Remembering Jay Sherman

The series The Critic was part of that early '90s boom in "not just for kids" American prime time animation that followed the success of The Simpsons. The show did not last long--following its 13-episode first season ABC did not pick it up again, after which it had just a second 10-episode season on FOX. With a mere 23 episodes in the can there was also no chance of much in the way of reruns in syndication, back when such things were more important in establishing a place for a show in pop cultural memory than they are today. Still, it did have its fans, some of whom still remember and laugh at particular bits all these decades later, as I was reminded by the remembrances of a particular gag about the goings-on at Buckingham Palace in "All the Duke's Men" just last month. (Oh yes, they remembered that one.)

As that bit reminds us much of the humor was of that "random" type for which the later Family Guy would be notorious, but much of it was more conventionally rooted in the character of its protagonist as he practiced his profession as television film critic, Jay Sherman, who in light of what I have been writing about in regard to the prevailing attitudes among critics interests me as an embodiment of another era's stereotype of what film critics are like. Sherman, who as he told us on at least one occasion, has a Ph.d in film, is presented as "highbrow," jaded, nearly impossible to please, and especially prone to be scornful of crowd-pleasing material, sequels to past hits, and suchlike. "It stinks!" was his catchphrase--uttered as part of the opening credits sequence (for each of which some parodic bit of some new film was created for him to say it about), while, after the passing of The Critic from the air, he was to be seen in The Simpsons' episode "Hurricane Neddy" as a patient in a mental hospital repeating the phrase over and over and over again.

As the Rotten Tomatoes scores indicate, we seem a long way away from that era, with critics less inclined to say "It stinks" and more inclined to, as Jay's boss constantly pressured him to do, "rate movies from good to excellent" instead.

Why do people not acknowledge this more often in the mainstream? The usual complete absence of historical perspective apart--and the sheer delight that critics take in tearing something apart (often unjustly) on those occasions when they feel free to write a bad review--one factor may be the incessant, shameless, whining of hyper-privileged Hollywood narcissists when they receive anything but the unqualified, fulsome praise that is their demand (during which, of course, they never hesitate to play any "card" they can), and the respect with which the entertainment press subsequently treats their acting out (not least, because those whining about being treated unkindly are often actually flattered outrageously by those people they accuse of not having praised them enough).

I'm sure that, like me, you have no difficulty thinking up examples in this day and age. Consider the comment thread here a safe place to express yourself about the matter, if you are so inclined--the more in as I would be interested to know which such persons other people regard as behaving in such a manner.