Krusty Gets Busted

"Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons.

[4] Kelsey Grammer makes his first guest appearance on the show as the voice of Sideshow Bob, who becomes a recurring character in the series.

When Bob says he has "big shoes to fill", Bart remembers when Homer stepped on the robber's foot during his robbery, making him react in pain.

Bart deduces that Sideshow Bob is the culprit, since he had the most to gain from Krusty's downfall and his large feet literally fill his own shoes.

[6] The staff liked the idea, and he then suggested that all three acts of the episode, defined by the placement of the commercial breaks, should begin with a close-up shot.

[7] The original teleplay, written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, was 78 pages long and many scenes had to be cut.

Bob's design was updated for "Krusty Gets Busted", and the animators tried to redo his scenes in "The Telltale Head" with the re-design, but did not have enough time.

[9] The script for "Krusty Gets Busted" called for James Earl Jones to voice Bob, but the producers instead went with Kelsey Grammer, a cast member on Cheers at the time.

Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, praised the episode: "The invention of the Simpsons' arch enemy as a lugubrious yet psychotic Englishman in dreadlocks succeeds wonderfully in this super-fast, super-funny episode that works by constantly reversing the audience's expectations.

[13] Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide said in a review that "throughout the episode we found great material; it really seemed clear that the show was starting to turn into the piece we now know and love.

[15] Series creator Matt Groening listed it as his ninth favorite episode of The Simpsons and added "I have a peculiar love of TV clownery".