34x05 Not It

[7.6/10] I appreciate the fact that co-showrunner Matt Selman likes to take big swings before. While we’ve had full-length Halloween episodes before (the excellent “Halloween of HOrror”), we’ve never had a full-length horror homage on the show. So color me excited when I heard that this parody of Stephen King’s IT would be a full episode and not just a single segment in the annual THOH triptych.

And what do you know, it was good! They impressed me with how genuinely scary Krusty (er, “Krusto”) got to be. Some of that is the inherent creepy nature of a scary clown, and some of it is simply pulling from the source material. But the show really cut loose with the jagged tooth harlequin’s ability to taunt the young heroes and and torture them with their worst fears. The animators also stepped up to the plate, coming up with some fluid and frightening movements for the clown, especially when he realizes he can earn genuine laughs with slapstick. Everyone put their best Overly long) foot forward here.

I also appreciated the way they adapt the original story to Springfield (in this instance, Kingfield, replete with fun jabs at both King’s other work and the Maine setting). The emotional throughline, of Homer and Marge having a missed connection as kids, is a strong one. And the pastiche walks the line of incorporating the spirit of the material, while not just being a slavish spoof either. Homer’s concerns about losing Marge to a young CBG, and the dynamic of the group is different than what takes place in IT, even though the kid heroes facing down a supernatural fear monster, and general beats of the story remain the same.

The nice blend extends to Krusty himself. I like the twist that Krusto doesn’t necessarily thrive on fear, but rather on forced laughter. The idea that he’s a longstanding, unfunny comedian who haunts children for generations so they can be compelled to chuckle at his weak gags gives him a purpose beyond copying Pennywise’s. The twist of him being wounded when he does slapstick to earn genuine laughs is a good one. And while the “break the applause sign to stop him forever” solution is a little out of nowhere, it fits thematically, and I appreciate the setup and payoff for Marge’s baseball skills.

Hell, while it’s a little overblown, I even like the Marge/Homer/Comic Book Guy love triangle, which isn’t something I ever thought I’d say. The story puts a lot of stock in a simple love poem, but CBG taking credit for HOmer’s work, and it spoiling all their lives in some way makes for a compelling story. I particularly appreciate the signs that something is “wrong” in the future, with mixups like Homer tending bar at Moe’s (er, D’ohs), and Bart and Lisa’s personalities being flipped. It helps add to the sense that something went deeply wrong when they were kids and it needs to be fixed.

As I said, the scares are good along the way. Despite the full episode runtime, “Not It” does bite off more than it can chew sometimes, since the original story took two movies and/or a miniseries to adapt. But it covers the ground between past and present nicely, with some solid gags and creative ways to make the tale The Simpsons’ own. Hell, I even like the update that in the present, Krusto taunts the Losers’ Club not with their childhood fears, but with grown-up anxieties about student loans and family meals with reactionary relatives. And Marge learning the truth, finding some solace with Homer, and CBG even earning some redemption with a sacrifice gives the climax emotional weight.

Overall, Selman’s done it again, using the canon-free confines of Halloween to do a creative adaptation of an iconic work of horror, while melding it nicely with the show’s sensibilities, and adding some genuine heart and psychology to the spoof. Another spooky season winner!