The Critic

Feel free to call me nostalgic, but I recently dove back into a little known animated oddity called The Critic. For anyone who doesn’t remember, The Critic was an ABC and FOX animated show about a sardonic movie critic, “Jay Sherman”, voiced by Jon Lovitz, which lasted a mere twenty-three episodes before being cancelled. The purpose of this rant is to draw attention to this little gem of a show and bring it back on the air, albeit, in a different manner. Now, I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not much of a TV watcher. I can literally count the number of TV shows I watch on one hand without the thumb even thinking about being included. Being a burgeoning cinephile, this show speaks to me in a way that not a single MTV or reality show even approaches. And, I suppose, for that reason I can understand why it would sail over most people’s heads, with it’s wry humor and parodies of Citizen Kane, Spartacus, Casablanca, The Seventh Seal, The Red Balloon (or Revenge of the Red Balloon as is the humorous case in one episode) and a casual mention of Eraserhead, just to name a few. It serves to reason, as the majority of people haven’t seen Citizen Kane, and a much greater majority have never even heard of The Seventh Seal, let alone pick out a small, yet iconic, scene from the Ingmar Bergman classic. The show has running gags spoofing all sorts, from Orson Welles, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Stewart, Ed Koch, Woody Allen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone to Sherman’s rival critics, including Gene Shalit , Gene Siskel (RIP), Roger Ebert (Hang in there, Rog!!) and Rex Reed. The impersonations of such may go unnoticed to the common TV watcher, as some of these people are a little outdated by now, in terms of pop culture relevance. That’s not to say I’m an elitist with his nose in the air who only watches high-brow shows because the unwashed masses don’t understand them. I like my fair share of crap movies that won’t wind up on an AFI list any time soon, or ever, unless I become president of the AFI, which I don’t see happening in the near future. I’ll also be the first to admit there are several things that go over my head (Mulholland Drive anyone??). With an updated lineup of gags and spoofs the current crop of TV watchers and film-goers can relate to, while still dropping in the occasional bit for the movie fanatics, this show could return without missing a beat.
Just so you know, I actually agree with FOX canceling the show, but not for lack of creativity or humor, but rather because it was not in the place where it will be appreciated. It debuted on ABC in 1994, where it was perceived to be too dirty for the notoriously schlocky network. Disney being the parent company of ABC, it was handed over to the FOX network for the second season after receiving a barrel of hate mail from prudish viewers. Honestly people, watch a few episodes of this show and try to find enough questionable material that would mandate physically writing a letter, paying for a stamp, and mailing it to the people at ABC asking for the demise of the show. I dare you. However, The FOX network, as it was in the mid-1990’s when this show debuted, was trying to capitalize on the booming popularity of another little animated show called The Simpson’s. Rumor has it The Critic was first conceived as a “Krusty the Clown” vehicle (yup…don’t read that again, it makes my frontal lobe swell), but Matt Groening turned it down, thankfully. And, indeed, the caption on the cover of the DVD reads “From the producers of The Simpson’s!” Comparisons like this are clearly unfair, as The Critic is a different animal altogether compared to The Simpson’s. Now, this is the part where most people say, “Hey! What’s your friggin’ problem?? You don’t like The Simpson’s?? You suck!!” On the contrary, my obtuse little mole of a friend. I may suck, but I do enjoy The Simpson’s. But, for anyone who has seen enough of both series it’s easy to tell that producer credits are about all these two shows have in common, save for a couple of cross-over bits. It turns out, the show wasn’t raunchy enough with its social commentary for the FOX people, leaving it stranded in some gray area where it never really fit in on network television. The solution to this problem is simple: relocate the show to a more suitable channel and resume production. Now, most people would think Comedy Central, as the show found a little life in syndication on the channel late at night for a period. But, I have an even better option: BRAVO. Don’t tell me the BRAVO channel couldn’t use a little dose of humor in its line-up. They tapped into a small cinematic niche with their Inside the Actor’s Studio series, so the audience is there. Other than that they have reality show after reality show in the lineup. This show belongs on cable.
The only other resting place that makes sense to me is the REELZ Channel. The show airs in reruns on Monday nights, so they already have licensing rights to the property. What’s the hold up?? Despite the channel not featuring any original programming, mostly movie trailers and reviews, and actor and director profiles, the cinematically themed network would fit perfectly with the show. They could skewer a newer generation of films and TV shows and still tell the story of the lonely New York critic who seems to fail at everything. There’s an abundance of material out there for a resuscitated version of the show. Just to point out, Brett Ratner was recently featured on one of their running series, Hollywood’s Best Directors. That’s right, folks, they have the audacity to throw Brett Ratner on a pedestal next to the likes of William Friedkin and Francis Ford Coppola. Do me a favor, write those three names down on a piece of paper. Ok? Did you do it? Just wait…..The paper should spontaneously combust. It’s like a standardized test: “Which of these three does not belong?” DING, DING! Brett Fucking Ratner! But, I digress. This channel is in serious need of creative, original television, and this series doesn’t stray outside the boundaries of their film-centered lineup. The Critic embodies all the main principles of a channel called REELZ, and, as such, should be a staple of their programming. "Jay Sherman" needs a home.
So, there you have it. I know damn well this isn’t going to change anything, but a fan can dream, can’t he?