Difference between revisions of "Robert Underdunk Terwilliger"

Revision as of 08:03, December 15, 2007

Sideshow Bob Terwilliger is voiced by Kelsey Grammer. His full name is Robert Underdunk Terwilliger. In the episodes he is featured in he is repeatedly the target of the rake slapstick gag, (That is, stepping on a section of rake causing it to fly up and hit him in the face,) Causing him to declare rakes his greatest foe "besides Bart."

Role in The Simpsons

Bob began his career as Krusty the Clown's non-speaking sidekick.^[1] He had only won the job because he proved to be more of a comic foil than his younger brother Cecil, who had actually auditioned for the part.^[2] As the years went on, the Yale-educated Bob became increasingly angered at being overshadowed by Krusty's "dilapidated vaudeville antics" and continual abuse. Finally, he snapped and framed Krusty for armed robbery at the Kwik-E-Mart. He took over his show, making it more upmarket by introducing culture and reading Man in the Iron Mask. Although the show was critically acclaimed, his reign was short-lived, as Bart Simpson exposed his plan and landed him in jail.^[3]

Once his true character is revealed, Bob takes the position of Evil Genius in the series. Typical Sideshow Bob centered episodes involve Bob being released from prison and acting out a cunning revenge plan, which is foiled by Bart and Lisa. Frequently such plans involve attempting to kill someone.

In Bob's first scheme, he married Selma Bouvier and tried to blow her up on their honeymoon.^[4] After his second release he went after Bart, threatening him repeatedly and forcing the Simpsons to move to Terror Lake. Bob follows, and after he apprehends the rest of the family, attempts to kill Bart. As Bart's final request, he sings him the entire score of H.M.S. Pinafore. The distraction leads to Bob's arrest.^[5] He then rigged the Springfield Mayoral election,^[6] and planned to blow Springfield up with a nuclear bomb unless the city stopped broadcasting television.^[7] After this, Bob did genuinely become redeemed, and instead his brother Cecil attempts to commit a crime. Cecil harbored resentment for Bob becoming Krusty's sidekick instead of him, and tried to frame him for embezzlement by sabotaging the Springfield Dam. Bob and Bart together foiled his plan and saved the town, but both brothers ended up in prison due to Chief Wiggum's stupidity.^[2]

Bob is again released, and plots to kill Krusty using Bart as a suicide bomber,^[8] but later helps Homer discover who is trying to kill him.^[9] Bob moves to Italy, looking for a fresh start. There, he becomes mayor of a village in Tuscany and marries a local woman named Francesca, with whom he has a son. The Simpsons visit and Bob welcomes them with hospitality, on the condition that they not reveal his felonious past. However a drunken Lisa does just that, alienating him from his citizens. His wife and son do not abandon him though, and the three swear a vendetta on the Simpsons.^[10]

Character

Creation

Sideshow Bob first appeared in the background of a scene in the season one episode "The Telltale Head". In that appearance, his design was more simple and his hair was round in shape. His first major appearance was in season one's penultimate episode "Krusty Gets Busted". Bob's design was updated for "Krusty Gets Busted", and the animators tried to redo his scenes in "The Telltale Head" with the re-design, but did not have enough time.^[11] The script for "Krusty Gets Busted" called for James Earl Jones to voice Bob, but the producers instead went with Frasier actor Kelsey Grammer.^[12] Bob did not say anything during the first half of "Krusty Gets Busted" because the character always spoke with a slide whistle and when he finally did speak, it would be a shock to hear Grammer's voice.^[13] Grammer used his impression of Ellis Rabb, a man that Grammer had once worked for, for Bob's voice.^[14] For season three's "Black Widower", the writers decided to have Bob return to get revenge on Bart for foiling his plan in "Krusty Gets Busted". They took the idea of the Coyote chasing the Road Runner, and had Bob always inserting himself into Bart's life.^[15] However, he did not appear in every season because the writers were not always able to think of reasons to bring Bob back.^[16]

Brad Bird first designed Bob for "Krusty Gets Busted". As the episode's animation progessed he made Bob sleeker, more urbane and refined, and worked with Grammer's voice.^[12] For "Black Widower", David Silverman updated the model to reflect the animation of Bird.^[17] Despite common fan belief that Bob was named after Terwilliger Boulevard in Portland, Oregon, he was actually named after the character Dr. Terwilliker from the film The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.^[18]

Development

In nineteen seasons of The Simpsons, Sideshow Bob has been heavily featured in nine episodes. Kelsey Grammer initially thought that Bob would be a one-time character, and calls him "the most popular character I've ever played."^[14] The writers believe that Grammer has a great voice and try to create something for him to sing in each episode he appears in.^[15] Grammer usually comes in for table readings, although when he cannot, Greg Berger stands in for him.^[19] Former Executive producer David Mirkin found Grammer a joy to direct as he was very funny, but noted that he hates doing the evil Sideshow Bob laughs.^[20] A rule for the early episodes that featured Bob was that there had to be a recap of his evil deeds in case the viewers did not remember them. The concept was dropped in later episodes.^[21]

Sideshow Bob's theme, which is used whenever Bob gets out of prison, was first used in the season five episode "Cape Feare", Bob's third episode. It is based on the score of the movie Cape Fear, which was composed by Elmer Bernstein.^[19] The musical score for "Cape Feare" earned composer Alf Clausen an Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Dramatic Underscore - Series" in 1994.^[22] Bob's prisoner number is often 24601, which is Jean Valjean's prisoner number in Les Miserables.^[23] Another trademark for Bob is to step on rakes, a joke that first appeared in "Cape Feare". In that episode, Bob stepped on nine consecutive rakes, which the writers added to fill up time.^[19] The sequence has become known as the "rake joke" and has been referred to as being "genius in its repetitive stupidity".^[24]

Bob's brother Cecil made his first appearance in the eighth season episode "Brother From Another Series". He is voiced by David Hyde Pierce, who played Frasier Crane's brother Niles in Frasier, and Bob and Cecil's interactions were based on Nile's and Frasier's.^[25] Cecil is set to reappear in "Funeral for a Fiend" in season 19, along with their previously unseen father, who will be played by John Mahoney.^[26] It will be a Frasier reunion, as Mahoney played the father of Grammer and Pierce's characters in the series.^[27] Bob also has a wife named Francesca (voiced by Maria Grazia Cucinotta) and a son named Gino, both of whom were introduced in the season 17 episode "The Italian Bob".^[10]

Grammer recorded lines for Sideshow Bob for The Simpsons Movie,^[28] but the scene in which he was to appear was cut.^[29]

Reception

In a 2006 article, IGN.com ranked Bob in second position on their list of the "Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral Characters", citing that he 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."^[30] Wizard Magazine rated Bob as the 66th greatest villain of all time.^[31]

Kelsey Grammer has received praise for his voicework and in 2006, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his performance as Bob in the episode "The Italian Bob". Grammer had previously won four in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category for his portrayal of Frasier Crane on Frasier.^[32] In a 2007 interview, Simpsons executive producer Al Jean listed Grammer as his second favorite guest star, saying "his voice is so rich".^[33] Mike Bruno of Entertainment Weekly called Kelsey Grammer one of "fourteen guest stars whose standout performances on TV make us wish they'd turn up in a Simpsons Movie 2". David Hyde Pierce was also included in that list.^[34] Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star listed "Cape Feare", "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" and "Brother From Another Series" as being among the best episodes of the series, saying "Forget Frasier, these are Kelsey Grammer's best roles."^[35]

The production staff on The Simpsons are usually excited about "Sideshow Bob episodes" as the writers consider them a treat to write,^[25] and the directors think they are always crazy and fun for them to animate.^[36]

Many episodes featuring Bob have been well received by fans and critics. "Cape Feare", the third episode to feature Sideshow Bob, is generally regarded as one of the best episodes of The Simpsons, and according to Matt Groening, people often include it among their top 10 favorites.^[37] In Entertainment Weekly's top 25 The Simpsons episodes ever, it was placed third.^[24] In 2006, IGN.com named Cape Feare the best episode of the fifth season.^[38] 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."^[39] Associated Content chose the score for this episode to be 11th place of all of The Simpsons episodes.^[40] Grammer's performance of H.M.S. Pinafore was later included on the album Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons.^[41] The season seventeen episode "The Italian Bob" and its writer John Frink would win a Writers Guild of America Award in 2007 in the animation category.^[42]

Cultural influence

Bob was made into an action figure, and two different versions were included as part of the World of Springfield toy line. The first shows Bob as he was on the "Krusty the Clown show" and was released in 2001 as part of the Krustylu Studios "Wave three playset".^[43] The second, released in 2002, shows in the prison uniform he wore in "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" and was a part of "wave nine".^[44] Bob was included as a level boss in the 1991 video game Bart vs. the Space Mutants.^[45]

"Sideshow Bob" has been the nickname for several professional athletes, including Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey player Darcy Tucker, who was widely referred to as Sideshow Bob in the media for several years.^[46][47]