'Round Springfield #12: Krusty Gets Busted

Bart Simpson has a lot of enemies. That's what's really been established in season one. It ranges from authoritative figures like Homer or Principal Skinner, teacher's pets like Martin Prince or Sherri and Terri, or straight up bullies like Nelson Muntz or Jimbo's gang. But there was one more major foe for Bart to face off with. And this one just so happens to be an evil genius. Or as genius as a character on The Simpsons can be. It's time to finally talk about Sideshow Bob in the episode that should have been the season finale. It's Krusty Gets Busted which first aired on April 29th, 1990.

Chalkboard gag: "They are laughing at me, not with me."
Couch Gag: Maggie popping gag again. Boy, the season 1 couch gags kinda sucked.

We open this episode with the Krusty The Clown Show. A show that will be in flux during the course of the series. Sometimes it's a variety show for all ages, sometimes it's a Bozo the Clown style kiddie korner show. The latter is what we have here. Krusty is the only non-Simpson to appear in the Tracy Ullman Show and even in those early days has been written to be Bart's hero. As he says in this episode, he 'owes his life to Krusty's teachings.' In fact, all the kids of Springfield are enamored to the clown man as Krusty's little mantra goes "what will you do if I go off the air?" "We'll kill ourselves!" On this edition of the show, we get our motivation behind Sidehow Bob's hatred of Krusty. Per the request of Britney, the birthday girl, Sideshow Bob is to be shot out of a canon, a gag that never works, and just results in more pain.

But the real, non-cannoning conflict starts when Patty and Selma show up with slides from their trip to the Yucatan. Homer is tasked to go to the Kwik-E-Mart to get snacks, but ends up running into Krusty, who is also brandishing a gun and robbing the place. Homer, being the hero he is, just jumps into a display full of chips. But he did step on Krusty's foot, which leads to some important evidence for later on down the line.

Line of the Episode:

"You can emerge now from my chips. The opportunity to prove yourself a hero is long gone. "- Apu

Krusty is quickly arrested, and Homer identifies him for the police. It doesn't look good, especially once the rest of Springfield turn on him. Well, with the exception of Bart, who despite the damning evidence lobbied on his hero, is unable to accept it. It's here where we learn a lot about how Krusty came to be. From his start as a mime in Tupelo, Mississippi, to his heart attack live on the air. After receiving open heart surgery and a pacemaker, Krusty bounced back and even started promoting literacy. I like how the episode slowly sprinkles all of these clues that will play into later in the episode.

Case in point at the trial of Krusty. We see a shallow image of the clown we know and love. Paint-less face, small feet instead of his floppy classics. We learn of his gambling debts, and that despite years of promoting reading, he is illiterate. It's not looking good on Krusty, even as public opinion has skewered him into a demon. The town burning all Krusty-brand merchandise. Even Lisa, who was an avid Krusty fan like Bart is slowly turning. But Bart is still unconvinced, and the siblings set out to find clues to what went down. They go to the Kwik-E-Mart to see security footage of the night of the robbery showing Krusty reading a magazine (hard to do if he can't read), and eating a microwave burrito despite the fact that it could affect his pacemaker. The pieces are starting to fit, someone may have framed Krusty. And wouldn't you know it, just as this is going down, the Krusty show is being taken over by his former sidekick, Sideshow Bob.

So, let's take this time out to gush about Kelsey Grammer, who at this time was still in one of the biggest television shows of the era, Cheers as Dr. Frasier Crane. No disrespect to Albert Brooks or Marcia Wallace, but this feels like the first major get for the series. It doesn't hurt that Grammer's natural charisma and charm lay in perfectly to a character that can be both a lovable wit and a cold blooded evil genius. And Sideshow Bob has that in spades. As we see in his first chance to really talk, he is a far more scholarly individual than Krusty ever was. And his takeover of the show turns it into a more witty show, focusing on the arts and feelings. The arts: Truly the heroin of the evil genius.

When Bart and Lisa attend an episode of the new Sideshow Bob show, Bart gets invited to Sideshow Bob's new talk show called "Choices". And it's here where Bart finally clues it all in when he realizes that Sideshow Bob has giant feet, bigger than Krusty's. Big enough for Homer to stomp on. That, mixed in with all of the other pieces of evidence is enough to finally be enough to clear Krusty's name. Bob is quickly arrested, Krusty is released from Jail, and Bart gets to go home with enough swag to make his heart content. A happy ending indeed.


Krusty Gets Busted is perhaps the best episode of season one (Moaning Lisa being a close second). While still not being very funny, its strengths lie in being both a well paced mystery and being a great character piece for both Krusty and Sideshow Bob. The latter becoming a recurring villain, more often than not being thwarted by Bart (and occasionally Lisa). And while Bob's schemes get crazier, and his motives more diabolical, you never forget your first time, and thankfully, you can't have a stronger first time than this one. As for Krusty, it's a great way of building to how the show will handle him going forward. As an entertainment figure with a lot of skeletons in his closet. Believe me, some of stuff he's gotten away with makes gambling slips seem pretty petty. Overall, this episode really helps enforce the strength of the writing of the Simpsons moving forward, and it would have served as a strong season finale. If not for...

FIRST APPEARANCE:

JUDGE SCHNEIDER

NEXT TIME ON "'ROUND SPRINGFIELD"...

SOME ENCHANTED EVENING