Every once in a while, one of the show's secondary characters gets the spotlight. Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, and Mr. Burns have all had their turn. Krusty has had his turn several times, actually, but that doesn't make this episode less engrossing. It's fascinating the way a show that has been around this long can keep adding new layers to its characters and lore.

 

Krusty is one of the world's greatest Sad Clowns. Despite his wacky "Hey hey!" catchphrase, Krusty is one of the most cynical and depressing characters on television. All of his relationships fail, he has a prominent scar from cardiac surgery, is estranged from his family, and is forever staging a career comeback only to see it fall flat.

 

Krusty also serves as the embodiment of everything the show's writers hate about the industry of entertaining America's youth. His incessant cash grabs lead to a string of shoddy, dangerous, and failed products. And he has been forced to continue producing his show long past the point when he finds it enjoyable, much less successful. In the Simpsons universe, Krusty jumped the shark in the late 1960s, and it is his special hell to keep pushing that particular rock up a hill for the next forty years.

 

In this episode, it's guest star Joan Rivers who entices Krusty into staging Yet Another Comeback. The attempt fails, as we know it will. And where Krusty's other failures have led to death, dismemberment, and lawsuits aplenty, this one has possibly the most horrifying final consequence: Krusty and Joan Rivers star in a special episode of "Sex Over 60: The Mechanics of the Impossible." 

 

Joan Rivers was an interesting addition to the show. Her presence fit the premise well, which is more than I can say for some guest stars. Her "schtick voice" (more than an act but less than an accent) seemed to fade in and out at random, which was distracting. But she brought a lot more heart and performance to the table than I would have expected from years of red carpet shenanigans.

 

Overall, this was a satisfying episode, with a strong storyline and a lot of great meta-humor. Written by Dan Castellaneta and his wife Deb Lacusta, the script had a lot of jokes about writing, ("They took my dressing room, my parking space, even my writer, so I don't have a funny third item") which tickled me immensely. AND THE INTRO SEQUENCE RETURNED which was a relief because I was starting to wonder if I had gone mad.