Nostalgia. For many people it means that tingly feeling inside when you think about growing up. That warmth you feel in your heart when you recollect your childhood or adolescence. That giddy joy you feel thinking about all your favorite movies, TV-shows, toys and friends before you entered the real world. Heck, maybe even the laughs you get thinking about how much of a klutz your boss made at himself at last year's Halloween office party.
Not to the Nostalgia Critic, though! To him, Nostalgia implies pain, frustration and hilarious antics as he reviews all of your favorite movies and TV-shows from yester-year. (And occasionally from more recently.)
The brain child of Doug Walker, and created with help from his brother Rob Walker (and more recently with newcomers Malcolm Ray and Rachel Tietz), "Nostalgia Critic" is a show featuring Doug portraying the "character" of the titular critic. It is essentially a review show, with episodes lasting generally 15-30 minutes (though some clock in at only 10 minutes, while others clock in at nearly an hour), in which the Critic goes through a film or TV-show start to finish, showing us key scenes that he humorously commentates and pokes fun at. Also mixed in are fun skits, on-screen graphics, and occasionally even entire story lines taking place during the review. Some of these story lines even encompass multiple episodes.
Since he launched the series in 2007, there have been well over 200 episodes, and a number of specials. (During which the critic will do things like "Top 11" lists, comparing an original Nostalgic film with a recent remake, etc.) And the subjects have a wide range, covering everything from "Howard the Duck" to "The Good Son" to "Moulon Rouge" to "Mortal Kombat", and just about anything else you could think of. More recently, after Walker re-launched the series in 2013 following an original planned conclusion in 2012, the Critic has lifted his original cut-off date, allowing for him to also review more recent fare, such as the controversial "Man of Steel."
While it's arguable whether or not Doug is really an actor, the fact it, he is still putting on a performance, and the Critic is a character... not Doug. And in that respect, he's great in the show. The Critic is a big, loud, fun, boisterous, cartoony creation and he makes the reviews a joy to watch. Ray and Tietz recently joined as co-stars, often portraying fictionalized versions of themselves or appearing as other characters in one-off skits, and they're a blast two. Finally the show is often graced with guest-stars from other internet personalities, and it almost always works for the best.
I can't really complain about dodgy production values or weak effects, since this is a "just for fun" web-series with the main focus being on the reviews and the Critic's often insanely funny over-the-top reactions and hatred of the films he's reviewing.
The only real complaint I have about the show is that there are some episodes I just can't stand, and occasionally the Critic will make contrived observations just to set up a joke, whether or not what he's criticizing is true or not. (For example, in a review of "Child's Play" he makes a few observations, accusing the film of making mistakes that it really didn't make, and were the product of his misunderstanding of what was happening. Those sorts of things bother me.) And before it's 2013 relaunch, later episodes had gotten stale, although the new format change has freshened it right up.
"Nostalgia Critic" is one of the best entertainment programs available online. It's a blast and is worth checking out for anyone in need of a nostalgic rush or a good belly laugh. 9 out of 10.
Not to the Nostalgia Critic, though! To him, Nostalgia implies pain, frustration and hilarious antics as he reviews all of your favorite movies and TV-shows from yester-year. (And occasionally from more recently.)
The brain child of Doug Walker, and created with help from his brother Rob Walker (and more recently with newcomers Malcolm Ray and Rachel Tietz), "Nostalgia Critic" is a show featuring Doug portraying the "character" of the titular critic. It is essentially a review show, with episodes lasting generally 15-30 minutes (though some clock in at only 10 minutes, while others clock in at nearly an hour), in which the Critic goes through a film or TV-show start to finish, showing us key scenes that he humorously commentates and pokes fun at. Also mixed in are fun skits, on-screen graphics, and occasionally even entire story lines taking place during the review. Some of these story lines even encompass multiple episodes.
Since he launched the series in 2007, there have been well over 200 episodes, and a number of specials. (During which the critic will do things like "Top 11" lists, comparing an original Nostalgic film with a recent remake, etc.) And the subjects have a wide range, covering everything from "Howard the Duck" to "The Good Son" to "Moulon Rouge" to "Mortal Kombat", and just about anything else you could think of. More recently, after Walker re-launched the series in 2013 following an original planned conclusion in 2012, the Critic has lifted his original cut-off date, allowing for him to also review more recent fare, such as the controversial "Man of Steel."
While it's arguable whether or not Doug is really an actor, the fact it, he is still putting on a performance, and the Critic is a character... not Doug. And in that respect, he's great in the show. The Critic is a big, loud, fun, boisterous, cartoony creation and he makes the reviews a joy to watch. Ray and Tietz recently joined as co-stars, often portraying fictionalized versions of themselves or appearing as other characters in one-off skits, and they're a blast two. Finally the show is often graced with guest-stars from other internet personalities, and it almost always works for the best.
I can't really complain about dodgy production values or weak effects, since this is a "just for fun" web-series with the main focus being on the reviews and the Critic's often insanely funny over-the-top reactions and hatred of the films he's reviewing.
The only real complaint I have about the show is that there are some episodes I just can't stand, and occasionally the Critic will make contrived observations just to set up a joke, whether or not what he's criticizing is true or not. (For example, in a review of "Child's Play" he makes a few observations, accusing the film of making mistakes that it really didn't make, and were the product of his misunderstanding of what was happening. Those sorts of things bother me.) And before it's 2013 relaunch, later episodes had gotten stale, although the new format change has freshened it right up.
"Nostalgia Critic" is one of the best entertainment programs available online. It's a blast and is worth checking out for anyone in need of a nostalgic rush or a good belly laugh. 9 out of 10.