• Wikisimpsons needs more Featured Article, Picture, Quote, Episode and Comprehensive article nominations!
  • Wikisimpsons has a Discord server! Click here for your invite! Join to talk about the wiki, Simpsons and Tapped Out news, or just to talk to other users.
  • Make an account! It's easy, free, and your work on the wiki can be attributed to you.
TwitterFacebookDiscord

Krusty Gets Kancelled

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki
Season 4 Episode
080 "Marge in Chains"
081
"Krusty Gets Kancelled"
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" 082
"Ugh, 35 years in show business and already no one remembers me, just like what's-his-name and whose-it, and you know that guy, always wore a shirt?"
Krusty the Clown
"Krusty Gets Kancelled"
KrustyGetsKancelled2.png
Episode Information
Episode number: 81
Season number: S4 E22
Production code: 9F19
Original airdate: May 13, 1993
Chalkboard gag: "I will not charge admission to the bathroom"
Couch gag: The family are caught in a net trap when they try to get on the couch
Guest star(s): Johnny Carson as himself
Hugh Hefner as himself
Bette Midler as herself
Luke Perry as himself
Red Hot Chili Peppers as themselves
Elizabeth Taylor as herself
Barry White as himself
Showrunner(s): Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Written by: John Swartzwelder
Directed by: David Silverman
DVD features


"Krusty Gets Kancelled" is the twenty-second and final episode of season 4 of The Simpsons and the eighty-first episode overall. It originally aired on May 13, 1993. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by David Silverman. It guest stars Johnny Carson as himself, Hugh Hefner as himself, Bette Midler as herself, Luke Perry as himself, Red Hot Chili Peppers as themselves, Elizabeth Taylor as herself and Barry White as himself.

Synopsis[edit]

"When the Gabbo show causes Krusty to get cancelled, Krusty quickly hits the skids. However, Lisa and Bart vow to help Krusty out by organizing a comeback special. Guest stars Bette Midler, Elizabeth Taylor, Hugh Hefner, Johnny Carson, Luke Perry and Red Hot Chili Peppers."

Plot[edit]

Krusty's party at Moe's after the special

One afternoon while Homer and Bart are watching The Springfield Squares, a highly distracting commercial is aired for something named "Gabbo". The advertisement is the start of a viral marketing campaign around Springfield to build interest in whatever "Gabbo" is. At one point, a distressed Rev. Lovejoy expresses his concern the term "Gabbo" has fallen into common usage, in lieu of religious terms such as "worship" and "Jericho".

Finally, "Gabbo" is unveiled with great fanfare — he is a Howdy Doody-type ventriloquist's dummy with a voice sounding like Jerry Lewis. Ventriloquist Arthur Crandall announces Gabbo's new program will air in direct competition with the established Krusty the Clown Show, each afternoon at 4 PM. Gabbo's catchphrase — "I'm a bad widdle boy" — instantly charms his intended audience, and this has a negative impact on Krusty and his show.

The clown vows to withstand the competition from the new program, but Gabbo's cutthroat tactics and fantastic reviews quickly attract Krusty's audience. Gabbo even steals away Krusty's signature cartoon, The Itchy & Scratchy Show, since it would be exposed to far-higher ratings than the fast-fading Krusty. Krusty tries to fight back with a dummy of his own, but due to its gruesome appearance and poor condition, it falls apart on Krusty's lap, and scares off many of the child audience. Eventually, Krusty's ratings hit rock bottom, and after being left to air a poorly produced cartoon called Worker and Parasite ("Eastern Europe's favorite cat and mouse team"), his show is cancelled.

Left without work, Krusty falls on hard times and begins suffering from depression. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa — all along unimpressed with Gabbo — reveal to him a plan to get him back into the public eye: expose Gabbo as a profane flash-in-the-pan, and plan a huge prime-time special starring Krusty. Believing there still may be hope for himself yet, Krusty agrees.

After Bart begins derailing Gabbo's success, by secretly turning on a studio camera, which catches Gabbo bad-mouthing his audience on-air, he and Lisa begin recruiting major celebrities to appear on Krusty's special: Bette Midler, Johnny Carson, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Sideshow" Luke Perry (Krusty's "worthless half-brother") and Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor declines Bart and Lisa's invitation, much to her later regret. Bart and Lisa return to Krusty to declare their success, only to find him morbidly obese from drinking several fatty milkshakes after believing them to be weight-losing shakes. Fortunately, the entire Simpson family helps get him back into shape before the special airs.

The show is a success, and later at Moe's Tavern, Bart makes a toast; "To Krusty...the greatest entertainer in the world! (Except Johnny Carson who's dancing while playing the accordion and balancing Jasper and Grampa on his head with a table).

Production[edit]

Reception[edit]

In 2007, Vanity Fair named "Krusty Gets Kancelled" as the ninth best episode of The Simpsons. John Orvet felt, "This is Krusty's best episode—better than the reunion with his father, or the Bar Mitzvah episode, which won an Emmy much later on. The incorporation of guest stars as themselves is top-notch, and we get to see the really dark side of Krusty's flailing showbiz career. Hollywood, television, celebrities, and fans are all beautifully skewered here."[1]

Gallery[edit]

In other languages[edit]

Language Name Translation
Germany.png Deutsch "Krusty, der TV-Star" Krusty the TV star
Italy Flag.png Italiano "Krusty viene kacciato" Krusty gets kicked out
Brasil Flag.png Português "Krusty Sai do Ar" Krusty gets off the air
Ukraine flag.png Українська "Скорочення Красті" Krusty's reduction
Flag of Japan.png 日本語 "クラスティ絶体絶命!" Krusty's Desperate Situation!

References[edit]

  1. John Orvted. "Springfield's Best"Vanity Fair. Retrieved on 2007-07-13. 


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Krusty Gets Kancelled".
Season 4 Episodes
Kamp Krusty A Streetcar Named Marge Homer the Heretic Lisa the Beauty Queen Treehouse of Horror III Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie Marge Gets a Job New Kid on the Block Mr. Plow Lisa's First Word Homer's Triple Bypass Marge vs. the Monorail Selma's Choice Brother from the Same Planet I Love Lisa Duffless Last Exit to Springfield So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show The Front Whacking Day Marge in Chains Krusty Gets Kancelled