Rate & Review: "Fears of a Clown" (XABF08)

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Brad Lascelle

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Season 29, Episode 14
Original Airdate
: April 1, 2018
Writer: Michael Price
Director: Steven Dean Moore
Showrunner: Al Jean
Synopsis: Bart goes to prankster rehab after a clown-mask prank terrifies the town and destroys Krusty's career. A tortured Krusty then tries his hand at serious drama with a regional theater company.

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R&R Poll Average Score: 3.21 / 5 (as of September 24, 2021 / 47 votes)
IMDB User Rating: 6.1 / 10
 
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** Nice couch gag
* Bombardment scene
* Ralph's rap
** Agnes getting knocked out
* Marge throwing rock on bird
* "They don't show that on the pajamas!"
* Advertisers freaking out
Wow really nice first act! 8/10
-- Kinda dumb long gag
-- Lame list gag
** Bart thumbtack prank
* Krusty's inner concious
Act 2, not as good. 3/10
** Willie's writing in ground
* Milhouse raising eyebrows
* "Thank you, Jeff Bezos!"
** Krusty's song
Closing Thoughts:
A mediocre episode.
Neither plot was particularly special, though at least they were pretty coherent, even if the a-plot had an underwhelming resolution.
Humor-wise, there was some okay humor in spots, though not enough to make it great.
Overall, not much thoughts for an average ep. 6/10.
 
I really didn't like the ending of Bart's story- it was so underwhelming. He soaks a bunch of people with balloons but feels sorry about it (only because Marge is there) and Marge is upset because Bart learned nothing.

I wish that Skinner had been retiring for real, instead of a joke. We've had Skinner leave the school before, but that was when he was a more interesting character and not a wimp. It'd be interesting to see if modern Simpsons could pull off a good Bart and Skinner plot. But instead, we got yet another Krusty is cancelled/ tries to be serious episode.

i did get a laugh out of the ghosts of Arthur Miller and Shakespeare, 'boys will be boys room', and Willie's message to Skinner was hilariously crude, but didn't find much humor in the overall plot. 2/5 for me.
 
i didn't write notes as i watched so here's what i recall

- that one OK GO dude said like 2 words. add him to the list of guest stars that barely spoke
- holy crap those exaggerated shots of marge's asscrack. did they import some horndog animators from futurama
- krusty's "i'm even reading this off a card" was the only line i laughed at
- yellow headed krusty seriously disoriented me
 
Pre-show Toyota commercial comes first, followed by the ten-second FOX 25 News promo, and now, Let the show begin!

Nice "medium" intro (as I call the HD opening that goes right from the chalkboard to the driveway) this time; I enjoyed the chalkboard and that TV Museum couch gag.

The "mascot" Skinner was amusing.
Wow, Nancy Cartwright's Ralph Wiggum voice is starting to weaken noticeably...
I am betting Skinner intended for Bart's slingshot rock to hit his mother.
I thought seeing the Springfield Elementary staff getting those cheap plastic Krusty masks glued onto them looked funny. I'm kind of guessing this has something to do with those "creepy clown sightings" that often happen near Halloween...
I enjoyed seeing people screaming and running from Krusty!

Ugh, I don't really like hearing many of the non-Dan Castellaneta/Hank Azaria characters' voices deteriorating. And they top it off with Marge crying with an 86-year-old woman's voice...
OK, I actually found Homer's "Why is the universe so lazy?!" line pretty funny. (Though I did notice Krusty obviously appears older than Homer.)
Oooh, it's been a while since we've seen Princess Kashmir and Llewellyn Sinclair!
Krusty saying he's a has-been reminds me of how the Simpsons are pretty much has-beens now, despite being still on the air.
I thought it was sweet how Bart stopped Marge from falling into the old tack prank, and Sinclair helping Krusty be a serious actor.

I always enjoy seeing Reverend Lovejoy operating model trains, complete with an engineers' hat (I also wear one when I run my model train layout), but I find it odd how he now has a layout set up in the church basement instead of just in his house. I loved the model train's horn drowning out Lovejoy's swearing (I still need to get a sound-equipped locomotive for my train layout, as I've been running silent DCC trains for four years now...)
Oop, I saw Sideshow Mel and Lindsey Naegle sharing a cigarette! Time to update my list of smoking Simpsons characters!
I'm glad the audience for the play loved Krusty being funny. That made me feel good inside.

I enjoyed this episode quite a bit since Krusty the Clown's my favorite Simpsons character. It had quite a few genuine laughs, but I still deducted a few points for klunkers and for hearing the rest of the voice cast weakening (though at least since this was a Krusty episode, we got to hear a lot of Dan Castellaneta, who's still got it!)
 
I thought this was pretty good, and it surpassed my expectations. I usually find Krusty-heavy episodes underwhelming, but this was one of the better ones. It helped that there was a plot with Bart trying to cure his pranking that went with it. A lot of episodes would do better with only one plot, but I think this was one that needed a second one to do well, and it did. It also didn’t go the way I expected; I figured Bart would someone cancel the prank and Marge would be happy, but that’s not what happened, and the episode ended with her pissed off. It was a bit refreshing that we didn’t get a happy resolution to something. The pranking plot was the better plot, but the Krusty plot had its moments too. Overall a 4/5 episode.
 
4/5 - it was a "meh" 3/5 until they switched up the ending and had Bart prank Marge after all. "Boys will be boys" already appeared in an episode (Judge Harm's first one, IIRC), and we didn't need another appearance of "Bart changes his mind in the end so he won't disappoint Marge." Okay, he tried, but in the end, she got pranked, and he liked it.

Why have the Gunsmoke reference now? Like Lisa said, it's four episodes early.
 
Bart, Krusty, Marge, and Skinner unsuccessfully vie for our attention in a forgettable Simpsons - Dennis Perkins - The A.V. Club

The couch gag in “Fears Of A Clown” sees Lisa pointing out that, in four episodes’ time, The Simpsons will officially pass Gunsmoke to become the longest-running scripted TV show of all time. Congratulations are most definitely in order, even if naysayers and killjoy TV critics can’t mention the show without sniffing that The Simpsons’ last “good season” was nearly two decades ago. But The Simpsons’ legacy isn’t so easily brushed aside even now, as a handful of fine seasons can be cobbled together from episodes from the post-classic seasons, and the show is more harshly judged against itself than against any baseline of acceptable sitcom quality.

Then again, sometimes The Simpsons rolls out an episode that’s so pale an approximation of its best that sticking up for it becomes an exercise in hand-waving and deep, deep sighs. “Fears Of A Clown” isn’t good. It’s also not bad. It is, instead, irrelevant in its hollow echoes of past, actually memorable, episodes. When the book on The Simpsons is finally closed (perhaps after next season), and the inevitable all-time episode rankings are compiled, “Fears Of A Clown” is one of those installments destined to elicit blank stares, even from die-hard fans. It barely exists. C-
The Simpsons Season 29 Episode 14 Review: Fears of a Clown - Tony Sokol - DenofGeek.com

Bart's prank on Krusty reveals the Fears of a Clown on The Simpsons' April Fool's episode.

Clowns used to be funny. They rode tiny unicycles, strangled balloons until they looked like cute dead animals, and wore obscenely baggie pants that were surprisingly comfortable. They were filled with low-brow wit, whimsy and usually wine. Kids loved them. Rodeo riders depended on them. Elephants pantsed them. Then Kramer on Seinfeld admitted was afraid of clowns and all hell broke loose. Pennywise from Stephen King’s It dragged the clown into the sewers, American Horror Story turned pancake makeup into a counter-revolution, and Bill Irwin put the last nails on the coffin. On The Simpsons season 29, episode 14, "Fears of a Clown,” Krusty and Bart take the funny back, with interest.

“Fears of a Clown” works as comedy better than horror, but it is still frightening that the only thing that saves the bad characters is further bad behavior. This is a subversively happy ending where nothing changes, as the natural order is ruled by disorder. Bart and Krusty overcome the need to better themselves. They embrace the very toxins they push on civilization and the world is a better place for it. The episode is not a retread of old premises and it feeds The Simpsons’ mission statement. Tis better to be funny than noble, and slings and arrows are hysterical. 4/5
 
This was a pretty good episode, maybe not on the level of gone boy but it's probably a close 2nd for this season. I enjoyed the wink at Birdman, even though the movie came out a while ago I didn't think it was too late, unfortunately I feel like the scary clown bit wasn't exactly topical anymore.

I'm not a big fan of celebrity/musical cameos but this one was so short that It didn't bother me. Another thing that bothered me was Krusty's yellow skin, in previous episodes where he goes undercover and bart and lisa find him, he jumps into the water and his yellow makeup washes away.. when I Saw the preview picture for this episode part of me was hoping that the yellow skin was just makeup.

Finally I feel like Bart's story arc had a bit of a underwhelming ending.
 
There are two things I did like about the episode no one has pointed out yet...

- While Llewellyn Synclair did appear for a lot of the episode, he wasn't just there to say, "Hey! Remember me from the classic era?" like a lot of modern episodes do.
- It's another episode that doesn't prominently feature Homer. After the court case, he only had one scene. The only other episodes from the HD era that are like that I can think of are "Flaming Moe" (the gay bar one, NOT the one where Moe steals Homer's drink), "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" and "The Nightmare After Krustmas". (And three of the four are Krusty episodes. Hmmm....)
 
How come every time they have celebratory couch gags they always pull the shitty joke that they're too early? Just do it on the right number, it's not so hard, and it would be a thousand times less unfunny. It wouldn't be very "funny" per se, but still less annoying.
Bart shaved Willie's beard... [MENTION=71567]postalelf[/MENTION] would lose his shit if he was still here.
The "boys will be boys" thing just reminds me of The Parent Rap... Where Marge approved of it.
Are they really parodying the 2016 clown scares? I know animation takes a while, but this was clearly written by the time that was already dated.
Holy God, Krusty's voice is a pain to listen to now.
And I don't need to repeat myself but JESUS CHRIST the lack of music. AHHHH. Like, that scene transition from Bart being pranked to him bathing could've had a closeup of him, a sad music cue, an establishing shot of the house and then show him in the bathtub. But nah, just cut directly to the bath out of literally nowhere.
 
How come every time they have celebratory couch gags they always pull the shitty joke that they're too early? Just do it on the right number, it's not so hard, and it would be a thousand times less unfunny. It wouldn't be very "funny" per se, but still less annoying.
The only remotely plausible theory I can come up with off the top of my head is, somebody is afraid that what turns out to be the milestone episode will be so long that it ends up not having a couch gag.

Apparently, the days of pre-designating a particular episode as a particularly numbered one are over, unless the show really wants a THOH to be episode 666.

But even with this, why four weeks early - and especially an episode where there is so much competition (American Idol Hollywood Week; Jesus Christ Superstar; even the end of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Game) that it might be missed?
 
-Skinner pranking Bart is kind of wacky, but pleasantly unexpected. Had me fooled.
-Nice to see Bart acting in character so far. The beginning of this season failed Bart, but they seemed to have regained focus a bit.
-Sick OK Go burn. Seriously.
-Sideshow Mel and Krusty scaring off the kids and the advertisers was pretty funny.
-"Krusty on Suicide Watch: No One Watching". Dark. But it made me laugh :D
-It's been pointed out before that those characters all look alike (the entire episode Homie the Clown, when Lisa says without her pearls she's just a "big Maggie", and the numerous references to Milhouse's parents potentially being brother and sister).
-It's sad that I didn't even recognize who Llewellyn Sinclair was at first. :( But I'm always delighted to see them use a character from the classic or Scully era.
-Dat ass doe.
-"There's raw emotion just beneath your surface. Frack it!" :lol: That is a brilliant line. I might have to steal it...
-Bart and Willie making fun of Skinner together was pretty great.
-So the Bart story just ends with Marge saying "motherhood sucks"? Okay...

This episode was uneven. It had a decent amount laughs for an HD episode, characters were acting like themselves, and it didn't have any bad jokes. At the same time, it felt a little aimless and ridiculous, particularly with Bart's plot. Either outcome of Krusty's story would've been okay with me: whether he embraces serious acting or returns to his comedic roots, I would've been satisfied; they chose the latter and it was at least nice to see it well-received. I'm not the biggest fan of depressed Krusty, so I liked seeing him enjoying himself. It was a decent Krusty story, even if it wasn't the strongest one. The Bart plot I'm not sure what we were supposed to be getting from it. It involved some outrageous elements (Skinner and the teachers elaborately pranking Bart? Bart is so significant to the school that he has his own "I'm Sorry" assembly? This felt almost non-canon in its absurdity). Bart was in character for the most part (enjoying being a prankster while still caring about Marge) but he didn't seem to learn anything in the end. Was this supposed to be a Marge Be Not Proud-style Marge/Bart situation? It seemed like maybe it would end up that way, but instead it finished on such an incomplete, pessimistic note that I don't know what they were going for. Bart's "rehab" had promise, but then he just reverted. I would've liked to see more of a resolution.

3/5
 
Very mixed about this one. I enjoyed Krusty's story and got a few laughs from it, and I liked seeing everyone act in character, especially Marge. I liked that she didn't let Bart get off easy in juvenile court, and that she truly felt that Bart going to this prankster rehab would be best for her son. It was refreshing to see Marge take a stand and not just let Homer or Bart do whatever they want while she sits idly and does nothing. That said, am I really supposed to believe she would just accept Principal Skinner and the staff at Springfield Elementary pouring honey and bird seeds all over her 10 year old son? Or how about after that, when the staff drives past Bart's treehouse and his gym teacher chucks a dodgeball at Bart's head? I feel like grown adults pranking and bullying a young child would anger Marge, especially considering it was her child, and rightly so. I liked seeing Bart in character again in this episode, mostly pulling pranks that were either relatively innocent or equal with how the teachers had pranked him. Bart caring enough to not hurt Marge with his pranks was sweet and proves that he is not a sociopath, or even a bad kid. Also, I have noticed that Bart rarely pranks people he likes or cares about, and since most adults in Springfield seem to not like him and treat him poorly more often then not, maybe that is also a factor in Bart's prankster ways. My issue here is the same one I had with last weeks episode in that I don't think Bart should ever actively attempt to hurt people, therefore him attempting to hit Skinner in the head with a rock was too brutal for him in my opinion. Also, the ending to his story was terrible. Marge getting pranked by her son and just saying "motherhood sucks" and then nothing more on that topic. I get that Bart is always going to be a prankster, but I felt this needed more expansion. It pretty much made the whole B-plot pointless as Bart seemingly learned absolutely nothing.

I was in between a 2 and a 3 for this episode. I decided to go for the higher score since I did enjoy some of the jokes surrounding Krusty, the animation was spot on as always, and the characters were mostly acting like themselves.
 
Best episode ever, easily beats anything from the classic era.. okay a bit late for an April Fool's joke :-/

Its actually a very mediocre episode to me. It didn't feel like they did much different as they were using plots we were already familiar with, we've had episodes portraying Bart's misbehaviour and Krusty's acting skills outside of comedy. I think they did a pretty good job with the Bart plot as it reminded me more of the brat we knew, it just needed a better ending. The Krusty plot was rather average but I really liked that they brought back Llewellyn Sinclair who we haven't seen for a long time, other than a cameo in ''Yolo''. As for the episode break down:

The couch gag was pretty fun with Bart's April Fool's chalckboard gag (I'm sure a lot of people actually wanted this to be the last episode :P) and that the show was 4 episodes to early to dethrone Gunsmoke. I also liked how they used Lassie's Simpson portrayal when they ran past. First act was pretty good with the school pranking Bart back, at moments like these I really miss Edna who would've loved to see this. I actually expected Skinner stepping down to be an April Fool's joke since this episode aired on that date. Ralph's rap was funny but it shows some exhausted voice acting. Bart's counter prank was really funny even if it was a bit unbelieveable that people realise that they have masks on so late, and it doesn't seem impossible to take them off. Some fun scenes with the teachers wearing masks and kids getting scared of IT.

So kids are now scared of clowns, yet they went to Krusty's show after all? Were they expecting not to see Krusty or what? Not sure what to think of the show bringing the ''boys will be boys'' saying back which they already used in the past in ''The Parent Rap'', which was only being done with Judge Snyder (so why wasn't he the judge as always?). It did lead to a funny moment to Bart's ending so I won't complain. Also not sure what to think of Marge insisting that the judge punishes Bart. ''The snake ate all the peanut brittle'' got me a good chuckle. I liked seeing Krusty without his make up and Homer realising how much he looks like him, also realising that Lisa/Maggie and Kirk/Luann look so much alike. You can tell that Krusty does look older than Homer. I liked the gag with Krusy reading everything from cardboard messages.

Some fun scenes in the rehab center (and those butt animations from Marge... dat ass), though it seemed unbelieveable that they don't notice the thumb tacks on the chair before sitting. Unless they did notice as they were testing Bart. I liked Bart confessing to random people and going back to pranking with Willy. Some fun moments during Bart's apology as I didn't actually expect the prank to pull trough, loved how Bart laughs to Marge while being scared. The ending could've been a lot better then just Marge saying ''motherhood sucks'' and getting angry at Homer, which I actually found quite funny. The Krusty plot ended a bit predictable but I liked how it ended with the ghosts.

Overall there's not really much to say about this one. Both plots have been done before and they only explored them a bit differently, though it was fun to see Bart being closer to his prankster personality and Krusty reminding himself who he took up comedy over acting. I liked the role Marge played in Bart's plot but it could've lead to a better ending where she engages him for his prank. Llewellyn Sinclair is the proper character to bring into Krusty's plot and I'm glad to finally see an older character do more then just a small cameo gag. Both gags from the school and Bart were fun, with the clown gag being the best (I also guess they were satirising the killer clown trend from the past couple of years). The comedy was fine'ish, the characterisation for both Bart and Krusty were great. The plot and lack of originality is what brings the score down the most though. For an average episode it scores a:

2.5/5
 
Best episode ever, easily beats anything from the classic era.. okay a bit late for an April Fool's joke :-/

Its actually a very mediocre episode to me. It didn't feel like they did much different as they were using plots we were already familiar with, we've had episodes portraying Bart's misbehaviour and Krusty's acting skills outside of comedy. I think they did a pretty good job with the Bart plot as it reminded me more of the brat we knew, it just needed a better ending. The Krusty plot was rather average but I really liked that they brought back Llewellyn Sinclair who we haven't seen for a long time, other than a cameo in ''Yolo''. As for the episode break down:

The couch gag was pretty fun with Bart's April Fool's chalckboard gag (I'm sure a lot of people actually wanted this to be the last episode :P) and that the show was 4 episodes to early to dethrone Gunsmoke. I also liked how they used Lassie's Simpson portrayal when they ran past. First act was pretty good with the school pranking Bart back, at moments like these I really miss Edna who would've loved to see this. I actually expected Skinner stepping down to be an April Fool's joke since this episode aired on that date. Ralph's rap was funny but it shows some exhausted voice acting. Bart's counter prank was really funny even if it was a bit unbelieveable that people realise that they have masks on so late, and it doesn't seem impossible to take them off. Some fun scenes with the teachers wearing masks and kids getting scared of IT.

So kids are now scared of clowns, yet they went to Krusty's show after all? Were they expecting not to see Krusty or what? Not sure what to think of the show bringing the ''boys will be boys'' saying back which they already used in the past in ''The Parent Rap'', which was only being done with Judge Snyder (so why wasn't he the judge as always?). It did lead to a funny moment to Bart's ending so I won't complain. Also not sure what to think of Marge insisting that the judge punishes Bart. ''The snake ate all the peanut brittle'' got me a good chuckle. I liked seeing Krusty without his make up and Homer realising how much he looks like him, also realising that Lisa/Maggie and Kirk/Luann look so much alike. You can tell that Krusty does look older than Homer. I liked the gag with Krusy reading everything from cardboard messages.

Some fun scenes in the rehab center (and those butt animations from Marge... dat ass), though it seemed unbelieveable that they don't notice the thumb tacks on the chair before sitting. Unless they did notice as they were testing Bart. I liked Bart confessing to random people and going back to pranking with Willy. Some fun moments during Bart's apology as I didn't actually expect the prank to pull trough, loved how Bart laughs to Marge while being scared. The ending could've been a lot better then just Marge saying ''motherhood sucks'' and getting angry at Homer, which I actually found quite funny. The Krusty plot ended a bit predictable but I liked how it ended with the ghosts.

Overall there's not really much to say about this one. Both plots have been done before and they only explored them a bit differently, though it was fun to see Bart being closer to his prankster personality and Krusty reminding himself who he took up comedy over acting. I liked the role Marge played in Bart's plot but it could've lead to a better ending where she engages him for his prank. Llewellyn Sinclair is the proper character to bring into Krusty's plot and I'm glad to finally see an older character do more then just a small cameo gag. Both gags from the school and Bart were fun, with the clown gag being the best (I also guess they were satirising the killer clown trend from the past couple of years). The comedy was fine'ish, the characterisation for both Bart and Krusty were great. The plot and lack of originality is what brings the score down the most though. For an average episode it scores a:

2.5/5

I think it's pretty obvious that they noticed the thumb tacks.
 
Skinner is A wanker, a twit and a tosspot. I will be adding tosspot to my English (UK) to say next to wanker, bloody, bollocks and what I use to call a former co-worker: a lazy sod.

One of the best episode of the season. I actually laughed in some parts.

I read Death of a Salesman in high school, Krusty made it better. You heard me 12th grade humanities teacher, come and get me. And I still think Les Misérables sucks.
 
I found this episode to be average but it had it's share of decent stuff which made it worthwhile. I liked the plot of Bart getting pranked by Skinner and the teachers (surprising but sort of deserving since he has pranked them so much) and revenge-pranking them back by gluing clown masks to their faces which creates a scary clown craze which ends with him being sentenced to going to a rehab center to be cured of his pranking habits, all due to Marge putting her foot down & the Krusty side plot with Krusty taking up serious acting as he lost his show due to everyone being scared of clowns now was fine too. Both plots were enjoyable I guess and had a few good jokes, but it never rose above mediocrity.

The Bart plot was probably the strongest of the two for me. I liked the plot about Bart doing another somewhat destructive prank and how it bypassed the usual "boys will be boys" excuse by having Marge say no and thinking Bart should learn something. It had some pretty strong moments such as Bart proving he has empathy by saving his mother from sitting on the tacks and apologizing to the townsfolk. I liked how he reverted back thanks to Willie while still being unsure during his waterballoon prank in the final scene. I didn't like the mean-spirited ending which left a bad aftertaste; I liked that Bart warned them and how it was too late, but then everyone seemed to forget about him telling them to run and left them all pissed and just seeing the prankaholic Bart, especially Marge who seemed like she was gonna disown her son. It kinda tainted the plot but didn't ruin it completely.

The Krusty plot was a little weaker but I still liked it. Him changing his career path is nothing new but the way they did this was decent; the setup with him getting affected by the clown scares which ends his show was done well (I liked that it was a byproduct of the plot about Bart) and even though it started halfway into the episode I think they made it a good one. There were some nice scenes with him doing serious acting at the theater (and a good guest appearance from Jon Lovitz as Llewellyn Sinclair) and a good conflict of him wrestling with the comedy demon of his past. At first it seemed like they were gonna do the same old thing with the character messing up and getting the boot, but I enjoyed the twist of Krusty combining his stage performance with his comedy and everyone liking it. Again, good plot with a nice execution.

Even with some strengths and some good jokes I don't think either of the plots stood out. Both kept my interest but I was never that invested, though some of their elements worked. The characters were mostly well portrayed, especially Krusty (who was likeable throughout) and Bart (putting tacks on a chair is his style, not stabbing someone in the hand and puring salt in the wound) & even Marge felt in character (they kept her concern about his well being & her disappointed anger in the end made sense). The animation was pretty good (though I think they overdid the Marge's ass sequence) and the humor was generally good (Agnes getting hit by the rock and Skinner not caring, Krusty not being able to hold a conversation without reading cue cards and Homer getting scared of Marge in the end and going back into the men's room were some that stood out).

The biggest issue other than the episode being fairly unexciting and dull overall was some of the character moments which didn't work and some exaggeration (like the teacher's bullying Bart after their prank him and they definitely overdid Marge getting pissed in the end & made it seem like she hates her son), some iffy voice acting (for instance, Ralph sounded off) and as said, the ending of Bart's plot was too grim and felt forced and incomplete (it was as if they planned one final scene but cut it out for time or something). Other than that I didn't have any major problems with the episode other than it just not being up to par and just being sort of just another middling episode. It was enjoyable enough but as there was nothing that wowed me it really fell short.

Overall, like the previous episode it was just alright and not much more than that. It had it's moments, good bits of jokes and gags and I liked both character's storylines (and how one inadvertedly caused the other) and it never got really awful, but it still wasn't good and didn't become more than a decently average episode even with the two rather solid premises (so I cannot agree with the more positive reviews). Still, I wasn't really bored by it and had a good time watching so it was a little better than it could have been.

3/5
 
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I enjoyed the episode, but it did leave me a little unsatisfied and wanting more. Although neither story is entirely original, I think both were strong enough ideas to warrant their own episode separate to one another, giving each of them more time to be told a little better. In fact, Skinner retiring (or contemplating it) would have been another good idea for an episode, so including that fakeout, three good ideas with potential were used up in a single episode. The result was entertaining enough for the most part, but it also feels like they could've been so much more.

Bart's characterisation was better than it has been of late, though it still kind of portrayed him as a lost cause. At least they dialled down the sociopath, and focused more on the kind of pranks he might pull in the classic era. The main problem for me was the abrupt ending to the story. Granted, not all stories have happy endings, and there's no need for sappiness or forced emotion. However, it felt like the story ended two thirds of the way through, and on something of a sour note to boot. This is where giving the plot more time in an episode with a B-plot that needs less of it would have helped. It was good to see Bart show some empathy and remorse, the scene with Reverend Lovejoy was funny, and most of the story was OK (though the nature of Skinner's prank and the teachers teasing him as they drove past was a stretch), but it seemed like there was more of the story to tell. I liked it, but the ending was a bit abrupt and sour.

Krusty's plot branched off fairly organically, though I agree it was weird that the kids willingly went to his show knowing full well that he's a clown, and then were terrified when he came out on stage. I guess it's one of those things you're not supposed to think about and it's kind of part of the joke, but it's also a bit of a distracting plot hole. His decision to try his hand at serious acting was both a good nod to Birdman and a long-running trend with comedians and comedic actors in general. The swipe at Zach Braff was a bit puzzling though, and kind of Family Guy-esque. Krusty's efforts to become a serious performer and his internal struggle with wanting to be funny were alright, but like Bart's plot, the story suffered from trying to share the run time. It had the opposite problem to Bart's story, in fact; Krusty's ending was pretty good and satisfying, but most of the story felt rushed. I'd have liked to have seen Krusty perform a couple of shows seriously, either performing well but continuing to struggle with his desire to be funny, or having people not appreciate his efforts, resulting in him improvising some humour to a positive reception, ultimately coming to the same ending that we saw. It was nice to see Llewellyn Sinclair again - especially in an appearance that didn't feel forced and like shallow pandering - and the commentary about trying to write around copyright was good, too.

For the most part, the jokes and general comedic tone were on point. The Krusty Suicide Watch ("No one watching") gag was some good dark humour. The script for Death of a Salesman being a library copy ("Do not remove") tickled me. There was some good slapstick with Agnes being hit by the deflected rock, and Marge's hair whipping Skinner out of his seat. Sideshow Mel was used a lot better and was funnier than usual, especially when he inadvertently pointed out the creepiness of his costume. The self-deprecating nods to the character designs has been done before, but I liked it here, too. I will be a contrarian and admit that I didn't much care for Krusty reading from the cue cards, though. It wasn't a bad joke as such, but it felt like they were forcing it in for the sake of having a gag in there, when it should've just been a conversation/character/plot-establishing moment. It's a bit of a nitpick though, as I certainly didn't hate the joke; I just felt it was a bit unnecessary.

I'll score it 3.5/5, rounded up to 4/5 for the poll, because it's another episode I quite enjoyed despite its problems. Again, it does feel like it could've been more. With some of the ideas put forward in the episode, it really could've been two or three quite good episodes, instead of one better-than-decent and reasonably enjoyable one.
 
When it was good, it was great. (The couch gag, Skinner getting revenge on Bart, "Why does this universe have to be so lazy"?) But when it sucked, it almost put me to sleep. Krusty's play... ugh. Both Skinner pranking Bart and the kids fearing Krusty could have made really good episodes, sad to see that even when the HD-era has some good ideas, it just becomes wasted potential.
 
What a fucking terrible ending. It ruined a perfectly mediocre episode. The "boys will be boys" thing with Bart has already been done to death (including in this exact same format), as has the whole Marge guilt-tripping thing. But what I liked about that plot was Marge's "Bart has to learn about consequences" attitude, it was totally in character for her and she acted like a real mom. She took an important, hard decision for her son's education and she was a bit tormented over it which felt really nice. Too bad they didn't do more with it, and that the ending shat over everything. "Oh well motherhood sucks, Bart will be Bart", return to status quo, credits roll.

The Krusty plot was my favorite of the two, but again with the fucking ending. Exploring the demons of a clown and seeing a comedian trying drama is nothing new, it's overdone really, but it could have been a great way to add a bit of depth to Krusty's character. I was really liking what I saw, until that horrible ending sequence. "Oh well clowns will be clowns, I'm happy again, nevermind any nuances to my character". This is a lazy copout. I was actually angry when the credits came.

Also, can we talk about the first scene? Skinner pranking Bart? Pouring honey and bird seed on him? Seriously? Completely out of character and it wasn't even funny. Speaking of unfunny, I didn't laugh once during this episode. No joke was outright bad though, so that's something I guess. The advertisers scene where they all freak out when they see Krusty got a chuckle out of me.

All in all that was a pretty mediocre episode which completely fell apart at the end. It had potential but they did nothing with it, this is such a disappointment. 1.5/5, which I rounded up to 2 in the poll for some reason.
 
While I'm glad the episode didn't focus too much on the scary clown aspect, what we got instead was somehow worse. They start with a lame couch gag with Jean jerking off over the fact that The Simpsons has more episodes than Gunsmoke but of course they were 4 episodes early. I like to imagine someone pointed this out and then the Lisa line was added in. Then Skinner pranks Bart, which I'm fairly certain would get him in legal trouble. But Bart has to get revenge I guess. Sure why not. The Marge/Bart storyline wasn't very interesting and Bart learn nothing so the episode feels totally pointless. Also, stop having Marge cry, it doesn't make scenes more emotional. 1/5

Oh yeah and Krusty did something to.
 

Phil pretty much echoes my feelings on this week's episode to a 'T".
(And not the fun Ts from Homer the Vigilante, either.)

Coherency is literally the only thing going for it.
 
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Looks like I’m one of the only ones who liked the ending with Marge being mad. It might have been a downer, but I don’t think all endings should necessarily be resolutions. I also think it helped Bart’s character a little bit. I wouldn’t have liked it if he decided that he didn’t want to pull pranks anymore. The status quo would obviously return in the next episode regardless, but his inability to stifle his laughter after the balloons fall shows the kind of rambunctious kid he is, or at least should be.
 
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