0396 - Troy McClure

Troy is the most important character introduced in this episode (sorry Moses) and is certainly one of the most important characters of the season, although he's barely featured here.

His only other appearance in season 2 is in "Bart's Dog Gets An F", in which the above shot is reused and Dan briefly voices Troy - almost sacrilegious in retrospect.

The focus here is on parodying the corny infomercials of the time, not Troy's career as a washed up actor, but soon the writers will see the value in adding a little Phil Hartman to your script for comedic flavour, and he pops up more and more through later seasons. By season 7 he has major appearances in "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular!" and "A Fish Called Selma", and is clearly established not as a Hollywood washup, but as a resident of Springfield, ready to participate in whatever shenanigans are occurring that week.

As the show progresses, the writers become more confident in referencing specific pop culture aspects and trends. By this time, Hollywood had already cycled through a couple of generations of actors, and it was probably amusing to see the stars of the 60s and 70s have to continue their careers taking lesser B-movie parts and infomercials later in life. Rather than risk alienating a potential future guest star by referencing them too directly, they could often use McClure as an encapsulation of this archetype. Even his name is a combination of Troy Donahue and Doug McClure, two actors whose careers dwindled in later years.

Hartman gives McClure a natural likeability (despite his unholy fish perversion) so its easy to forget about his status as a has-been. The Simpsons audience obviously adore him, and his limited screen time makes every appearance a gift. His last appearance is in season 10's "Bart The Mother", featuring a line I quote surprisingly often.

There's no real reason to remember this line specifically, but the delivery pops into my head often when I'm, you know, cooking eggs.

Troy McClure was retired from the show following Hartman's death, but he actually does make some of brief unvoiced appearances after that, such as in season 14's "Moe Baby Blues":

In season 20's "Take My Life, Please" (top right):

In the intro to season 26's "My Fare Lady" (a shot that will warrant further close examination at some point.)

And, morbidly, his final appearance to date is as a severed head in season 29's "The Serfsons":

Hutz was always my favourite Phil Hartman character, but McClure is clearly a standout too, his charm combined with his denial of his fading star makes for one of the all time greats. Every appearance in the golden era, no matter how brief, is classic and unforgettable. Glad to have him in the mix for this long-term watch through now.

This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.