THE CRITIC

The Critic was simply too beautiful for this world. The misadventures of pretentious film critic Jay Sherman, living as a bachelor in New York City, had a cup of coffee in primetime on ABC before being shipped off to Fox, where it quickly died, despite being the perfect evening follow-up to The Simpsons Jay’s world came with an outstanding supporting cast, from disgruntled makeup lady Doris, the manly-yetchildish boss Duke Phillips, and Jay’s cartoonishly goofy father, Franklin. The constant movie jokes were precursors to Family Guy’s cutaway gimmicks. At least Jay’s legacy lives on in “A Star is Burns,” one of the most quotable Simpsons episodes of all time. –GJ