Today I Am a Clown
"Today I Am a Clown"
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Episode Information
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"Today, I am a Clown" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons' fifteenth season. The episode aired on December 7, 2003.
Plot
Maggie is locked in the bathroom and she is eventually freed, thanks to Lisa trying their rescue solution a second time, after Homer fails. The family hears the doorbell, finding Dr. Hibbert, who says that Santa's Little Helper had impregnated his poodle, Rosa Barks, and he turns over the puppies to the Simpson family and making them their problem. Although Lisa reads a Simpsons episode guide that says that Homer was taking Santa's Little Helper to have him neutered, Homer was never able to complete the deed. Bart and Lisa give out puppies to people, including Krusty, who takes him for a walk to his old neighborhood.
However, when Krusty returns to his old neighborhood in the Jewish section of Springfield, he sees the Jewish Walk of Fame and finds that his star is not on the sidewalk. He then goes to register for it and is told he does not have a star because he did not have a bar mitzvah, which means he is not a Jewish man, so he claims he can not be a "self-hating Jew" but instead he is an antisemite (much to the delight of Rainier Wolfcastle). Bart and Lisa take Krusty to see his father, who claimed that Krusty was not given a bar mitzvah due to his non-serious attitudes growing up. He agrees to help Krusty achieve his goal teaching Krusty all the goals associated with Judaism. With this happening, Krusty cannot do shows on Saturday (the Sabbath); therefore, he must seek a replacement, and gets Homer to replace him for the day. Homer's replacement show is a talk show, featuring Moe, Lenny (later replaced by Barney and Disco Stu), and Carl as panelists. The show becomes a success in its own right; meanwhile, Krusty continues to learn his Jewish traditions.
Homer's show is a surprising success, so much that Krusty's show is eventually cancelled by Channel 6. Lisa suggests that Homer put his power to good use after listening to Lisa's advice, but ironically, ratings decline and Homer's show is also cancelled. Krusty, after being fired by Channel 6, pitches his bar mitzvah to the Fox network (knowing that "you guys are known for taking chances on crap"). When his bar mitzvah ("Krusty the Klown's Wet 'n' Wild Bar Mitzvah"), featuring Mr. T as a guest, airs, it becomes a ratings smash, drawing "Raymond rerun good" ratings, but the spectacle disappoints his father. Krusty feeling remorse, claims that he wants to have a real bar mitzvah the traditional way at the temple. The show closes out with Krusty having an (almost) serious bar mitzvah in a synagogue. It is a happy ending for everybody, except the Simpsons, who are cancelled when Homer strangles Bart, with their car being thrown in the trash (to be shredded).
Trivia
- In the episode Helter Shelter Homer is upset that 1895 is too late to save Lincoln and too early to save Kennedy, and in this episode he fantasizes about doing both.
- Bar mitzvahs ceremonies are largely arbitrary, and not having one has no bearing on a Jewish male's standing as a "real" Jew.
- When Krusty is sitting in front of his TV, in the background there is an upside-down German flag on the wall.
- When Krusty decides that he would be a bad Jew if he continued to perform shows on the Sabbath the first replacement suggested for Saturdays is comedian Jon Stewart, whom Krusty rejects thinking that he will be upstaged. Stewart is Jewish himself.
- Lisa has a Jewish imaginary friend named Rachel Cohen who goes to Brandeis University.
- Its is implied in this episode that Krusty has a Cocaine problem: He is shown putting a finger on his nostril and inhaling, to then claim to Bart and Lisa, who are right in front of him, "You know, sniffing flowers. Such expensive flowers."
Cultural References
- Lisa reads the 'Two Dozen and One Greyhounds' page of 'The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family' to discover that they got Santa's Little Helper neutered.
- The subplot involving Santa's Little Helper being neutered after an incident with his owner's neighbor's pet dog got her pregnant resembles a similar plotline in the sitcom Frasier (specifically, it's the episode The Unkindest Cut of All.). In fact, both neighbors in that episode even say to the family that owns the dog "Well, I'm glad you like them, because they're your problem now!"
- The popular Johnny Cash song "Ring of Fire" is played at the episode's beginning.
- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax's refusal to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur is mentioned when Krusty sees his star on the Jewish Walk of Fame and reacts with disgust.
- The dog neutering clinic which Santa's Little Helper is taken to is called Nuts Landing, a reference to Knots Landing.
- Dr. Hibbert's dog, Rosa Barks, is a reference to Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Activist.
External links
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