(originally aired February 23, 1997)
Sideshow Bob episodes must be challenging to come up with and write. As complex a character as Bob is, I feel his role within the Simpsons universe is inherently limited. Bob must have a new devilish for Bart to uncover, and he’ll be out of and back in prison within twenty-two minutes. Formula aside, all past Bob outings have been absolutely stellar, and this one is no different. Spicing up the mix here is the addition of Bob’s brother Cecil, played by David Hyde Pierce, who options Bob for a work-release program to be employed to his construction company. This is clever casting, having the Terwilliger brothers mirror the Cranes from Frasier. I have enough knowledge of the show from bits of reruns I’ve seen whilst channel surfing that I can appreciate Grammar and Pierce’s banter being mimicked here, along with the title card starting the second act. It’s really neat seeing Pierce go toe-to-toe with Grammar performance-wise as Cecil, with a brief backstory illuminating the existing strife between the two brothers. We see that it was Cecil originally aiming for the gig as Krusty’s sidekick, but fate stood in the way, and Bob was given the role.
Bob and Cecil get to work on building the Springfield Hydroelectric Dam. Meanwhile, Bart remains understandably skeptical that Bob is a changed man, but uncovers little evidence to prove otherwise. Some detective work by him and Lisa uncovers a briefcase of embezzled money at the construction site, which leads to a subversive revelation that Cecil was the mad schemer this time around. I think it’s an effective bait-and-switch. We’ve had a few misleads of Bob appearing menacing with accompanying dramatic music cues, some being hilarious (“Madam, your children are no more… than a pair of ill-bred troublemakers.”) But Cecil is the perpetrator here, tired of living in the shadow of his big brother, who now serves as an excellent scapegoat so he can get away with fifteen million. This finale puts Bart and Bob in an awkward situation in that they have to work together for the common good, which leads to an interesting and exciting finale where they end up saving the day and each other. But then the dangerously unstable dam bursts anyway, flooding the town, and Bob is sent to prison along with Cecil, allowing the writers once again to have their cake and eat it too.
I kinda feel this should have been the last Bob episode. At this point the traditional Bob framework had grown a bit stale, so the logical conclusion was to turn the character around, but they handle it in an entirely believable way. Further examination into his personal life reveals an intellectual foil, and eventual counterpart he must thwart. And in the end, the status quo is still restored, efficiently and amusingly. Bob gets to be the hero at long last, but ultimately ends up in prison anyway. It kind of feels like the perfect end for his character. This isn’t to say that Bob couldn’t have returned and “turned evil” again, it’s just the ways it was handled in the future were either repetitive of previous efforts or just kind of lazy. For all the balls this episode tries to juggle, the Frasier parody, the witty banter, the action-adventure final act, it all feels very cohesive, coming together for a sharp and solid pseudo-final outing for our favorite homicidal maniac. So ta-ta for now, Bob. Sadly, like every other character, fate will not be as kind to you in a few years from now…
Tidbits and Quotes
– Great opening with Krusty channeling Johnny Cash in his prison special (“I slugged some jerk in Tahoe / They gave me one to three / My high-priced lawyer sprung me on a technicality / I’m just visiting Springfield Prison, I get to sleep at home tonight.”) The convicts ain’t too happy about the song, but Krusty easily sways them back. After all we’ve seen how much they love his show in “Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming.”
– I kind of like how Bart is pretty traumatized by Bob, a man who’s attempted to kill him twice now. Compare this to the next Bob episode when Bart is unfazed by his appearance, playing it off as a joke that he’s bested him so many times he’s not threatened by him.
– Pierce is great out the box as Cecil, with a great line read when Bob asks if his brother knows of his criminal past (“Goodness! I had no idea! For you see, I have been on Mars for the past decade, in a cave with my eyes shut, and my fingers in my ears.”)
– An angry mob protests the release of Bob at first, but a cockamamie speech from him completely turns them around in less than fifteen seconds, as Springfield mobs tend to do. Bart is livid, insisting Bob hasn’t changed (“He’s pure evil! If only you knew what he was thinking!”) Cut to dramatic music as we see Bob being driven off, and we finally hear his dastardly thoughts: “I hope they still make that shampoo I like.” Hilarious. And logical, too. For hair that outlandish, he must be using some incredible product to get it to stay like that.
– Great moment where Bart prays to God to kill Sideshow Bob (“It’s him or me, O Lord!”) Homer scolds him for it (“You do your own dirty work!”)
– I love how angry and displeased Krusty is at the sidekick auditions, greatly contrasted with Cecil’s stammering meekness. Krusty insists that a pie in the face gag is only funny if “the sap’s got dignity,” and has one thrown at Bob, proving to be an instant comedy classic. Cecil remembers the incidence mournfully (“When that pie hit your face, I saw my dreams explode in a burst of cream and crust.”)
– Bob is so incredibly contemptuous about the new business prospect (“Just the thought of all that raw power makes me wonder why the hell I should care.”)
– Bob’s date with Edna is a great scene. I love seeing him out of his usual element, being quite the charmer (“I did once try to kill the world’s greatest lover, but then I realized that there are laws against suicide.”) Bart arrives to spoil the evening, and Edna is indignant (“That’s the last time I announce my dinner plans in class!”) So is Bob (“That was Edna Krabappel. You only get one chance with Edna Krabappel, I hope you’re happy.”)
– A minor bit, but great direction of the quick few scenes of Bart, Lisa and Bob running through the interior of the dam. The part where Bob pokes his head up in center frame as Bart and Lisa run across scaffolding behind him is one that I remember after all these years. Well directed and staged images stay with me, something that would be increasingly less frequent as the series went on.
– I love Kelsey Grammar’s reading of “Where did that come from?” at the reveal of the briefcase full of money. It doesn’t sound entirely sincere, leaving the viewer to still question, up to the last minute, whether Bob is actually innocent or not.
– I like how Cecil is a much less theatrical villain than Bob. This is his first outing, so he doesn’t know the ropes (“I forgot to mention, I’m planning to blow up the dam with you inside.” “Well, obviously.”) He does get a pretty good villain line in by the end though (“And now, to kill you. There may be a slight ringing in your ears. Fortunately, you’ll be nowhere near them.”)
– Great bit when Lisa worries for their doom, and Bob jealously mocks her for it (“Oh, I see. When it’s one of my evil schemes, you can’t foil it fast enough, but when Cecil tries to kill you, it’s hopeless, utterly, utterly hopeless!”)
– Cecil’s briefcase of money ends up over the cliff… floating down to Hans Moleman’s cabin. He’s grateful at first, then holds a gun up to the air, demanding the Almighty to keep it coming.
– Bob becoming an action star to save Bart is a bit over-the-top, but I’m already swept up in the story that I didn’t mind. It leads for a pretty good finale though (“Bart, how would you like to do something incredibly noble?” “Do we have to?” “…yes,”) their having to take a breath while screaming to their deaths, and of course the giant pipe being their savior… to all but Bob’s genitals.
– The dam actually bursting and flooding the town is a great scene, even though it probably would mean the entire town got totally destroyed. This should have been the last episode ever, actually. But instead, we get a great scene where Homer says he’s going out to find the kids, which is a great nod to the fact that they’ve been gone all night, then he runs back inside when he sees a gigantic tidal wave heading his way. When the rumbling stops, he looks back outside to find the street just a little waterlogged… and also Ralph is there in his jammies (“I think I wet my bed.”) Hysterical.
– I love Cecil slyly feeding words to Bob to further discredit him in the squad car (“You’ll live to regret this! …oh thanks a lot, now I look crazy!”) Then later the two childishly fight over the top bunk in their cell.
Me Blog Write Good 
I remember enjoying “Day of the Jackanapes” as a kid (haven’t seen it for many years now), but even then I was bugged that they had Bob revert to his old ways. I wouldn’t want Bob to be a totally stand-up guy after this—some bitterness could be expected—but I hate that he just completely relapsed after one of the few moments of character development we’ve ever gotten out of this show.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA(gasp)AAAAAAA!” God, that kills me every single time.
I’m almost certain this was intended to be Bob’s final appearance at the time it was made – he didn’t appear again for four years, the longest time between Bob episodes in the show’s history, and it’s pretty closed-ended too. The fact that they had to ignore its existence for “Day of the Jackanapes” to work supports my theory even further.
Kelsey Grammer is great as always, but David Hyde Pierce is equally brilliant as Cecil. The “ringing in your ears” line is one of my all-time favorites. I also love his anguished scream that turns into a frustrated interjection when the money goes over the cliff. “AAAAAOOooh, shoot!”
This review led me in round about to reading the fraiser wikipedia article, which led me circuituitously to the article about cecil’s second appearance and Dan Mahoney playing their father.
It reads like the worst fucking thing. I could not agree more with the sentiment that this should have been at very least the last bob episode.
seriously look at this garbage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral_For_A_Fiend
Yeah, that was an interesting episode. And more of just them repeating from older shows. “Well we got Frasier’s brother to play Bob’s brother, so we’ll get his dad to play his dad too! Great, huh?”
Wow, I haven’t seen that episode since it first aired. That Wikipedia summary reminded me of just how shit-tastic the episode was. Ouch.
Seconded. I thought it was OK when it aired, but reading over it again… my god, that was just brain-dead awful.
“Woo hoo! Shake it, madam! Capital knockers!” –
Best line of the episode.
This episode was definitely excellent and a good send off for the character. Sideshow Bob is my favorite Simpsons character because he was so complex and fun. His plots were devious, he was a reoccuring villian, which is something that stood out for me. I agree that they should have put the character to rest permenantly because everything aftewards was boring. If it wasn’t for the episode where he faked his death in Season 19 and Cecil was featured in it, you would think this episode was written out of existence. I mean, giving him a family in Italy was an interesting concept, but poorly done because the character is a shadow of his former self. In fact, I like to think the current Bob from seaosns 12+ is just a copycat pretending to be Bob.
That Moleman bit is a deleted scene.
One bit at the end that I liked was Chief Wiggum promoting Lou to Sergeant (even though he was already at that rank) and then later threatening to bust him down to sergeant.
When Marge and Homer interrupt Bart’s prayer there’s a cute bit where Marge forces Bart’s folded hands apart, as if that would nullify the prayer.
This is an episode I’ve seen so many times, because sky love showing it, and yet I still adore this one.
“He’s probably nurvous because I’ve tried to kill him so many times”
“Hydroelectric and! hydronamic, way to run the Gamut”
there is just soooo much good here I could quote nearly all of this and still be on classic lines.
I’d be tempted to put this one in the top ten, accept that there are waaaay more than ten good stories from the classic years.
Btw, Funeral from a fiend is terrible, terrible terrible! only the line about the castles of spain actually worked and that just because it reminded me of this episode, indeed even though i’ve not seen frazier for years this one still works.
This was the last Sideshow Bob episode. :: stern glare:: I think, years later, Grammar voiced a similar-looking character on a terrible show that airs at the same time the Simpsons used to come on, but i haven’t watched that show in years.
You’re correct that this could have been the end of the series, with the dam breaking and everything. My pick for the series finale is still a little ways off. I’ll note it when i get there.
The Clown College/Princeton remark is one of my favorites. Very Frasier (in a good way)
Sideshow Bob’s line about trying to kill the world’s greatest lover becomes more amazing remembering Bart, whom Bob routinely tries to off, may indeed have been the world’s greatest lover in Edna Krabappel’s mind, however unwittingly.
This episode is a wonderful send off to Sideshow Bob as it completes his entire story arc, not only be redeeming him, but also adding in some interesting plot twists. I’ve never seen Fraiser. I have no idea what the show is even about. What I do know is that both Bob and Cecile have wonderful chemistry together and having two actors that have played brothers in something else was the greatest idea ever as they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
As far as I am concerned, this was the last Bob episode. Everything after is just some clone lookalike.
Seriously though, this is one of the reasons why I feel like the entire production team was planning the series to be done after these batch of episodes had been completed. I doubt they expected the show to get renewed beyond them as everything screams “We’re nearing the end of the show, which is why we are putting Skinner and Krabappel together, breaking up Milhouse’s parents, redeeming Sideshow Bob, etc.”
With that said, my favorite moment of the episode is the one where Bob gets upset because Lisa is ready to give up on trying to stop Cecil. Of course, Cecil was an idiot. If he had just shot them all when he had the chance, his plans would never have been foiled. He pretty much lost because of what I call “James Bond Syndrome.”
Wait a minute, I just realized something about your review, what scene was this:
“Cecil’s briefcase of money ends up over the cliff… floating down to Hans Moleman’s cabin. He’s grateful at first, then holds a gun up to the air, demanding the Almighty to keep it coming”
I just watched the episode on Friday and this never happened.
It’s a deleted scene, as Robert says above.
A brilliant episode, and one of the highlights of the season to me. This episode is an excellent send-off to Bob’s character, and I love that they turn around his character to break the formula. Cecil is also a great character. The dynamic between the two brothers is astounding and just like their actors’ characters in Frasier. Despite being Frasier-like, the episode still feels like the Simpsons, which makes it work completely.
Now it’s time to talk about funny jokes. There are many, as per any fantastic episode. I love Cecil’s response to Bob mentioning that he’s a criminal, “you do your own dirty work!”, Cecil’s summarization of Bob being chosen over him (I just love that “cream and crust” metaphor), Bob’s date with Krabappel (“I once tried to kill the world’s greatest lover, then I realized there are laws against suicide.”), “Where did that come from?”, “I’m blowing up the dam with you inside.” “Well, obviously.”, Bart and Bob falling down the dam (love that they have to gasp for breath mid-scream), “I think I wet my bed.”, “You’ll live to regret this! Oh, thanks a lot, now I look crazy.”… I can’t list them all, so all I’ll say is that this episode is awesome.
I love when writers have the balls to write intelligently, knowing a lot of the audience won’t get it. From context, I knew “The Cappadocians, fine” was either Bob acknowledging there was ONE civilization like that, or that Cecil was asking him to review the wine, which might have been called that? (“The Cappadocian’s fine.”) but it was worth it for the few people knowledgeable enough to get the reference back before the internet made it easy.
I do wonder why Bob had his hair so tightly pulled under that hat. Like if he’s ashamed of it, he should cut it into a style he likes… or is it just that he wants to wear a bowler hat and be a gentleman, and this is the only way that’s going to happen sans chinstrap to hold it on. As for the shampoo, I take it you don’t know the difficulty of having naturally boingy wavy hair. You find a good hair product, you stick with it. He’s not DOING that to his hair, he’s in a stalemated struggle with it.
The sliding timescale once again bites us, if Bob’s meant to have been a criminal for a decade and the kid who foiled his first crime hasn’t aged since then.
Oh and if you didn’t watch Frasier, I suppose you didn’t get the ‘Maris?’ gag. In case you haven’t looked it up in the intervening decade, that was Niles’s never-seen but bizarrely-described first wife. That someone Bart’s weight could be mistaken for her fits pretty well.