Day of the Jackanapes
Sideshow Bob hypnotizes Bart to kill Krusty.
"Day of the Jackanapes," the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' twelfth season, aired on Fox on February 18, 2001. In it, Sideshow Bob hypnotizes Bart into killing Krusty during his retirement show after learning his episodes were erased. The episode, written by Al Jean and directed by Michael Marcantel, featured Kelsey Grammer and Gary Coleman.
Quick Facts
- Season
- 12
- Episode
- 13
- Director
- Michael Marcantel
- Writer
- Al Jean
- Production
- CABF10
- Air date
- 18 February 2001
- Guests
- Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob; Gary Coleman as himself
- Commentary
- Mike Scully
- Al Jean
- Ian Maxtone-Graham
- Yeardley Smith
- Tim Long
- Matt Selman
- Michael Marcantel
Facts from the source article.
Plot
When the game show Me Wantee! draws viewers away from The Krusty the Clown Show, Krusty announces his fifth and final retirement. During an interview with Kent Brockman, he admits to taping over all his old shows featuring Sideshow Bob with episodes of Judge Judy. Bob hears this and vows revenge. Released from prison, he gets a job at Springfield Elementary as an assistant janitor, but Principal Skinner makes him the morning announcer. Over the announcements, Bob asks Bart to meet him in the abandoned tool shed, where he hypnotizes Bart to kill Krusty on sight. Bob tests the hypnosis by having Bart smash a statue of Krusty at a Krusty Burger. At Krusty's farewell special, Bob straps Bart with explosives. Bart tries to hug Krusty, setting off the explosives, but Krusty speaks of his regret for mistreating Bob and sings a remorseful song. Bob has a change of heart but cannot stop the plan. Mr. Teeny, Krusty's chimp, throws the explosives into the network executives' office, breaking Bart's hypnotic state and killing the executives, who then reanimate like the T-1000. After the show, the Simpsons dine with Krusty, Bob, and Sideshow Mel. Krusty and Bob reconcile, but police decide to execute Bob by guillotine, though he argues he should have a trial.
Production
The first draft of "Day of the Jackanapes" was written by showrunner Al Jean. In the DVD commentary, Jean said he had always wanted to write an episode about Sideshow Bob and that this episode would be a good way to bring the character back. He also noted that the writers wanted to work again with Kelsey Grammer, who voices Sideshow Bob, calling him one of the best guest stars. The writers had trouble coming up with a story for Sideshow Bob because they had already explored many aspects of the character. Executive producer Mike Scully mentioned the difficulty of writing episodes about Bob after covering angles such as his reformation and his brother. The episode opens with Krusty being pestered by network executives who comment on his choices, leading him to announce his departure after they give notes during a sketch. At the end, Mr. Teeny throws plastic explosives onto two executives, who reconstitute into a "super-executive." These sequences were inspired by Jean's dissatisfaction with network executives from a show he worked on before returning to The Simpsons in 1999. The episode originally had a different ending, but it was changed when the writers found the original not humorous enough. Jean later expressed some dissatisfaction with the new ending, saying it left things a little hanging.
Cultural references
The episode's title is a play on the 1971 political thriller novel The Day of the Jackal, and its plot is based on the 1959 political thriller novel The Manchurian Candidate. Before filming, network executives explain why the sitcom Seinfeld worked. The studio name Krustylu Studios is based on Desilu Studios. Krusty says he taped over episodes with Sideshow Bob using Judge Judy, referencing how NBC reused tapes of early The Tonight Show episodes. In the tool shed, Sideshow Bob steps on a rake and says "Rakes, my old arch-enemy," a reference to the season 5 episode "Cape Feare" where he steps on rakes repeatedly. Krusty performs sitting on a stool, a reference to Johnny Carson's last appearance on The Tonight Show. While watching the final show, Sideshow Bob holds Kettle Chips and says "Kettle Chips, the perfect sidedish for revenge," which led to the writing staff receiving bags of chips from Kettle Foods. Krusty sings a song to the tune of "Mandy" by Barry Manilow, with a picture behind him based on the cover of Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel. The exploding executives reforming into a "super-executive" references Terminator 2: Judgment Day, as does Krusty driving a golf cart away from an executive who clings on with golf clubs. At the restaurant, pictures on the wall show guest stars including Mark McGwire, Ringo Starr, Sting, Tom Jones, Brooke Shields, and Elizabeth Taylor.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on February 18, 2001, the episode received an 8.8 rating, translating to approximately 9 million viewers, and finished 34th in the ratings for the week of February 12–18, 2001. It was released on DVD on August 18, 2009, as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season. Following its home video release, the episode received positive reviews. Mac McEntire of DVD Verdict called it a "winner," particularly enjoying the scene where Bart hits a statue of Krusty in the groin with a baseball bat. Jason Bailey of DVD Talk wrote that this episode and "Insane Clown Poppy" both "really shine," and Will Harris of Bull-Eye.com called it "a crowd-pleaser across the board." Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that although it does not compare with the best Sideshow Bob episodes, it still "looks good" compared to the rest of the season. Robert Canning of IGN wrote that the episode is "solid" but "lacking that extra something" that the best Sideshow Bob episodes have, though it reached number eight on the website's list of ten best Sideshow Bob episodes.
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