The Critic backdrop
Animation•Comedy•Drama

The Best Episodes of The Critic

Every episode of The Critic ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Critic!

Binge this in 8h 26m•Peaking at 8.6/10

Jay Sherman is a TV movie critic who is forced to review the most pathetic films which he always rates as "It stinks." In addition to the film parodies, the show also deals with his

Airs on
ABCFOX
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons2

All12

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Click to reveal
    The Critic Season 2 Episode 2 - Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice
    8.6/10(182 votes)

    #1 - Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice

    S2:E2

    After Jay attends the Academy Awards, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert break up and each rope Jay to be their new partner.

    Director:Lauren MacMullan
    Writer:Jon Vitti

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. The Critic Season 1 Episode 1 - Pilot
    8.1/10(303 votes)

    #2 - Pilot

    S1:E1

    Film critic Jay Sherman falls in love with actress Valerie Fox. Jay's family and friends worry that Valerie is using him to get a good movie review. Does she truly care for him?

    Director:Rich Moore
    Writers:Al Jean, Mike Reiss

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. The Critic Season 2 Episode 1 - Sherman, Woman and Child
    8.1/10(145 votes)

    #3 - Sherman, Woman and Child

    S2:E1

    Jay's ratings are not doing very well and Duke is about to fire him so Jay is feeling depressed. His feelings become better when he meets a new girlfriend named Alice and her daughter Penny. Alice gives Jay tips on how to improve his show and her advice works. Jay wants to get to know Alice better but discovers she has a boyfriend whom she wants to reject but can't.

    Director:Bret Haaland
    Writers:Al Jean, Mike Reiss

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. The Critic Season 1 Episode 4 - Miserable
    8.0/10(206 votes)

    #4 - Miserable

    S1:E4

    Jay, noticing everyone in New York has a fiancee except him, begins to feel unloved. Things change when he goes to review the movie, Indecent Proposal II, and falls in love with the projectionist screening the movie. They arrange a date at her house where she is revealed to have an obsession with Jay to the point where she kidnaps him and ties him to a bed holding him hostage.

    Director:Dan Jeup
    Writer:Steven Levitan

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. The Critic Season 2 Episode 3 - Lady Hawke
    7.9/10(124 votes)

    #5 - Lady Hawke

    S2:E3

    When Jeremy Hawke's sister, Olivia Newton Hawke, visits New York, Jay meets her and is smitten with her which puts his relationship with Alice on the line when she begins to feel left out. So Jay then must decide who he really loves.

    Director:Rich Moore
    Writer:Tom Brady

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. The Critic Season 2 Episode 7 - Sherman of Arabia
    7.9/10(133 votes)

    #6 - Sherman of Arabia

    S2:E7

    At Marty's slumber party, Jay is asked to tell his story in which he got caught up in the Gulf War. Jay tells how he was attending an Iraqi film festival and eventually was thrown in jail where he escaped and lead a troop of men across the desert.

    Director:Brian Sheesley
    Writer:Richard Doctorow

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Critic

    READ
  7. The Critic Season 1 Episode 3 - Dial 'M' For Mother
    7.8/10(176 votes)

    #7 - Dial 'M' For Mother

    S1:E3

    Jay is considered to be one of the most unpopular men on Earth (ranking even worse than Adolph Hitler) so Duke attempts to spruce up the show to get more people interested. When this doesn't work, Jay decides to soften his image by going on the "Geraldo Show" with his mother but Jay gets an even worse reputation when his mother embarrasses him to the point where he tells her to "shut up".

    Director:Bret Haaland
    Writers:Al Jean, Mike Reiss

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. The Critic Season 1 Episode 9 - L.A. Jay
    7.8/10(141 votes)

    #8 - L.A. Jay

    S1:E9

    Jay is offered to write the screenplay for a new movie, Ghostchasers III, so he takes a break from his show to go to L.A. to write the new movie and experience Hollywood life but the movie producer isn't satisfied with Jay's script.

    Director:Bret Haaland
    Writer:Steven Levitan

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. The Critic Season 2 Episode 6 - All the Duke's Men
    7.8/10(125 votes)

    #9 - All the Duke's Men

    S2:E6

    When Jay helps Marty become class president, Duke decides to have Jay help him become US President.

    Director:Chuck Sheetz
    Writer:Patric M. Verrone

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. The Critic Season 2 Episode 8 - Frankie and Ellie Get Lost
    7.8/10(121 votes)

    #10 - Frankie and Ellie Get Lost

    S2:E8

    Franklin and Eleanor celebrate their 40th anniversary by going on vacation but the plane crashes and Franklin and Eleanor find themselves marooned on an island. Back in New York, Margo and Jay find out about their disappearance and discover they have willed Jay their entire fortune which Jay decides to put to use by cleaning up New York.

    Director:David Cutler
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. The Critic Season 1 Episode 6 - Eyes on the Prize
    7.7/10(160 votes)

    #11 - Eyes on the Prize

    S1:E6

    Jay celebrates his 1000th episode but the episode is less than successful. Ratings get worse so Jay seeks image consultant, Adolph Hitmaker, for advice. The advice is unsuccessful and Jay is fired. Jay gets a new job on a show which teaches English for cab drivers but Jay is unhappy so he decides to win himself another Pulitzer Prize.

    Directors:Brian Sheesley, Dan Jeup
    Writer:Tom Brady

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. The Critic Season 1 Episode 10 - Dr. Jay
    7.7/10(147 votes)

    #12 - Dr. Jay

    S1:E10

    Jay's boss, Duke, has just made a new invention, "Phillips-o-Vision" which alters movies to make them more "like-able". Jay is disgusted with Duke's invention but when Duke is discovered to have a fatal disease, Jay must find a cure for Duke's ailment.

    Director:Dan Jeup
    Writer:Jon Vitti

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. The Critic Season 1 Episode 2 - Marty's First Date
    7.6/10(204 votes)

    #13 - Marty's First Date

    S1:E2

    Marty invites his Jay to career day at his school where Marty develops a crush on a Cuban girl named Carmen. They go on a date but when Carmen decides to fly back to Cuba, Marty follows her and Jay must get his son back.

    Director:Alan Smart
    Writers:Max Pross, Tom Gammill

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. The Critic Season 1 Episode 5 - A Little Deb Will Do You
    7.6/10(170 votes)

    #14 - A Little Deb Will Do You

    S1:E5

    Eleanor is determined to have her daughter, Margo, attend the annual debutantes ball as it is a tradition in her family. When Margo is reluctantly forced into it, Jay decides to accompany her. Meanwhile, Jay competes in his time slot against children's idol Humphrey the Hippo.

    Director:Lauren MacMullan
    Writer:Nell Scovell

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. The Critic Season 1 Episode 8 - Marathon Mensch
    7.6/10(153 votes)

    #15 - Marathon Mensch

    S1:E8

    When the studio catches fire during Jay's show, he collapses and must be rescued from the fire by Doris. When the news reports Jay's being rescued, he gets a reputation as being a wimp so he tries to prove his manliness by running in the New York marathon which tends to be more tiresome than it seems.

    Director:Susie Dietter
    Writer:Judd Apatow

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. The Critic Season 1 Episode 11 - A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera
    7.6/10(138 votes)

    #16 - A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera

    S1:E11

    After Marty fails to win an event at his school field day, he is feeling very low so Jay tries to improve his self-confidence by getting him interested in playing guitar and putting him in the school talent show. Meanwhile, Them Magazine names Jay "the wittiest man alive" so Duke offers to pay everyone who doesn't laugh at Jay's show $100 which doesn't go over very well.

    Director:Lauren MacMullan
    Writer:Ken Keeler

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. The Critic Season 1 Episode 13 - A Pig Boy and His Dog
    7.6/10(137 votes)

    #17 - A Pig Boy and His Dog

    S1:E13

    "A Pig-Boy and His Dog" is the 13th episode of The Critic. This was the final episode to air on ABC.

    Director:Bret Haaland
    Writer:Patric M. Verrone

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. The Critic Season 2 Episode 5 - From Chunk to Hunk
    7.6/10(124 votes)

    #18 - From Chunk to Hunk

    S2:E5

    Jay and Marty begin to feel a little big so they enroll in a weight loss camp. Marty loses a remarkable amount of weight which makes him feel more self- confident but when he is placed as the star in a school play, he doesn't feel his skinny self is right for him. Meanwhile, Jay receives a death threat from Belgian actor Jean Paul Le Pope whose movie he panned.

    Director:Steven Dean Moore
    Writer:Steve Tompkins

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. The Critic Season 2 Episode 9 - Dukerella
    7.6/10(120 votes)

    #19 - Dukerella

    S2:E9

    Alice's sister, Miranda, comes to visit them which Alice is not comfortable with. Miranda must find work in New York so she joins "Mattress in an Hour" delivering mattresses. When everybody attends a party held by Duke, Miranda falls in love with Duke but is shy because of a wrinkle. She runs out on Duke at midnight and Duke must find the woman who fits her slipper. When it turns out to be Doris, Jay must get Duke and Miranda reunited.

    Director:Bret Haaland
    Writer:Ken Keeler

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. The Critic Season 1 Episode 7 - Every Doris Has Her Day
    7.5/10(156 votes)

    #20 - Every Doris Has Her Day

    S1:E7

    Jay befriends his make-up lady Doris after they attend a musical adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and thinks that she may be the mother who gave him up for adoption years ago.

    Director:Alan Smart
    Writer:Steve Tompkins

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. The Critic Season 2 Episode 4 - A Song for Margo
    7.4/10(123 votes)

    #21 - A Song for Margo

    S2:E4

    Margo gets a new neighbor, Johnny Wrath, who is the lead singer in the rock group, "Nuns in a Blender". Margo falls in love with him but doesn't feel the relationship is right when she finds him with another girl. Meanwhile Alice tries to find a suitable preschool for Penny.

    Director:Tom Mazzocco
    Writers:Jennifer Ventimilia, Joshua Sternin

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. The Critic Season 1 Episode 12 - Uneasy Rider
    7.3/10(137 votes)

    #22 - Uneasy Rider

    S1:E12

    After refusing to plug chewing tobacco on his show, Jay quits his job and becomes a truck driver.

    Director:Alan Smart
    Writer:Steve Tompkins

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. The Critic Season 2 Episode 10 - I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show
    6.4/10(121 votes)

    #23 - I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show

    S2:E10

    Jay is hosting his 10th anniversary show held at Carnegie Hall where he showcases a number of movie clips from old episodes such as Jurassic Park 2, Every Which Way but Lucid, and Rabbi P.I. The show is later held hostage by a number of terrorists who threaten to blow the place up with a bomb tied to Jay's waist. Fortunately, everybody is eventually rescued by Milton Berle.

    Directors:Rich Moore, Lauren MacMullan, David Cutler
    Writers:Jennifer Ventimilia, Joshua Sternin, Steve Tompkins, Ken Keeler, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jon Vitti, Tom Brady, Patric M. Verrone, Richard Doctorow

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice" is the best rated episode of "The Critic". It scored 8.6/10 based on 182 votes. Directed by Lauren MacMullan and written by Jon Vitti, it aired on 3/12/1995. This episode scored 0.5 points higher than the second highest rated, "Pilot".