Today I Am a Clown

Infobox Simpsons episode
episode_name = Today I Am a Clown
episode_no = 319
prod_code = FABF01
airdate = December 7, 2003
writer = Joel H. Cohen
director = Nancy Kruse
blackboard = "Over forty and single is not funny."| couch_gag = The Simpsons slide down a pole into the Batcave, where everyone is dressed like the characters from the 1960s "Batman TV show" (Homer is Batman, Marge is Catwoman, Maggie and Lisa are Batgirl, and Bart is Robin, the Boy Wonder).
guest_star = Jackie Mason as Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky
Mr. T as himself


image_caption = Krusty studies for his Bar mitzvah.
season = 15
color = #EFEFEF

"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. 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 making them their problem. Although Lisa reads 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. He then 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 because his elders feared the cantankerous boy would ruin it. He agrees to help Krusty reach his goal, teaching Krusty all about 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 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, 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 they'll "take 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 feels guilty, and 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.

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701276/ IMDB page]
* [http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=11483 An article on the episode in The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles]