1x12 - Krusty Gets Busted

This is the first episode that I watched while writing this blog that felt like classic Simpsons. There is just so much going on in the episode, so many layered jokes, and the plot hardly focused on the family. The entire time I was watching it, I had a huge grin on my face. If you've been reading these reviews, but not rewatching the episodes, I highly recommend you go back and watch this one.

The first thing to note in this episode is that it is the first of the series to have a big name guest star: Kelsey Grammer. Cheers was arguably the biggest show of the 80s and getting one of the stars to voice act on a bizarre, controversial animated program on a different network must have taken quite some effort. Grammer does an outstanding job as Sideshow Bob, and it surely encouraged the writers to look for more guest stars. Ironically, I think one of the main causes of the downfall of The Simpsons is the overuse of guest stars. By now, being on the show is almost like hosting Saturday Night Live. It seems like something every moderately popular figure in pop culture does, just to check it off their bucket list. However, even if the show relies to heavily on guest stars, the writers at least know when they have hit gold. Sideshow Bob may be one of the best reoccurring characters on the show.

I love Sideshow Bob so much because he is so intellectual and passionate about entertainment, but is completely disrespected for no reason. One of my favorite scenes in the episode is when Bob is reading a chapter from The Man in the Iron Mask. The audience looks shocked, confused, disturbed, and thoroughly entertained. Having a section title Choices, where he discusses preadolescence turmoils is also hysterical. He's a great counterpart to Krusty. Krusty is crude, a sellout, and hates kids. He relies on gimmicks like catch phrases ("I didn't do it") and slapstick for laughs and yet his audience is fiercely loyal to him. Bart's contemplative appreciation ("Comedy, thy name is Krusty") for Krusty's ridiculous antics shows that, in Bart's eyes, Krusty can do no wrong. Don't get me wrong, I love Krusty too, but it is a great piece of commentary about celebrity idolization.  Hell, I've even experienced that level of idolization myself - it's the first bit of social commentary by The Simpsons that really rings true to me.

The episode is also fun because it is a pretty good mystery. You know that Krusty isn't going to be the bad guy, but throughout the first two acts, it's pretty difficult to guess who set him up or how the real culprit will get outed. It's the first episode where I felt completely engaged with the entire plot; including the Selma and Patty scenes. The pseudo-Scooby Doo format is a nice change of pace that doesn't feel forced, unlike Bart's recent excursion to France. It also lays the groundwork for outstanding future episodes. Sideshow Bob is a great nemesis for Bart, and its hard to think of an absolutely disastrous Bob episode, even in seasons where the show has lost its magic.

Springfield characters:

Kent Brockman: While Kent Brockman himself hasn't gotten a whole lot of characterization, the writers definitely know what they want out of their news team. The news team is full of personalities that spout off corny jokes and puns in a way too professional manner. They also highlight dumb local news stories over extremely important events elsewhere. My favorite news segment in the series is when the local news is following the assassination of a squirrel that looks like Lincoln. They're great.
In later seasons, the writers try to give Kent Brockman some storylines of his own, and they're generally pretty bad.

Other things I liked:

Once again, Bart's obsession with Krusty is both adorable and hilarious. I love how he defends Krusty by going as far as saying all people with little feet are good-hearted.

I'm surprised that this is the first episode where we see Krusty's show. I know we've gotten an Itchy and Scratchy already, but I don't think it was attached to Krusty. Since the family spends so much of its down time in front of the tv, I would have thought we'd have seen it by now.

One of the first meta jokes of the series. The show acknowledges how strange it is to have an animated show on primetime. These jokes will eventually expand to non-stop jabs at FOX.

It's funny that Krusty's catchphrase in this episode is "I didn't do it." In a later episode, Bart becomes a star on Krusty's show for saying the exact same line. I don't think that was intentional, I think the writers just forgot about this one.

Krusty endorsing pork products is great - we later learn that his family is extremely Jewish.

"Give a hoot; read a book"

In one of the great inconsistencies of the show, we actually see Krusty without his makeup on. In a later episode, it is revealed that Krusty isn't wearing makeup, his face is just white. 

I really enjoyed this one and it was a lot more fun to write this review because of that. This only makes me more excited to get to season 3.

8.5/10