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Difference between revisions of "Cape Feare"

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{{Infobox Simpsons episode
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{{Icons||FE}}
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| episode_name = Cape Feare
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{{Tab}}
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| image = [[Image:Cape Feare.gif|200px]]
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{{EpisodePrevNext|Homer's Barbershop Quartet|Homer Goes to College}}
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| image_caption = Promotional artwork for "Cape Feare".
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{{Quote|Very well, Bart. I shall send you to [[Heaven]] before I send you to [[Hell]].|[[Sideshow Bob]] prepares to sing the entire score of ''{{W|H.M.S. Pinafore}}'', before murdering his nemesis, [[Bart]].}}
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| episode_no = 83
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{{Episode
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| prod_code = 9F22
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|image= Cape Feare promo.jpg
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| airdate = [[October 7]], [[1993]]
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|caption = [[Sideshow Bob]] attempts to kill [[Bart]].
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| show runner = [[Al Jean]] & [[Mike Reiss]]
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|number= 83
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| writer = [[Jon Vitti]]
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|season=5
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| director = [[Rich Moore]]
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|snumber=2
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| blackboard = "The cafeteria deep fryer is not a toy"<ref name="book">{{cite book|last=Richmond |first=Ray|coauthors=Antonia Coffman|title=[[The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family]] |year=1997 |publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|id=ISBN 0-00-638898-1|pages=p. 121}}</ref>
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|prodcode= 9F22
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| couch_gag = The family forms a chorus line, which turns into a large production number.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season5/page2.shtml|title=Cape Feare|accessdate=2007-02-12|author=Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian |date=2000|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
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|airdate= October 7, [[1993]]
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| guest_star = [[Kelsey Grammer]] as [[Sideshow Bob]]
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|blackboard= The cafeteria deep fryer is not a toy
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| commentary = [[Matt Groening]]<br>[[Al Jean]]<br>[[Jon Vitti]]
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|couchgag= [[Circus Line couch gag]]
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| season = 5
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|guests= [[Kelsey Grammer]] as [[Sideshow Bob]]
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|showrunner1= Al Jean
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|showrunner2= Mike Reiss
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|writer= [[Jon Vitti]]
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|director= [[Rich Moore]]
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|DVD features = yes
 
}}
 
}}
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"'''Cape Feare'''" is the second episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> [[The Simpsons (season 5)|fifth season]], which premiered on the [[Fox network]] on [[October 7]], [[1993]] after being held over from [[The Simpsons (season 4)|season four]].<ref name="book"/> The episode features [[Sideshow Bob]] trying to kill [[Bart Simpson]] after getting out of jail. It is a spoof of the 1962 film ''[[Cape Fear (1962 movie)|Cape Fear]]'' as well as its [[Cape Fear (1991 film)|1991 remake]], but alludes to other [[horror films]]. The production crew found it difficult to stretch "Cape Feare" in order to fulfil the standard length of a half-hour episode, leading to the padding of several scenes for which some became memorable.
 
  
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"Cape Feare" was written by [[Jon Vitti]] and directed by [[Rich Moore]] and was the last episode that the original writing staff helped produce.<ref name="book"/> [[Kelsey Grammer]] guest stars as Sideshow Bob.<ref name="book"/> The episode is generally rated as one of the best of the entire series and the score received an [[Emmy Award]] nomination.
+
"'''Cape Feare'''" is the second episode of [[Season 5]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the eighty-third episode overall. It originally aired on October 7, [[1993]]. The episode was written by [[Jon Vitti]] and directed by [[Rich Moore]]. It guest stars [[Kelsey Grammer]] as [[Sideshow Bob]].
  
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==Plot==
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== Synopsis ==
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After receiving several death threats in the mail, Bart starts to become easily frightened. It is revealed that the writer is Bart's arch-enemy, Sideshow Bob, residing in [[Springfield (Simpsons)|Springfield]] State Prison. The next day, Sideshow Bob's parole hearing is held and [[Clancy Wiggum|Chief Wiggum]] and [[Selma Bouvier|Selma]] give their testimonies, which Sideshow Bob's lawyer rebuffs. Sideshow Bob promises that he is no threat to Bart and is swiftly paroled. When the Simpson family goes to watch a film, Sideshow Bob sits in front of them. They then realize that it was he who sent the letters.
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{{Desc|After [[Bart]] starts receiving death threats from his nemesis [[Sideshow Bob]], the Simpsons enter the Witness Relocation Program and move to a "Cape Fear"-esque town several miles away.}}
  
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The Simpson family try to protect themselves from Sideshow Bob. [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] goes to a shady-looking vigilante, who promises to run Sideshow Bob out of town, but actually pleads with him and fails. The next day, Sideshow Bob goes around Evergreen Terrace in an ice-cream truck, calling out the names of all the people whom he ''will not'' kill, and Bart's name is not on that list. The Simpsons opt for the [[FBI]]'s [[Witness Protection Program|Witness Relocation Program]] and move to Terror Lake, with the new surname "Thompson" and a houseboat to live in. However, unbeknownst to the family as they drive (cross-country) to their new home, Sideshow Bob has strapped himself to the underside of the car.
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== Plot ==
 +
While watching the dreadfully unfunny comedy show, Up Late with McBain (where the show announcer is a former SS officer and [[Rainier Wolfcastle]] gets booed for making a homophobic remark about his band leader's outfit), the kids get mail. While [[Lisa Simpson]] worries over her pen pal, Anya, living in a country that's been overtaken by a dictator known as General Krull, [[Bart Simpson]] receives threatening letters written in blood and becomes paranoid. In the kitchen, the family notices all of the death threats are written in blood, except for one in pencil, which reads "I Kill You Scum". [[Homer]] confesses he was the one who wrote it after Bart tattooed his rear end with the words "Wide Load".
  
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After arriving at Terror Lake, the Simpsons go inside their new houseboat, and Sideshow Bob comes out from under the car. In doing so, he accidentally steps on the teeth of a number of rakes repeatedly, causing the rakes' handles to swing up and hit him in the face. As Bart later walks down the road, he hears Sideshow Bob's sinister voice and sees him extricate himself from the underside of another car. Bart runs home and warns his parents.
+
Meanwhile, Sideshow Bob is at a parole hearing, represented by the [[Blue-Haired Lawyer]]. [[Selma]] testifies against Bob, recalling he tried to kill her on their honeymoon. Bob's lawyer justifies his actions in [[Black Widower]], asking the room if they too wanted to kill Selma. At first, there are only a few hands, but at the lawyer's encouragement, more raise their hands, including Selma's sister, [[Patty]]. She explains this was because Selma leaves the toilet seat up in the bathroom. The parole board are concerned about Bob's tattoos of Bart with a broken neck and "Die Bart Die" on his chest. But Bob counters by claiming the threat is actually German for "The Bart The". Bob has convinced the parole board.
  
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After nightfall, Sideshow Bob arrives on the houseboat and cuts it loose from the dock. After tying up the other family members, Bob grabs his knife and enters Bart's room. Bart escapes out the window and tries to hide from Sideshow Bob, but he cannot jump off the boat, as there are crocodiles and electric eels in the water. He sees that they are 15&nbsp;miles from Springfield and as a last request, asks Sideshow Bob to sing the entire score to the ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]''. After giving a stirring performance, Bob advances on Bart again, but the boat runs aground, and Sideshow Bob is apprehended by the police. He is taken away, and the Simpsons return home.
+
Sideshow Bob is released from [[Springfield State Prison|prison]]. [[The Simpsons]] encounter him at a [[Aztec Theater|movie theater]] when they get disturbed by him blowing cigar smoke in their direction obnoxiously and Homer tries to tell him to stop laughing so loud, but becomes distracted by the movie and laughs even harder than Bob. Bob turns around to tell him to stop laughing, leading to the shocked reaction from Bart and Lisa ("Aah! Sideshow Bob!").  
  
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==Production==
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He reveals it was him who wrote the death threats. [[Marge]] goes to the police and [[Chief Wiggum]] places them in the Witness Relocation Program. Wiggum then installs a net on the Simpsons house. They are given a convertible, their surname is changed to Thompson, and they are relocated to [[Terror Lake]]. Little do they know Sideshow Bob is on the underside of their car, who strapped himself to it. On the way, the family sings Three Little Maids in triumph and Bob is affected by bad karma. First the car goes over many speed bumps that hit him in the head. Homer pours his coffee out the window because it is too hot, then gives into an impulse to drive through a cactus field, asking the rest of the family first. Bart and Lisa say yes and Bob yells'',"No!", Homer drives through the cacti because the vote was three against one.  
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Even though the episode aired during the beginning of the fifth season, it was produced by the crew of the fourth season.<ref name="vitti">{{cite video | people=Vitti, Jon|year=2004|title=The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Cape Feare"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> A large part of the original crew left the show after season four to pursue new challenges.<ref name="vitti"/> This led to the addition of several scenes, which normally would not have been considered, because the mentality of the departing crew was "what are they going to do, get us fired?"<ref name="vitti"/> Although most of the episode was completed by the staff of season four, the end was rewritten by the team of season five.<ref name="jean">{{cite video | people=Jean, Al|year=2004|title=The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Cape Feare"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
 
  
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[[Wallace Wolodarsky]] had seen the 1991 version of ''Cape Fear'' and pitched the idea of making a spoof of the film.<ref name="jean"/> Jon Vitti was then assigned to write a spoof of the original film from 1962 as well as the remake.<ref name="jean"/> Instead of using the spoof as only a part of the episode, which could also have contained a B-story, the entire episode was devoted to this parody. Sideshow Bob was cast as the villain and Bart became the main victim. The episode followed the same basic plot outline as the films and used a [[pastiche]] of the score by [[Bernard Herrmann]], which after this episode became Sideshow Bob's theme.<ref name="jean"/> This episode marked the first time a Sideshow Bob episode was not a [[Mystery fiction|mystery]].<ref name="vitti"/>
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When the Thompsons reach Terror Lake, a spoof of the opening credits is played, and the family goes to check out their new houseboat. Sideshow Bob comes out of the boat, only to step on and get hit in the face by nine [[rakes]]. On the way to his new school (which is never mentioned), Bart hears Bob's voice and sees him climb out from under a car. Bob pretends he is not up to anything, saying, "Surely there's no harm in lying in the middle of a busy street." A parade comes by and Bob is trampled by the orchestra and several elephants. Bart goes home and tells Marge and Homer he saw Bob, but they don't worry about it.
  
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Compared to previously produced episodes, this episode featured several elements that could be described as silly and cartoonish. This was a result of the staff's careless attitude towards the end of season four. Al Jean has compared Sideshow Bob to [[Wile E. Coyote]], after he was stomped on by multiple elephants and bounced right back up.<ref name="jean"/>
+
When Bart goes to bed, his door opens and wakes him up. Bart sees a hand brandishing a kitchen knife and sits directly up. Homer rushes in, screaming,"BART-DO-YOU-WANT-SOME-BROWNIES-BEFORE-YOU-GO-TO-BED?!" Bart asks him not to "come into his room screaming and brandishing a butcher knife." Homer apologizes and leaves... then bursts through his door again, revving a chainsaw and wearing a hockey mask, screaming,"BART-DO-YOU-WANNA-SEE-MY-NEW-CHAINSAW-AND-HOCKEY-MASK?!" (He probably did this to scare Bart on purpose.) Homer apologizes again (this time, somewhat sarcastically) and leaves.
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[[Image:Rake Joke.png|thumb|left|In the rake sequence, Sideshow Bob would step on nine rakes in a row in order to fill time.]]
 
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Additions to the end musical number, including visual gags such as Bob appearing in uniform, were added after the [[animatics]], because the crew felt that watching the character singing would not be interesting enough and they had to include these gags to make it work.<ref name="jean"/> [[Matt Groening]] was surprised when he saw the additions, because he thought that these silly gags would not appear in the final cut, but he does like them now.<ref name="groening"/>
 
  
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There were difficulties getting this episode up to the minimum length of an episode and many scenes were added in post-production.<ref name="jean"/> The episode starts with a repeat of a [[couch gag]] that was first used in the episode "[[Lisa's First Word]]", which is considerably longer than the typical couch gag. The crew added an [[Itchy & Scratchy]] cartoon and a few misleads as to who was trying to kill Bart.<ref name="jean"/> Even with all of these additions, the episode still ran short of time. This led to the creation of the [[rake (tool)|rake]] sequence, which became a memorable moment for this episode.<ref name="jean"/> Originally, Sideshow Bob was only supposed to step on one rake after he stepped out from the underside of the Simpson family's car, but this was changed to nine rakes in a row.<ref name="jean"/> The idea was to make it funny, then unfunny and later funny again.<ref name="jean"/>
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Bob sneaks onboard the family's houseboat and cuts the line with a machete and the boat floats off into the swamp. After tying up the rest of the family, he goes to murder Bart in his room. Bart escapes and looks for a way to get off the boat, but he is blocked by alligators and electric eels. Bob catches up with Bart and offers him a last request. Bart notices a sign saying [[Springfield]] is 15 miles away, and asks Bob to sing the entire score of the {{W|H.M.S Pinafore}}. Bob gives an excellent performance, even changing his outfits to the opera's costumes, and Bart applauds him. When the boat reaches back to the jurisdiction of the [[Springfield Police]], Bob raises his machete but before he can finish Bart off, the boat hits a rock and the jolt knocks them away from each other. The police are fortunately nearby and arrest Bob. After Bob is sent back to jail again, the Simpsons return to [[Evergreen Terrace]] and everything is back to normal, aside from [[Grampa]] transforming into Grandma as a result of not being able to take his pills, which he had left with them for some reason.
  
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Kelsey Grammer was brought in to guest star as Sideshow Bob for the third time.<ref name="book"/> At that time Grammer had become a household name as the lead of the television series ''[[Frasier]]'', which was in production at the same time as this episode.<ref name="jean"/> Grammer did not know that the rake scene was extended, because he had only done the moan once and was surprised when he saw the final product.<ref name="jean"/>
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== Production ==
 +
The episode was pitched by [[Wallace Wolodarsky]], who wanted to parody ''{{W|Cape Fear}}'' and Jon Vitti went on to write the episode. Produced for the fourth season, the episode was postponed to the fifth and was the last episode produced by the series's original writers, the majority of whom left the show shortly after.  
  
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==Cultural references==
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The episode contains one of the most famous scenes of the series: Sideshow Bob steps on a [[rake]], the handle flies up and hits him in the face, and Bob grumbles under his breath. He then turns and steps on another rake, gets hit in the face again, and grumbles again. The sequence is repeated many times, as there are a large number of rakes scattered around. This scene goes on for several seconds, which is thanks to the production crew needing to add material to fill out "Cape Feare" to the standard duration of twenty one minutes.
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[[Image:Bates Motel.png|right|200px|thumb|The Bates Motel from [[Psycho (1960 film)|the movie Psycho]], as seen in the episode.]]
 
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Besides borrowing the overall plot structure of the ''Cape Fear'' films, the episode made several direct references to specific scenes from the films, including: [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] going to Chief Wiggum only to be told that Sideshow Bob has not broken any laws, Sideshow Bob getting out of prison, the scene in the movie theatre, and Sideshow Bob hiding under the Simpson family's car, which was a reference to the 1991 remake.<ref name="jean"/> The episode also contains elements of [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s 1960 film ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' with Sideshow Bob staying at Bates Motel.<ref name="book"/> Homer surprising Bart with his new hockey mask recalls the film ''[[Friday the 13th Part 3]]''<ref name="BBC"/> and Sideshow Bob's tattoos on his knuckles are similar to those of [[Robert Mitchum]]'s character in ''[[The Night of the Hunter]]'' (Mitchum also played the villain, [[Max Cady]], in the original 1962 movie of "Cape Fear").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/nightof.html|title=The Night Of The Hunter|author|Dirks, Tim|accessdate=2007-04-10|publisher=The Greatest Films}}</ref> Homer's hat and singing of "Three Little Maids From School Are We" from ''[[The Mikado]]'' during the car trip to Terror Lake alludes to ''[[I Love Lucy]]''.<ref name="jean"/> 
 
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<!-- Warning: Only cited cultural references are included. Uncited text will be removed -->
 
  
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==Reception==
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<gallery>
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This episode is generally regarded as one of the best episodes of ''The Simpsons'', and according to Matt Groening, people often include this episode among their top 10 favorites.<ref name="groening">{{cite video | people=Groening, Matt|year=2004|title=The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Cape Feare"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> In ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'''s top 25 ''The Simpsons'' episodes ever, it was placed third.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417748~3~0~25bestand1,00.html|title=The Family Dynamic|accessdate=2007-02-10|date=[[2003-01-29]]|publisher=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref> In 2003, to celebrate the show's 300th episode "[[Barting Over]]", ''[[USA Today]]'' published a top 10 chosen by the webmaster of [[The Simpsons Archive]], which had this episode at a ninth place.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2003-02-06-fan-favorites_x.htm|title=10 fan favorites|accessdate=2007-02-10|author=Paakkinen, Jouni|date=[[2003-02-06]]|publisher=USA Today}}</ref> In 2006, [[IGN.com]] named Cape Feare the best episode of the fifth season.<ref name="IGN2">{{cite web|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/731/731095p1.html|title=The Simpsons: 17 Seasons, 17 Episodes|author=Goldman, Eric; Dan Iverson, Brian Zoromski|publisher=IGN.com|date=[[2006-09-08]]|accessdate=2007-03-01}}</ref> ''[[Vanity Fair]]'' called it the show's fourth best episode in 2007, as "this episode's masterful integration of filmic parody and a recurring character puts it near the top."<ref>{{cite news | author = John Orvted | title = Springfield's Best | publisher = [[Vanity Fair]] | date = [[2007-07-05]] | url = http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/08/top10simpsons200708?currentPage=2 | accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref>
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File:9F22_Script.jpg
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File:9F22_Script_2.jpg
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File:9F22_Script_3.jpg
 +
</gallery>
  
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The musical score for this episode earned composer [[Alf Clausen]] an [[Emmy Award]] nomination for "Outstanding Dramatic Underscore - Series" in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/search/env-past-winners-search,0,1243372,results.formprofile?Lib=turbine_cdb_lib%3Aresult_doc_id+result_doc_rank+document_id+cdb_num+cdb_01_num+cdb_01_txt+cdb_02_txt+cdb_03_txt+cdb_04_txt&SortBy=COMPOSITE_RANK+desc&PageSize=10&Page=1&MinCoarseRank=500&QueryType=CONCEPT&Query=cape+feare&turbine_cdb_lib__cdb_04_txt=&turbine_cdb_lib__cdb_01_txt=&turbine_cdb_lib__cdb_02_txt=&turbine_cdb_lib__cdb_03_txt=|title=Every show, every winner, every nominee|accessdate=2007-02-10|publisher=The Envelope}}</ref> Kelsey Grammer's performance of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' was later included on the album ''[[Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781ED849AD7F20CE873E4AF6BE72F106DC4CC5940B2E4352DD953947990077E850BB8A92ECB633EB3BFBAE75E85810D2CAF154FCDC61713A87EBA06A383B5B7775&sql=10:ctom967ohepf|title=Go Simpsonic with the Simpsons|accessdate=2007-02-10|author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|publisher=allmusic.com}}</ref>
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== Reception ==
 +
In 2003, [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417748,00.html Entertainment Weekly] named this the third greatest episode in the history of the show.
  
 +
Composer [[Alf Clausen]] was nominated for a {{W|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series}} in the {{W|46th Primetime Emmy Awards}} for "Cape Feare". However, it lost to "Ireland, 1916" from ''{{W|The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles}}''.<ref>[https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1994/outstanding-music-composition-for-a-series-original-dramatic-score Television Academy - "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – 1994"]</ref>
  
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==Quotes==
+
[[NoHomers.net]] ranked the episode number two in their 2012 "NHC Top 100 Episodes" voting, with a total of 1,231 points<ref>[http://www.nohomers.net/showthread.php?97269-The-NHC-Top-100-Episodes NoHomers - "The NHC Top 100 Episodes" (2012)]</ref> and number one in their 2014 "NHC Top 100 Episodes" voting, with a total of 1,385 points.<ref>[http://www.nohomers.net/showthread.php?106954-The-NHC-Top-100-Episodes-(results!) NoHomers - "The NHC Top 100 Episodes" (2014)]</ref>
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:'''Bob''': "Heavens No! That's German for 'the Bart, the'."
 
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:'''Official''': "No one who speaks German could be an evil man."
 
  
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:'''[[Homer]]''':(druling heavely, sleeping)
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== In other languages ==
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:'''[[Lisa]]''': "OH NO! Dad's been drugged!"
+
{{LanguageBox
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:'''[[Marge]]''':(annoyed) "No he hasn't!"
+
|de=yes
 +
|deName=Am Kap der Angst
 +
|deTrans=At the cape of fear
 +
|es=yes
 +
|esName=El cabo del miedo
 +
|esTrans=Cape Fear
 +
|la=yes
 +
|laName=Cabo de miedosos
 +
|laTrans=Cape of Fear
 +
|it=yes
 +
|itName=Il promontorio della paura
 +
|itTrans=The cape of fear
 +
|jp=yes
 +
|jpName=よみがえった男
 +
|jpTrans=A Resurrected Man
 +
}}
  
 +
== References ==
 +
{{Reflist}}
  
 +
{{Images|ep=yes}}
 
{{Season 5}}
 
{{Season 5}}
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[[Category:Season 5]]
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[[sv:Cape Feare]]
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[[Category:Episodes]]
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[[Category:1993]]
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[[Category:Bart episodes]]
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[[Category:Sideshow Bob episodes]]
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[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award nominated episodes]]
 +
[[Category:Episodes written by Jon Vitti]]
 +
[[Category:Episodes directed by Rich Moore]]

Latest revision as of 20:18, June 25, 2024

Season 5 Episode
← 082 "Homer's Barbershop Quartet"
083
"Cape Feare"
"Homer Goes to College" 084 →
"Very well, Bart. I shall send you to Heaven before I send you to Hell."
―Sideshow Bob prepares to sing the entire score of H.M.S. Pinafore, before murdering his nemesis, Bart.
"Cape Feare"
Cape Feare promo.jpg
Sideshow Bob attempts to kill Bart.
Episode Information
Episode number: 83
Season number: S5 E2
Production code: 9F22
Original airdate: October 7, 1993
Chalkboard gag: The cafeteria deep fryer is not a toy
Couch gag: Circus Line couch gag
Guest star(s): Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob
Showrunners: Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Written by: Jon Vitti
Directed by: Rich Moore
DVD features


"Cape Feare" is the second episode of Season 5 of The Simpsons and the eighty-third episode overall. It originally aired on October 7, 1993. The episode was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Rich Moore. It guest stars Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob.

Synopsis[edit]

"After Bart starts receiving death threats from his nemesis Sideshow Bob, the Simpsons enter the Witness Relocation Program and move to a "Cape Fear"-esque town several miles away."


Plot[edit]

While watching the dreadfully unfunny comedy show, Up Late with McBain (where the show announcer is a former SS officer and Rainier Wolfcastle gets booed for making a homophobic remark about his band leader's outfit), the kids get mail. While Lisa Simpson worries over her pen pal, Anya, living in a country that's been overtaken by a dictator known as General Krull, Bart Simpson receives threatening letters written in blood and becomes paranoid. In the kitchen, the family notices all of the death threats are written in blood, except for one in pencil, which reads "I Kill You Scum". Homer confesses he was the one who wrote it after Bart tattooed his rear end with the words "Wide Load".

Meanwhile, Sideshow Bob is at a parole hearing, represented by the Blue-Haired Lawyer. Selma testifies against Bob, recalling he tried to kill her on their honeymoon. Bob's lawyer justifies his actions in Black Widower, asking the room if they too wanted to kill Selma. At first, there are only a few hands, but at the lawyer's encouragement, more raise their hands, including Selma's sister, Patty. She explains this was because Selma leaves the toilet seat up in the bathroom. The parole board are concerned about Bob's tattoos of Bart with a broken neck and "Die Bart Die" on his chest. But Bob counters by claiming the threat is actually German for "The Bart The". Bob has convinced the parole board.

Sideshow Bob is released from prison. The Simpsons encounter him at a movie theater when they get disturbed by him blowing cigar smoke in their direction obnoxiously and Homer tries to tell him to stop laughing so loud, but becomes distracted by the movie and laughs even harder than Bob. Bob turns around to tell him to stop laughing, leading to the shocked reaction from Bart and Lisa ("Aah! Sideshow Bob!").

He reveals it was him who wrote the death threats. Marge goes to the police and Chief Wiggum places them in the Witness Relocation Program. Wiggum then installs a net on the Simpsons house. They are given a convertible, their surname is changed to Thompson, and they are relocated to Terror Lake. Little do they know Sideshow Bob is on the underside of their car, who strapped himself to it. On the way, the family sings Three Little Maids in triumph and Bob is affected by bad karma. First the car goes over many speed bumps that hit him in the head. Homer pours his coffee out the window because it is too hot, then gives into an impulse to drive through a cactus field, asking the rest of the family first. Bart and Lisa say yes and Bob yells,"No!", Homer drives through the cacti because the vote was three against one.

When the Thompsons reach Terror Lake, a spoof of the opening credits is played, and the family goes to check out their new houseboat. Sideshow Bob comes out of the boat, only to step on and get hit in the face by nine rakes. On the way to his new school (which is never mentioned), Bart hears Bob's voice and sees him climb out from under a car. Bob pretends he is not up to anything, saying, "Surely there's no harm in lying in the middle of a busy street." A parade comes by and Bob is trampled by the orchestra and several elephants. Bart goes home and tells Marge and Homer he saw Bob, but they don't worry about it.

When Bart goes to bed, his door opens and wakes him up. Bart sees a hand brandishing a kitchen knife and sits directly up. Homer rushes in, screaming,"BART-DO-YOU-WANT-SOME-BROWNIES-BEFORE-YOU-GO-TO-BED?!" Bart asks him not to "come into his room screaming and brandishing a butcher knife." Homer apologizes and leaves... then bursts through his door again, revving a chainsaw and wearing a hockey mask, screaming,"BART-DO-YOU-WANNA-SEE-MY-NEW-CHAINSAW-AND-HOCKEY-MASK?!" (He probably did this to scare Bart on purpose.) Homer apologizes again (this time, somewhat sarcastically) and leaves.

Bob sneaks onboard the family's houseboat and cuts the line with a machete and the boat floats off into the swamp. After tying up the rest of the family, he goes to murder Bart in his room. Bart escapes and looks for a way to get off the boat, but he is blocked by alligators and electric eels. Bob catches up with Bart and offers him a last request. Bart notices a sign saying Springfield is 15 miles away, and asks Bob to sing the entire score of the H.M.S Pinafore. Bob gives an excellent performance, even changing his outfits to the opera's costumes, and Bart applauds him. When the boat reaches back to the jurisdiction of the Springfield Police, Bob raises his machete but before he can finish Bart off, the boat hits a rock and the jolt knocks them away from each other. The police are fortunately nearby and arrest Bob. After Bob is sent back to jail again, the Simpsons return to Evergreen Terrace and everything is back to normal, aside from Grampa transforming into Grandma as a result of not being able to take his pills, which he had left with them for some reason.

Production[edit]

The episode was pitched by Wallace Wolodarsky, who wanted to parody Cape Fear and Jon Vitti went on to write the episode. Produced for the fourth season, the episode was postponed to the fifth and was the last episode produced by the series's original writers, the majority of whom left the show shortly after.

The episode contains one of the most famous scenes of the series: Sideshow Bob steps on a rake, the handle flies up and hits him in the face, and Bob grumbles under his breath. He then turns and steps on another rake, gets hit in the face again, and grumbles again. The sequence is repeated many times, as there are a large number of rakes scattered around. This scene goes on for several seconds, which is thanks to the production crew needing to add material to fill out "Cape Feare" to the standard duration of twenty one minutes.

  • 9F22 Script.jpg
  • 9F22 Script 2.jpg
  • 9F22 Script 3.jpg

Reception[edit]

In 2003, Entertainment Weekly named this the third greatest episode in the history of the show.

Composer Alf Clausen was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in the 46th Primetime Emmy Awards for "Cape Feare". However, it lost to "Ireland, 1916" from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.[1]

NoHomers.net ranked the episode number two in their 2012 "NHC Top 100 Episodes" voting, with a total of 1,231 points[2] and number one in their 2014 "NHC Top 100 Episodes" voting, with a total of 1,385 points.[3]

In other languages[edit]

Language Name Translation
Germany.png Deutsch "Am Kap der Angst" At the cape of fear
Spain flag.png Español "El cabo del miedo" Cape Fear
Hispanic America.gif Español "Cabo de miedosos" Cape of Fear
Italy Flag.png Italiano "Il promontorio della paura" The cape of fear
Flag of Japan.png 日本語 "よみがえった男" A Resurrected Man

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Television Academy - "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – 1994"
  2. ↑ NoHomers - "The NHC Top 100 Episodes" (2012)
  3. ↑ NoHomers - "The NHC Top 100 Episodes" (2014)


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Cape Feare".
Season 5 Episodes
Homer's Barbershop Quartet • Cape Feare • Homer Goes to College • Rosebud • Treehouse of Horror IV • Marge on the Lam • Bart's Inner Child • Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood • The Last Temptation of Homer • $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling) • Homer the Vigilante • Bart Gets Famous • Homer and Apu • Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy • Deep Space Homer • Homer Loves Flanders • Bart Gets an Elephant • Burns' Heir • Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song • The Boy Who Knew Too Much • Lady Bouvier's Lover • Secrets of a Successful Marriage
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