Simpsons Did It!: “Clown Vs The Board Of Education”

Well, I guess Ned Flanders didn’t take care of the Springfield Mafia once and for all.

Krusty has some problems.  Kids don’t like his show anymore, and his studio audience is made up of random old timers that his producers found in the mall, and they do not get his Romeo and Juliet sketch.  I’m not sure I did either.  But that does send Krusty into a spiral where he talks to other former TV clowns, all old and down on their luck.  Can anything get Krusty any sort of satisfaction or at least get kids interested in him again?

Sure, he can found his own elementary school!

A well-placed bribe here and there can accomplish a lot, and when news of his school gets out, Bart wants to enroll there and learn how to be a clown.  Marge is just happy to see her son show excitement over education, and besides, he’s been failing at the public school, and the only other option is a Catholic school.  Those Latin chats really freak out Homer and Marge.

Wait, didn’t Bart go to Catholic school once before?

Anyway, Homer manages to get Bart in despite subpar grades because Bart attracts other kids just by being there.  Enter Milhouse and Nelson.  And, funny thing, not only does Bart now like school, but he’s good at it, and he’s even learning things too.  Like, math.  Real math.  It makes clowning easier.  Lisa objects until Bart finally gets through to her that he finally feels about school the same way he does, and when Bart and his team win a televised academic competition against Lisa’s own team, Marge actually thanks Krusty for his work allowing Bart to learn.

Krusty, for the first time in his life, hears a parent thank him for something.  Things are finally good for Krusty!

Until Joe Mantegna’s Fay Tony shows up looking for a piece of the action.  Apparently education is the last area he can maybe make money since other avenues dried up, and that is quite the scam given what colleges like Harvard and Yale pull in.

Will Krusty let the mob take over?  Well, he will for a little while, but then he sees how things are going and feels some shame.  Off he goes to Chief Wiggum, but that doesn’t work out well either when Fat Tony and his guys find the wire.

Wiggum loses more undercover civilians that way.

Fortunately, Krusty’s students come to his aid, and he’s going to live.  Fat Tony won’t kill kids who recorded the whole thing on their phones anyway.  Is there a way for Fat Tony to get his money without taking more payments from Krusty?

Sure!  Insurance fraud when he burns down the school!

Well, that’s one way to hit the reset button.