I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show

AnimatedViwes said, "Unfortunately, this turned out to be the final show, but remains a fitting tribute, and closes on one of the best public digs between a series producer and a network that I've ever come across – classic!"^[6]

TheDigitalFix said this "final episode (sadly the worst of them all) [is] utterly pointless and sadly a bad end to the series".^[7]

Slant magazine said,

Fox cancelled The Critic, forcing it to end on the intentionally shoddy 23rd installment "I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show." Here The Critic achieves a postmodern sophistication alien to most series television. While hosting his 10th Anniversary special (we fans can only wish) at Carnegie Hall, Jay and his family are taken hostage by a deranged group of terrorists. Jean and Reiss call attention to the show's very mechanisms, leaving in obvious mistakes like mismatched lip movements and repetitive animations. As the terrorists' bomb counts down, clips from the entire series play as both counterpoint and summation, all leading up to an explosive finale instigated by the legendary Milton Berle, clad in ninja garb. A climactic, sincere spoof of West Side Story leaves us with a full-on view of all the characters we've grown to love over two networks and too short a time. And upon the final fade-out it is near impossible to hold back a protest at the unfairness of it all. So we answer back to the darkness with our own bitter and ironic reading of Jay Sherman's signature catchphrase: "It stinks!".^[8]

The A.V. Club said:

There's barely any plot to "I Can't Believe It's A Clip Show." The episode is more a clearinghouse for every movie parody idea that The Critic's writers had been unable to squeeze into the previous 22 episodes. As such, it's a fitting send-off for the series, leaving nothing on the shelf.^[3]

• "I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show" at IMDb