Right
up front I have got to say that I loved THE CRITIC. For my money, THE
CRITIC was one of the most inspired and hilarious animated shows to
ever grace broadcast television. Perhaps that is why I was none too
shocked when the show was yanked from the airwaves, after two brief
seasons (one on ABC and the other on Fox). Although it would take the
occasional potshot at any subject, the humor of THE CRITIC
primarily focused on movies, the entertainment industry and celebrities.
Many of the movie parodies offered up on THE CRITIC featured such
hilarious zingers that I had tears rolling down my face because I was
laughing so hard. Sure, there were jokes that fell flat and others that
went over the heads of many viewers, but there was still is plenty to love
in each and every episode of THE CRITIC.
The
basic premise of THE CRITIC focuses on the life and career of cable
television movie critic (and likable loser) Jay Sherman (voided by Jon
Lovitz). A highbrow lover of the cinema, Jay regularly rips apart the
latest blockbuster assaults on his intelligence, much to the chagrin of
media tycoon boss, who wants him to rate movies on a scale of "good
to excellent". On certain levels, Jay’s personal life seems to
stink almost as much as the crappy movies he reviews; however, the
eccentric characters that populate his world add another layer of hilarity
to this animated show. In addition to the delightful Lovitz, the other
inspired lunatics that voice THE CRITIC include Nancy Cartwright,
Christine Cavanaugh, Gerrit Graham, Doris Grau, Judith Ivey, Nick Jameson,
Charles Napier, Kath Soucie, Maurice LaMarche, Russi Taylor and Park
Overall.
THE
CRITIC: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($50) comes to DVD in a three-disc set
that features the following twenty-three season one and two episodes: Pilot,
Marty's First Date, Dial 'M' For Mother,
Miserable, A Little Deb Will Do You, Eyes On
The Prize, Every Doris Has Her Day, Marathon
Mensch, L.A. Jay, Dr. Jay, A Day
At The Races And A Night At The Opera, Uneasy Rider,
A Pig-Boy And His Dog, Sherman, Woman And
Child, Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice,
Lady Hawke, A Song For Margo, From Chunk To
Hunk, All The Duke's Men, Sherman Of Arabia,
Frankie And Ellie Get Lost, Dukerella and I
Can't Believe It's A Clip Show.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made all the episodes that comprise THE
CRITIC: THE COMPLETE SERIES available on DVD in the proper full screen
aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. I have to say that
the DVDs look much better than the syndicated rebroadcasts that I’ve
seen cropping up late at night on Comedy Central. Everything appears a bit
crisper on DVD than it does in syndication, although there is still some
softness here and there. There are some blemishes and bits of dust that
occasionally appear, plus one will notice a grain structure from time to
time, but overall, the presentation will please fans of the series. Colors
appear solid and are rendered without fuzziness or noise. Digital
compression artifacts are usually well concealed. The Dolby Digital 2.0
channel surround stereo soundtracks decode to standard surround and it
sounds pretty darn good. Dialogue is always completely understandable and
crisp. Music has good fidelity and is nicely spread throughout the entire
soundstage. No other language tracks or subtitles are present, although
English captioning has been included.
The
mildly animated interactive menus provide access to the standard episode
selection and set up features, as well as some good supplemental content.
Eight episodes include audio commentaries with various members of the show’s
production team and vocal talent. The commentaries are interesting and
fairly informative about the creative process behind THE CRITIC.
The episode A Pig-Boy And His Dog offers interactive
features that allow one to access original storyboards. Trailer
Parodies brings together all of the movie parodies that run
through the twenty three episodes that comprise the series, while the Top
Ten List brings together Jay’s movie reviews. Creating The
Critic is a nine-minute program that features members of the
production team discussing how the show came into being. Finally, Columbia
TriStar has thrown in the ten brief webisodes of THE CRITIC that
were created for Internet distribution in 2001.
As
a fan, I can say that I am utterly delighted that THE CRITIC: THE
COMPLETE SERIES has come to DVD. This was one heck of a funny show and
its nice that it is seeing new life, and perhaps a new audience, on DVD.
Who knows, if THE CRITIC is a big seller on DVD, maybe fans will
get to see more of the antics of Jay Sherman in the future.
Right
up front I have got to say that I loved THE CRITIC. For my money, THE
CRITIC was one of the most inspired and hilarious animated shows to
ever grace broadcast television. Perhaps that is why I was none too
shocked when the show was yanked from the airwaves, after two brief
seasons (one on ABC and the other on Fox). Although it would take the
occasional potshot at any subject, the humor of THE CRITIC
primarily focused on movies, the entertainment industry and celebrities.
Many of the movie parodies offered up on THE CRITIC featured such
hilarious zingers that I had tears rolling down my face because I was
laughing so hard. Sure, there were jokes that fell flat and others that
went over the heads of many viewers, but there was still is plenty to love
in each and every episode of THE CRITIC.
The
basic premise of THE CRITIC focuses on the life and career of cable
television movie critic (and likable loser) Jay Sherman (voided by Jon
Lovitz). A highbrow lover of the cinema, Jay regularly rips apart the
latest blockbuster assaults on his intelligence, much to the chagrin of
media tycoon boss, who wants him to rate movies on a scale of "good
to excellent". On certain levels, Jay’s personal life seems to
stink almost as much as the crappy movies he reviews; however, the
eccentric characters that populate his world add another layer of hilarity
to this animated show. In addition to the delightful Lovitz, the other
inspired lunatics that voice THE CRITIC include Nancy Cartwright,
Christine Cavanaugh, Gerrit Graham, Doris Grau, Judith Ivey, Nick Jameson,
Charles Napier, Kath Soucie, Maurice LaMarche, Russi Taylor and Park
Overall.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made all the episodes that comprise THE
CRITIC: THE COMPLETE SERIES available on DVD in the proper full screen
aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. I have to say that
the DVDs look much better than the syndicated rebroadcasts that I’ve
seen cropping up late at night on Comedy Central. Everything appears a bit
crisper on DVD than it does in syndication, although there is still some
softness here and there. There are some blemishes and bits of dust that
occasionally appear, plus one will notice a grain structure from time to
time, but overall, the presentation will please fans of the series. Colors
appear solid and are rendered without fuzziness or noise. Digital
compression artifacts are usually well concealed. The Dolby Digital 2.0
channel surround stereo soundtracks decode to standard surround and it
sounds pretty darn good. Dialogue is always completely understandable and
crisp. Music has good fidelity and is nicely spread throughout the entire
soundstage. No other language tracks or subtitles are present, although
English captioning has been included.
The
mildly animated interactive menus provide access to the standard episode
selection and set up features, as well as some good supplemental content.
Eight episodes include audio commentaries with various members of the show’s
production team and vocal talent. The commentaries are interesting and
fairly informative about the creative process behind THE CRITIC.
The episode A Pig-Boy And His Dog offers interactive
features that allow one to access original storyboards. Trailer
Parodies brings together all of the movie parodies that run
through the twenty three episodes that comprise the series, while the Top
Ten List brings together Jay’s movie reviews. Creating The
Critic is a nine-minute program that features members of the
production team discussing how the show came into being. Finally, Columbia
TriStar has thrown in the ten brief webisodes of THE CRITIC that
were created for Internet distribution in 2001.
As
a fan, I can say that I am utterly delighted that THE CRITIC: THE
COMPLETE SERIES has come to DVD. This was one heck of a funny show and
its nice that it is seeing new life, and perhaps a new audience, on DVD.
Who knows, if THE CRITIC is a big seller on DVD, maybe fans will
get to see more of the antics of Jay Sherman in the future.