Left without work and without having built a nest egg (something referenced in "Krusty Gets Busted" by his ex-sidekick, Sideshow Bob), Krusty falls on hard times and begins suffering from depression. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa, unimpressed with Gabbo, decide to try to help Krusty. Bart sneaks into the studio and secretly records Gabbo referring to children of Springfield as "SOBs", which damages his reputation. This backfires when Kent Brockman makes the same reference, right after condemning Gabbo for it. After visiting Krusty and seeing photos of him with a series of celebrity friends, Bart and Lisa suggest that he host a comeback special. They begin recruiting major celebrities to appear on Krusty's special: Bette Midler, Johnny Carson, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hugh Hefner, and Luke Perry. They also try to recruit Elizabeth Taylor, but her agent declines the invitation before they can speak to her. Bart and Lisa then help Krusty get back into shape before the special airs, necessitated by his misunderstanding of the concept of diet milkshakes and drinking copious amounts of regular milkshakes instead. Krusty tries to tempt his former partner Sideshow Mel, who is now working in a fast food restaurant, into rejoining for the comeback special, but Mel declines, citing the repeated physical abuse that he was subjected to during his time working with Krusty.