The Critic: The Complete Series DVD Review

[JasonX 0]

http://thesmartmarks.com/artman/publish/article_1435.shtml

 

With Scott Keith vowing not to review the DVD set, I thought I'd put together a review for the newly released DVD box set starring everyone's favorite snark-filled movie critic Jay Sherman.

 

Tell me what you think

 

Jesse Baker

[Slayer 0]

With Scott Keith vowing not to review the DVD set

Why not?

[Tawren 0]

With Scott Keith vowing not to review the DVD set

Why not?

An interesting thing happened over the past couple of days -- I sat down to review the Critic, a show which was the cause celebre of the internet for years, and I was expecting to write a standard review ala Family Guy about how it was underappreciated genius. But then I actually WATCHED the first season, and slowly came to a rather surprising conclusion: ABC was quite just in cancelling the show after 13 episodes. The humor in the first season is horribly dated at times, you get the feeling that the show was built just to house the movie parodies and the plot was tacked on, Jay Sherman is an unlikable clod, and really the stories are uninteresting and lack either the trans-cultural zing of the Simpsons or the over-the-top idiocy of Family Guy. I found myself unable to even remember what I had watched on the first disc by the time I got to the end of the set, which is why I'm not reviewing it. People cried foul at the time, but really the show does not hold up 10 years later.

 

The second season is much better, and it's the FOX era of the show that really produced the truly great episodes that people remember today (like the Siskel & Ebert one with the Rosie Perez robot). Not to mention the Critic himself is much better designed and drawn (although the animation is sloppier due to budget cuts) and had FOX not given up so soon, the second season probably would have been the one to give the show new life again. The Webisodes are pretty much junk, sadly.

 

Anyway, just wanted to share those thoughts in lieu of a full review. I'm like that sometimes.

Apr. 23rd, 2004 @ 09:05 pm

[Scroby 0]

A critic telling us "it stinks" about the critic oh the irony in it all.

[Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes]

I actually agree with Scott Keith on this..ugh. Outside of a few cheap jokes, Season 1 is terrible...and usually those cheap jokes were Jay's father Franklin.

 

"NILKNARF!"

 

Season 2 isn't that great either, but it's a little better. I remember loving this show back in 94/95, but was a bit disapointed.

 

Onto reading the review now.

 

To Be Edited Soon.

[griffinmills 0]

This column was a lot like the previous one. Good to see you are sticking with what you know by retaining the "school book-report" format. I'm wondering though, before I go into any feedback, is there an editor for these columns? I'm thinking these pieces would really benefit from someone giving them a simple once-over before posting them.