One of the greatest strengths of The Simpsons has always been its ability to create peripheral characters that are as entertaining as the main members of the cast (and sometimes more so). Two of the most iconic characters in the series are Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure, the shady lawyer and the faded actor, respectively, both of whom made regular appearances in the early seasons. It certainly helps that they were voiced by the inimitable Phil Hartman.
There’s quite a lot of evidence to show that each of these characters, in very different ways, were the best characters that Hartman voiced on the show.
The brilliance of Troy McClure as a character is that he manages to be both hilarious and tragic in equal measure. It’s hard not to laugh at the many ridiculous things in which he appears, and his trademark “Hi, I’m Troy McClure” is one of the most iconic lines in television history. At the same time, he’s also a bit of a tragic figure, as he is reduced to acting in terrible movies and being a spokesman for various products (some of which may not be safe).
Though Lionel Hutz is primarily known for being a lawyer, it’s also true that, according to his signs on his office, he also does shoe repair. This little visual aside is, of course, in keeping with the rather absurd sense of humor that this show specializes in, but it also says a lot about this lawyer that he’s willing to do anything to earn money, and one can’t help but admire his tenacity and determination to keep himself financially afloat.
Troy McClure may be a bit of a has-been, but he still manages to accrue quite a few acting credits and endorsement details (though obviously many of these aren’t of very good quality). There’s something more than a little admirable about an actor who’s willing to continue to put in the hours to be in front of the camera, even when it means that he is going to lose more than a little bit of his dignity in doing so.
Aside from doing shoe repair, Lionel Hutz shows himself to be a truly versatile sort of person, willing and able to do anything so long as it brings in a bit of money. These little side hustles are obviously meant to suggest that Hutz is incompetent as a layer (and he is), but they also imply that he is a man who isn’t willing to just sit around and wait for money to fall into his lap.
He’s going to go get it, no matter what he has to do.
Given that Troy seems to have endured some pretty humbling experiences during his Hollywood career, it’s not really surprising that he would turn out to have some strange sexual thing in his past. In this case, it’s a fetish involving fish. It’s probably one of the more ridiculous things that this show has revealed about a character (and, given how bizarre some of the characters are, that’s really saying something), but it does at least help the viewer get a firmer grasp of Troy’s strange personality.
Most lawyers at least try to pay lip service to the idea that they are beholden to a set of ethics and morals that guides their profession. Not so Lionel, who really doesn’t seem to have any sort of moral compass at all. This leads him to make some truly questionable choices when it comes to the practice of the law, but it really doesn’t seem to phase him. No one can ever accuse him of being inconsistent; he just doesn’t care.
Anyone who has seen even a few episodes of this series knows that it is one of the most self-reflexive and creative animated shows ever made, and Troy McClure is a big part of that. Troy, perhaps more than any other character that appears on the show, asks the viewer to really reflect on and sometimes criticize the culture of celebrity and the ways in which it often uses stars for its own benefit before abandoning them to make their own way in the world.
It takes a truly extraordinary vocal talent to make a character as vibrant as Troy McClure, and it’s very fortunate that Phil Hartman was available to play him. What’s more, he manages to make Troy a very likable character even when he does some cynical things, such as when he convinced Selma to marry him, all in an effort to resuscitate his flagging career fortunes.
It’s a cynical move, to be sure, but he’s right, it does help boost his career.
Poor Lionel. He just doesn’t get that many chances to win. However, sometimes he does manage to not get in his own way too much, such as when he represents Homer against the devil (who is, hilariously, none other than Ned Flanders). Though Hutz flees the scene after screwing up the case, it is technically true that he won against the devil, since case was decided in Homer’s favor after Marge showed the judge evidence that her husband promised her his soul before he sold it to the devil.
