Two quick alumni updates for you:

1)  Lovitz takes his show on the road – with a stop in Calgary – This is an extensive Calgary Herald interview with Jon Lovitz about three nights of standup he’s doing there this weekend.  This makes me sad that we missed another season or two of The Critic:

Arguably, Lovitz’s finest post-SNL moment came in 1994-95 with his animated series, The Critic, in which he voiced the lead role of movie critic Jay Sherman. The Critic got off to a shaky start on the ABC network but things were looking up for the show when it was picked up by FOX and programmed following The Simpsons on Sunday nights.

The Critic’s ultimate cancellation still baffles Lovitz to this day.

"We retained 90 per cent of The Simpsons’ audience, and The Simpsons’ ratings were way higher then than they are now. . . . People loved it. They watched it. . . . It was a hit. And they cancelled it anyway. I don’t know why. . . .

"That’s showbiz. There’s no rhyme or reason sometimes."

2)  Q&A With Harry Shearer: Voice of The Simpsons Speaking Up for New Orleans – Via Defend New Orleans comes an even longer interview with Harry Shearer.  With the exception of the sweet photo montage of Shearer with all of his Simpsons characters, there isn’t a lot of entertainment content here.  (It is a cool image though.)  But if you feel like finding out once again how obtuse and scientifically illiterate the American media is, this is pure heroin.  Also, Shearer rules.  But you knew that already.