Krusty Gets Kancelled

Krusty has been displaced by a stupid ventriloquist's dummy who uses the Clown's material. He is miserable and Bart and Lisa take pity on him. They round up some celebrities to do his show. Of course, it's going to work. For me this was rather anticlimactic. It's fun to see some of the stars but they really have no skin in the game.

The third season took a few episodes to get me going when I watched it, like it was taking a few steps before it got into its stride but once it did it was away. It was great to see that this stride continued right into the fourth season and out the other side since this season seemed to be nothing but classic episode after classic episode. Just a glance back over the episode listing is enough to show you the quality here and as I watched through it I really enjoyed every single episode – I cannot think of a weak one in the pack.

The thing that struck me the most though was just how consistently daring and brazen the show was. In the previous season they had added some more adult material but here it seemed to really be a concerted and consistent effort to bring it in. The line from Smithers in the Halloween special is the one that really sticks in my mind "sea men and women don't mix" but there are lots of example, with Bart taunting Homer by suggesting their father/son moments on the swings was all faked being probably my favorite. This added layer to the show really added to it in the past and in this season it was as much a part of the show as anything else. The cultural references came thick and fast too but, importantly, they are smart and most very well done producing regular chuckles of appreciation.

The cast are excellent across the board. Supporting characters are given key roles and used very well to help strengthen the show. The guest voices are a little intrusive but mostly they are used like minor characters and they work well; the final episode could have been a little full of itself with star names, but again they are used with good humor and it feels like the stars were queueing up to get on the show rather than the show needing them in any shape or form. Overall then this is a classic season, just great episode after great episode and hardly putting a step wrong. I hope it can continue this into the fifth season because I really was pleasantly surprised by how strong this whole season was.

This episode does have it's gems. The Krusty vs. Gabbo feud is an excellent parody of 90s-era cross-media phenomenas, and bits such as the citizens of Springfield turning to Gabbo for the sole reason that they can't think for themselves ("Let's listen to Gabbo, he'll tell us what to do!") or the fact that Krusty's show started out as a Dick Cavett-esque late night talkshow before peddling into kiddie fodder somewhere down the line, but this episode starts a widely mocked tradition Simpsonphiles like to rip into to this day, something that would be inevitable after Bartmania died down and the series went from early 90s flash in the pan kid fad to bonafide, consistently profitable television juggernaut, the tradition of guest stars showing up for the sole fact that they're celebrities.

Remember that one of the targets The Simpsons fired on oh so well in it's early years was the mass market media machine, from jokes about Paramount wheeling out the original Star Trek cast well into senior citizenhood even as The Next Generation crew solidified themselves into a generation of viewers, to Krusty's shameless preference of quantity over quality, slapping his name haphazardly, even if the product in question was a tad questionable and demographically inappropriate to tie in into a after-school kids' show, and of course, my personal favorite, poking fun at the guest star filled special episode by loading the list up with a load of popular MLB players at the time, and inflicting the most horrific circumstances on the guest starees, such as either being thrown off Burns' softball team, becoming hooked on and eventually overdosing on nerve tonic, thrown to the abyss, jailed for life by Wiggum's incompetence, or outright dying from radiation poisoning by the end of the episode.

Here, however, it can all be boiled down into this:

"Hey, Lis, look, it's Bette Midler. Hi, Bette Midler."

"Hey, is that Luke Perry?"

"Oh, you're Johnny Carson!"

It ends how you expect, the celebrities are all ganged up together and rescue Krusty's career, and Gabbo is thrown into the same abyss as countless other one note one time supporting characters. A weak ending to a solid season overall.

This is the final episode of the fourth season of the Simpsons and it's a very good episode, despite being an episode based off Krusty the Klown, a character who is only good when done in small bits. But what helps is not only the comedy, but the stars present in the episode. We have cameos by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bette Midler, Johnny Carson, Hugh Hefner, Barry White, Luke Perry, and Elizabeth Taylor. So there are quite a few stars here to enjoy.

In this episode, "Krusty Gets Kancelled," after a week of mass advertising, a ventriloquist named Gabbo becomes a direct competitor of Krusty the Klown, forcing the producers to cancel Krusty's show. With the help of Bart and Lisa, they organize a comeback show for Krusty with a lot of talent involved.

Overall, this is a very good final episode and I must say I was happy with the fourth season as there was hardly a disappointing episode. I am excited for the adventures of the Simpsons to continue for a fifth season. I rate this episode 9/10.

"Krusty Gets Kancelled," the season 4 finale of The Simpsons, is a standout episode that expertly blends satire, celebrity culture, and classic slapstick humor. The story follows Krusty the Clown as he falls from grace after losing his time slot to a popular ventriloquist dummy, Gabbo. At first, Krusty's fall is played for laughs-his increasingly desperate attempts to remain relevant reflect the transient nature of fame in the entertainment industry. But the heart of the episode lies in its hilarious and affectionate homage to the variety show format of decades past.

What truly elevates this episode is its dazzling lineup of guest stars. Johnny Carson, Bette Midler, Hugh Hefner, Luke Perry, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all make memorable appearances, each poking fun at their public personas with a surprising amount of self-awareness. Carson performs jaw-dropping feats, including lifting a Buick over his head, while Midler sings and throws trash at highway litterers. These cameos aren't just tacked on-they're cleverly woven into the story, helping Krusty reclaim his spotlight and creating one of the show's most delightfully chaotic ensemble finales.

"Krusty Gets Kancelled" is a celebration of The Simpsons at its creative peak-mixing biting satire with genuine affection for the very industry it lampoons. Krusty's rise, fall, and resurrection are both absurd and oddly touching, and the all-star guests give the episode an electric, unpredictable energy. This episode not only showcases the show's ability to attract major talent but also its brilliance in using those stars to serve a tight, funny, and meaningful story.