Line #31 Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E15HomieTheClown


1	'''Original air date:''' 2/12/1995 ''(produced in 1994)''
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3	'''Production code:''' 2F12
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6	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/homie_the_clown.jpg]]
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8	Following a string of advertising-based hallucinations, Homer impulsively decides to go to clown college and become a Krusty impersonator. Meanwhile, the real Krusty is trying to dodge the Mafia after making some bad bets.
9	----
10	!!Tropes:
11	* AcademyOfEvil: The Mafia took over Krusty's clown college and added "advice" of robbing kids after they have finished their shows.
12	* AdamWesting: David Mirkin said that Creator/DickCavett's part was probably the meanest the show had ever been to a guest star, portraying him as a name-dropping bore. He mentions he knew Creator/WoodyAllen, though nobody in the audience cares. When he tries to make conversation with Homer and says that his "churlish attitude reminds me of the time I met [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers Groucho]]", Homer threatens him with "[[ImpliedDeathThreat You'll be dining with Groucho tonight if you don't shut up!]]"
13	* AffablyEvil: Don Vittorio [=DiMaggio=] [[ApologeticAttacker apologizes]] as he is about to shoot Homer (believing him to be Krusty) and decides he won't do it on the condition of having the "Spin-Cycle Fantastic" trick performed for him (which Homer fails), then apologizes again when the real Krusty shows up at the last second; and ultimately lets them both live when they successfully pull off the trick together. He even politely gives Krusty back his change after he overpays his loan.
14	* AntiClimax: It turns out that Krusty only owed the mob $48, which he casually pays back at the end of the episode, even getting change back. Given that the mob already took over the clown college, it's implied that the profits from it already paid off a lot of Krusty's debts.
15	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Homer's reasons why it sucks being a clown: "You get kicked by kids, bit by dogs, and admired by the elderly."
16	* BaitAndSwitch: Just after Krusty barges into Fat Tony's club (where Homer is already present, dressed as Krusty):
17	-->'''Legs:''' ''(gasps)'' I'm seeing double here: four Krustys!
18	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Homer is thrilled with the idea of being a Krusty ringer and graduates clown college. Unfortunately, he learns that being a ringer is both tiring and painful.
19	* BlackComedy:
20	** [[CannotTellFictionFromReality Homer beating up the Krusty Burglar]] in front of a group of terrified children.
21	--->"Stop! Stop! He's already dead!"
22	** Homer being so brainwashed by the Clown College advertisement that he imagines his screaming and burning coworkers as clowns and can only mutter, "Clowns are funny..."
23	** Homer abruptly stopping in front of billboards on the highway, which at one point causes a mutli-car pileup that spontaneously combusts.
24	* BlatantLies: A man at clown college dressed like a Texan claims to be from Brooklyn because he's not the only Texan there and there can be only one Krusty impersonator per state.
25	* ButtMonkey: Guest star Dick Cavett takes it pretty hard on the chin this episode, being presented as a pathetic nobody who is hosting a low rent awards show with a common birthday party clown that nobody wants to be around and is constantly trying to impress people with all the famous people he knows. The producers state that it is perhaps the meanest they've ever been to a guest star.
26	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: While Season 6 is far from early in the show's development, this episode portrays Milhouse's dad Kirk as a very competent, respected man who has connections to get Krusty to come to his son's birthday (even if it was just Homer). In later episodes, especially after the divorce in season 8, he becomes a pitifully pathetic, needy deadbeat. Case in point: when "Krusty" takes a break at the party from exhaustion, Kirk assertively stands above him and says, "Um... it's not 5:30 yet!", basically telling him to get back to work. The later Kirk would have NOWHERE near the self-confidence or demeanor to do something like that. You can claim the divorce turned him into the pathetic deadbeat he is, but during the divorce, Luann claimed he was always a failure and the family was on a huge downslope. [[note]]That said, it's ''Luann'' who's saying this, so given she [[NeverMyFault blames the entirety of their marriage failure on Kirk]], she may be an UnreliableNarrator.[[/note]]
27	* ChekhovsSkill:
28	** Double subverted. Homer's ''inability'' to ride a mini bicycle through a loop resurfaces and almost gets him killed by the end of the episode. However, Homer pulls off the part of eating the bicycle and ringing its bell perfectly.
29	** And subverted when Homer suggests that instead of performing that particular trick he could squirt Don Vittorio with his button (it was his major); it's the loop or death.
30	* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
31	** While all the other clown college students inform Krusty where they're from, Homer just says his name.
32	** After Krusty reads the joke names of certain towns, Homer inexplicably finds the most normal one, UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, to be hilarious.
33	** Homer beats up an actor, portraying a burglar to amuse the children in the audience, not understanding that it's obviously an act.
34	** Krusty bets ''against'' the Harlem Globetrotters, not realizing that the games are for entertainment purposes and the Globetrotters always win in amusing ways. Krusty later concludes that the game was rigged.
35	** After Krusty obviously runs out on them, Legs says he needs to use the bathroom next. This causes Fat Tony to roll his eyes.
36	** When Homer tries saying he's not Krusty, one of his given aliases is Benedict Arnold. Legs seems to honestly think Homer means he's ''the'' Benedict Arnold.
37	* ComicallySmallDemand: Turns out the money Krusty owes the Mafia is only $48. He gives the Don a fifty and gets $2 in change. It's implied that the profits from the clown college, which the mob already seized, paid off most of Krusty's gambling debts already.
38	* ConspicuousConsumption: Krusty does ludicrous things like light his cigarettes with hundred-dollar bills, strings of pearls, and Action Comics #1. He also spends money on some truly ridiculous things, including buying a new house because his current one is dirty, hiring Kenny G to play music for him in an elevator, sending a thousand roses to Creator/BeaArthur's grave (she was alive at the time the episode aired), and condor egg omelettes.
39	* CouchGag: The roles of the family and the couch are reversed; with the Simpsons sitting in mid-air while the couch assembles itself and sits on the Simpsons' laps, crushing them.
40	* CrisisMakesPerfect: Homer is repeatedly shown flubbing Krusty's spin-cycle trick (which Krusty describes as "a great piece of buffoonery if you pull it off, but if you blow it, you'll look like a fool"). At the climax of the episode, he is forced to perform the trick by a Mafia Don threatening to execute him if he fails. He's delighted to find that he's actually pulling it off... only to fail horribly at the last moment. Krusty himself was made to ride the bike when he and Homer had to do the trick together, yet Homer (who had to ride on top of Krusty) still manages to nearly jeopardize it.
41	* DelayedReaction: When Homer accidentally crashes his car into the tree on Milhouse's yard, it takes several seconds from the car stopping before he flies through the windscreen.
42	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Homer: "Who am I clowning? I have no business being a clown! I'm leaving the clowning business to all the other clowns in the clowning business."
43	* DiggingYourselfDeeper: As Homer tries to tell Fat Tony he isn't Krusty, everybody he tries to say he is, including himself, has to upset Tony, Legs or Louie one way or another.
44	-->'''Homer''': But you can't kill me for being Krusty! I'm not him! I'm Homer Simpson!\
45	'''Fat Tony:''' The same Homer Simpson who crashed his car through the wall of our club?!\
46	'''Homer:''' Actually, my real name is Barney, Barney Gumble!\
47	'''Legs:''' [[BigBrotherInstinct The same Barney Gumble who keeps taking pictures of my sister]]?!\
48	'''Homer:''' Actually, my ''real'' name is... ''[sotto voice]'' Think, Krusty think! [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Valachi Joe Valachi]]!\
49	'''Louie:''' [[TheStoolPigeon The same Joe Valachi who squealed to the Senate Committee about organized crime?!]]\
50	''(SmashCut to the Mafia hauling Homer to the entrance of the [[TotallyNotACriminalFront Legitimate Businessman's Social Club]], with Homer still rattling off names)''\
51	'''Homer:''' [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Arnold Benedict Arnold]]!\
52	'''Legs:''' [[TheQuisling The same Benedict Arnold who plotted to surrender West Point to the hated British?!]]\
53	'''Homer:''' ''(as he is brought inside the club)'' D'OH!!
54	* DisproportionateRetribution:
55	** The mobsters are willing to kill Krusty (and hunt him down wherever he is hiding on the planet) over a measly $48.
56	** Homer pummels a man within an inch of his life for trying to steal food (in this case, hamburgers). It's pretty obvious that Homer is doing it because he CannotTellFictionFromReality, but Homer's violence shell-shocks a bunch of nearby kids.
57	* DissonantSerenity: Homer sees his co-workers as cavorting clowns. While they're on fire.
58	-->'''Homer:''' ''(chuckles)'' [[CreepyMonotone Clowns are funny...]]
59	* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: Krusty throws a pie with such force that the wealthy dowager's head makes cracks in the wall.
60	-->'''Homer''': ''(taking notes)'' [[LiteralMinded Kill wealthy dowager.]]
61	* DoppelgangerSpin: Krusty does this with Homer so the mobsters won't know who to shoot. It almost works.
62	-->'''Homer:''' [[TooDumbToLive Ha ha, good one, Krusty!]]
63	* DramaticGunCock: While threatening Homer and Krusty with a revolver, a Mob boss cocks his gun, scaring Homer. After some patter, he cocks the gun again, eliciting the exact same response. In the DVD commentary, the writers mention that they thought it was hilarious that a gun gets more frightening the more often you cock it.
64	* DreadedKidsPartyEntertainerJob: Homer has to perform at Milhouse's birthday. There, he is forced to degrade himself by letting the kids throw cake at him while he dances, with Milhouse's dad forcing him to keep it going until the party ends.
65	-->'''Homer''': Being a clown sucks. You get kicked by kids, bit by dogs, and admired by the elderly.
66	* DrivesLikeCrazy: When Homer is excited to see the new billboards for that month, he suddenly brakes and stops without warning in front of each one: the first time, an empty car carrier stops behind him in time but the 6 cars behind it all skid far enough to get loaded onto it, to which the driver of the car carrier comments "finders keepers!" and quickly drives off with them. The second time, he ends up causing a pileup that instantly goes up in flames.
67	** He also crashes into a tree in the Van Houten's front yard for apparently no real reason.
68	** Homer is also such a bad driver that he once crashed through the wall of the Legitimate Businessmen's Social Club. The mob hasn't forgiven him for that.
69	* EvenEvilHasStandards:
70	** After nearly being killed for not paying his debts, Krusty pays the money anyway, which turns out to be the ridiculously low sum of $48. The boss is happy and even [[HonorAmongThieves gives him back his change]]. Fat Tony mentions that the mob's already taken over the clown college, and it's implied that the profits from it paid off most of his debt.
71	** The Mafia are also apparently disgusted by Benedict Arnold's treachery.
72	--->'''Homer''': (''after running through various aliases of people who all ran afoul of the mob'') [I'm really] Benedict Arnold! \
73	'''Legs''': (''angrily'') The same Benedict Arnold who plotted to surrender West Point to the hated British? \
74	'''Homer''': DOH!
75	* ExoticEntree: Krusty could really go for a couple of [[EndangeredSpecies condor]] egg omelettes.
76	* EyeScream: Krusty cautions his students to be careful with their balloons, because if one goes off, it'll take out the eyes of every kid in the room... then he asks his accountant how much that cost them.
77	* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: The scene where the Krusty Burglar is beaten up, in front of an audience of children. All of the kids stand there, in wide-mouthed silence, afterwards. Homer not only does the deed with his bare hands, but it's highly implied that he does it by repeatedly slamming the actor's head against a rock.
78	* TheGamblingAddict: Krusty's gambling addiction is one of the reasons for his money problems, as he bets on everything from horse races to sports games to operas. As his accountant notes, gambling is one of the finest things a person can do... if he's good at it. Unfortunately, Krusty is a ''terrible'' gambler.
79	* HarmfulToMinors: PlayedForLaughs. Homer brutally beats up the Krusty Burglar before a crowd of terrified children. One of them begs him to stop because "he's already dead!"
80	* IdentityImpersonator: The purpose of the clown college is to train a bunch of pseudo-Krustys for hire to appear at events like birthday parties, event openings, and all the other things the real Krusty wouldn't touch with a ten-foot clown pole. It's implied that people think they're getting the ''real'' Krusty, since Milhouse brags about how much pull his father has to get Krusty as an entertainer.
81	* INeedAFreakingDrink: Marge, after seeing Homer build a circus tent with mash potatoes.
82	-->'''Lisa:''' ''(disturbed)'' Mom?\
83	'''Marge:''' I think I'll have some wine.
84	* ImagineSpot: Homer's obsession over joining Clown College causes him to daydream that clowns are everywhere.
85	* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Even though Homer is standing perfectly still when Legs tries to shoot him with a rifle from no further than 50 feet away or so, he only manages to hit the car next to Homer enough times to shatter its windscreen, flatten its tires and fill its hood full of holes.
86	* IsItSomethingYouEat: When Homer goes by the new billboards, the first few ones are of food, so when he comes to the one for Clown College, he complains "Clown college? You can't eat that!"
87	* LetMeGetThisStraight: One from Krusty's accountant.
88	-->'''Accountant:''' Let me get this straight; you took all the money you made franchising your name and bet it ''against'' the Harlem Globetrotters?!\
89	'''Krusty''': Oh, I thought the Generals were due!
90	* LostInCharacter: When the actor playing the Krusty Burglar starts pretending to steal the giant burgers, Homer gets way too in-character and starts beating the life out of him, all in front of a group of horrified children who were expecting a harmless hero-versus-villain skit.
91	* MadeOfIron: Homer comes out of the botched parachute landing and falling very fast through the giant prop hamburgers with nothing worse than [[ConcussionsGetYouHigh a slightly drunk-sounding Krusty laugh.]]
92	* TheMagazineRule: Krusty apparently enjoys reading "Gigantic Asses" magazine and his love of porno magazines helped Apu keep the Kwik-E-Mart in business during its first year, for which he enjoys a lifetime 5% discount off everything that Homer takes advantage of when everyone thinks he's Krusty.
93	* MagicPlasticSurgery: Subverted. Krusty goes to get his appearance altered so he can escape from the mob. However, the surgeon just gave him a facelift (and [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext breast implants]]), so he's still recognizable as Krusty.
94	* TheMerch: Krusty's InUniverse merchandising empire puts the likes of {{ComicStrip/Garfield}} or {{Creator/Disney}} to shame. He's licensed everything from {{TabletopGame/Monopoly}} games (despite his patent being denied) to crowd control barriers ("Krusty Sez: Get Back!") to moustache trimmers.
95	* MoneyDearBoy: [[invoked]] Krusty spends money like it is going out of style and has endorsed pretty much everything under the sun. Case in point, he lights a cigarette by burning a 100 dollar bill, a string of pearls, and a copy of [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Action Comics #1]], which sold in January 2023 for ''[[https://www.cgccomics.com/news/article/11231/action-comics-superman-rocket/ over three and a half million dollars.]].
96	* MoneyDumb: Krusty is an utter ''idiot'' when it comes to money. While he makes millions off his TV show and merchandising empire, he wastes massive sums on stupid gambling bets, [[MoneyToBurn lighting his cigarettes with high-value bills and valuable items]], [[PlagiarismInFiction getting sued by other comedians when he rips off their material]], [[ConspicuousConsumption condor-egg omelettes, sending roses to celebrities he thinks are dead, hiring jazz musicians to play him live elevator music, and buying a new house because his old one is dirty.]] While he assumes he can just produce more of TheMerch to stay solvent, his accountant points out that he's already franchised everything he could and nothing's selling anymore. His finances are so bad that his accountant warns him he'll be broke in a month at this rate.
97	* MoneyToBurn: Krusty lights a cigarette with a $100 bill. Okay. Then he lights another with a copy of ''[[{{Franchise/Superman}} Action Comics #1]]'', and later another one with a pearl necklace.
98	* NationalStereotypes: Don Vittorio acknowledges himself to be one.
99	-->'''Don Vittorio [=DiMaggio=]:''' Grazie. Grazie. You have brought great joy to this old Italian stereotype.\
100	'''Legs:''' No, no, Don Vittorio. You're not -\
101	'''Don Vittorio [=DiMaggio=]:''' Yes, I am. I know it. I am.
102	* NewsTravelsFast: While being accused of plagiarizing a bit, Krusty responds by plagiarizing another performer's bit, and immediately gets called for that one, too.
103	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Homer attacking the Krusty Burglar, both with his hands and implied by slamming the poor guy's head against a rock lying in the parking lot. All of the kids in the lot are horrified and one of them begs Homer to stop because he thinks Homer is PummelingTheCorpse.
104	-->'''Kid, in tears''': Stop! Stop, he's already dead!
105	-->'''Krusty Burglar''': (''as Homer is dragged away by security'') Please look at my medical bracelet...!
106	* NoodleIncident:
107	** When did Homer crash his car into the wall of the Springfield Mafia's club? And, for that matter, when did Barney Gumble take pictures of one of Legs' sister?
108	** The encounter between Homer!Krusty and Chief Wiggum has the latter bragging about the time they got drunk and let beavers loose in a pine furniture store. No further details are given after that.
109	* OhCrap:
110	** The Krusty Burglar before Homer starts beating him up.
111	** Also, Krusty and his accountant after Krusty bets against the Harlem Globetrotters.
112	* PaperThinDisguise: Other than his own family and Flanders, Homer is unquestioningly recognized as Krusty, despite his voice sounding different.
113	* PlagiarismInFiction: Krusty is phoned by Creator/GeorgeCarlin for stealing his "Seven Words You Can't Say On Television". Krusty gives him ten grand, but sarcastically says "Well, excuuuuse me!", causing him have to pay another ten grand to Creator/SteveMartin.
114	* PocketProtector: Two of them save Flanders from being killed by Mafia hitmen trying to hit the man standing next to him.
115	--> Gunshot ''(Flanders is knocked down)''\
116	'''Ned Flanders:''' Whew, good thing I always keep a Bible next to my...\
117	[==]Second gunshot ''(Flanders is knocked down again)''\
118	'''Ned Flanders:''' Whew, luckily I was wearing an extra large piece of the True Cross today.\
119	''(Flanders notices that he doesn't have any other religious symbols with him)''\
120	'''Ned Flanders:''' [[KnowWhenToFoldEm I think I'll go inside]].
121	* PunBasedTitle: "Homey the Clown" was a character from the sketch show ''Series/InLivingColor''.
122	* RageAgainstTheReflection: When, after Krusty gets extensive plastic surgery, this exchange takes place:
123	-->'''Surgeon:''' Now, when I remove the bandages, don't be alarmed by the total stranger staring back at you...\
124	'''Krusty:''' ''(looks in mirror)'' AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!!!! ''(turns round revealing his face)'' I LOOK ''EXACTLY THE SAME'', YOU MORON!\
125	'''Surgeon:''' Oh, nonsense, Krusty. You look at least 10 years younger. Plus, I did your breasts.\
126	'''Krusty:''' Does anyone hear me complaining about the breasts?
127	* ARareSentence:
128	-->'''Homer:''' That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!!\
129	'''Bart:''' I don't think any of us expected him to say that...
130	* ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud: During the Krusty Burger event, Homer reads "To Audience" on his card.
131	* RichesToRags: Krusty's accountant warns him this will happen unless he cuts back on his ridiculous spending. Krusty claims that he can just make some more money with some new merchandise. His accountant then points out that he's already merchandised everything from {{TabletopGame/Monopoly}} games to crowd control barriers, and nothing's selling anymore. The only other option is to open a clown college and train some Krusty ringers to make appearances Krusty can't be bothered to.
132	* RichInDollarsPoorInSense: The reason Krusty founds a clown college is because he risks bankrupting himself with his extravagant spending and he's already involved in every kind of celebrity endorsement deal imaginable. Not that opening the college causes him to be more responsible in any way...
133	* RuleOfThree:
134	** The Mafia only bought three bullets, and they miss each time while trying to shoot Homer.
135	-->'''Fat Tony:''' I told you to buy more than three bullets! Let's just grab him!
136	** Enforced by Krusty at the clown school graduation, which involves a handshake with an ElectricJoybuzzer. Homer, the third graduate in line, tries to avert this by taking the diploma and then running away, but Krusy tackles him and repeatedly shocks him with the buzzer.
137	* TheScrooge: Krusty would rather flee the country, get surgery to change his appearance and risk death than simply pay the mafia forty-eight dollars.
138	* SeriesContinuityError: Milhouse really had no reason to gloat about having Krusty over at his party -- Bart already had Krusty over for dinner at his place in "Like Father, Like Clown" (and Milhouse was at the Simpson house with Krusty, so that's really bad that the writers would make Milhouse out as a braggart). Because of that, Bart isn't impressed by "Krusty" being at Milhouse's party, and probably wouldn't be even if it was the real Krusty.
139	* SevenDirtyWords: Krusty insists that his “Seven Dirty Words” routine [[BlatantLies is COMPLETELY different]] from Creator/GeorgeCarlin’s “Seven Dirty Words” routine.
140	* ShoutOut:
141	** One of the items Krusty sets on fire to light a cigar (including [[MoneyToBurn a $100 bill]] and a [[RuleOfFunny pearl necklace]]) is a copy of ''ComicBook/ActionComics #1''.
142	** Krusty bets against the Harlem Globetrotters, and of course loses!
143	** The scene where Krusty has plastic surgery is a shout-out to ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S2E6EyeOfTheBeholder The Eye Of The Beholder]]".
144	*** The part where [[RageAgainstTheReflection Krusty looks at himself in a mirror and smashes it]] parodies the Joker seeing his facelift after surgery in ''Film/Batman1989''.
145	** Homer and Krusty drive a mini bicycle together, causing Homer's head to bump against some glasses and play the theme from ''Film/TheGodfather''.
146	** Homer building a circus tent with his mashed potatoes while his family looks at him with a concerned look is a parody of a similar scene in ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind'', where the protagonist's obsession about a certain mountain hill also makes him create one with a spoon and some porridge.
147	** Homer says to his kids that they didn't complain when he dressed up as Tom Bosley and got them [[Series/HappyDays "this close to Chachi"]].
148	--->'''Bart:''' ''(under his breath)'' What's a Chachi?
149	** The son of the guy who played Huggy Bear in ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'' accepts Krusty's award.
150	** After failing to kill Homer at the car lot, Fat Tony suggests the Mafia restock on ammunition at Big 5 Sporting Goods, referencing the Menendez brothers' trial -- specifically, their claim that they got their ammunition there, even though Big 5 doesn't sell them anymore.
151	** The title is a reference to the surly clown character, Homey D. Clown, in the sketch comedy series ''Series/InLivingColor''.
152	* SingleMaltVision: When Krusty arrives at the Legitimate Businessmen's Social Club right as the mobsters are about to kill Homer, Legs declares that he sees double: four Krusties!
153	* SnakeOilSalesman: Homer runs into one at a car-dealership, who manages to convince Homer the gunshot holes in the car caused by the mobsters trying to kill him are "speed holes". Homer not only believes him, but puts several "speed holes" in his own car with a pick-axe.
154	* SpecialGuest: Johnny Unitas and Dick Cavett.
155	* SquirtingFlowerGag: Homer, dressed as Krusty, squirts Bart with a flower, and then the water bounces off onto Lisa in a bank shot. Homer explains that the gag was his major at clown college.
156	* StrippingSnag: Homer rides a tiny bicycle to attempt a stunt done by Krusty. His baggy pants snag on the bike's back wheel which starts to rip away and reveal his bare butt.
157	--> '''Krusty:''' Ah, burn that seat.
158	* SureLetsGoWithThat: When Krusty arrives at the Legitimate Businessmen's Social Club to accept his fate, he finds that Fat Tony had already captured Homer and is about to have him executed. Homer and Krusty have this exchange:
159	--> '''Homer:''' Krusty! Oh, thanks. Thanks a lot. You came here to save me.\
160	'''Krusty:''' ''(shifty-eyed)'' Yeah... that's what I did.
161	* TemptingFate: After buying all of the consumer products advertised on the latest billboards, Homer claims he's not enrolling in the Clown College since the billboard he saw had no affect on him. Soon after he says this, he starts hallucinating clowns, and it continues until he finally decides to enroll.
162	* TrappedByGamblingDebts: Krusty is seen wasting money this whole episode (more than usual). And his accountant points out that it is mainly his bad gambles what is actually hurting him the most, and why the Mafia is after him.
163	* WeakWilled: Homer specifically looks forward to the first day of every month so he can do everything the new billboards tell him to do. In this case, that's enrolling in clown college.
164	* WhatExactlyIsHisJob: In this episode, we learn that Milhouse's father works at the cracker factory (later, in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E20BartOnTheRoad Bart on the Road]]", we find out that Kirk oversees production on crackers, and "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E6AMilhouseDivided A Milhouse Divided]]" states that Kirk is a manager[[note]]he probably was promoted[[/note]] whose incompetence sent the factory into a tie in sixth with Table-Time and Allied Biscuits).
165	* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: When asked to say what state he's from, Homer just replies, "Homer!"
166	* WritingAroundTrademarks:
167	-->'''Bill:''' At this rate, you'll be broke in a month. The only thing left to do is... Open a Clown College and train some regional Krustys.\
168	'''Krusty:''' You mean like that bozo, Bonko the Clown?
169	* WouldHurtAChild: Invoked when Krusty offers the Clown College to pay off his debts to the Mafia and Fat Tony points out they've already taken it.
170	-->'''Mafia Goon:''' ''[addressing a new class of Krustys]'' Kids these days have a lot of money, so after you perform, you might consider robbing 'em!

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS6E15HomieTheClown