He exploits this to make his latest attempt to kill Bart legally over state lines, but is foiled again and gets taken away by state police. Occupation Most of the event action takes place at Monsarno Research and Opera House. [70] In 2007, Vanity Fair called it the show's fourth-best episode, because of its "masterful integration of filmic parody and a recurring character". Grammer had once worked for Rabb, whose "lamenting tones became [the] foundation for Sideshow Bob". Bob is released from prison and develops a plot to kill Krusty using Bart as a suicide bomber during Krusty's retirement special. Francesca Terwilliger (2001). Voiced by Grammer, he is the main villain in the ride, having escaped from prison to get revenge on the Simpson family.[26][27]. However, Bob's reign is short-lived; Bart Simpson exposes him as the robber, Krusty is released, and Bob is fired and sent to jail. Ride with the Simpsons", "Flash! The Simpson family, in Italy to retrieve a car for Mr. Burns, encounters him by chance. (2006). CriminalHousewife ", briefly became an Internet meme after a similar defense of President Donald Trump was repeated after the Trump–Ukraine scandal. [52], Bob's prisoner number is often 24601, which is Jean Valjean's prisoner number in Les Misérables. It is based on the score of the film Cape Fear, composed by Bernard Herrmann. [31] An early version of the script for "Krusty Gets Busted" called for James Earl Jones to voice Bob, but the producers instead selected Kelsey Grammer. [14] The entire Terwilliger family returns in "Funeral for a Fiend" (season 19, 2007) in which Bob's father, Robert Terwilliger Sr., and mother, Dame Judith Underdunk, make their first appearances. [8] After being paroled from prison in "Cape Feare" (season five, 1993), Bob targets Bart directly, threatening him repeatedly and forcing the Simpsons into hiding as part of the Witness Relocation Program. [41], For season three's "Black Widower", the writers echoed the premise of Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner from Looney Tunes cartoons by having Bob unexpectedly insert himself into Bart's life and attempt to kill him. Sideshow Bob started out as the mute sidekick of children's show host Krusty the Clown. The remaining episodes are all quite fun. In "Krusty Gets Busted" (season one, 1990) Bob disguised himself as Krusty and framed him for armed robbery of the Kwik-E-Mart. Now honestly, what is that? In 2006 IGN listed him as the second-best "peripheral character" on The Simpsons, commenting that Bob is "a man of contradictions; his goofy appearance, complete with palm tree like hair, doesn't seem to match up to the well spoken and even musically talented maniac. (2005). However, the scheming Cecil, still smarting over his failed audition for Krusty, tries to frame Bob by sabotaging the Springfield Dam. When she does become aware, she helps Bob try to kill the Simpson family. Pierce commented, "Normally, I would not do something like this. A lover of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, Sideshow Bob is also known for his singing voice; several of Grammer's performances have been included in The Simpsons musical compilations. Itchy For Fun? [22] A previously unaired song, "Hullaba Lula", originally written for "Day of the Jackanapes", was also included on that compilation. In Treehouse of Horror XXVI segment "Wanted: Dead, then Alive", Bob successfully kills Bart, but finds his life so meaningless in Bart's absence that he creates a machine to bring Bart back to life so that he can keep killing his enemy over and over, until the other Simpsons rescue Bart and Bart uses the resurrection machine to turn Bob into a twisted amalgamation of creatures. Bob briefly appears in "Clown in the Dumps" (season 26, 2014), where he offered his condolences to Krusty after the death of his father, Rabbi Krustofsky. [39] While most official and unofficial Simpsons guides spell the character's middle name as "Underdunk", writer Bill Oakley has stated that he intended for it to be spelled "Onderdonk",[40] the name being taken from American bishop and composer of hymns Henry Ustick Onderdonk. However, by the seventh season Bob had already been the focus of four stories, and writers were having trouble developing new ways to include him. Commentary for "Krusty Gets Busted", in, Bird, Brad. At first, she knew nothing of her husband's multiple murder attempts. "[35], The show's writers admire Grammer's singing voice, and try to include a song for each appearance. [28] His first major appearance was in season one's twelfth episode "Krusty Gets Busted", written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky. Executive producer Al Jean has compared Bob's character to that of Wile E. Coyote, noting that both are intelligent, yet always foiled by what they perceive as an inferior intellect. "[61] Also that year, Wizard magazine rated Bob as the 66th-greatest villain of all time. [10] Competing theories as to the origin of his name exist; some sources say he was named after the character Dr. Terwilliker, a megalomaniac outwitted by a boy named Bart in the film The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T by Dr. Seuss, but others say he was named after Terwilliger Boulevard in Portland, Oregon. In each appearance thereafter, Bob has assumed the role on The Simpsons of an evil genius. Commentary for "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming", in, Jean, Al. [7], In "Black Widower" (season three, 1992), Bob's first major appearance after framing Krusty, he is released from prison and marries Bart's aunt Selma Bouvier. Bob also has a wife named Francesca (voiced by Maria Grazia Cucinotta) and a son named Gino, both of whom were introduced in season 17 episode "The Italian Bob" and returned for "Funeral for a Fiend". She and Gino, along with Sideshow Bob's mother, father, and brother attempted to have Bart incinerated to get revenge. According to director Pete Michels, it was difficult to draw Bob and Cecil standing together, because of their comically oversized feet. Bart again foils the plan and Sideshow Bob returns to prison. During the episode "Cape Feare", for example, the parole board asks Bob why he has a tattoo that says "Die, Bart, Die". 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves", Unclaimed Simpsons Reference Finally Gotten, "The Simpsons: "Funeral for a Fiend" Review", "Grammer nets early Emmy for Simpsons villain portrayal", "Springfield of Dreams: 16 Great 'Simpsons' Guest Voices", "The Simpsons: Top 10 Sideshow Bob Episodes", "One of the defenses of Trump is — literally — a TV-cartoon joke", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sideshow_Bob&oldid=987483506, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 7 November 2020, at 10:11. [77] Arnold believes that this is most apparent in "Sideshow Bob Roberts", wherein he rigs the election to become the mayor of Springfield. Springfield just wouldn't be the same without him. (2005). The Simpsons: Tapped Out Terwilligers content update was released April 14, 2015 and has several references to the Simpsons episodes with Sideshow Bob. You need me, Springfield!" [10] Bob escapes from prison for the first time in "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" (season seven, 1995), and threatens to blow up Springfield with a nuclear bomb unless the city stops broadcasting all television shows. Bob made his second major appearance in season three's "Black Widower"; the writers echoed the premise of the Coyote chasing the Road Runner by having Bob unexpectedly insert himself into Bart's life, threatening to disrupt—and sometimes end—it. When she does become aware, she helps Bob try to kill the Simpsons family. He is elected mayor of the village of Salsiccia in Tuscany and marries a local woman named Francesca, with whom he has a son named Gino. Her design may be based on her voice actress, Maria Grazia Cucinotta. Popping up every couple hours, the players are given a chance to tap on him to receive a small sum of money, and "send" him to jail. "Cape Feare" is generally regarded as one of the best episodes of The Simpsons[69] and placed third on Entertainment Weekly's 2003 list of the show's top 25 episodes. "The Italian Bob" Her design may be based on her voice actress, Maria Grazia Cucinotta. [46] Cecil is voiced by David Hyde Pierce, who portrayed Frasier Crane's brother Niles. "[4] In her book My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy, Nancy Cartwright (who performs the voice of Bart Simpson) wrote that "Kelsey Grammer scores big-time by injecting caustic, bitter, contemptuous and deliciously vile energy into his rendition of Sideshow Bob. After writer Ken Keeler was assigned to write an episode featuring Sideshow Bob, he drew inspiration from episodes of Frasier. You can tell he has this love of musical theater and he has the vocal instrument to go with it, so I know whatever I write is going to be sung the way I've heard it. [14], The character of Sideshow Bob and Grammer's voicework have received many accolades. [36][37][38] Yet another theory is that he was named after Sergeant Terwilliger and Mrs. Underdunk in the pilot episode of the TV show Hunter. "[50] Writer George Meyer commented that "writing for Kelsey is great, he can give the kind of purple, florid, melodramatic speeches that most of the characters would never give. She is Italian and has a son named Gino. Francesca is also the "Finger-Pointing Blame Shifter" type of mom you meet at the PTA. [53] Another trademark for Bob is a visual gag of stepping on a rake and being struck in the face with its handle; this joke first appeared in "Cape Feare". [30] Following the re-design, animators tried to redraw his scenes in "The Telltale Head", but had insufficient time before the show was produced. [57] Mahoney portrayed Martin Crane, the father of Grammer's and Pierce's characters in Frasier. Bob replies that it is German for "The, Bart, The"; members of the board are impressed by his reasoning. [42] For "Black Widower", director David Silverman updated the character model to reflect the animation of director Brad Bird. However, after he is provoked into a fight, he realizes that he has become a crude monster and jumps off the Springfield Dam, surviving because the gills he gave himself allow him to survive in the lake. In Frasier, Maris Crane is an unseen character, and the producers of Frasier asked that the scene be removed. In "Krust… This too is thwarted, and Bob returns to prison. He began his career as a sidekick on Krusty the Clown's television show, but after enduring constant abuse, Bob attempted to frame his employer for armed robbery in "Krusty Gets Busted". [79] Believing that "nobody who speaks German could be an evil man", they release him. He also made a brief appearance on "Blazed and Confused" (season 26, 2014), where he meets Mr. Lassen, Bart's former teacher, who was now reduced to working in prison as a guard after Bart's actions got him fired. To fill time, the writers added nine consecutive iterations of the same joke in quick succession. [19] Sideshow Bob has made regular appearances in the monthly Simpsons Comics,[20] and several of Kelsey Grammer's singing performances have been included in The Simpsons CD compilations. Bob has made a brief appearance in "Gal of Constant Sorrow", grunting in annoyance as he wipes off Bart's graffiti from Hettie Mae Boggs' promo poster on the wall along with Snake Jailbird and other inmates. [62] Adam Finley of TV Squad wrote that "that baritone voice, the Shakespearean delivery, and the ability to go from calm and collected to stark raving mad all within the same second make Sideshow Bob one of the best recurring characters on the show. (2003). (2006). In addition to regular roles in the television series, Sideshow Bob has made several appearances in other Simpsons media. [18] In "The Man Who Grew Too Much" (season 25, 2014), he was revealed as a Chief Scientist for a genetic engineering company named Monsarno, having received the position after he was selected as a test subject and published the results of the experiments to which he was subjected. Commentary for "Black Widower", in, Weinstein, Josh. Sideshow Bob endured much as it was to be expected from being clown sidekicks, suc… After Krusty is arrested, Bob takes control of the show, introducing children to elements of high culture. [75], In Planet Simpson, author Chris Turner writes that Bob is built into a highbrow snob and conservative Republican so that the writers can continually use him as a strawman and pincushion. [13], It is revealed in "The Italian Bob" (season 17, 2005) that Bob has moved to Italy to make a fresh start. (2004). [77] Arnold writes that "Bob's own conscience and morality are clearly unaffected by the high culture he represents." Black He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob was also included as a level boss in the 1991 video game Bart vs. the Space Mutants. [67] In 2008, Grammer was included in Entertainment Weekly's list of the sixteen best Simpsons guest stars; Hyde Pierce was also included in that list. Commentary for "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming", in, Weinstein, Josh. Commentary for "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming", in, Keeler, Ken. Bob returns to Springfield and moves into the house next to the Simpson family, assuming Walt's identity. (2009). After repeated instances of abuse, including being shot from a cannon and hit constantly with pies, the Yale-educated Bob became angry at Krusty and resentful of the clown's success. [66] In 2006, Grammer won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his role in "The Italian Bob"; he had previously won four awards in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category for his portrayal of the title role on Frasier. [6] After repeated instances of abuse, including being shot from a cannon and hit constantly with pies, the Yale-educated Bob became angry at Krusty and resentful of the clown's success. Bob is discharged from prison into the care of his brother Cecil, who is Springfield's chief hydrological and hydrodynamical engineer. She is Italy. His performance of the H.M.S. Francesca Terwilliger (née Vendetto) is Sideshow Bob's wife. Do they give a Nobel prize for attempted chemistry? In 2015, however, during the "Treehouse of Horror" segment, "Wanted: Dead, Then Alive", Bob finally gets his wish of killing Bart, commenting that he spent 24 years trying to kill a ten-year-old child; however, he becomes bored with Bart dead, so he brings him back to life so that he can repeatedly kill Bart over and over again.[1][2][3]. [9], Bob is released from prison once again in "Sideshow Bob Roberts" (season six, 1994), and runs for Mayor of Springfield as the Republican Party candidate. Bob reappears again in the episode "The Bob Next Door" (season 21, 2010), where he switches faces with his prison cellmate Walt Warren. Commentary for "Brother From Another Series", in, Oakley, Bill. Commentary for "Black Widower", in, Jean, Al. "The Italian Bob" was ranked tenth, with the explanation that "All the things we love about a Sideshow Bob episode—the vengeance, the familiar settings and characters, the elaborate scheming—were missing from this half-hour. Sideshow Bob shares some personality traits of Grammer's character Frasier Crane from the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier, and has been described as "Frasier pickled in arsenic". [79], Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise, Jean, Al. (2004). In addition to his recurring role in the series, Sideshow Bob has made several appearances in other Simpsons media. Grammer, Mirkin says, is capable of perfect readings, but noted that the actor dislikes performing Sideshow Bob's evil laugh. https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Francesca_Terwilliger?oldid=921850, It is unknown what happened to her or Gino after. They are foiled by Lisa and the rest of the Simpson family and sent to prison. The delaying tactic leads to Bob's third arrest when the houseboat drifts all the way back to Springfield as Bob sings. "[72] "The Italian Bob" and its writer John Frink won a Writers Guild of America Award in 2007 in the animation category. His plans often involve murder and destruction, usually targeted at Bart or, less often, Krusty, though these plans often involve targeting the entire Simpson family. The episode "Brother from Another Series" (season eight, 1997) reveals that Bob only received the job after his younger brother Cecil failed an audition, because Krusty considered Bob to be a perfect comic foil. [24] Sideshow Bob appears in the 1991 The Simpsons Arcade Game, on the fifth level where he is pulling a cart containing a roast chicken health pick up. He, his wife and son swear a vendetta on the Simpsons. He's just amazing. He appears in the Simpsons Comics, cameos in the 2007 video game The Simpsons Game, and stars as the main antagonist in The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios' theme parks. [11] In the following season, Bob takes advantage of the prison's work release program, and appears to be genuinely redeemed. His design was relatively simple compared to later incarnations, and his hairstyle was rounded. Maria Grazia CucinottaTress MacNeille (KABF01) Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale University, a member of the Republican Party, and a champion of high culture. Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He considers himself a member of the social elite, and happily uses Machiavellian methods to acquire and maintain power. [23], In The Simpsons Game, released in November 2007, Bob has a speaking cameo appearance at the end of the chapter titled "Invasion of the Yokel-Snatchers" in which he was working with Kang and Kodos. (2003). Pinafore. [68] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Kelsey Grammer's grand voice-performance as Sideshow Bob is Frasier pickled in arsenic. He and Lisa bond over their interest in Walt Whitman, but Bob soon reveals that he has also genetically modified himself to give himself various superhuman abilities, intending to acquire DNA from the relics of various historical figures stored in the Springfield Museum to make himself a superhuman dictator.