The Simpsons: 10 Best Episodes From Season 30 Onwards

Season 30, Episode 14

Krusty the Clown is one of the show’s most iconic characters in a cast of memorable and enduring creations. He brings a nihilistic cynical humour that reads well with adult viewers, remedied with wincing slapstick for younger fans.

Stuck on the school bus, Bart and Lisa listen to comedian Marc Maron’s podcast interview of Krusty. The host persuades Krusty to talk about The Sands of Space, a lost movie which was the clown’s writer/director/actor passion project. The movie, a parody of Dune, is based on a novel dubbed “the most famously un-filmable book in history”.

The episode flashes back to the ‘80s, Krusty is locked into the Good Cop, Dog Cop franchise, in which he plays a murdered police officer reincarnated as a Saint Bernard. The clown refuses to film a sequel unless the studio green light his passion project.

The movie, filmed in Mexico, is staffed by Springfieldians with a young Homer and Marge hired as production assistants. However, as Krusty increasingly relies on Marge as a “mother/therapist/rabbi, who xeroxes things”, he jealously tries to break the couple up. It’s impressive that the writing team can find new forms of strain for the couple’s relationship