30 Years Ago, ‘The Simpsons’ Put an Old Unused Plot Twist to Good Use
Thirty years ago this week, on February 12, 1995, Homer Simpson went to clown college. Why? Because a billboard told him to, that’s why.
“Homie the Clown,” from Season Six of The Simpsons, was a bit of an unwieldy premise. After all, it didn’t make too much sense that Homer would want to moonlight as a perpetually abused birthday party clown (hence the billboard plot point). But the episode is now considered a classic. And the third act, in which Homer is mistaken for Krusty the Clown by Fat Tony’s mobsters, gave us one of the show’s all-time greatest jokes:
It also paid off one of The Simpsons old set-ups for a twist that was ultimately abandoned.
As we’ve mentioned before, there’s a very good reason why Homer and Krusty look so similar. As Matt Groening explained on the “Homie the Clown” DVD commentary, “Back on The Tracey Ullman Show, the original design of Krusty the Clown was supposed to be Homer in clown makeup. The idea was that Bart worshipped this clown, but had no respect for his father.”
In a 2007 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Groening similarly noted that “the original idea behind Krusty the Clown was that he was Homer in disguise. If you look at Krusty, it’s just Homer with extended hair and a tuft on his head.”
In addition to the design, this would also explain why Dan Castellaneta was tapped to voice both characters. Groening then revealed that the whole Krusty being Homer’s secret identity idea was quickly scrapped when the Simpsons series began production. “We were in such a rush in the beginning of the series that I thought, ‘Oh, it’s too complicated,’ so we just dropped it,” Groening recalled. “But when I look at Krusty, I think, ‘Yeah, that’s Homer.”’
In other interviews, Groening claimed hat the characters’ shared look was more of a “satirical conceit.” So it’s unclear exactly when the “disguise” plot line was floated. The Tracey Ullman Show’s “The Krusty the Clown Show” short did go out of its way to underscore the similarities between Homer and Krusty.
In it, Bart and Lisa attend a taping of Krusty’s show, but Bart suspects that the clown is really an impostor. So he swipes his nose on the air, prompting Krusty to strangle the boy, à la Homer, while delivering his trademark line: “Why you little!” It then cuts to Homer and Marge watching the show on TV, at which point Homer shouts, “D’oh!”
So are they watching the show live, horrified by their son’s behavior? Or is Homer reacting to his past actions when the episode is later broadcast?
As the show pointed out in Season 14, Homer and Krusty’s shared likeness is no stranger than the fact that Milhouse’s parents are practically twins.
