The Ten-Per-Cent Solution
"The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" | |
---|---|
The Simpsons episode | |
Episode no. | Season 23 Episode 8 |
Directed by | Mike Frank Polcino |
Written by | Dan Castellaneta Deb Lacusta |
Production code | PABF02 |
Original air date | December 4, 2011 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
Episode features | |
Couch gag | A sword with the text "Property of Ned Flanders" on it is planted in the couch à la Excalibur. Homer's attempt at getting it out fails, but Flanders pulls it out successfully and leaves. |
"The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" is the eighth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 4, 2011. In the episode, Krusty the Clown becomes depressed after getting fired from his television show for being unpopular with children. The Simpson family encourages him to make a comeback, suggesting that he seek help from an agent they met earlier at a television museum. This agent turns out to be Annie Dubinsky, who was Krusty's first agent and former girlfriend. Krusty left her when he became successful but now he begs her to take him as a client again. She accepts and together they are able to get him back on television, hosting a show for adults that features his clown tricks. However, Annie soon begins to interfere too much, which frustrates the network executives.
The episode, which contains parodies of films such as
Plot
During an episode of The Krusty the Clown Show, three Itchy & Scratchy cartoons are shown. This angers Krusty, the host of the show, since he thinks he should be the star of the show and not the Itchy and Scratchy characters. Meanwhile, the Simpsons visit a television museum that is soon to be closed. After a while, they come to an exhibit displaying The Adventures of Fatso Flanagan, which is one of Homer's favorite television shows. There, the family is approached by Annie Dubinsky, the agent of the actor who played Fatso Flanagan. They start chatting and become acquainted. At the Channel 6 studios, during a board meeting, Krusty is fired because "Today's children are uncomfortable with a clown whose every reference they have to look up on Wikipedia", and because Itchy and Scratchy are shown to be more popular with the children. Krusty goes to his current agent, hoping to get a new job, but the agent drops him since he got fired.
After the Simpsons have left the museum, they head for
Krusty starts performing his clown tricks at a theater in front of adults, and not children like before. This is because Annie knows that there is nothing adults enjoy more than the things they liked as children. The performances are praised by both the audience and the critics, and Krusty and Annie initiate a relationship again. Soon, a
Production
"The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" was written by
Several references to popular culture, including a meta-reference to The Simpsons, are included in "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution". The three The Itchy & Scratchy cartoons that are shown at the beginning of the episode as Krusty is hosting his show are all parodies of films released in 2010: the first one, titled The Cat's Speech, is a parody of The King's Speech; the second one, titled The Social Petwork, parodies The Social Network in that the storyline is partially explained through the use of screens containing nothing but text; and the final one, titled Black and Blue Swan, references Black Swan.[2][9] After the three cartoons are shown, Krusty points out that "It’s like those parodies were written when the movies came out, but it took so long to animate them that we look dated and hacky!" This is a reference to the long time it takes to produce an episode of The Simpsons—hence why cultural references on the show can often be seen as dated.[2][10] Pop culture allusions at the television museum include a brief appearance by the main characters of the animated series King of the Hill as cardboard cutouts being taken down in a process similar to the opening of the show,[10] an exhibit devoted to the sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, and the showing of one of Homer's favorite television shows, Fatso Flanagan, which is a knockoff of the sitcom The Honeymooners.[2]
The music that is played during the parody of The King's Speech is "Symphony No. 7" by Ludwig van Beethoven, and a musical piece from the Swan Lake ballet is played during the Black Swan parody. For the King of the Hill visual gag, the Simpsons staff acquired the rights to use the actual theme song from that show.[9] The music that is played as Krusty performs his new show in front of adults at the theater is a mixture of the old Krusty theme and the theme from Playboy After Dark, a television show hosted by Hugh Hefner that started airing in the 1960s and featured parties from a Playboy club. This musical combination was composed by Alf Clausen after The Simpsons music editor Chris Ledesma came with the suggestion. On his blog, Ledesma wrote that theme for Playboy After Dark "was cool and jazzy and just right for its time. Alf’s homage to that theme, wrapped around Krusty’s theme was very clever indeed."[9] For the 2nd time in the show's history, a joke regarding Krusty and the Paul Reubens masturbation scandal was made (the first one was in I Love Lisa; when Annie says that doing a children's show helped Pee-wee Herman bounce back after his scandal, Krusty asks what Pee-wee did and after Annie tells him he says "That's all? I did that while you were on the phone!"
Release and reception
"The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" originally aired on the
Since airing, the episode has received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Hayden Childs of The A.V. Club praised the choice of having Rivers guest star since she was able to "employ her trademark humor within the world of The Simpsons without hijacking the plot or satire."[2] He also noted that while the Simpson family does not appear heavily, "Krusty is such a large part of the supporting cast that he carries this episode well. While it may seem a little funny that Castellaneta, who voices Krusty, wrote such a large part for himself, it is also a testament to his empathy for Krusty that this episode both deepens our understanding of Krusty and actually allows him growth as a character in an organic fashion."[2] Ology's Josh Harrison similarly praised "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" for having "some wonderful Krusty the Klown moments and some clutch guest star appearances".[16] He also cited the visual gags in the episode as "clever".[16] Harrison concluded his review by writing that though the episode "wasn't Simpsons gold, it was a great chance to focus on a secondary character and an opportunity for Joan Rivers to, um, be Joan Rivers. I imagine your assessment of the episode may be based largely on your opinion of the guest star. That said? I dug it."[16]
See also
References
- ^ Ledesma, Chris (music editor for The Simpsons) (November 23, 2011). "'The Ten-Per-Cent Solution' and 'Holidays of Future Passed'". Simpsons Music 500. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
{{cite web}}
:|first=
has generic name (help) - ^ a b c d e f g Childs, Hayden (December 4, 2011). "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ Yeo, Debra (December 4, 2011). "TV Tonight: Five worth watching". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^ a b Roush, Matt (December 2, 2011). "The Guide to Weekend TV: Syfy's Neverland, Michael J. Fox on The Good Wife and More!". TV Guide. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^ a b c Gicas, Peter (March 15, 2011). "Joan Rivers Whores Herself Out to The Simpsons". E! News. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ Still, Jennifer (March 16, 2011). "Joan Rivers: 'I love The Simpsons'". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ Buckman, Adam (December 5, 2011). "Joan Rivers' own tragic history on 'The Simpsons'". TV Howl. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
- ^ Berrin, Danielle (December 9, 2011). "Joan Rivers channels personal tragedy on 'The Simpsons'". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
- ^ a b c Ledesma, Chris (music editor for The Simpsons) (December 7, 2011). "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson (and other musings)". Simpsons Music 500. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
{{cite web}}
:|first=
has generic name (help) - ^ a b c d e Hughes, Jason. "Joan Rivers Boots Janeane Garofalo for Being Too Funny on 'The Simpsons'". AOL TV. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Gorman, Bill (December 6, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon A Time,' 'Housewives,' 'Family Guy' Adjusted Up; 'Pan Am,' 'CSI: Miami,' '60 Minutes' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- ^ Rice, Lynette (December 5, 2011). "'Pan Am' hits series low, 'The Good Wife' is flat". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ Kenneally, Tim (December 5, 2011). "Ratings: 'Simpsons,' 'Allen Gregory' Way Up; 'Pan Am' Hits Series Low". The Wrap. Reuters. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ Gorman, Bill (December 5, 2011). "TV Ratings Sunday: 'Simpsons,' 'Family Guy' Get A Boost; 'Once Upon A Time,' 'Housewives,' 'Pan Am,' 'Good Wife' Hit Lows; As Of Course 'Sunday Night Football' Wins". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ Gorman, Bill (December 6, 2011). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'Sunday Night Football,' 'Victoria's Secret Fashion Show' Top Week 11 Among Adults 18-49". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- ^ a b c Harrison, Josh. "'The Simpsons' Recap: 'The Ten-Per-Cent Solution'". Ology. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- ^ Parents Television Council. December 9, 2011. Archived from the originalon January 8, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
External links
- "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" at IMDb
- "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" at The Simpsons.com