The Critic/Eyes on the Prize

Eyes on the Prize
Season 1, Episode 6
Airdate	March 2, 1994
Written by	Tom Brady
Directed by	Dan Jeup & Brian Sheesley
← 1x05 A Little Deb Will Do You	1x07 → Every Doris Has Her Day
The Critic — Season One

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Eyes on the Prize is the sixth episode of the first season of The Critic.

Starring: Jon Lovitz (Jay Sherman), Nancy Cartwright (Margot Sherman), Christine Cavanaugh (Marty Sherman), Gerrit Graham (Franklin Sherman), Doris Grau (Doris), Judith Ivey (Eleanor Sherman), Nick Jameson (Vlada Veramirovich), Maurice La Marche (Jeremy Hawke), Charles Napier (Duke Phillips), Kath Soucie (Various)

Special Guest Voice: Jimmy Breslin (Himself), Phil Hartman (Adolph Hitmaker/Bernie Wasserman/Professor Blowhard), Tress MacNeille (Various), Adam West (Himself)

Plot Overview

In order to get his mojo back, Jay visits an image maker, whose advice causes him to gain even more weight. After losing his job, Jay winds up hosting a Public Access show called English for Cab Drivers and uses that show in an attempt to win another Pulitzer Prize.

Trivia

The Show

• Opening Phone Call: "Jay, this is your ex-wife. Your alimony check is 18 minutes late... no, 19 minutes. That it, I'm calling my lawyer."
• Opening Movie Parody: A parody of James Bond, where Bond's toupee and dentures fly out while driving a speed boat, causing the woman he's with to scream and jump off the boat.
• Closing Theatre Shot: "Is the snack bar still open?"
• Movie Parodies: Days of Beer and Chundering, Refried Green Tomatoes, L'artiste est Morte, Seinfeld: The Movie, Dennis the Menace II Society, Bob and Carol and Beavis and Butthead, The Merchant of Venice starring Keanu Reeves, Arthur 3: Revenge of the Liver

Behind the Scenes

• Testing: After ABC cancelled the series, the producers attempted to boost their numbers a bit by retesting this episode to an audience before trying to sell it to FOX. The audience was lukewarm to everything except the character of Doris, but when they were shown a Doris heavy episode, it got the exact same score as the preview screening.
• Cameo: Adam West plays himself in this episode, but although West agreed to the part and flew out on his own expense, he hadn't read the script and didn't realize that they were making fun of him. To his credit, though, he was a good sport about being made fun of and offered a joke about being payed in Dinars, something that actually happened to him once.
• Cancelled: ABC decided to cancel the series after this episode, which ironically is about Jay's show being cancelled.

Allusions and References

• Jurassic Park:
• The Tonight Show:
• Sylvester Stallone:
• Rhinestone:
• Cher:
• Adam West:
• The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood:
• Lorne Green:
• Pee Wee Herman:
• Here Come the Brides:
• Bobby Sherman:
• Enrico Caruso:
• Bob Hope:
• Marlon Brando:
• Puff N Stuff:
• It's Pat:
• Stubby Kaye:
• The Seventh Seal:
• King Kong:
• Kool-Aid:
• Orson Welles:
• Maniac:
• The Shining:
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington:
• Jimmy Breslin:
• Porgy & Bess:
• Arthur: