Difference between revisions of "The Critic"

Latest revision as of 20:02, December 18, 2025

The Critic was a 1994-1995 American prime time animated series about the life of film critic Jay Sherman (voiced by Jon Lovitz). The series was produced by Al Jean, Mike Reiss and James L. Brooks, who also worked on The Simpsons, therefore explaining why The Critic was often referenced on the show.

References to The Critic in The Simpsons[edit]

Season	Episode number	Episode name	Reference
6	121	"A Star Is Burns"	Marge invites Jay to come to Springfield to help judge the Springfield Film Festival. In one scene Jay Sherman is introduced to Bart Simpson who, in a self aware scene about this crossover, mutters: "Why do I suddenly feel so dirty?", after praising his show.
8	161	"Hurricane Neddy"	Jay is seen in a cell at an insane asylum repeating "it stinks" while a doctor is trying to calm him by saying "Yes, Mr. Sherman. Everything stinks." The line "It stinks!" was Sherman's catchphrase on The Critic.
8	173	"The Canine Mutiny"	Bart answers phone in bed similar to Jay Sherman.
15	327	"The Ziff Who Came to Dinner"	When Homer takes Artie Ziff to Moe's Tavern, Jay is sitting at the bar along with Professor Lombardo, Aristotle Amadopolis and Llewellyn Sinclair, all of whom (in addition to Jay and Artie) are voiced by Jon Lovitz.
28	600	"Treehouse of Horror XXVII"	One of the bad shows mentioned in "600" is The Critic.

References to The Simpsons in The Critic[edit]

Season	Episode number	Episode name	Reference
1	3	"Dial M for Mother"	Homer and Bart Simpson made a brief appearance in "Dial M for Mother". During an interview with Geraldo Rivera, Jay is asked about talking over the heads of his audience and does just that in his answer. An annoyed family watching changes the channel to The Simpsons, where Homer—after stepping on a rake—exclaims, "D'oh!" and Bart replies, "Ay caramba!" The family's father comments, "Now, this I understand."
2	4	"A Song for Margo"	The children at the Oliver Twist preschool are making Simpsons merchandise.
2	5	"From Chunk to Hunk"	A Fox network executive calls Jay and asks him to emulate Bart, Homer, Marge, and Maggie.
2	6	"All the Duke's Men"	A short melody when JFK kisses Marilyn Monroe was reused from the Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror III".
2	9	"Dukerella"	Jay and Alice go to a costume ball dresses up as Homer and Marge to meet Duke, Alice's sister crush.

Common cast members[edit]

Name	Role in The Critic	Role on The Simpsons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Voiced himself in "A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera".	Voiced himself in the season 22 episode "Love Is a Many-Strangled Thing".
Nancy Cartwright	Voice of Margo Sherman	Main cast member.
Doris Grau	Voice of Doris Grossman	Voice of Lunchlady Doris.
Maurice LaMarche	Voice of Jeremy Hawke and Orson Welles	Voiced many different characters in many episodes.
Jon Lovitz	Voice of Jay Sherman.	Voiced Professor Lombardo, Aristotle Amadopolis, Artie Ziff, Llewellyn Sinclair and Jay Sherman.
Tress MacNeille	Voice of Humphrey the Hippo	Voiced many different characters in many episodes.

Charles Napier	Voice of Duke Philips	Voice of The Warden in "Pokey Mom" and "The Wandering Juvie", Grant Connor in "The Fat and the Furriest", Officer Krackney in "The Seven-Beer Snitch".
Rhea Perlman	Voice of Ardeth in the second season.	Voice of Carla Tortelli in "Fear of Flying".
Rod Steiger	Voice himself in "L.A. Jay".	Voiced Captain Tenille in "Simpson Tide".
Russi Taylor	Voice of Penny Thompkins	Voice of Martin Prince, Üter, Sherri and Terri.

Crew[edit]

Picture	Name	Role in The Critic	Role on The Simpsons
	Judd Apatow	Consulting producer.	Voiced himself in "Steal This Episode".

External links[edit]

The Critic at Wikipedia

Cultural references

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