is a minor celebrity because of his review show, Upcoming attractionshis personal life is an absolute mess. Recently divorced Jay spends time with his son Marty (Christine Cavanaugh) on the weekends and spends the rest of that time pursuing a romantic relationship with anyone willing to put up with his cynical face.
Occasionally, Jay visits the estate of his eccentric and extremely wealthy adoptive parents for a family dinner, where he either passes a joke or offers brotherly advice to their 16-year-old biological daughter Margot, voiced by Nancy Cartwright (who is best known for her portrayal of Bart). Simpson). Although a family dynamic is established The CriticThe series primarily focuses on Jay’s failed romantic exploits and his ratings-obsessed, body-building, laid-back boss, Duke Phillips (Charles Napier).
Obvious gag overlap
The Critic there is no shortage of gags and running gags to remind you of this The Simpsons in case you didn’t know the staff involved in the creation of the series. From Jay’s secret conversations with his own growling stomach (reminiscent of Homer having conversations with his own brain) to the looks he gives at his daily planner that suggest his manic and depressive episodes are pre-planned, The Critic is a series that cannot be watched passively, as visual jokes are as prevalent in every single scene as dialogue-driven humor.
Similar to the blackboard, saxophone and couch gags found at the top of each page Simpsons Consequence, The Critic The introduction also features interchangeable gags in the form of short, awkward phone calls with Jay, and parody film reviews meet Jay’s signature catchphrase: “That stinks!”
Groening complains
But perhaps the most polarizing intersection is before us The Critic Season two debuted on the Fox Network in 1995 after being canceled by NBC. Before Jon Lovitz made his Fox debut as Jay Sherman, he made a cameo appearance on the iconic series Simpsons Consequence: “Burns is a starplays a yellow version of the same character who lives in the Simpsons Universe.
Simpsons Creator Matt Groening, who consistently tried to distance himself from being associated with him The CriticHe was not happy when this episode was conceived and refused to take part in it. In fact, he requested that his name be removed from the credits, and he does not appear in the DVD commentary for this episode. For Groening, he didn’t want the public to think The Critic was a direct one Simpsons spinoff, and he didn’t want to tarnish his own legacy by promoting the series with a crossover episode.
It doesn’t stink!
The Critic possibly not an “official” Simpsons spin-off, but it’s the closest thing we’ve got, despite its short run on network television. Groening may not want to be associated with the series in any way, but that still can’t stop any of us from enjoying it.
At this time you can stream The Critic free on Tubi.
