Nostalgia Critic is a popular series on the web that offers viewers some great comedy and a trip down memory lane. While the frontman serving as the Nostalgia guy is a sweetheart we all love and enjoy, the Critic, played by Doug Walker is just the opposite and he’s not only a bitter sort, he’s also a bit on the maniacal side. To let you in on some great information about the series that will make it even more fun to watch, so here are ten things about Nostalgia Critic that you didn’t know.
1. The show brings out the worst in us as viewers
When we tune in to another episode of Nostalgia Critic we anticipate that we’re going to hear Walker bashing some of our most sacred memories and saying some things that should probably be unforgivable, yet we hang on his every word and split our sides laughing at the satire and scathing reviews that he gives. Walker has amassed a huge following of fans who love to hear what he’s going to have to say next and to be perfectly honest about it, we love it. Sometimes he brings out the naughty side in viewers and we roar with laughter at his total irreverence.
2. You’d be shocked if you saw Walker’s office
You would think that the facilities where they shoot each episode of Nostalgia Critic would be small and cozy. In fact, we’re led to believe that through the internet sketches which feature a television and a couch in a living area, but it’s what’s in the back that is so shocking. There is a huge warehouse space behind the set that viewers see and it’s filled with a variety of lights, cameras, costumes, props and different pieces for the set. There is also a green screen and much more.
3. Walker is nothing like his character on Nostalgia Critic
When you sit down and talk with Walker off the set and when he’s out of character, he’s one of the friendliest and most sincere people you’d ever want to meet. He’s a great guy who just happens to know how to act very well. He’s a professional and he’s extremely convincing when he wants to put on a persona for the camera but in real life, he’s nothing like the maniacal and scathing critic he portrays. He has a charisma that is immediately evident and it makes you forget for a few minutes, the character that is just the opposite of the real man.
4. Walker was born in Italy
Here’s a fun fact that many viewers do not know about Nostalgia Critic. Walker was not born in the United States. He was actually born in Naples, Italy. The reason for this was because his father was in the Navy. In fact, the family lived in several different places throughout the United States as well because this is just the life of a military family.
5. Walker to school to study film
The critic isn’t just some guy who decided that he was going to make a few homegrown videos that happened to go viral. He’s actually educated in the arts. Walker studied film at Northern Illinois University and it was there that he majored in communications. He began his career working as an illustrator. It was during this time that he began making YouTube videos for the simple pleasure of it. He found it to be enjoyable. His first works were very short movie versions that were only 5 seconds in length. He started making Nostalgia critic reviews after this and he gained a ton of notoriety from them.
6. Walker maintained an open door policy
He invited the professionals responsible for “Batman,” the animated show to his show because they reached out to him and let him known that they really liked the work that Walker and his crew were doing. He’s had a variety of different people in the industry on the show and he’s gracious to accept their requests to appear.
7. Walker makes you want to side with him
Even when Walker is bashing something that people dearly love, they feel compelled to join with him and get on his side. Even if you have the opposite point of view, there’s just something about the dude that makes him so relatable and he brings out some valid points in his rants and raves that are kind of hard to disagree with. The things that we’re willing to overlook because we favor something are the things that he uses to completely scathe and level them.
8. Walker knew the character needed some work
Even Walker himself realized that the critic was getting way out there and the fact that there were so many viewers that saw him as a hero was a bit disturbing so he tried to level him out a bit and add a few new dimensions to his persona. A more open approach was needed and so he set about to evolve the sometimes mean and nasty guy.
9. The Nostalgia Critic made a big move in 2008
2008 was the year that Nostalgia Critic moved from YouTube to That Guy With the Glasses and Channel Awesome, an independent site. The move was good for the show because the following year showed an increase in income that was being received from an advertisement on the new site. Walker got to quit his day job and worked full time on his web-persona.
10. Walker retired briefly but came back in 2012
Even though Walker had quit his day job to devote himself full-time to the Nostalgia Critic character, he had other irons in the fire as well. His other web series called Demo Reel was also requiring his attention. He took a break from the Nostalgia Critic and put it on the back burner, but it wasn’t long before he was back in 2012 and better than ever.
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