Like Father, Like Clown
| "Like Father, Like Clown" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
 Krusty's show | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | Jeffrey Lynch Brad Bird |
| Written by | Jay Kogen Wallace Wolodarsky |
| Production code | 8F05 |
| Original air date | October 24, 1991 |
| Guest appearance | |
| |
| Episode features | |
Couch gag | Bart leaps into everybody's lap, annoying Homer.[2] |
| Commentary | Matt Groening Al Jean Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Jay Kogen Wallace Wolodarsky Brad Bird |
"Like Father, Like Clown" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 24, 1991. In the episode, Krusty the Clown reveals to the Simpsons that he is Jewish and that his father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky, kicked him out for pursuing a career in comedy. Bart and Lisa try to reunite a heartbroken Krusty with his estranged father.
The episode was written by the duo of Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Jeffrey Lynch and Brad Bird; as it was Lynch's first credit as a director, Bird was assigned to help him. Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept of the character, so Kogen and Wolodarsky decided to parody the 1927 film The Jazz Singer and establish that Krusty is Jewish. The episode was carefully researched and two rabbis, Lavi Meier and Harold M. Schulweis, were credited as "special technical consultants". Comedian Jackie Mason, who had once been an ordained rabbi, provided the voice of Hyman Krustofsky. Hyman later became an infrequently recurring character voiced by Dan Castellaneta. Mason returned to voice the character in several later episodes.
In its original broadcast, "Like Father, Like Clown" finished 34th in ratings with a
Plot
Krusty had agreed to have dinner with the Simpsons to repay
Krusty reveals his real name is Herschel Krustofsky (
Showing a father-and-son themed episode of
Krusty is feeling glum when he starts the live of his show, and then calls for Itchy & Scratchy to roll. Bart and Lisa arrive backstage with Hyman, and he and Krusty joyously reconcile before the audience. Hyman accepts a cream pie from Bart and throws it in his son's face.
Production
"Like Father, Like Clown" was written by the duo of Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky.
The episode was co-directed by Jeffrey Lynch and Brad Bird. It was Lynch's first credit as a director, so Bird was assigned to help him out and "usher [Lynch] into the world of directing things quickly".[7] Krusty is one of Bird's favorite characters, and he always tries to animate a scene in every Krusty episode.[7]
Rabbi Krustofsky was voiced by Jackie Mason, who had once been an ordained rabbi, but had resigned to become a comedian.[8] Mason recorded his lines in New York City, and Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Krusty, went there to record with him.[9] In the script, Bart and Lisa try to trick Rabbi Krustofsky into meeting with Krusty by arranging a lunch date between him and Saul Bellow, the "Nobel Prize-winning Jewish novelist". Originally, this was intended to be Isaac Bashevis Singer, but the writers changed it when Singer died. Mason's lines had to be re-recorded in order to complete the change.[3] Rabbi Krustofsky became an infrequently recurring character, and his occasional speaking parts were voiced by Castellaneta.[10] Mason later returned to voice the rabbi in "Today I Am a Clown" in the fifteenth season,[11] "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" in the twenty-first season, and "Clown in the Dumps" in the twenty-sixth season, in which the character dies.[12]
Cultural references
The episode is a homage to the film
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Like Father, Like Clown" finished 34th in ratings for the week of October 21–27, 1991, with a
He is one of three The Simpsons guest stars to win the award;
Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz of The Star-Ledger listed "Like Father, Like Clown" as one of the ten episodes of The Simpsons that shows the "comic and emotional scope of the show". They wrote, "Most Krusty the Klown episodes go heavy on celebrity cameos, while playing up the character's misanthropic greed. This one gave him a heart, as Bart and Lisa try to reunite him with his estranged rabbi father (voice of Jackie Mason), who has never forgiven his son for going into show biz."[16] DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote that the episode "lacks a surfeit of guffaws, but it manages to be sweet and heartfelt without becoming sappy. It's more of a charming show than a laughfest, but it does the job."[22]
In a retrospective review in The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin writes "Like most Borsht-Belt shtick-slingers, Krusty is prickly and hard on the outside but soft, tender and sweet on the inside. Shtick without sentimentality is like lox without bagels and 'Like Father, Like Son' taps into a side of Krusty we seldom see: a lost little boy who never got over his father’s rejection and pines for what he sees as the domestic bliss of the Simpsons. As Lisa says with just the right note of sad, weary understanding, 'A man who envies our family is a man who needs help.'”[23]
In his 2018 memoir Springfield Confidential, Simpsons season 3 showrunner Mike Reiss named the episode as one of four that broke new ground, alongside "Moaning Lisa", "Homer at the Bat" and the original "Treehouse of Horror". Reiss noted how the episode established several new precedents for the show: it centered on a secondary character, it focused on a non-Christian religion and expert consultants were involved in the writing of the religious debate between the Rabbi and Bart.[24]
Notes
- ^ As depicted in the 1990 episode "Krusty Gets Busted".
References
- ^ a b Richmond & Coffman 1997, p. 67.
- ^ a b c d e Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Like Father, Like Clown". BBC. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Jean, Al. (2003). Commentary for "Like Father, Like Clown", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b Kogen, Jay. (2003). Commentary for "Like Father, Like Clown", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Pinsky 2007, pp. 155–156
- ^ a b Pinsky 2007, p. 150
- ^ a b Bird, Brad. (2003). Commentary for "Like Father, Like Clown", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- Daily News Transcript. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Castellaneta, Dan. (2003). Commentary for "Like Father, Like Clown", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "Listings — Simpsons, The on Fox". The Futon Critic. 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
- ^ Bianco, Robert (December 4, 2003). "What to watch this weekend". USA Today. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
- ^ Perkins, Dennis (September 29, 2014). "The Simpsons: "Clown In The Dumps"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Greg Brian (July 30, 2007). "The Anatomy of Krusty the Clown (or Who or What Inspired the Famous "Simpsons" Clown...and Why Clowns Get a Bad Rap)" (Interview). Yahoo!. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ Pinsky 2007, p. 153
- ^ Pinsky 2007, p. 151
- ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan; Matt Zoller Seitz (April 26, 1998). "The best of "The Simpsons" doing their worst". The Star-Ledger.
- Long Beach Press-Telegram. Associated Press. October 30, 1991.
- ^ "Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search". Emmys.org. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
- Daily News of Los Angeles. August 3, 1992. p. L20.
- ^ Serpe, Gina (July 20, 2006). "Sideshow Bob nabs Emmy". E!. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "A Dozen Doozies". TV Guide. January 3–9, 1998. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ Jacobson, Colin (August 21, 2003). "The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (1991)". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (March 27, 2011). "The Simpsons (Classic): "Like Father, Like Clown"".
- ISBN 978-0-06-274803-4.
Bibliography
- OL 433519M.
- Pinsky, Mark I. (2007). The Gospel According to The Simpsons, Bigger and Possibly Even Better! edition (Second ed.). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-23160-6.
External links
