The Ten-Per-Cent Solution

"The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" is the eighth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons.

The Simpson family encourages him to make a comeback, suggesting that he seek help from an agent they met earlier at a television museum.

The episode, which contains parodies of films such as The King's Speech, The Social Network, and Black Swan, was written by cast member Dan Castellaneta and his wife Deb Lacusta.

Comedian and actress Joan Rivers, who was a big fan of The Simpsons, guest starred as the character Annie.

Other guest performances in the episode came from Kevin Dillon and Janeane Garofalo as themselves and Jackie Mason as Krusty's father.

Reception of "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" from television critics has been mixed, with praise directed at Rivers' appearance and the development of Krusty's character.

However, once he achieved fame, Krusty fired Annie and replaced her with a more acclaimed agent, and as a result their relationship ended.

"The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" was written by Dan Castellaneta, who voices characters such as Homer and Krusty on The Simpsons, and his wife Deb Lacusta.

'"[5][6] Adam Buckman, a former television columnist at the New York Post, noted on his blog that the story of the episode is similar to a period in Rivers' life at the end of the 1980s.

Buckman wrote that the story of "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" was "no doubt devised with Rivers’ approval and possibly with her input", and that "only a comedian of her stature and experience" would attempt to spoof a personal tragedy such as this one.

[2][9] After the three cartoons are shown, Krusty points out that "It’s like those parodies were written when the movies came out, but it took so long to animate them that we look dated and hacky!"

For the King of the Hill visual gag, the Simpsons staff acquired the rights to use the actual theme song from that show.

"[9] For the 2nd time in the show's history, a joke regarding Krusty and the Paul Reubens masturbation scandal was made (the first one was in I Love Lisa; when Annie says that doing a children's show helped Pee-wee Herman bounce back after his scandal, Krusty asks what Pee-wee did and after Annie tells him he says "That's all?

The Simpsons became the highest-rated program in Fox's Animation Domination lineup that night in terms of both total viewers and in the 18–49 demographic, finishing ahead of new episodes of Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and Allen Gregory.

Club praised the choice of having Rivers guest star since she was able to "employ her trademark humor within the world of The Simpsons without hijacking the plot or satire.

"[2] He also noted that while the Simpson family does not appear heavily, "Krusty is such a large part of the supporting cast that he carries this episode well.

"[2] Ology's Josh Harrison similarly praised "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" for having "some wonderful Krusty the Klown moments and some clutch guest star appearances".

"[16] AOL TV's Jason Hughes was more negative, criticizing the episode for taking a "soft approach" to the television industry when it "had a chance for some sharp satire".

[10] Further criticism came from the conservative Parents Television Council (PTC), which named The Simpsons the "Worst TV Show of the Week" because "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" contains "content inappropriate for the Family Hour".