"Krusty the Clown" is the eighth episode of the
thirtieth 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, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', and the 647th episode overall. It aired in the United States on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
on November 25, 2018.
Plot
When the school newspaper starts losing money,
Principal Skinner
Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, an ...
appoints a new editor who demotes
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 ...
to TV
recapper. She soon realizes
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 ...
has a talent for summarizing shows and gives him the job. Homer is successful, but his bad reviews of
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 List of animated television series, animated television series ''The Si ...
's TV show causes Krusty to become enraged, and he tries to run Homer off the road. With
Bart's help, Krusty hides out in a low-budget circus, where he finds happiness as a traditional clown. When the circus goes bankrupt, Krusty bails them out, but is ostracized by the circus people as a TV clown. He returns to TV after being acquitted by a Homer-hostile jury.
Homer's constant recapping causes friction in his marriage and he quits. A TV executive tries to keep Homer on the job, explaining that many of the shows out there don't really exist, but the networks promote them just for the buzz. Homer and Lisa expose the fraud in the school paper, but the article is cancelled and replaced by
clickbait
Clickbait is a text or a thumbnail link that is designed to attract attention and to entice users to follow that link and read, view, or listen to the linked piece of online content, being typically deceptive, sensationalized, or otherwise misl ...
.
Reception
Rodney Ho of the ''
AJC'' gave the episode an A, stating "In the end, this episode gives aggrandized importance to TV recappers, which I appreciate. But to be honest, I am not certain this part of my job is
simportant as it used to be. Still, because this episode is about my job and I'm an easily manipulated journalistic
narcissist
Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others.
Narcissism exists on a co ...
, I give this episode an A!"
Tony Sokol
Tony Sokol (born March 23, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York (U.S. state), New York, United States) is an American playwright, writer and composer, best known for writing the theatrical horror series La Commedia Del Sangue: Vampyr Theatre in New York Cit ...
of ''
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...
'' gave the episode 4.5 out of 5 points ranking, stating "'Krusty the Clown' is a great episode, good enough to be on season 4. It's funny, character-driven and dare I say it? Timely, as overused a word in reviewing as the use of the
comic rule of three on ''The Simpsons''."
Dennis Perkins of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode a B− ranking, stating "''The Simpsons'' used to be, can be, and occasionally still is a razor-sharp and hilarious critic of
pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
itself, and 'Krusty The Clown' shows what happens when the show's creators swing and miss."
"Krusty the Clown" scored a 0.8 rating with a 3 share and was watched by 2.11 million people, making ''The Simpsons'' Fox's highest rated show of the night.
Ryan Koh
Ryan Koh is an American television writer. He is currently a writer and co-executive producer for ''The Simpsons''. He has also worked as a writer and producer on ''The Office'', ''New Girl'', ''Workaholics'', and ''Cougar Town''.
Television c ...
was nominated for a
Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the
71st Writers Guild of America Awards
The 71st Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best in film, television, radio and video-game writing of 2018. Winners were announced on February 17, 2019 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California and the Edison Ballroom, New Y ...
for his script to this episode.
References
External links
*
{{The Simpsons episodes, 30
2018 American television episodes
The Simpsons (season 30) episodes
Television episodes directed by Matthew Faughnan
Works about clowns