Homer becomes a TV recapper, and his negative reviews of Krusty the Clown's show results in Krusty attempting to murder him, leading Krusty to hide from the law by working for a circus.
Tropes
- Bait-and-Switch: After Homer and Krusty survive a car accident, a frantic and terrified Bart, naturally, runs right past his dad to see if Krusty is okay.
- Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch: Satirized when Homer uncovers a conspiracy that means the entire television industry is riding on this: major networks and streaming services are bolstered by hundreds of shows that don't actually exist, to which professional reviewers assign low grades, ensuring no one will bother watching them. The platforms maintain their subscribers by simply making them believe that they can watch the shows if they ever feel like it.
- Death Seeker: Krusty is this by the time he joins the circus, which turns out to be a huge advantage and winds up becoming his gimmick.
- Disproportionate Retribution:
- Krusty tries to kill Homer during a car chase, all because Homer gave him less-than-flattering reviews about his show.
- Marge demands that Homer give up his recapping job, claiming that it's ruining their lives, all because she got annoyed that Homer started recapping their "snuggle time".
- Distracted by the Sexy: Homer and Krusty both drive off the road upon seeing a billboard PSA against distracted driving featuring a sexy model.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Homer's low letter-grade reviews of the Krusty show, which tend to evoke the comparative glory days of the Long Runner and/or Damn With Faint Praise, obviously evoke present-day criticism of The Simpsons at sites like The A.V. Club (when Krusty demands that Homer like the show, he reacts with "Why, is it Season 4 again?!"). There's just as much Self-Deprecation in the way that Homer compulsively reviews his marriage to Marge in a way that acknowledges overused Simpsons Conflict Balls.Marge: It's either me or the job!Homer: Hmm. Marge creates what feels like false jeopardy.Marge: No! The moment is well-earned!
- Married to the Job: Marge forces Homer to quit his TV recapping gig after he's not only overburdened with the sheer amount of television he has to watch, but starts automatically reviewing everything they do in the bedroom.
- Overly Long Gag: Krusty being introduced to all the clowns at the circus.
- Recursive Canon: One of the shows listed in the CEO's office screen is The Simpsons itself.
- The Runaway: Parodied with Bart, whose dream of becoming a Circus Brat will die if the circus is shuttered:Bart: If they close this place down, what do I run away to? College?
- Take That, Critics!: Or at least a certain kind of critic who just watches many shows and gives a quick snarky comment and a letter grade.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Krusty reveals his true identity and makes the Heroic Sacrifice of letting the circus clowns turn him in for a $50,000 reward that will enable them to save their circus. However, when he's acquitted and wants to join up with them again, they refuse him due to their continued prejudice against TV clowns.
