Yes, Mr. Sherman. Everything stinks.
"It stinks
!"
The Critic was a short-lived animated series that featured Jon Lovitz as the voice of the titular critic. The show is notable for being picked up by four different networks. It was launched on ABC, where it was cancelled after a month, and was picked up by Fox, who ran it for a full season before dropping it, after which it was aired on Comedy Central. It was later picked up by UPN, who never actually aired episodes of the show. In Latin America, this show was aired on Locomotion before turning into ANIMAX. Several short cartoon based on the series appeared on the internet.
Jay Sherman is New York's #3 film critic, with a cable television film review show, and it's his job to review some pretty horrible movies. It doesn't help that he's rather unsuccessful at life, overweight, and not really successful with the ladies (he does have a few dates, but they're usually either crazy or sleeping with him to get a positive review). His boss frequently mistook his statements for come-ons, and his makeup lady frequently verbally abused him.
Jay does have a few friends, however: his best friend, Jeremy Hawke, a combination of Paul Hogan and Mel Gibson; restaurant owner Vlada (well, he's nice to Jay's
face, anyway); and his son, Marty who attended United Nations High School, where one his classmates was a Klingon, and another from Easter Island and had a head made of stone.
In the second season (after Fox picked up the show), the character of Jay was retooled. He was given a warmer personality, a long-term love interest, and a rounder face.
The show resurrected one last time on the Internet as a flash series. Jay's long-term girlfriend has abandoned him and much of the cast is now gone, though he keeps hitting on a make-up girl.
Not to be confused with Mel Brooks' first film.
This show uses the tropes:
- Ambiguously Jewish - Jay. The closest to resolving the ambiguity occurs when Jay visits the orphanage he was adopted from and asks if he was Jewish. The priest answers, "Well, what do you think?" Jay crows, "I knew it!" and immediately launches into a fake Hebrew song.
- Bilingual Bonus: Vlada's restaurant L'ane Riche, which is French for "The Rich Jackass".
- Burping Contest: Between Jay and Homer Simpson.
- Catch Phrase - "It Stinks!", "Hotchie Motchie", "Achem!"
- Clip Show - Final episode of the Second Season, titled I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show
- Cloud Cuckoolander - Franklin Sherman, Jay's adoptive father
- When running for Vice President of the United States:
Franklin: As the first black female head of the Ku Klux Klan, I'd like to say... America stinks!
Duke: (watching) This may hurt us more than it helps us.
- Another instance:
Geraldo: I understand you can say your name backwards.
Franklin: Nilknarf.
Geraldo: What's your favorite food in the whole wide world?
Franklin: Nilknarf.
- Couch Gag - The intro features a different trailer every time, usually a poorly conceived sequel to an existing movie, as well as Jay Sherman waking up to a different phone call, news report on his radio alarm clock, or message on his answering machine every episode.
- The trailers and end-of-episode gags are reused a few times each.
- Crying Indian
- Cross Over - Jay was featured on several episodes of The Simpsons, all but the first after the series' run, giving the character a Fully Absorbed Finale.
- Discontinuity - Most folks who liked the TV series were dissatisfied with the flash version of it.
- The Glorious War Of Sisterly Rivalry - Jay's girlfriend, Alice and her Southern Belle sister.
- Hair Today Gone Tomorrow — Technically a subversion: Duke reminds Jay of when he first started losing his hair. Flashback to Jay wearing a white judge's wig, and speaking with a horrendous English accent.
- Ho Yay - See Mistaken For Gay example below; Jay also had a "date" with a fellow prisoner in one episode
- The Khan.
William Shatner: Hello, I'm William Shatner and this is Celebrity 911. Tonight, we devote the entire hour to police calls involving James Caan...(makes face) CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
- Memetic Mutation - "Buy my book! Buy my book! Buy my book!"
- Mistaken For Gay - Jay's boss is convinced Jay has a crush on him, despite Jay's insistence that he's straight.
- The Most Dangerous Game - In one of the running gags during the main credits, Jay's boss Duke calls him, inviting Jay to his ranch upon the news that Duke has received a license to hunt man. Jay is advised to bring "comfortable shoes".
- No Celebrities Were Harmed - The Trope Namer.
- Perfectly Cromulent Word - Duke Phillips pays Noah Webster to put the words "Quzybuk" (meaning "a big problem"), "Dukelicious", and "Duketastrophy" in the dictionary. Ignore the fact that Noah Webster has been dead for 150 years.
- Notably, he did it just so he'd get a really high score in Scrabble.
- Also notable that a seemingly random character uses the recently-invented "Quzybuk" when talking to Jay later in that same episode.
- Pimped Out Dress - When Jay's sister is forced to attend a debutante ball.
- Show Within A Show - Coming Attractions, which featured the use of Ad Bumpers
- Strange Minds Think Alike - In one episode, a research scientist uses the previously mentioned "Quzybuk" word.
- Straw Critic - Jay. In a minor subversion, however, he's essentially a decent guy — and in his defense, most of the movies he has to review are horrible.
- Title: The Adaptation: Parodied with Hee Haw: The Next Generation
- That's All, Folks!
- Un Canceled
