Bart the Fink

With his career ruined, Krusty fakes his own death and adopts an alias, until Bart and Lisa convince him to become a television clown again.

When they confront Krusty (now using the name "Rory B. Bellows"), he explains to them that he used the plane crash to fake his own death so he could escape his tax woes and start over as a longshoreman.

While Krusty is initially happy with his humble new life, Bart and Lisa slowly begin to change his mind by reminding him of all the lavish perks he used to enjoy as a celebrity.

Consultant David Mirkin suggested that the animators should add "some funny things" to the episode to "spice it up", such as the gorilla suit that one of the bank employees wear.

It took Newhart two and a half minutes to record his first take, and, as no one was allowed to laugh during that time, there was an "explosion" of laughter in the room when he finished.

[8] The episode was the fifth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following Melrose Place, The X-Files, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Married... with Children.

DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson called the episode a "winner" and praised it for the "one hundred tacos for $100" joke.

[9] Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict said that the best part of the episode is when Homer comforts Bart after Krusty's death by assuring him that he, too, could wake up dead tomorrow.

[10] In the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Unofficial Simpsons Guide by Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, they comment that "Bart the Fink" is "very fast and very good, with plenty of gags and effective set pieces.

"[1] The authors of Media, home, and family, Stewart Hoover, Lynn Schofield Clark, and Diane Alters wrote that "Krusty ultimately expertly proves the truth about the IRS: ruining the financial and emotional life of many [people].

[12] In addition, Chris Turner claims "Bart the Fink" offers a "pointed answer to the question of why such a manifestly miserable world of phonies and cheats would be so enticing to many".