"Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the
first season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
''. It originally aired on the
Fox Network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
in the United States on April 29, 1990.
["Krusty Gets Busted"](_blank)
''The Simpsons.com''. Retrieved on August 29, 2008 The episode was written by
Jay Kogen
Jay Kogen is an American comedy writer, producer, actor and director.
Biography
He was born to a Jewish family. His father is comedy writer Arnie Kogen. In 2001, Kogen had a son, Charlie, who is now a musician.
Career
Kogen co-wrote several ep ...
and
Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky, also billed as Wally Wolodarsky, is an American actor, screenwriter, television producer, and film director known for being one of the writers for ''The Simpsons'' during the first four seasons with his writing partner Jay K ...
, and directed by
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American film director, animator, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning forty years in both animation and live-action.
Bird was born in Montana and grew up i ...
.
[Krusty Gets Busted](_blank)
''BBC.co.uk''. Retrieved on August 31, 2008 In the episode,
Krusty the Clown
Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castel ...
is convicted of armed robbery of the
Kwik-E-Mart
The Kwik-E-Mart (spelled "Quick-E-Mart" in "Bart the General") is a convenience store in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''.
It is a parody of American convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven and Cumberland Farms, and depicts many of th ...
and imprisoned. Convinced that Krusty has been
framed,
Bart
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
and
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
investigate the crime and learn that Krusty's sidekick,
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...
, is the culprit.
This episode marks the first full-fledged appearance of
Kent Brockman
Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode " Krusty Gets Busted". He is a grumpy, self-centered local Springfield news anchor.
Prof ...
,
and
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...
makes his first guest appearance on the show as the voice of Sideshow Bob.
Plot
Patty and Selma
Patricia Maleficent "Patty" Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Discotheque-Simpson-D'Amico () are fictional characters in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. They are identical twins and are voiced by Julie Kavner who ...
visit the
Simpson family
The Simpson family are the fictional characters featured in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Th ...
to show them slides of their last trip to
Yucatan.
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
is asked by
Marge to stop by the
Kwik-E-Mart
The Kwik-E-Mart (spelled "Quick-E-Mart" in "Bart the General") is a convenience store in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''.
It is a parody of American convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven and Cumberland Farms, and depicts many of th ...
on the way home from work to buy some ice cream. In the store, he sees a figure resembling
Krusty the Clown
Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castel ...
committing a robbery. The police soon apprehend Krusty and take him into custody. After Homer identifies him at a police lineup and in the courtroom, Krusty is incarcerated, upsetting
Bart
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
.
Reverend Lovejoy
Reverend Timothy "Tim" Lovejoy, Jr. is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head".
Rev. Lovejoy is the minister at The First Ch ...
urges the town's residents to destroy Krusty's merchandise. Krusty's sidekick
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...
becomes the new host of his show, now called ''The Side-Show Bob Cavalcade of Whimsy'' and retooled to focus on education and classic literature while retaining ''
The Itchy & Scratchy Show
''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' (often shortened as ''Itchy & Scratchy'') is a fictional animated television series featured on ''The Simpsons''.
Description
The show depicts a blue mouse named Itchy who repeatedly and violently maims or kills a ...
''. Refusing to accept that his idol could have committed the crime, Bart enlists Lisa's help to prove Krusty's innocence.
At the crime scene, Bart and Lisa recall the robber read a magazine and used a microwave oven; Krusty is illiterate and has an artificial pacemaker which requires him to avoid microwave radiation. When Bart and Lisa visit Sideshow Bob to learn whether Krusty had any enemies, he gives them tickets to his show. During the live broadcast, Bart is invited on stage with Bob, who dismisses Bart's points about the microwave and magazine.
When Bob says he has "big shoes to fill", Bart remembers when Homer stepped on the robber's foot during his robbery. Despite wearing large clown shoes, Krusty has small feet and would not have felt Homer stepping on them. Bart deduces that Sideshow Bob is the culprit since he had the most to gain from Krusty's downfall. He proves Bob is the culprit by hitting one of Bob's feet with a mallet and reveals their size as Bob reacts in pain. While watching the show, the police realize they failed to notice this piece of evidence and head to the studio to arrest Bob. Once he is, Bob confesses about why he framed Krusty: he hated being on the receiving end of Krusty's humiliating gags. Now released after his exoneration, Krusty regains the trust of the townspeople, including Homer, who apologizes for misidentifying him, as he thanks Bart for his help. Bart hangs a picture of himself shaking hands with Krusty in his bedroom, which is refilled with Krusty decor and merchandise.
Production
![Kelsey Grammer - Cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Kelsey_Grammer_-_Cropped.jpg)
Director
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American film director, animator, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning forty years in both animation and live-action.
Bird was born in Montana and grew up i ...
wanted to open the episode with a close-up of Krusty's face.
The staff liked the idea and he then suggested that all three acts of the episode, defined by the placement of the commercial breaks, should begin with a close-up shot.
Act one begins with Krusty's face introducing the audience at his show, act two begins with Krusty's face being locked up behind bars, and act three begins with Sideshow Bob's face on a big poster.
Krusty's character is based on a television clown from
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
called
Rusty Nails
Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell.
Rusty may also refer to:
People
*Rusty Anderson (born 1959 ...
, whom ''The Simpsons'' creator
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
watched while growing up in Portland.
The original
teleplay
A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...
, written by
Jay Kogen
Jay Kogen is an American comedy writer, producer, actor and director.
Biography
He was born to a Jewish family. His father is comedy writer Arnie Kogen. In 2001, Kogen had a son, Charlie, who is now a musician.
Career
Kogen co-wrote several ep ...
and
Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky, also billed as Wally Wolodarsky, is an American actor, screenwriter, television producer, and film director known for being one of the writers for ''The Simpsons'' during the first four seasons with his writing partner Jay K ...
, was 78 pages long and many scenes had to be cut.
One scene that had to be cut down was the scene where
Patty and Selma
Patricia Maleficent "Patty" Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Discotheque-Simpson-D'Amico () are fictional characters in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. They are identical twins and are voiced by Julie Kavner who ...
show the slideshow of their vacation; it originally contained images of them being detained for bringing
heroin into America.
"Krusty Gets Busted" is Sideshow Bob's second appearance on ''The Simpsons'' but is his first major appearance. He first appeared as a minor character in the season one episode "
The Telltale Head
"The Telltale Head" is the eighth episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 25, 1990. It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon and Matt Gro ...
".
In that appearance,
his design was simpler and his hair was round in shape. However, near the end of the episode he appears with his more familiar hairstyle. Bob's design was updated for "Krusty Gets Busted", and the animators tried to redo his scenes in "The Telltale Head" with the re-design, but did not have enough time.
The script for "Krusty Gets Busted" called for
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
to voice Bob, but the producers instead went with
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...
, a cast member on ''
Cheers'' at the time.
Kent Brockman
Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode " Krusty Gets Busted". He is a grumpy, self-centered local Springfield news anchor.
Prof ...
,
Judge Snyder, and
Scott Christian make their first appearances on ''The Simpsons'' in this episode.
Cultural references
Chief Wiggum
Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sara ...
's order during the suspect line-up to "send in the clowns" is an allusion to the
Stephen Sondheim song "
Send in the Clowns" from the 1973 musical ''
A Little Night Music
''A Little Night Music'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a ...
''. The Sondheim musical took its name from
Mozart's
Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, ''Eine kleine Nachtmusik'', which is the theme tune to Sideshow Bob's show.
The close up shot of Krusty's face behind bars in the beginning of act two is a reference of the closing credit motif of the British television series ''
The Prisoner
''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...
'' from the 1960s.
The background music in that scene resembles the theme of the television series ''
Mission: Impossible'' at one point.
Sideshow Bob is reading ''
The Man in the Iron Mask'' by
Alexander Dumas
Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer. ...
to the studio audience. The song "
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
"Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" is a popular jazz song with lyrics and music by Cole Porter. Part of the Great American Songbook, it was published by Chappell & Company and introduced by Nan Wynn and Jere McMahon in 1944 in Billy Rose's musical revue ...
" by
Cole Porter is featured in the episode.
Following Sideshow Bob's arrest, he mutters to the Simpsons children, "And I would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for these meddling kids.", which is a reference to a catchphrase from
Hanna-Barbera's ''
Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...
'' franchise, which was airing on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
as ''
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated mystery comedy series produced by Hanna-Barbera. It is the eighth incarnation of the studio's ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise and depicts younger versions of the title character and his human companion ...
'' when this episode aired.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Krusty Gets Busted" finished 13th in the ratings for the week of April 23–29, 1990, with a
Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
of 16.4. It was the highest rated show on the Fox network that week.
The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', praised the episode: "The invention of the Simpsons' arch enemy as a lugubrious yet psychotic Englishman in dreadlocks succeeds wonderfully in this super-fast, super-funny episode that works by constantly reversing the audience's expectations."
In a DVD review of the first season, David B. Grelck rated this episode a3 (of 5). Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide said in a review that "throughout the episode we found great material; it really seemed clear that the show was starting to turn into the piece we now know and love. It's hard for me to relate any deficiencies" and added that "almost every Bob episode offers a lot of fun, and this episode started that trend in fine style."
Screen Rant called it the best episode of the first season.
Series creator Matt Groening listed it as his ninth favorite episode of ''The Simpsons'' and added "I have a peculiar love of TV clownery".
References
External links
*
*
{{good article
The Simpsons (season 1) episodes
1990 American television episodes
Wrongful convictions in fiction
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