Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 19:23, 6 December 2006

"Krusty Gets Busted" is the 12th episode of the first season of The Simpsons. The episode originally aired April 29, 1990. This episode marks the first full-fledged appearances of Krusty the Clown, Itchy & Scratchy and also the first speaking appearance of Sideshow Bob.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler

As Bart and Lisa watch The Krusty the Klown Show, Marge calls Homer at work, asking him to stop by the Kwik-E-Mart on his way home since she is expecting company from Patty and Selma. The Bouvier sisters plan to show slides from their trip to the Yucatán.

While at the Kwik-E-Mart, Homer encounters a masked clown, pointing a gun at Apu and demanding that he hand over money to him. Homer leaps in a display of potato chips, while yelling at the same time, after seeing the clown armed with a revolver, as the clown takes the money and runs away. Homer describes the suspect to a sketch artist, and the resulting portrait is none other than Krusty the Klown. The police barge into Krusty's home and arrest him. At the precinct, Homer is able to identify Krusty.

Later that night, Homer arrives home, in time to miss what turns out to be an incredibly boring slideshow but in plenty of time for the news. Anchorman Scott Christian (Kent Brockman was apparently on vacation) reports that Krusty is in jail in connection with the robbery; the report is complete with footage of the robbery. Bart is disillusioned to think that his hero could be a criminal. Before this Homer tries to get Bart to bed so he is unaware about the situation.

Krusty's trial begins, and Homer immediately identifies defendant Krusty as the man he saw rob the Kwik-E-Mart. Bart had begged Homer not to take the stand, but to no avail.

During the trial, Reverend Lovejoy has offered to burn every piece of merchandise with Krusty's face on it. Bart watches sadly as Krusty-related merchandise - including those Marge collected from his room - explodes in a cloud of smoke.

Later, Krusty – testifying in his own defense – admits during cross examination he is illiterate when he is unable to identify an exhibit in the courtroom. That exhibit is betting slips, and the prosecutor notes that Krusty lost a fortune gambling on sporting events. Krusty is found guilty and sentenced to prison.

After Krusty goes to prison, former sidekick Sideshow Bob takes over as host of "The Krusty the Klown Show," renaming it "Sideshow Bob's Cavalcade of Whimsy" and completely revamping the format. Instead of the usual inane antics and slapstick, the show now features literary classics and educational activities more to Sideshow Bob's liking.

Bart is certain that Krusty is innocent, and convinces Lisa to help him prove he could not possibly have robbed the Kwik-E-Mart. Remembering what they had seen on a previous TV newscast (recapping Krusty's career) and heard in court, they determine that:

• Krusty – because he had a pacemaker – could not use the microwave to heat a burrito. The suspect in the surveillance video had used the microwave without any ill effects.

• The suspect was seen reading a magazine while waiting to make his move. Krusty admitted in court he was illiterate.

Lisa, too, begins to suspect that someone may have been out to get Krusty. Bart theorizes that Sideshow Bob would know who did it. Meanwhile, Bob concludes one of his shows, pretends to mourn for Krusty to one of his producers, then – once he closes the door to his dressing room – cackles evilly.

The next day, Bart, Lisa and Maggie meet Sideshow Bob at the studio to ask him about who may have framed Krusty. A suspicious Bob shoos them off, giving the Simpson children tickets to his show.

On the air, Bob spots an "unhappy child" – Bart – in the audience, and invites him onstage to talk about what's the matter in a segment titled "Choices". Bart states his findings, but Bob provides plausible explanations for each claim. Then, Bob admits that he "has big shoes to fill." That statement echoes through Bart's mind, as he realizes the final link to the mystery: Homer stepped on the robber's shoes, causing the suspect to cry out in pain; yet, Krusty had small feet. Bart then makes his claim: Sideshow Bob robbed the Kwik-E-Mart. To make his point clear, Bart grabs a mallet and smashes Bob's feet, causing him to cry in pain; Bart then removes Bob's shoes to reveal large feet.

Exposed, Bob admits his guilt and that he framed Krusty because he had grown frustrated at constantly being on the receiving end of the clown's often-humiliating (and painful) physical gags. Bob is arrested and the charges are dropped against Krusty. A grateful Krusty thanks Bart for standing up for the truth and sticking to his convictions.

Possible errors

This episode had numerous parts that seemed to be contradictory to other episodes, as is often the case in early Simpsons episodes.

When the Springfield TV News asks if Krusty is busted, they show a picture of Krusty in makeup and a picture of Krusty without makeup, which is contradicted in a later episode, "Homer's Triple Bypass", where Krusty explains that he is naturally pale and that he doesn't wear makeup. He explains that this is because of his heart problems.

Krusty's claim of illiteracy in this episode is contradicted by many later flashbacks which depict him as capable of reading and, moreover, the later revelation that he is the son of a rabbi and apparently received an extensive rabbinical education. Possibly Krusty's supposed inability to read is due to brain damage from various heavy overindulgences in his long career, something he would naturally prefer not to clarify. However, it might just be possible that he can read Hebrew, but not English. And, he could have learned the language later on.

This episode says that Krusty is on a different channel from Kent Brockman, but this is contradicted in later episodes.

Trivia

• Krusty's main clown competition is Hobo Hank. Hobos were among the acts Krusty claims to have flattened in "Krusty Gets Kancelled."

Cultural References

• Black Sox Scandal – The famous line, "Say it ain't so, Joe!" is mimicked when Bart utters, "Say it ain't so, Krusty!"
• The Flintstones – Lisa's line, "If cartoons were meant for adults, they'd put them on in prime time," is a stab at The Simpsons' predecessors-in-kind.
• The Day the Music Died – The Channel 5 pre-trial report, "The Day the Laughter Died," is a play on the common phrase, referring to the plane crash that killed rock stars Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
• Hamlet – Bart's observation, "Comedy, thy name is Krusty!" is a play on the Hamlet line, "Frailty, thy name is woman!"
• Time and Newsweek - Krusty is shown on the cover of Timely and Newsweekly magazines.
• Romania - Kent Brockman says, "children of all ages, from eight to eighty, hang on each new development like so many Romanian trapeze artists."
• Krusty the Clown – several references:
  • He is modeled after a real-life clown named "Rusty Nails."
  • His birthplace of Tupelo, Mississippi is a reference to Elvis Presley, who was also born in Tupelo.
• Book Burning - The townspeople participate in a public burning of Krusty memorabilia.
• "Burning Love" – The title of Elvis Presley's 1972 hit is used as the title of the first Itchy & Scratchy short (as well as another reference to The King).
• Mission: Impossible – The distinctive theme to the 1960s crime drama plays as Bart and Lisa arrive at the Kwik-E-Mart to begin their investigation of the armed robbery.
• The New York Review of Books – Sideshow Bob's version is The Springfield Review of Books, which contains "amusing caricatures of Gore Vidal and Susan Sontag".
• The Man In the Iron Mask - Sideshow Bob reads the end of the chapter "An Homeric Song", and announces, "Next week, chapter 35 of The Man in the Iron Mask: 'The Death of a Titan.'"
• Cole Porter - Bob sings "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" to end his show.
• Stoicism - Just before Bart announces he has solved the mystery, Bob says, "In ancient Greece, there was a school of thought called stoicism".
• Scooby Doo – Sideshow Bob's line, "And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for these meddling kids," is akin to what the villain says when caught at the end of every "Scooby Doo" episode.
• Tom and Jerry – Because this is their first full-fledged appearance, Itchy & Scratchy are a violent parody of the famous MGM cat and mouse duo. Scratchy fills Tom's shoes as the hapless cat, who is forever tormented by Itchy the mouse, an ultra-sadistic version of Jerry.
• Woodsy Owl – Krusty's poster, "Give a hoot, read a book!" is a spoof of Woodsy Owl's advertising campaign, "Give a hoot, don't pollute!"
• Garfield and Friends the plot of this episode is similar to an episode called "Binky Goes Bad" in which Binky the clown is framed for robbery.
• Beatles - Beatles records and merchandise were burned after John Lennon was quoted saying the Beatles were 'bigger than Jesus'.

A first look at "The Krusty the Klown Show"

Krusty greets his audience:

• Krusty: "Hi, kids! Who do you love?"
• Kids in studio: Krusty!
• Krusty: "How much do you love me?"
• Kids (along with Bart and Lisa): "With all our heart!"
• Krusty: "What would do if I went off the air?"
• Bart, Lisa and kids: "We'd kill ourselves!" audio clip

A little girl named Brittany is celebrating her birthday, and is given a choice of having Krusty sing her a birthday song, or have Sideshow Bob blown out of a cannon. Encouraged by the audience, Brittany chooses the cannon. Krusty loads the cannon with gunpowder (in an effort to make the trick work like it's supposed to), but the cannon fires and rolls offstage, where Bob just flops out of the cannon onto the stage. The audience cheers wildly.

Later is an Itchy & Scratchy cartoon, "Burning Love." Scratchy the cat is sleeping in a hammock, when Itchy (a sadistic mouse) lights a flaming arrow and fires it at the cot. The arrow hits its intended target, and a burning Scratchy runs in terror.

External links

• "Krusty Gets Busted episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.
• "Krusty Gets Busted" at IMDb

• The Simpsons episodes, season 1