KRUSTY THE CLOWN, THE SIMPSONS
(SEASON 29 PREMIERES OCT. 1, 8 ET/PT)
PEDIGREE: Krusty (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) exhibits traits from many traditions. He hosts a kids’ TV show, as Bozo the Clown did. He has a sour disposition, which puts him in good, if miserable, company with In Living Color’s Homey D. Clown (Damon Wayans). On the entrepreneurial side, he’s the face of the Krusty Burger, much as Ronald McDonald is the mascot of McDonald’s.
WHO SHOULD BE SCARED: Kids, advocates of quality children’s TV, people who eat at Krusty Burger, famed (and probably investigated) for its “letter-graded meat.”
SCARE FACTOR: 2. Mostly for the effects of eating at Krusty Burger.