CBright7831
01-09-2007, 10:29 PM
Sideshow Bob is one of my favorite characters from The Simpsons. He's been in numerous episodes which in my opinion are up there in the greatest Simpsons episodes of all time, but which one is the best?
From Wikipedia:
"Krusty Gets Busted (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krusty_Gets_Busted)": Sideshow Bob's villainous debut. His hair has changed from an afro to a palm tree fronds hairdo. Krusty the Clown is framed for robbing the Kwik-E-Mart (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwik-E-Mart), and the entire town abandons him and embraces his replacement, the suave, sophisticated Sideshow Bob. However, Bart never loses hope in Krusty and is eventually able to unmask the identity of the real culprit... Sideshow Bob.
"Black Widower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Widower)": Selma begins dating her prison pen pal, who the Simpsons discover is none other than Sideshow Bob. Sideshow Bob declares that he has been reformed by Selma's love, and eventually proposes to and marries her (all to the objection of Bart, who still believes Sideshow Bob is pure evil). On their honeymoon, it is revealed that Sideshow Bob only wants to kill Selma for her insurance money, but Bart manages to unravel his scheme and stop it at the last second, sending Sideshow Bob back to prison.
"Cape Feare (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Feare)": Bart receives a series of threatening letters written in blood, and soon afterwards Sideshow Bob is released from prison on parole. Discovering that he is responsible for the threats and is planning to kill Bart, the Simpsons go into the witness protection program and move to Terror Lake, but Sideshow Bob follows them. After a few days of stalking, Sideshow Bob finally sneaks into the Simpson's new home to kill Bart. The two end up confronting each other on the deck of their small boathouse, but Bart manages to outwit Sideshow Bob by asking him to sing the entire score to the H.M.S. Pinafore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.M.S._Pinafore) as a last request. This delays Sideshow Bob long enough for the boat to crash, where a waiting Chief Wiggum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clancy_Wiggum) arrests him (telling Bob "It's a good thing you drifted by this brothel"). This episode also features the first scene with Bob's slapstick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slapstick) act of accidentally stepping on numerous rakes, which hit him in the face. This episode is largely a spoof of the 1991 film version of Cape Fear.
"Sideshow Bob Roberts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideshow_Bob_Roberts)": Sideshow Bob's outspoken and eloquent conservative viewpoints cause the town Republicans to parole him and get him to run for Mayor against Quimby, where he wins in a landslide (one of the arguments against Quimby being that he agreed to parole known criminal Sideshow Bob). Sideshow Bob uses his new power to make the Simpson family suffer, scheduling their home for demolition and putting Bart in Kindergarten (though this actually makes Bart happier). Lisa discovers that Sideshow Bob won the election by registering dead people to vote for him. Lisa and Bart confront Sideshow Bob with the truth, and Sideshow Bob is arrested and sent back to jail.
"Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideshow_Bob%27s_Last_Gleaming)": Sideshow Bob's hatred of television prompts him to steal an atomic bomb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bomb) from the Springfield Air Base, and he threatens to destroy all life in Springfield unless television is permanently cancelled. Krusty violates the cancellation, so Sideshow Bob attempts to detonate the bomb, but it turns out to be a dud ("best before November (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November) 1959 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959)"). Sideshow Bob then takes Bart as a hostage and goes off on a kamikaze (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze) mission aboard the Wright Brothers' plane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer) to kill Krusty, but is foiled by the frailty of the Wright flyer.
"Brother from Another Series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_from_Another_Series)": Sideshow Bob is released from prison and enters into a work-release program headed by his brother Cecil played by David Hyde Pierce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hyde_Pierce) Grammer's co-star and fictional brother from the television series Frasier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasier). The program is a construction project working on the new Springfield Dam. Bart and Lisa believe Sideshow Bob is planning something terrible, and spy on his every move. The two run across evidence that suggests Sideshow Bob is planning to wipe out Springfield by sabotaging the dam. Eventually, it is revealed that Sideshow Bob really has reformed, and that it is his brother Cecil that is planning on destroying Springfield to frame Bob as revenge for 'stealing' the position of Krusty's sidekick from him (but mostly for the money he made from using cheap materials for the dam). Bart, Lisa, and Sideshow Bob team up to stop Cecil's plan, and Bart even saves Sideshow Bob's life when the dam begins to collapse. Moved, Sideshow Bob promises to stop trying to kill him. However, Sideshow Bob ends up taking an equal share of the blame for Cecil's scheme, and both of them are hauled off to jail by Wiggum.
"Day of the Jackanapes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Jackanapes)": Krusty the Clown becomes sick of annoying network executives, prompting him to arrange for a final episode. Meanwhile, Sideshow Bob is enraged when he learns that Krusty has destroyed all evidence of his existence by taping over his old episodes (since Krusty had a love for Judge Judy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Judy) and didn't want to buy blank tapes), prompting him to enact yet another "kill Krusty" scheme, this time by hypnotizing Bart into becoming a suicide bomber (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_bomber) and killing Krusty on the show. During the initial hypnosis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnosis), he continues with his 'Walk into a rake and shudder' act, proclaiming the rake to be his greatest arch-enemy in his life beyond Bart. However, at the last minute, Krusty makes an on-air apology to Sideshow Bob for all the pain he's caused him, causing Sideshow Bob to have a change of heart. Sideshow Bob warns everybody that Bart has a bomb, prompting Krusty's pet monkey, Mr. Teeny, to swoop in and throw the bomb away (the only people hurt are the network executives, whose body parts merge into a T-1000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-1000)-like monster). Sideshow Bob and Krusty finally resolve their differences, but Sideshow Bob is still scheduled to be decapitated for his crimes by Chief Wiggum (although the show cuts to the credits before we see the impact). He must have survived somehow, though, because he next appears in:
"The Great Louse Detective (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Louse_Detective)": A series of attempts on Homer's life prompts Chief Wiggum to consult Sideshow Bob as a Hannibal Lecter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Lecter)-style expert on the criminal mind. Sideshow Bob is eventually sent to live with the Simpsons to help reveal the killer's identity, with an electric shock device strapped to him to prevent him from causing trouble. In a final confrontation at Mardi Gras (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras), Sideshow Bob saves Homer's life and the two confront the real killer: Frank Grimes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Grimes) Jr. In the end, Sideshow Bob sneaks into Bart's room and is about to kill him, but finds that he can't do it because he's "grown accustomed to Bart's face" a la My Fair Lady (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Fair_Lady). He later escapes, but not before receiving a number of electric shocks from the misplaced controller of his electronic bracelet.
"The Italian Bob (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Italian_Bob)": When the Simpsons visit a small Italian village, they find that Sideshow Bob is the mayor. His new wife and son - Francesca and Gino - know nothing about his murderous life in America, although Gino says "Die, Bart!" several times (apparently Bob is known to yell it in his sleep). Bob begs the Simpsons not to tell anyone. They trust that he has changed, and they agree. However, when Lisa gets drunk at a party, she reveals everything. All three Terwilligers end up vowing revenge (or "vendetta") on the Simpsons, apparently renewing Bob's murderous wishes. The Simpsons are nearly killed in the Colosseum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum), but Krusty saves them at the last minute. In this episode, it was implied that Bob experimented with homosexuality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality) while in college. This episode may or may not draw inspiration from The Mayor of Casterbridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mayor_of_Casterbridge), in which a Mayor has similar familial secrets.
From Wikipedia:
"Krusty Gets Busted (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krusty_Gets_Busted)": Sideshow Bob's villainous debut. His hair has changed from an afro to a palm tree fronds hairdo. Krusty the Clown is framed for robbing the Kwik-E-Mart (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwik-E-Mart), and the entire town abandons him and embraces his replacement, the suave, sophisticated Sideshow Bob. However, Bart never loses hope in Krusty and is eventually able to unmask the identity of the real culprit... Sideshow Bob.
"Black Widower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Widower)": Selma begins dating her prison pen pal, who the Simpsons discover is none other than Sideshow Bob. Sideshow Bob declares that he has been reformed by Selma's love, and eventually proposes to and marries her (all to the objection of Bart, who still believes Sideshow Bob is pure evil). On their honeymoon, it is revealed that Sideshow Bob only wants to kill Selma for her insurance money, but Bart manages to unravel his scheme and stop it at the last second, sending Sideshow Bob back to prison.
"Cape Feare (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Feare)": Bart receives a series of threatening letters written in blood, and soon afterwards Sideshow Bob is released from prison on parole. Discovering that he is responsible for the threats and is planning to kill Bart, the Simpsons go into the witness protection program and move to Terror Lake, but Sideshow Bob follows them. After a few days of stalking, Sideshow Bob finally sneaks into the Simpson's new home to kill Bart. The two end up confronting each other on the deck of their small boathouse, but Bart manages to outwit Sideshow Bob by asking him to sing the entire score to the H.M.S. Pinafore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.M.S._Pinafore) as a last request. This delays Sideshow Bob long enough for the boat to crash, where a waiting Chief Wiggum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clancy_Wiggum) arrests him (telling Bob "It's a good thing you drifted by this brothel"). This episode also features the first scene with Bob's slapstick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slapstick) act of accidentally stepping on numerous rakes, which hit him in the face. This episode is largely a spoof of the 1991 film version of Cape Fear.
"Sideshow Bob Roberts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideshow_Bob_Roberts)": Sideshow Bob's outspoken and eloquent conservative viewpoints cause the town Republicans to parole him and get him to run for Mayor against Quimby, where he wins in a landslide (one of the arguments against Quimby being that he agreed to parole known criminal Sideshow Bob). Sideshow Bob uses his new power to make the Simpson family suffer, scheduling their home for demolition and putting Bart in Kindergarten (though this actually makes Bart happier). Lisa discovers that Sideshow Bob won the election by registering dead people to vote for him. Lisa and Bart confront Sideshow Bob with the truth, and Sideshow Bob is arrested and sent back to jail.
"Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideshow_Bob%27s_Last_Gleaming)": Sideshow Bob's hatred of television prompts him to steal an atomic bomb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bomb) from the Springfield Air Base, and he threatens to destroy all life in Springfield unless television is permanently cancelled. Krusty violates the cancellation, so Sideshow Bob attempts to detonate the bomb, but it turns out to be a dud ("best before November (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November) 1959 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959)"). Sideshow Bob then takes Bart as a hostage and goes off on a kamikaze (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze) mission aboard the Wright Brothers' plane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer) to kill Krusty, but is foiled by the frailty of the Wright flyer.
"Brother from Another Series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_from_Another_Series)": Sideshow Bob is released from prison and enters into a work-release program headed by his brother Cecil played by David Hyde Pierce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hyde_Pierce) Grammer's co-star and fictional brother from the television series Frasier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasier). The program is a construction project working on the new Springfield Dam. Bart and Lisa believe Sideshow Bob is planning something terrible, and spy on his every move. The two run across evidence that suggests Sideshow Bob is planning to wipe out Springfield by sabotaging the dam. Eventually, it is revealed that Sideshow Bob really has reformed, and that it is his brother Cecil that is planning on destroying Springfield to frame Bob as revenge for 'stealing' the position of Krusty's sidekick from him (but mostly for the money he made from using cheap materials for the dam). Bart, Lisa, and Sideshow Bob team up to stop Cecil's plan, and Bart even saves Sideshow Bob's life when the dam begins to collapse. Moved, Sideshow Bob promises to stop trying to kill him. However, Sideshow Bob ends up taking an equal share of the blame for Cecil's scheme, and both of them are hauled off to jail by Wiggum.
"Day of the Jackanapes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Jackanapes)": Krusty the Clown becomes sick of annoying network executives, prompting him to arrange for a final episode. Meanwhile, Sideshow Bob is enraged when he learns that Krusty has destroyed all evidence of his existence by taping over his old episodes (since Krusty had a love for Judge Judy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Judy) and didn't want to buy blank tapes), prompting him to enact yet another "kill Krusty" scheme, this time by hypnotizing Bart into becoming a suicide bomber (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_bomber) and killing Krusty on the show. During the initial hypnosis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnosis), he continues with his 'Walk into a rake and shudder' act, proclaiming the rake to be his greatest arch-enemy in his life beyond Bart. However, at the last minute, Krusty makes an on-air apology to Sideshow Bob for all the pain he's caused him, causing Sideshow Bob to have a change of heart. Sideshow Bob warns everybody that Bart has a bomb, prompting Krusty's pet monkey, Mr. Teeny, to swoop in and throw the bomb away (the only people hurt are the network executives, whose body parts merge into a T-1000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-1000)-like monster). Sideshow Bob and Krusty finally resolve their differences, but Sideshow Bob is still scheduled to be decapitated for his crimes by Chief Wiggum (although the show cuts to the credits before we see the impact). He must have survived somehow, though, because he next appears in:
"The Great Louse Detective (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Louse_Detective)": A series of attempts on Homer's life prompts Chief Wiggum to consult Sideshow Bob as a Hannibal Lecter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Lecter)-style expert on the criminal mind. Sideshow Bob is eventually sent to live with the Simpsons to help reveal the killer's identity, with an electric shock device strapped to him to prevent him from causing trouble. In a final confrontation at Mardi Gras (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras), Sideshow Bob saves Homer's life and the two confront the real killer: Frank Grimes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Grimes) Jr. In the end, Sideshow Bob sneaks into Bart's room and is about to kill him, but finds that he can't do it because he's "grown accustomed to Bart's face" a la My Fair Lady (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Fair_Lady). He later escapes, but not before receiving a number of electric shocks from the misplaced controller of his electronic bracelet.
"The Italian Bob (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Italian_Bob)": When the Simpsons visit a small Italian village, they find that Sideshow Bob is the mayor. His new wife and son - Francesca and Gino - know nothing about his murderous life in America, although Gino says "Die, Bart!" several times (apparently Bob is known to yell it in his sleep). Bob begs the Simpsons not to tell anyone. They trust that he has changed, and they agree. However, when Lisa gets drunk at a party, she reveals everything. All three Terwilligers end up vowing revenge (or "vendetta") on the Simpsons, apparently renewing Bob's murderous wishes. The Simpsons are nearly killed in the Colosseum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum), but Krusty saves them at the last minute. In this episode, it was implied that Bob experimented with homosexuality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality) while in college. This episode may or may not draw inspiration from The Mayor of Casterbridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mayor_of_Casterbridge), in which a Mayor has similar familial secrets.