Following the success of "Homer at the Bat", the writers wanted to try a similar guest star-heavy episode, except with celebrities instead of baseball players.

The episode proved quite difficult, as many of the actors asked to guest star declined at the last minute and the comeback special portion was nearly scrapped.

Johnny Carson, Hugh Hefner, Bette Midler, Luke Perry, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Arik Marshall and Chad Smith) all guest star as themselves and appear on Krusty's special.

Elizabeth Taylor and Barry White, both of whom guest-starred in previous episodes this season, make cameo appearances.

Following a mysterious viral marketing campaign, ventriloquist Arthur Crandall announces that a new program starring his puppet Gabbo will air in direct competition with the established Krusty the Clown Show.

A party is held at Moe's Tavern to celebrate the special's success, and Bart toasts Krusty as "the greatest entertainer in the world, except maybe that guy"—referring to Carson, who is playing "Goodnight, Ladies" on an accordion while balancing a bench on his head that Grampa Simpson and Jasper Beardley are sitting on.

[3] They had done a similar episode the year before with "Homer at the Bat", which starred nine Major League Baseball players, and hoped to emulate its success.

However, the production was described by executive producer Mike Reiss as "a nightmare" because several guests pulled out at the last minute and the script had to be revised several times.

They wrote "very respectful but cute" parts for each then-living ex-president (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan) at the time, but they all turned them down.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers finally accepted,[3] and were directed by George Meyer, who told them to ad-lib many of their lines.

This is because her voice actress, Julie Kavner, sat out of the episode after she and Harry Shearer protested on the overuse of guest stars.

[7] Gabbo's on-air gaffe is based on a widespread urban legend claiming that the host of a children's radio or television program, often identified as Uncle Don, made a derogatory comment about the child audience at the end of a show without realizing that he was still on the air.

[3] Bette Midler's serenading Krusty with "Wind Beneath My Wings" is a reference to her singing to Johnny Carson on the penultimate episode of his show.

[3] Krusty's cover of "Send in the Clowns" has the altered lyrics of Frank Sinatra's rendition from Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back.

[4] Carson balances a Buick Skylark over his head while singing the Habanera aria from Georges Bizet's opera Carmen (1875).

[20] The episode is one of co-executive producer Tim Long's three favorites, including "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" and "A Milhouse Divided".

[21] In an article about the 2003 DVD release in The Independent, "Krusty Gets Kancelled" was highlighted along with episodes "When You Dish Upon a Star", "Lisa the Iconoclast", "Dog of Death", "Homer Badman", and "Grampa vs.

[26] Forrest Hartman of the Reno Gazette-Journal wrote that the large number of celebrity appearances detracted from the episode, commenting: "The result is a boring hodgepodge of scenes with Bette Midler, Johnny Carson, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and more where we're supposed to laugh simply because famous people are interacting with Krusty.

"[27] Nathan Rabin writes that "At its weakest, 'Krusty Gets Kancelled' feels like a show tailored specifically for the massive egos of its guest stars.

After all it accomplished in its fourth season, The Simpsons deserved a victory lap or two, so it can be forgiven for flattering some of the mega-stars it lured into its dazzling orbit.