The Critic still an underrated animated masterpiece — streaming free on Tubi

One of the show's signature bits involves Jay Sherman, played by Jon Lovitz, and a life-sized cardboard cutout used to promote his book, complete with a mechanical arm that waves a copy. That desperate, recurring gag is emblematic of a program whose jokes linger long after an episode ends.

Created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss after their early seasons on The Simpsons, The Critic follows Jay as he reviews movies and interviews stars. Its show-within-a-show format supplied rapid-fire parodies of fake films and sequels years before Family Guy adopted the cutaway style, including Frau Doubtfire with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mrs.

Doubtfire and Field of Dreams 2, where Babe Ruth asks, 'Hey, where can a fella get a hooker around here?' The supporting cast includes Jay’s son Marty (Christine Cavanaugh), billionaire boss Duke Phillips (Charles Napier), and chain-smoking makeup artist Doris Grossman (Doris Grau).

the critic, jay sherman, jon lovitz, al jean, mike reiss, the simpsons, tubi, movie parodies, doris grossman, duke phillips