I thought of having this ball rolled by talking about an obscure Cartoon called "The Critic". It starred Jon Lovitz as Jay Sherman who's a critic for many films.
The show itself was made by James L. Brooks and was seen on ABC in its 1st year, FOX in its 2nd.
I hope one day, "The Critic" would be revised.
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Thank God for kids who love obscure things-Lee Hazelwood (1929-2007)
The Critic original aired on ABC in 1994 and ran for a single season. It was picked up by FOX in 1995 and ran for another 13 episodes before being canceled completely. There were some post-cancellation webisodes focusing solely on the show-within-the-show, "Coming Attractions" made, IIRC.
I hope one day, "The Critic" would be revised.
Well, since the series' last first run TV episode was 17 years ago, a revival at this point seems unlikely (FOX won't air it again, and none of the other alphabet networks are doing prime-time animation presently. Comedy Central could conceivably pick it up, but this late in the shows' history, even that seem seems like a longshot), and even if the series were to come back, it would have to be without the vocal talents of Doris Grau and Charles Napier, both of whom have passed on. Christine Cavanaugh (the voice of Jay's son Marty) has since retired from voice acting, so the show would have to do without her also.
I didn't remember this at all until I seen the intro for it a year ago that revised my memory of it.
And Comedy Central already had it in the UK of course after Sky 1 had it.
I enjoyed the series. Jon Lovitz was great as the bumbling film critic Jay Sherman ("It Stinks!") and the parodies of various films and actors were amusing. Too bad the series only lasted for 20 episodes or so.
The Critic was a terrific show. I cam across it a few years back after listening to the commentaries of Simpsons DVDs. I watched a few episodes and found it hilarious. I quickly rushed to purchase the complete series on DVD. The part was perfect for Lovitz (probably the only time his name was that close to the word perfect) and the other voice actors were also impressive.
It was an original idea carried out in an appealing manner, but it was before it's time. Had it been conceived a few years later it might've had a better run. But eh, still fun to watch the old ones occasionally.
However, I think the better question lies with the controversial Simpsons episode "A Star is Burns". What is your opinion of it? Was it a well delivered episode, or did It deserve the flack it got for being a "commercial crossover"?
I feel this show is under-rated!