The Critic

Overview

The Critic is an American prime time animated series created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as writers and showrunners on The Simpsons. The show follows the life of a 36-year-old film critic from New York named Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. 23 episodes were produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994 and finishing its original run on Fox in 1995.

Episodes

Pilot

S01E01 Pilot

January 26, 1994 22 min
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

S01E02 Marty's First Date

February 2, 1994 22 min
Marty invites his Jay to career day at his school where Marty develops a crush on a Cuban girl named Carmen. They go on a date but when Carmen decides to fly back to Cuba,...
Dial 'M' For Mother

S01E03 Dial 'M' For Mother

February 9, 1994 22 min
Jay is considered to be one of the most unpopular men on Earth (ranking even worse than Adolph Hitler) so Duke attempts to spruce up the show to get more people interested. When this doesn't...
Miserable

S01E04 Miserable

February 16, 1994 22 min
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...
A Little Deb Will Do You

S01E05 A Little Deb Will Do You

February 23, 1994 22 min
Eleanor is determined to have her daughter, Margo, attend the annual debutantes ball as it is a tradition in her family. When Margo is reluctantly forced into it, Jay decides to accompany her. Meanwhile, Jay...
Eyes on the Prize

S01E06 Eyes on the Prize

March 2, 1994 22 min
Jay celebrates his 1000th episode but the episode is less than successful. Ratings get worse so Jay seeks image consultant, Adolph Hitmaker, for advice. The advice is unsuccessful and Jay is fired. Jay gets a...
Every Doris Has Her Day

S01E07 Every Doris Has Her Day

June 1, 1994 22 min
Jay befriends his make-up lady Doris after they attend a musical adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and thinks that she may be the mother who gave him up for adoption years ago.
Marathon Mensch

S01E08 Marathon Mensch

June 8, 1994 22 min
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...
L.A. Jay

S01E09 L.A. Jay

June 22, 1994 22 min
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...
Dr. Jay

S01E10 Dr. Jay

June 29, 1994 22 min
Jay's boss, Duke, has just made a new invention, "Phillips-o-Vision" which alters movies to make them more "like-able". Jay is disgusted with Duke's invention but when Duke is discovered to have a fatal disease, Jay...
A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera

S01E11 A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera

July 6, 1994 22 min
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...
Uneasy Rider

S01E12 Uneasy Rider

July 13, 1994 22 min
After refusing to plug chewing tobacco on his show, Jay quits his job and becomes a truck driver.
A Pig Boy and His Dog

S01E13 A Pig Boy and His Dog

July 20, 1994 22 min
"A Pig-Boy and His Dog" is the 13th episode of The Critic. This was the final episode to air on ABC.

Cast

Jon Lovitz
Jon Lovitz
Jay Sherman (voice)
Christine Cavanaugh
Marty Sherman (voice)
Park Overall
Park Overall
Alice Tompkins (voice)
Russi Taylor
Russi Taylor
Penny Tompkins (voice)
Charles Napier
Charles Napier
Duke Phillips (voice)
Judith Ivey
Judith Ivey
Eleanor Sherman (voice)
Gerrit Graham
Gerrit Graham
Franklin Sherman (voice)
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright
Margo Sherman (voice)
Doris Grau
Doris Grau
Doris Grossman (voice)
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Jeremy Hawke (voice)
Nick Jameson
Nick Jameson
Vlada Veramirovich (voice)

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