Fears of a Clown

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 29 Episode
← 631 "3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage"	632 "Fears of a Clown"	"No Good Read Goes Unpunished" 633 →

This article is about the episode. For other uses of "Fears of a Clown", see Fears of a Clown (disambiguation).

"Fears of a Clown"

Episode Information Episode number: 632 Season number: S29 E14 Production code: XABF08 Original airdate: April 1, 2018 Title screen: Homer flies through the logo in a wingsuit. Billboard gag: Mayor Quimby's Easter egg hunt. Bunnies supplied by President Trump Chalkboard gag: Bart writes "This is the last episode", then flips over the blackboard, and "April fool" is written on it. Couch gag: At the Museum of Television, the Simpson family passes in front of wax statues of characters from the tv shows Bonanza, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Lassie and Gunsmoke. At the end, they sit on the couch, under the label "The Simpsons 636 episodes" but Lisa points out they're 4 episodes early and Homer d'ohs. Guest star(s): Andy Daly as Judge Dowd Damian Kulash as himself Jon Lovitz as Llewellyn Sinclair Jackie Mason as Hyman Krustofsky Timothy Nordwind as himself Showrunner: Al Jean Written by: Michael Price Directed by: Steven Dean Moore

"Fears of a Clown" is the fourteenth episode of broadcast season 29 of The Simpsons and the six hundred thirty-second episode overall. It originally aired on April 1, 2018. The episode was written by Michael Price and directed by Steven Dean Moore. It guest stars Andy Daly as Judge Dowd, Damian Kulash as himself, Jon Lovitz as Llewellyn Sinclair, Jackie Mason as Hyman Krustofsky, and Timothy Nordwind as himself.

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."

Plot

Martin discovers Principal Skinner giving Myra the keys to the trophy case and announcing his retirement. After promising to keep it a secret, Martin reveals the news—by whispering it—to others, and it eventually reaches the teachers' lounge.

At the retirement ceremony, Skinner calls on Bart to give a farewell speech. However, when Bart tries to prank him with a slingshot, Skinner deflects the rock (which ricochets and hits Agnes in the head) and pranks Bart instead, revealing that the retirement was a setup. Willie pours honey on Bart while Coach Krupt spreads birdseed on him.

After Marge helps clean him up, Bart seeks revenge by gluing Krusty's mask to the teachers' faces, terrifying kids and people around town. Clowns become widely hated, including Krusty himself, and both kids and advertisers abandon the Krusty the Clown Show when it airs.

At Juvenile Court, Judge Dowd wants to let Bart go free, but Marge insists he be sentenced to 28 days at the Tomorrow's New Horizons Rehab Center and General Rotten Time Ranch. Later, Marge, Homer, and Lisa convince Krusty to try drama.

At the Springfield Public Theater, Llewellyn Sinclair presents Krusty with the script for The Salesman's Bad Day, while Marge visits the Rehab Center to monitor Bart's rehabilitation. A doctor attempts to teach Bart empathy by having Marge sit in a chair covered with thumbtacks Bart planted—he stops her just in time.

Sinclair works to transform Krusty into a dramatic actor, but the ghost of his clown persona continues to haunt him. Meanwhile, Bart tries to make amends with those he pranked, but ultimately pranks them again with water balloons.

During the play, with help from the ghost of his clown self, Krusty earns laughter from the audience and returns to being a clown, while still performing in the play during his free time.

Production

The front cover of the script incorrectly refers to the episode title as "Tears of a Clown", rather than "Fears of a Clown", which is the actual episode title.

It is a re-imagining of Stephen King's It but with Krusty.

A first description of the plot was: "Everybody is now horrified of clowns after Bart does a prank using clown masks, which also makes Krusty lose his job. He tries to come back as a dramatic actor for the play "The Salesman's Bad Day", with Llewellyn Sinclair as his director."

Part of the scene when Bart is sentenced (shown in the script for the episode) was removed: Judge Dowd's kid, Wyatt, bangs the gavel instead of Dowd who then says "Good bang, Wyatt! You've got your mother's anger".

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Reception

Dan Castellaneta was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance in the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards for voicing Homer Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie and Sideshow Mel in this episode, but he lost to Alex Borstein for Family Guy.

Gallery

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Promo videos

• Guest Starring Andy Daly at YouTube
• Krusty The Clown Takes The Stage at YouTube
• Coach Llewellyn Sinclair Gives Krusty Some Encouragement at YouTube

Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Fears of a Clown".

← Season 28 Season 29 Episodes Season 30 →

The Serfsons • Springfield Splendor • Whistler's Father • Treehouse of Horror XXVIII • Grampy Can Ya Hear Me • The Old Blue Mayor She Ain't What She Used to Be • Singin' in the Lane • Mr. Lisa's Opus • Gone Boy • Haw-Haw Land • Frink Gets Testy • Homer Is Where the Art Isn't • 3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage • Fears of a Clown • No Good Read Goes Unpunished • King Leer • Lisa Gets the Blues • Forgive and Regret • Left Behind • Throw Grampa from the Dane • Flanders' Ladder

← Season WABF Production season XABF Episodes Season YABF →

Mr. Lisa's Opus • Gone Boy • Haw-Haw Land • Frink Gets Testy • Homer Is Where the Art Isn't • 3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage • No Good Read Goes Unpunished • Fears of a Clown • Forgive and Regret • King Leer • Lisa Gets the Blues • Left Behind • Throw Grampa from the Dane • Flanders' Ladder • Heartbreak Hotel • Treehouse of Horror XXIX • My Way or the Highway to Heaven • Baby You Can't Drive My Car • Bart's Not Dead • From Russia Without Love • Werking Mom • Krusty the Clown