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1The characters of ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic''.
2----
3
4[[foldercontrol]]
5
6[[folder:The Sherman Family]]
7
8!!Dr.[[note]]Has a [=PhD=] in film[[/note]] Jay Prescott Sherman
9[[quoteright:296:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2020_10_26_at_112443_pm.png]]
10 [[caption-width-right:296:"It stinks!"]]
11->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JonLovitz
12
13New York's #3 (early morning Cable TV) film critic, and host of his own show, ''Coming Attractions''. Jay generally struggles with his lack of popularity both on television and with other people, due to his cynical attitude and less-than-handsome appearance. Outside of work, he's a single father to his son Marty, after his bitter ex-wife Ardeth divorced him. As a baby, he was adopted into an extremely wealthy family, and he has a somewhat vitriolic relationship with his mother Eleanor.
14----
15
16* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Jay is a constant victim of this.
17* AmbiguouslyJewish: The closest to resolving this ambiguity occurs in "Every Doris Has Her Day", when Jay visits the orphanage he was adopted from and asks if he was Jewish. The priest answers, "Oh, what do ''you'' think?" Jay crows, "I knew it!" and immediately launches into a fake Hebrew song.
18** Doubles as ActorAllusion.
19* AmusingInjuries: Every time Jay gets hit on the head by a blunt object, he’ll swerve around and fall like a bowling pin. Even the sound effects are added in.
20** This is one of the reasons Alice's daughter Penny seems to really like him. Jay ended up endearing himself to her when blunt objects kept falling on his head and she thought it was funny.
21* AnimatedActor: Jay did this trope a few times.
22* ArtEvolution: As of season 2, Jay's eyes were made slightly larger to make him more charming.
23* BalloonBelly: Jay balloons himself by turning into a giant blueberry when he steals a certain stick of gum from [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory Willy Wonka]], is shown having one in a picture inside Alice's diamond locket, and from eating a giant bagpipe-playing potato.
24** In another episode he becomes morbidly obese after an image consultant advises him that the public loves people who are "big and jolly" like SantaClaus and Rush Limbaugh. It then cuts to Jay getting liposuction for over a year.
25* BerserkButton: Exploiting children is a ''huge'' sore spot for Jay. Two memorable moments highlight this quality:
26** In "Uneasy Rider," when Duke forcibly advertises chewing tobacco on ''Coming Attractions'', Jay sticks to his integrity and defiantly leaves the studio. Beforehand, Jay adamantly refuses the product placement, being concerned for his show's influence on children.
27** In "Frankie and Ellie Get Lost," he has a tobacco company executive arrested for encouraging children to smoke and have sex. [[TranquilFury Jay is clearly holding back his anger throughout the preceding confrontation]]. FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you remember Jay is a father so of course these examples would piss him off. [[invoked]]
28* BigEater: Jay's obsession with food is so massive that his restaurant bills are what keep Vlada's restaurant afloat. When Jay goes on a diet to train for the New York marathon in "Marathon Mensch," Vlada despondently cuts his son's college fund and disconnects his mother's life support.
29* BumblingDad: At times toward Marty, but Marty knows he means well.
30* ButtMonkey: 90% of the show's humor revolves around the comical mishaps and misfortunes that befall him at every turn.
31* CantHoldHisLiquor: He and his son get extremely drunk when they each drink a quarter of a glass of wine while in France. After they drink half each, they're hungover.
32* CatchPhrase: Jay has several:
33** "It stinks!"
34** "Hotchie motchie!"
35** "Achhum!"
36** "Ha-haaa, how ''awkward!''"
37** And a fourth was added in the 2nd season, though only in 2 episodes - "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atzLwyecuZg Hi guuuuuuuy!]]"
38* CausticCritic: Jay Sherman hates just about every movie he sees. If he mentions a movie he DOES like, it's always so that another movie can be compared unfavorably to it.
39** The highest score he ever gives a movie is a 7 out of 10.
40** It's revealed that the ''only'' movie Jay likes that isn't foreign and/or artsy is ''Film/CitizenKane''.
41** It seems this trait of his isn't as bad in season 2. He'll actually say he enjoyed the films he reviews pretty often, even if what was just shown to the audience was just as stupid and goofy as any of the trailers from season 1.
42** It's also been revealed that he and Jeremy Hawke became friends because Jay was the only critic who liked his first movie, the illogical and borderline blasphemous ''Crocodile Ghandi''.
43* CharacterBlog: Jay has a [[http://twitter.com/@JaySherman Twitter account.]]
44* CharacterDevelopment: For the second season, Jay's character design was tweaked to give him a friendlier appearance, and most of his harshness and down-and-out traits from the first season were taken away, giving him a warmer, more likable personality.
45* TheChewToy: Almost constantly.
46* CompassionateCritic: He ''wants'' movies to be good, but his intellectual tastes and abrasive personality clash with the movie-going public. Unlike him, they chiefly want mindless action or comedy to take their minds off the world.
47* CosmicPlaything: The universe really has it in for Jay. In the episode "Lady Hawke," when he was sent to go on the balcony so that Jeremy and his sister, Olivia, could have a private discussion, the weather suddenly turned stormy and a strong wind blew off the towel he was wearing. When Jay finally got back inside and it was Jeremy's turn to wait on the balcony...the weather immediately cleared up and became sunny and beautiful, and two French twins suddenly appeared to entertain him.
48-->'''Jay''': (''watching as this happens'') That hardly seems fair.
49** Jay gives us this gem from the first episode:
50--->"Oh, my therapist was right, God ''does'' hate me!"
51* DodgyToupee: The intro shows a bird snatching away a rather obvious toupee. In the show itself, he's only seen wearing one a handful of times; in the first episode, again in episode 4 when Duke makes him wear it for the show to make him more appealing to the viewers and a third time in a flashback when he tried hiding his baldness with a judge wig. When Duke pulled it off, Jay was wearing a curly, orange wig in the style of ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie underneath.
52--> '''Jay''': [[BorrowedCatchphrase Leapin' Lizards!]]
53* GoofyPrintUnderwear: A minor RunningGag in the series is that he wears boxer shorts with movie titles on them (promotional merchandise sent by the movie studios), and tends to lose his pants at times when he's wearing comedic ones such as ''Film/RearWindow'' or ''Film/ForTheBoys''. It extends to his socks, such as ''Film/MyLeftFoot'' and ''Film/{{Tootsie}}''.
54* GravityIsAHarshMistress: He trips, he falls, has things fall on his head, and especially regarding a bungee jump attempt in the first season.
55* HairTodayGoneTomorrow: While rarely seen, he used to have a full head of black hair. It's unknown when exactly he began losing it, but he still had it during the earliest days of his marriage, as shown in flashbacks.
56* HappilyAdopted: His adopted family's quirks aside, it's clear that they love each other.
57* HePannedItNowHeSucks: What the in-show public thinks about him. [[invoked]]
58* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Jeremy.
59* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: While not abusive on purpose, his mother was an emotionally distant woman (one flashback reveals that Jay's overeating was caused by Eleanor having trouble feeding him during toddlerhood) who became increasingly controlling and demeaning as Jay got older, and his father was an alcoholic CloudCuckoolander who once dropped Jay on his head... for an entire day. It's also revealed that at one point, Eleanor and Franklin briefly considering ''returning'' Jay to the orphanage. They also originally adopted him because they thought he was a pet monkey.
60--> '''Eleanor''': His original name was Mr Bipp!
61* HoldingBothSidesOfTheConversation: In season 1, Jay often does this by pretending to be his secretary Ethel with a British nanny accent.
62** Manages a three-way conversation at one point while also pretending to be Al Johlson.
63* HonoraryUncle: Penny calls him "Uncle Jay."
64* HypocriticalHumor: This series was built on it. Anytime Jay makes a denying statement about himself, expect him to immediately afterwards do something like it.
65-->'''Jay:''' I've suffered every ailment known to Man. Except delusions of grandeur. [[LargeHam Which is why God chose me alone to do His work]] ''[[LargeHam ON EARTH!]]''
66* InformedDeformity[=/=]InformedFlaw: One of the show's running gags is that Jay is considered almost monstrously ugly by most people, as well as being enormously heavy due to his informed obesity problem, despite being relatively average looking, and while he is slightly overweight, his short stature means he couldn't possibly weigh more than 250 pounds.
67--> '''Freight Helicopter Pilot:''' I don't understand. This thing is supposed to lift a ''tank.''
68** In "Sherman, Woman, and Child", Alice decides to change up his wardrobe a little a bit and he becomes more popular and confident which implies a part of the problem were his outfits. But although while his outfits were never fashionable, they weren't {{impossibly tacky| clothes}} enough to make that much of a difference.
69%%* JerkassBall: Has his moments in season one.
70* InkSuitActor: Jay is very clearly Jon Lovitz with a different hairstyle.
71* KavorkaMan: Despite the running gag of women finding him hideous, he has had a surprising amount of luck with women INSANELY out of his league. To be fair, though, some of these apparent successes are only because the women had ulterior motives. The biggest exceptions was the woman who turned out to be the actress behind Humphrey The Hippo (we never find out her real name but the attraction was genuine), Olivia Hawke, and finally, Alice Thompkins who becomes his official girlfriend.
72* LargeHam: On occasion. Being voiced by Creator/JonLovitz, who lives on this trope, certainly helps.
73* LoserProtagonist: Most potent in the first season.
74* LoveConfession: To Alice at the end of "Lady Hawke."
75* MistakenForGay: Jay's boss is convinced Jay has a crush on him, despite Jay's insistence that he's straight.
76-->'''Jay:''' Duke, where's your bedroom?\
77'''Duke:''' ''(chuckling)'' You people never give up.\
78'''Jay:''' I am not gay! And if I ''was'' gay, I would do ''something'' about that wallpaper. [[CampGay Plaids and florals? Oh, puh-lease Dukey-Dukey]].
79** In ''Siskel, Ebert, Jay & Alice'', however, he reveals that he knows Jay isn't really gay, and just does it to give him a hard time.
80** It's not just Duke. There's also Cyrus, who immediately assumes Jay is Alice's gay friend shortly after meeting him. Jeremy Hawke also says at one point that Jay's attraction to his twin sister, Olivia Hawke, is just an outlet for Jay's homosexual attraction to him.
81* TheMovieBuff: But only for snooty art house films. Lessened somewhat in Season 2 when he occasionally mentions having enjoyed mainstream Hollywood fare.
82* TheNapoleon: Downplayed; he's a ''very'' impassioned film critic, but that's where his ill-temper is concentrated most. Outside of his job, he's mostly a mild-mannered man, but he won't tolerate anyone's nonsense.
83* NiceGuy: Jay, especially in season 2. In season 1 he's more of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
84* NoodleIncident: At one point, Franklin describes a time when Jay went over a cliff to eat a bird. Eleanor thinks that he drunkenly is mistaking him for [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner the Road Runner]], but Jay grumbles that it was actually him.
85* NoRespectGuy: Not an ounce of it.
86* OfficialCouple: With Alice in the second season.
87* OneLinerEcho: "If the movie stinks, just don't go!"
88* OrganAutonomy: Jay's stomach.
89%%* RidiculouslyAverageGuy
90* RousingSpeech: In "Eyes on the Prize."
91--> "I am a movie critic by trade, and until recently, I got paid to tell you people which movies merely stink and which ones you shouldn't screen near an open flame. Well, I'm putting the burden of lousy movies back on you. It's very simple: if you stop going to bad movies, they'll stop making bad movies. If the movie used to be a TV show, just don't go. After Roman numeral II, give it a rest. If it's a remake of a classic, rent the classic. Tell them you want stories about people, not a hundred million dollars of stunts and explosives. People, it's up to you. [[OneLinerEcho If the movie stinks, just don't go.]]"
92* SealedWithAKiss: With Alice in the end of "Lady Hawke."
93* ShirtlessScene: Has had a few of these.
94* StrawCritic: Jay. In a minor subversion, however, he's essentially a decent guy; in his defense, most of the movies he has to review ''are'' horrible. Still, he does attack some noteworthy films and/or performers -- he once sucker-punched [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Mister Rogers]]! -- and this is one reason he's so unpopular with the public.
95--> On Oscar-winner Haing S. Ngor in ''Film/TheKillingFields'': "If you ask me, he should have gone to the ''acting'' fields."\
96"And that's why I'm ''glad'' Music/TheBeatles broke up."\
97"And that's why Creator/GoldieHawn should be shot."
98** He was basically the [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] of his day.
99* SurroundedByIdiots: (Non-villain) Jay usually feels like he is the only one with an IQ in a room.
100* ThisLoserIsYou: Jay in the first season, although more intelligent and sensitive than most, but somewhat toned down in the second.
101* ThrowTheDogABone: After putting up with so much crap from his job, his parents, women, the general public, and [[CosmicPlaything the universe at large]], Jay manages to get a steady girlfriend in Alice at the beginning of the second season.
102** More generally, if the CrossOver with ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is canon, then Jay has a long string of awards. He's also had actresses come on to him in the hopes of getting good reviews, and he's also had off-screen meetings with various celebrities, which suggests that he's well-thought of in the film world, at least. He also seems to make a pretty comfortable living in general.
103* TookALevelInKindness: In the first season, he was a film critic who was a bit snarky at times with depths, but in season two, this is toned down and is given more of a NiceGuy streak.
104* UnluckyEverydude
105* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: In the first season.
106* VocalEvolution: Jon Lovitz had the nasally tones in his voice exaggerated for Jay in season one, but in season two, while exaggerated, it's more subtle.
107
108!!Martin "Marty" Sherman
109[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marty_shermanpng.png]]
110->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ChristineCavanaugh
111
112The son of Jay and his ex-wife Ardeth. Much like his dad, he struggles with his weight, and isn't very popular at school.
113----
114
115* AthleticallyChallenged: He put on an embarrassing performance at his school's field day. He fails in the group effort to squeeze a giant ball into a goal net, instead having the ball roll him over. He only manages to throw a ball only inches away from him in the long throw (being greatly outclassed by the Bulgarian girl he was competing with). And in the long jump, he somehow manages to [[EpicFail go back a few feet.]] His lack of skills could be attributed to being fat and out-of-shape. Another episode has Marty participating in the President's Fitness Test and he couldn't even manage to do one sit-up.
116* UsefulNotes/BellyDancing: In the episode "A Day at the Races, a Night at the Opera."
117* BigEater: Just like his dad.
118%%* ButtMonkey
119* CantHoldHisLiquor: He and his dad get extremely drunk when they each drink a quarter of a glass of wine while in France. After they drink half each, they're hung over.
120%%* ChildrenAreInnocent
121* FirstFatherWins: Averted somewhat. While Marty is shown to love Jay very much, his mother's current boyfriend, Alberto, is super rich and lets him fly around in a helicopter and fire a machine gun. Jay obviously can't compete with that, but Alberto and Marty only share a few seconds of screen time, so their relationship is almost entirely off-screen.
122* FirstKiss: Marty and Carmen in the episode "Marty's First Date."
123* TemporaryBulkChange: Marty in the episode "From Chunk to Hunk." He and Jay attend a weight-loss camp [[FormerlyFat which results in Marty to lose a lot of weight]] and gain a lot of popularity at school. However, he gains it all back by the time the episode ends.
124-->'''Soda Jerk:''' Our freezer is broken. We need someone to eat 50 gallons of ice cream.\
125''(Marty immediately runs in.)''\
126 '''Soda Jerk:''' It's Jay Sherman's kid! We're saved!
127
128!!Margo Sherman
129[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/margo_sherman.jpg]]
130->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NancyCartwright
131
132Jay's sister, and the biological daughter of Franklin and Eleanor Sherman. Unlike her mother, her relationship with Jay isn't at all strained, and the two of them genuinely love each other like a brother and sister should.
133----
134
135* AllGirlsLikePonies: Owns an actual horse that she loves riding.
136* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: In "A Song For Margo," she dated a grunge rocker. She later dumps him upon discovering he cheated on her.
137* ArtEvolution: Her character design changes a lot between [[https://thecritic.fandom.com/wiki/File:Margo_and_jay.PNG season 1]] and [[https://thecritic.fandom.com/wiki/File:Tumblr_lub9bdK6a91r2s92r.jpg season 2]].
138* BigBrotherWorship: She's one of the few people who treats Jay with any respect in Season 1, to the point where she remarks that he and her horse are her two favorite people in one episode.
139* FriendToAllLivingThings: Deeply cares for her horse.
140* NiceGirl: A sweet girl who loves her horses and her brother Jay.
141* PimpedOutDress: When Margo is forced by Eleanor to attend a debutante ball.
142* SoapBoxSadie: Didn't want to attend a debutante ball because it violated everything she stood for. After being forced to go, she eventually rushed the stage to chastise the ball as "a tasteless contest to see who can waste the most money."
143* SurprisePregnancy: A flashback in "Every Doris Has Her Day" revealed that Margo was this.
144* {{Tomboy}}: Her mother threatened to kill her horse before she would attend the girly debutante ball.
145
146!!Franklin Sherman
147[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/franklin_2.jpg]]
148->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/GerritGraham
149
150Jay's adopted father, and the wealthy former governor of New York. Franklin has a very loose grasp on reality due to his alcoholism. He has a tendency to say and do insane things on a regular basis, much to the embarrassment of his family.
151----
152
153* AlcoholicParent: He's usually seen with an alcoholic beverage in his hand.
154* BunglingInventor: He's shown to have invented device called the Fishmobabywhirlamagig. It drops a never ending stream of fish onto a conveyor belt, which drops them down a chute into a pipe organ. This causes the pipe organ to play music, which makes a swing ride full of babies spin. The exact use of this device is only known to him. He may or may not have also invented something called the "Badger Blaster."
155* CloserToEarth: Subverted. Franklin is completely insane, but he's also a generally pleasant and upstanding guy.
156* CloudCuckoolander: Oh, where to begin.
157** When running for Vice President of the United States:
158--->'''Franklin:''' As the first black female head of the Ku Klux Klan, I'd like to say... '''''America stinks!'''''
159--->'''Duke:''' ''(watching)'' This may hurt us more than it helps us.
160** Another instance:
161--->'''Geraldo Rivera:''' I understand you can say your name backwards.
162--->'''Franklin:''' Nilknarf.
163--->'''Geraldo:''' What's your favorite food in the whole wide world?
164--->'''Franklin:''' Nilknarf.
165** At dinner with the family:
166--->"Oh, son, if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times...Who ''are'' all you people?"
167** His recollection of his first date was himself in a [[WesternAnimation/PopeyeTheSailor 1930's black and white rubber hose cartoon.]]
168** His family try to write this off as senility, but it's made clear he's been like this for a long, long time.
169-->'''Jay:''' ''(To a dinner guest)'' My father had a stroke a few years ago.\
170'''Eleanor:''' ''(Bluntly)'' He didn't really. We just say that to explain his personality.\
171'''Franklin:''' The peanut is neither a pea nor a nut.
172** At one point, he's doing ThatRussianSquatDance with Walter Stockdale when Eleanor hosts a square dance.
173** When Jay asks him of the day he was adopted, Franklin begins to talk about a chair. That's gotten so big.
174*** According to the video reel from "Frank And Ellie Gets Lost", he became this way after having his first taste of alcohol at his wedding in 1955.
175* CantHoldHisLiquor: When he married Eleanor, Franklin was a serious, thoughtful Rhodes scholar who never had a drink in his life. Then UsefulNotes/TedKennedy spiked the punch at the wedding reception...and it was all downhill from there. Franklin's a chronic drinker, and it's implied that the booze is what turned him into a living cuckoo clock.
176* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Goes hand-in-hand with his CloudCuckooLander status. Such as hearing Jay's RousingSpeech of "If the movie stinks, don't go" and interpreting it as "If the movie stinks, do-si-do".
177-->'''Jay:''' Dad, for the last time, are you sure you want to run for Vice President?\
178'''Franklin:''' {completely serious} Jay, can I do a worse job than Spiro Agnew? Or Aaron Burr? Or William Rufus [=DeVane=] King? He died in Cuba six weeks after being sworn in!
179-->'''Jay:''' Wow. Maybe you do know what you're doing.
180-->'''Franklin:''' {He slips a nylon sock over his head.} Yeah! Now, let's rob that bank!
181* CorruptPolitician: He was apparently arrested for corruption while serving as governor of New York. Bizarrely, he keeps the the newspaper that announced it as a memento.
182* DrivesLikeCrazy: Only because he sees the road as a crazy game of ''Franchise/DonkeyKong'' where his car horn is the jump button and he needs to swerve wildly to avoid barrels.
183* EccentricMillionaire: Franklin is a billionaire. He also has so many screws loose his wealth is probably the only thing keeping him out of the mental hospital.
184* JumpingOutOfACake: Franklin jumps out of Jay's birthday cake in the second season's opening credits.
185* LetsGetDangerous: When Franklin and Eleanor are stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes, you might expect him to be TheMillstone. Except he becomes ''scarily'' competent, building a house from the bottom up, gathering food and even training an ape to be a tennis pro and butler.
186* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Modeled after UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt, sharing his name and former office of New York governor.
187* OfficialCouple: With Eleanor.
188* SleepingSingle: Thanks to twin beds and Eleanor protecting hers with barb wire and dobermans.
189%%* TalkativeLoon
190
191!!Eleanor Sherman (née Wigglesworth)
192[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eleanor_59.jpg]]
193->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JudithIvey
194
195Jay's adopted mother. She's very bitter and critical of Jay's career and lifestyle. She also isn't a fan of Margo being a {{tomboy}} with no interest in the life of a debutante. While she's generally shown to be a RichBitch, deep down she does love her children, and only wants the best for them.
196----
197
198* CloserToEarth: Subverted. Eleanor is sane and wise, but she's also shown herself to be rather spiteful and cold-hearted. She's also more sane than her husband, but just about anyone is more sane than her husband.
199* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Eleanor can be a bit of a RichBitch, as well as cold and aloof. Despite this, she cares very deeply for her family.
200* KillThePoor: Jay's mother wants to blast the poor into outer space. She even wrote a book ("Why The Poor Should Be Shot Into Space.")
201* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Eleanor is named after Franklin Roosevelt's wife Eleanor Roosevelt. Her voice also resembles that of Creator/KatharineHepburn.
202* NotDistractedByTheSexy: A hunky Chippendales-esque handyman attempts to seduce her, rubbing oil on his bare chest at one point. She takes the hint: she shoves a cookie in his mouth and pushes him out the door.
203* OfficialCouple: With Franklin.
204* RichBitch: Elaeanor shows this on occasion.
205* SleepingSingle: If Franklin wants to try anything, he's going to have to get through a pack of wild attack dogs that Eleanor keeps around her bed.
206* SugarAndIcePersonality: Despite Eleanor's austere demeanor, she does show instances of having a heart.
207
208!!Ardeth
209->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/BrendaVaccaro (season 1) and Creator/RheaPerlman (season 2)
210
211Jay's ex-wife, who despises him more than anyone. She generally only shows up to demand money from him, or to spend time with Marty.
212----
213
214* FlorenceNightingaleEffect: Ardeth had this when she first met Jay while he was in traction. [[ScreamingWoman That all changed when the bandages came off.]]
215* HairTriggerTemper: She is '''''VERY''''' very irritable to say the least.
216* {{Jerkass}}: Towards Jay. She's also tried to give spooky warnings and put hexes on Jay's girlfriends.
217* OneHeadTaller: Inverted. Ardeth is taller than Jay and she doesn't even like him.
218* TheResenter: Towards Jay and their marriage. This doesn't affect her parenting of Marty, however. She even goes as far as to admit to Jay's face that they've both raised a great son after Marty becomes the talent-show star with his belly virtuoso act, implying she doesn't completely resent Jay.
219[[/folder]]
220
221[[folder:The Tompkins Family]]
222
223!! Alice Tompkins
224->'''Voiced by:''' Park Overall
225[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alicetompkins95.jpg]]
226
227A single mother from Tennessee who moved to New York to make it on her own away from her cheating ex-husband, Cyrus. She is eventually hired as Jay's assistant, and the two of them become an OfficialCouple.
228----
229
230* BettyAndVeronica: Alice was the Betty to Olivia’s Veronica for Jay's Archie in "Lady Hawke."
231* DontYouDarePityMe: Jay tries to anonymously slip money under Alice's apartment door to prevent her from getting evicted (he actually mistakenly slipped the money in the apartment of the [[GoingPostal "crazy postman"]] across from hers). Alice finds out about it and is not pleased about being given charity. Jay then offers her a job to be his personal assistant. At first she doesn't want to take the job because he feels sorry for her, but then decides to take it.
232* GirlNextDoor: She has a plain but sweet appearance. Her personality is also very warm and pleasant.
233* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Alice and her SouthernBelle sister Miranda.
234* LoveConfession: To Jay near the end of "Lady Hawke."
235* NiceGirl: One of sweetest people ever.
236* OfficialCouple: With Jay in the second season.
237* SealedWithAKiss: With Jay at the end of "Lady Hawke."
238* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Alice and her sister Miranda.
239
240!! Penny Tompkins
241->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/RussiTaylor
242
243Alice and Cyrus' daughter. She's always very upbeat and cheerful, and takes a liking to Jay when she meets him, calling him "Uncle Jay".
244----
245
246* CheerfulChild: Almost always shown with a smile on her face.
247%%* ChildrenAreInnocent
248%%* CousinOliver
249* TheCutie: An adorable little bugger if ever there was on.
250* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: A lot of humor involving her comes from her saying age-inappropriate things, but still remaining cute in the process.
251-->'''Penny:''' What's the matter, Mama?
252-->'''Alice:''' Oh, sweetie. You wouldn't understand.
253-->'''Penny:''' Are you afraid the man you love has left you for another?
254-->'''Alice:''' What?! Where did you learn to talk like that?!
255-->'''Penny:''' It's "Men Are Scum" week on Ricki Lake.
256* SatelliteCharacter: Didn't get nearly as much development as Marty.
257* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: In a funny way rather than a disturbing way. Due to Penny initially having no school to go to, unlike Marty, and Jay and Alice having no babysitter for her, she comes to work with them and hangs out with Doris on her off time. The two of them play mahjong together, and Penny ends up talking like an old lady, much like Doris. This and Doris' constant smoking are what spur Alice into finding her a preschool.
258-->'''Doris:''' Oy, my hip is killing me.
259-->'''Penny:''' Hey, at least ya don't have diaper rash, mahjong.
260
261!! Cyrus Tompkins
262->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SamMcMurray
263
264Alice's cheating husband. He's a country music star who uses his sweet, sultry voice to charm Alice into staying with him, at least until Jay comes along. He appears in the season 2 episode "Sherman, Woman and Child."
265----
266
267* ArousedByTheirVoice: The only reason Alice has trouble leaving him until Jay comes along. Every time she talks about leaving him, he starts singing to her, causing her to lose all reason and fall for his charms.
268* {{Jerkass}}: He cheats, feels no shame in it, and is not even subtle about it.
269* WeWillMeetAgain: After Jay manages to break Cyrus' spell on Alice and she kicks him out, he says he won't give up...before immediately moving on to another woman.
270-->'''Alice:''' Cyrus, it's not workin'. It's over, darlin'. Don't ya come back now, y'hear?
271-->'''Cyrus:''' I'm never gonna give up! ''(To a woman offscreen)'' Hey, gorgeous, what's your name!?
272
273!! Miranda Tompkins
274[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_lu47y6ck021r2s92r.png]]
275
276Alice's sister, who always outshines Alice at everything she does. She arrives in New York in order to find a rich husband. She appears in the season 2 episode "Dukerella."
277----
278
279* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: She was this to Alice, until Miranda arrives in New York City. Alice has spent some time in the city, and knows how to get around quickly and safely. Miranda takes one step outside alone, and comes back a few seconds later with cement shoes and covered in graffiti.
280* AttentionWhore: She would always try to upstage Alice at everything. She wore a wedding dress to Alice's wedding, and then promptly took it off in front of everyone. She also tries to get attention from Jay when he starts kissing Alice.
281* CountryMouse: She's a southern girl who has trouble adjusting to life in New York City.
282* FriendToAllLivingThings: A clip from Alice and Miranda's childhood shows her to be this. After Alice attempts to sing a song to a mockingbird, it flies away from her and towards Miranda, who is surrounded by other woodland creatures while she performs a Disney-esque musical number for them.
283* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Alice resents Miranda for constantly outshining her at everything and being a general AttentionWhore.
284* GoldDigger: Sort of. She wants to find a husband mainly for their money, though she clearly wants them to like her as well. She clearly falls in love with Duke for more than just his money.
285* SouthernBelle: Outright called this by Duke Phillips. She's much more glamorous compared to the more plain looking Alice.
286* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The girly girl to Alice's tomboy.
287[[/folder]]
288
289[[folder:Other Characters]]
290
291!! Duke Phillips
292[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duke_philips.jpg]]
293->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/CharlesNapier
294
295The owner of Phillips Broadcasting (Formerly Duke Phillips' House of Chicken and Waffles), which broadcasts Jay's show. He is an egotistical billionaire businessman, and constantly pesters Jay to either make changes to his show or threaten his job.
296----
297
298* ArousedByTheirVoice: Birds like the sound of his voice, to the point where one flew into his mouth while he was talking at one point.
299%%* BigFancyHouse
300* DirtyCoward: Leaves Jay and his family and friends to fend for themselves when they get attacked by terrorists.
301* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: If Duke hasn't fired Jay for the episode, then he's threatening to pull him off the air.
302* {{Hunk}}: Let's face it. As much of a jerk he usually is, he's still quite a handsome older man with a [[HeroicBuild large barrel chest.]]
303* HypocriticalHumor: Gets angry even at the idea of anyone considering him to be an illiterate country bumpkin because of his southern roots, but still gleefully fulfills several Southern stereotypes.
304* InkSuitActor: It's uncanny how much Duke resembles his voice actor, Charles Napier.
305* JerkassHasAPoint: Moreso in the first season - he's fairly quick to point out why Jay's show has low viewership and isn't interesting to the general populace, such as when he points out that Jay repeated the same joke about Creator/TomCruise being on [[{{Pun}} "Cruise control"]] three times.
306* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Is kind of a jerk to his employees, especially Jay. However, he's shown instances of the "Heart of Gold" part. One example is when Alice had problems enrolling Penny in preschool, Duke builds his own preschool for Penny to attend. Though in all he did this on a dare. He also becomes dismayed to the point of desperation whenever Jay temporarily leaves the network.
307* KindheartedCatLover: His bid for the Republican nomination is scuttled because Bob Dole had footage of him as this, [[SlaveToPR contrary to his public perception]], forcing him to run as an Independent.
308* LanternJawOfJustice: The "justice" part [[DependingOnTheWriter varies between episodes]], but Duke has a nice manly jawline.
309* MeanBoss: Tried to force Jay to endorse both tobacco and alcohol on ''Coming Attractions'' despite a large part of their viewership being children, and chained him up in a dungeon while negotiating a dental plan.
310* TheNicknamer: For Jay.
311* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Duke is modeled after UsefulNotes/TedTurner.
312* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When one of his employees is really in trouble, he doesn't yell; he's nice to them.
313-->'''Duke:''' Hello, handsome! ''(Kisses Jay on the top of his head)'' How's my special little guy?\
314'''Jay:''' That's it, I'm doomed!
315* SelfMadeMan: Phillips Broadcasting started out as a small fried chicken franchise, which Duke somehow transformed into a media juggernaut. Hilariously, it ''still'' serves fried chicken, except the customers now walk into Duke's office to order.
316* ShamelessSelfPromoter:
317** He built "Duke Phillips Hospital," which includes a giant statue of himself chanting "All hail Duke. Duke is life."
318** While campaigning to be President for the '96 election, Duke flashed messages of "VOTE FOR DUKE" in the middle of an airing of ''Coming Attractions''.
319* ShipperOnDeck: Surprisingly, despite constantly giving Jay a hard time about possibly being gay, he's actually aware of Jay and Alice's feelings for each other, and feels bad that neither one of them seems to be able to express it.
320
321!! Jeremy Hawke
322[[quoteright:163:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_criticjeremy_hawke.jpg]]
323->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MauriceLaMarche
324
325One of Jay's closest (and only) friends. Jeremy is a highly attractive actor from Australia who generally makes movies that Jay dislikes. Despite this, Jay gave a good review to Jeremy's first movie, ''Kegger Party at Hanging Rock'', and was the only critic to do so, thus beginning their friendship. Jeremy also has a twin sister named Olivia.
326----
327
328* AwesomeAussie: He is one, and almost always plays his characters like this...even if he's playing someone who isn't Australian, like UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi.
329* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Jay was the only one to give his first movie (''Kegger Party at Hanging Rock'') a good review. They've been best friends ever since.
330* ChickMagnet: No matter what he does, he attracts women. He's tried not shaving, not bathing, and talking in a goofy voice, but none of it stopped women from being attracted to him.
331* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: As Margo discovered in one episode, Jeremy actually wears lifts and high-heeled shoes to look taller, he's actually shorter than she is.
332* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Jay. Even with the uneven tone of their respective lives, he genuinely cares for him, even saving his life from a crazed fan even as an actor and not a trained cop or soldier.
333%%* {{Hunk}}
334* LandDownUnder: Jeremy and Olivia's country of origin.
335** Bonus points for Olivia actually singing it in the shower.
336* MagicPlasticSurgery: He's not nearly as handsome as it seems, as shown in ''L.A Jay'' when he accidentally ruins his plastic surgery and is revealed to have huge ears, a pig nose and hanging jowls.
337* MySisterIsOffLimits: He completely opposed Jay dating his sister, Olivia, though this was actually out of concern for him rather than her. Much as he loves his sister, Jeremy is well-aware of her history of ReallyGetsAround and was worried Jay would end up getting his heart broken.
338* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Jeremy is a mix of Creator/MelGibson and Paul Hogan. Vocally, he's reminiscent of Creator/KirkDouglas.
339* OddFriendship: With Jay. He's an actor, and Jay's a critic, one who doesn't like most of his films. However, Jay was surprisingly the only critic to give a positive review of Jeremy's first movie, ''Kegger Party at Hanging Rock''. According to him, Jay's the only decent person he's met in America.
340* OlderThanTheyLook: Jeremy is 43 years old. When Jay blabs this out, everyone is so shocked that it's a front-page headline. By contrast, Jay is 36. Would you ever guess Jeremy is the older one?
341%%* ShirtlessScene
342
343!! Doris Grossman
344[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/char_40176.jpg]]
345->'''Voiced by:''' Doris Grau
346
347Jay's elderly, chain-smoking makeup artist. She's generally snarky and takes pleasure in seeing Jay suffer, and also has a crush on Duke Phillips, much to his disgust.
348----
349
350* AbhorrentAdmirer: Towards Duke Phillips, especially in season two.
351* AesopAmnesia: Despite Jay and Doris becoming friends in "Every Doris Has Her Day", she doesn't treat him any differently in following episodes.
352%%* DeadpanSnarker
353* IWasQuiteALooker: She was allegedly cast as a dancer in some old cigarette commercials, but her career came to an end when she was knocked up by the Fruit-of-the-Loom banana.
354* MustHaveNicotine: Doris is hardly ever seen without a lit cigarette in her mouth. Duke once snatched one out of her mouth in an attempt to make her quit smoking, only for a new lit one to immediately pop out of it, with a cash register "Ka-CHING!" sound effect. He repeated the act a few more times, only for the same result to happen every time.
355--> '''Doris:''' I can do this all day.
356* VitriolicBestBuds: She and Jay start an IntergenerationalFriendship when evidence pops up that Doris may be Jay's biological mother - though the DNA test they both took proved that to be false, they remained friends at the end of the episode. This still doesn't stop Doris from snarking at Jay and vice-versa.
357
358!! Vlada Veramirovich
359->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NickJameson
360
361The owner of Jay's favorite restaurant, L'ane Riche (French for "The Wealthy Jackass"). He's something of a friend to Jay, though Vlada is only interested in him because Jay's BigEater tendencies account for most of his profits. Not that Jay doesn't know.
362----
363
364* AlliterativeName: '''V'''lada '''V'''eramirovich.
365* AmbiguouslyGay: He has somewhat effeminate mannerisms, and rejects the affections of Olivia Hawke. With that said, though, he's never shown to be interested in a man, and he does have a presumably biological son.
366* DemotedToExtra: Though he was the only other character from the first two seasons besides Jay to appear in the webisodes, he plays a much more minor role in them compared to before.
367* FalseFriend: Vlada to Jay. He's honest about it, though.
368-->'''Vlada:''' I love you, too!
369-->'''Jay:''' Oh, you just love my money.
370-->'''Vlada:''' This is true, but it is a love that will never die.
371** This is to the point where Vlada actually gets scared when Jay tells him he's on a diet.
372-->'''Jay:''' Hello Vlada. Tonight, I'm on a diet.
373-->'''Vlada:''' ''(picks up the phone in disappointment)'' Tell Vlada Jr. no Harvard.
374-->'''Jay:''' In fact, I may just have coffee.
375-->'''Vlada:''' ''(sadly back to phone)'' Pull the plug on Mama.
376* FunnyForeigner: He's a bit quirky, and he's Eastern-European.
377* GenderBlenderName: "Vlada" is a feminine form of the Slavic name Vlad.
378* LethalChef: Zig-zagged. His restaurant is quite popular, though there's several times where he's shown to be very lazy and dishonest with preparing his food. Once, he served soup to Jeremy Hawke with a large HAM radio in it. Instead of making a new batch, he swaps it with his mother's foot soaking water, with a stocking still in it. He also wanted to serve Jay's dog as food, and he would serve him raw to save on electricity.
379-->'''Vlada:''' Ignore them, Mr. Sherman. Vlada is still your friend.
380-->'''Jay:''' Thanks, man.
381-->'''Vlada:''' ''(To his waiter)'' Serve him the tainted clams.
382* TheLoinsSleepTonight: Apparently, Vlada's [[UnusualEuphemism souffle hasn't risen in years]].
383* ShoutOut: Vlada is from [[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle Pottsylvania]].
384
385!! Zoltan Veramirovich
386->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NickJameson
387
388Vlada's possibly transgender son. He attends the same school as Marty.
389----
390
391* AmbiguouslyGay: Much like his father, he has very effeminate mannerisms (Though this may be justified if Principal Mangosuthu's comment about him being transgender is true).
392* FunnyForeigner: While Vlada doesn't quite fit this, his son [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EcaGvvhIBo Zoltan's performance in the UN Talent Show]] runs on this.
393-->'''Zoltan:''' Hello. I would like to dance and sing my country’s national anthem. ''*Singing*'' Eepee-Teepee Peepee Poopee.
394-->''*Audience laughs*''
395-->'''Vlada:''' You don’t understand. He's singing of all the people who died in the earthquake, fire and famine of 1805.
396-->''*Audience is successfully shamed*''
397-->'''Zoltan:''' ''*Glares, then sings*'' Eepee-Teepee Peepee Poopee.
398-->''*[[CrossesTheLineTwice Audience laughs]]*''
399* GenerationXerox: He's essentially a smaller copy of his father, sans the facial hair.
400* ShoutOut: Zoltan is from [[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle Pottsylvania]].
401* TransTribulations: Principal Mangosuthu makes an insensitive remark about Zoltan being trans while introducing him at a talent show in "A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera."
402-->'''[[JerkAss Principal Mangosuthu]]:''' And now the boy who used to be a girl - Oops, that ''used'' to be a secret...
403
404!! Shackleford
405->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MauriceLaMarche
406
407The butler to Franklin and Eleanor Sherman. He hates working for them, due to being subjected to Franklin's insane tendencies and Eleanor's general unpleasantness. He doesn't like Jay either, usually greeting him as "Adopted Master Jay".
408----
409
410* BurnBabyBurn: Said word for word as the Sherman Estate goes up in flames due to Franklin leaving the stove on in one episode!
411* ButtMonkey: Is often subjected to Franklin's whims, such as being smacked over the head with a guitar while Franklin was acting as El Kabong. He's also had to clean Jay's clothes from time to time, which is presented as a punishment in itself.
412%%* DeadpanSnarker
413* {{Expy}}: Modeled after the butler character Hobson from the 1981 film ''Film/{{Arthur 1981}}''.[[note]]Coincidentally, Creator/MauriceLaMarche also voices the direct parody of that film's title character who appears in several episodes.[[/note]]
414* HiddenDepths: Has a knowledge of and love for various rock and roll musicians, apparently having worked for them in the past.
415* IdenticalStranger: In "Frankie and Ellie Get Lost", Franklin finds a replacement butler on their deserted island; an ape who looks exactly like a simian version of Shackleford, whom Franklin calls Shackleape.
416%%* TheJeeves
417* ServileSnarker: Mostly towards Jay, though he will have his revenge on Eleanor and Franklin if he can, whether they know it or not.
418* StealthInsult: Shackleford refers to Jay as "Adopted Master Jay," but in this case he says it right to Jay's face.
419** In "Every Doris Has Her Day," after finding out Doris may be his mother, Jay tells him his adoption jibes can't hurt him anymore.
420-->'''Shackleford:''' ''(with a tear in his eye)'' They can't?
421
422!! Principal Mangosuthu
423->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MauriceLaMarche
424
425The principal of the UN School that Marty attends. He's generally very rude to people, pointing out their faults and letting out a loud, boisterous laugh.
426----
427
428* BrutalHonesty: Generally all he does is point out other people's flaws or mistakes, and laugh at them.
429-->'''Principal Mangosuthu:''' Our next event is the long jump.
430-->''(Marty jumps in slow motion, but falls backwards)''
431-->'''Principal Mangosuthu:''' I'm afraid you've actually gone ''back'' a few feet. You would have been better off just standing there! Haaa-hahahahahaha!
432* {{Expy}}: Shares the mannerisms and laugh of Geoffrey Holder.
433* HeliumSpeech: When a helium leak occurs offscreen, Mangosuthu is heard talking like this.
434* TheHyena: He's known for letting out big laughs, mostly at other people's expense.
435* {{Jerkass}}: He spends all of his time laughing at other people's misfortune.
436* SignatureLaugh: "Haaa-hahahahahaha!"
437
438!! Easter Island Kid
439
440One of Marty's classmates. His had is a large, heavy Easter Island statue, which makes life very hard on him.
441
442* BitCharacter: Never has a speaking role, and exists only for jokes about the weight of his head.
443* TheVoiceless: He never gets a speaking role, and exists mainly for gags on how heavy his head is.
444
445!! Humphrey the Hippo
446->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TressMacNeille
447
448An {{Expy}} of [[Series/BarneyAndFriends Barney the Dinosaur]] whose rating beat Jay's, much to his annoyance.
449----
450
451* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: Humphrey is a green hippo.
452* SamusIsAGirl: Humphrey is actually played by a very attractive woman who has the hots for Jay at one point.
453* SmokingIsCool: One of the companies that Jay's parents own, Phlegm Fatale Cigarettes, hires Humphrey the Hippo to peddle smoking to children, and tell them what happens when you get a lung removed (You get ice cream!).
454* RatedGForGangsta: Following a popular 90's trend, Humphrey recorded a rap video for preschoolers called "Hug Da Police".
455
456!! Creator/OrsonWelles
457->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MauriceLaMarche
458
459The legendary director and actor himself, who might have passed on by the time the show takes place, but still makes a few appearances through his infamous latter-day advertising and narration work.
460
461* TheAlcoholic: Drains an entire jug of wine during one commercial shown.
462* BigEater: Grabs a handful of frozen peas even while storming off the set, is elated to find a french fry stuck in his beard, and goes off on a tangent about Ms Pell's Fishsticks during an unrelated video will narration.
463* EvilLaugh: Gives an impressive one during his introduction to Franklin and Eleanor's video will, or as he calls it, "The Living Will!"
464* FriendlyGhost: Makes a brief appearance as a ghost to an utterly confused Margo, proclaiming his love for Ms Pell's Fishsticks even in death.
465* LighterAndSofter: His "Rosebud Frozen Peas" commercial isn't nearly as profanity-ridden as the work it parodies, his infamous 1970 Findus frozen peas recording.
466* MoneyDearBoy: InUniverse. Like his real-life self, he's been forced to accept demeaning voice work and ad shilling for money.
467* PosthumousCharacter: Dead for about a decade by the show's time setting, appearing only in old video recordings (with one exception).
468* RageQuit: Walks off the set of the Rosebud commercial taping, infuriated by the godawful script.
469* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Ms Pell's Fishsticks, almost to CompanionCube levels. According to his ghost, his reward in the afterlife consists largely of these, and apparently they're even better when you're dead.
470
471!! Jennifer (webisodes only)
472->'''Voiced by:''' Valerie Levitt
473
474* OneHeadTaller: Inverted. Jennifer is taller than Jay.
475* ReallyGetsAround: In webisode 2, Jennfier says to Jay that "It's so hard to turn (men) away," and reveals after she has sex with them, [[EveryoneLovesBlondes they become "fixated" with her afterwards]]. This is probably the reason she has quite a lot of children (revealed in webisode 8).
476[[/folder]]

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