Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger
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Character Information
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Robert Underdunk Terwilliger (better known by his stage name, "Sideshow Bob"; also called "Sideshow Bob Roberts," "Sideshow Roberts," or simply known as just "Bob") is a master criminal, whose greatest (and main) enemy is Bart (as well as rakes). He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer.
Contents
Character
Appearance
Sideshow Bob's defining feature is his large and wild red hair, which is in the shape of leaves on a palm tree. He also has unusually large feet (they actually fill his oversized clown shoes). He is tall and thin. His favourite weapon is a carving knife, which he is regularly depicted holding.
Tattoos
As seen in "Cape Feare", Sideshow Bob got various tattoos all over his body while in prison:
- Chest: The words, "Die Bart, Die" (which he pretends in court is meant to be German for "The Bart, The")
- Back: Bart's Head (decapitated) on his skateboard, with a speech bubble, saying, "Ouch, Man!"
- Knuckles: "Luv" (right hand) and "Hāt" (left hand)
- ā is sometimes used as a long 'A' sound, so phoenetically the above is pronounced 'Hate'
- Upper Left Arm: Skull & Crossbones
- Upper Right Arm: Unknown symbol
The tattoos have generally not been shown since, though it has not been confirmed if they have been removed.
Personality
Sideshow Bob in a way-mirrors Hannibal Lecter - a psychopath, who could recite Shakespeare by heart, while stabbing you with his knife.
Sideshow Bob enjoys the finer things in life, including reading classical literature. Likely due to his upbringing, he has a passion for theatre, knowing Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore off by heart as well as Shakespeare's works. In contrast to his love of the 'higher pleasures', he despises television and other 'low class' things, which gives him a rather snobbish attitude. Ironically, in his time when he was a Master Criminal, he studied the uses of Dynamite, which would theoretically be considered low class.
Beneath the cultured gentlemen is the heart of a cold blooded killer; Bob is a man who thinks nothing of hurting others to get what he wants, even if this includes himself. Bob's primary motive seems to be revenge; his original crime (framing Krusty the Clown) was an attempt to get back at him for making a fool of Bob for years as his sidekick, and most of his other crimes have been attempts at murdering Bart Simpson for foiling him. However, he has made several attempts at acquiring money and/or power, such as when he tried to kill Selma Bouvier or run a campaign for mayor (if for no other reason than to make the Simpsons miserable).
Family
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. Cecil reappeared in "Funeral for a Fiend" in season 19, along with their previously unseen father, voiced by John Mahoney; Mahoney played the father of Grammer and Pierce's characters in Frasier.
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".
Enemies
Krusty the Clown
Sideshow Bob declared himself an enemy of Krusty, as his role on the Krusty the Clown show was regularly cruel and demeaning. Since framing Krusty for armed robbery, Bob has attempted to kill him a couple of times. They seemed to bury the hatchet, however.
Bart Simpson
He became Bart's nemesis after Bart figured out he had framed Krusty, getting him sent to prison. Ever since then, Bob has been obsessed with killing Bart, constantly plotting his revenge in prison. The first few times he was released from jail, Sideshow Bob would carry out a plan to murder Bart, or count it as a 'bonus' to one of his other schemes (the sole exception being when he was released under the prison christianity movement, where he attempted to atone for his sins, and most notably does not desire to even hurt Bart at all). Eventually, in "The Great Louse Detective", he finally has Bart at his mercy, but lets him go as he has become "accustomed to his face".
The closest thing Bob has to a catchphrase comes from this relationship: Sometimes Bob will reveal himself saying "Hello Bart" in a menacing tone, to which Bart (and sometimes Lisa, in unison) will exclaim "Ahhh! Sideshow Bob!".
Rakes
In "Cape Feare", Bob follows the Simpsons to their new home. When he clambers out from beneath their car, he steps on the end of a rake lying on the ground, causing it to fly up and hit him in the face. He turns away from it, only for the same to happen, as another rake is lying nearby. It turns out that there are many rakes in this area, as the event repeats itself for some time. He is repeatedly the target of the rake slapstick gag, causing him to declare rakes as his greatest foe "besides Bart Simpson".
Career
His occupation was to be Krusty's sidekick on the Krusty The Clown Show. He didn't even want the job: Bob accompanied his brother to the auditions, and unwittingly impressed Krusty enough to be hired on the spot. His job before this is unknown. He gave up on his sidekick job after he went to prison for framing Krusty, and has since become a master criminal (although the "master" part is spurious, as he has been repeatedly foiled by children).
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 the episode, and the animators tried to redo his scenes in "The Telltale Head" with the re-design, but did not have enough time.
The script for "Krusty Gets Busted" called for James Earl Jones to voice Bob, but the producers instead went with Frasier actor Kelsey Grammer. Bob did not say anything during the first half of the episode, because the character always spoke with a slide whistle, and when he finally did speak, it would be a shock to hear Grammer's sophisticated voice. Grammer used his impression of Ellis Rabb, a man that Grammer had once worked for, for Bob's voice.
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. However, he did not appear in every season because the writers were not always able to think of reasons to bring Bob back.
Brad Bird first designed Bob for "Krusty Gets Busted". As the episode's animation progressed he made Bob sleeker, more urbane and refined, and worked with Grammer's voice. For "Black Widower", David Silverman updated the model to reflect the animation of Bird. 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.
Development
In nineteen seasons of The Simpsons, Sideshow Bob has been heavily featured in ten episodes. Kelsey Grammer initially thought that Bob would be a one-time character, and calls him "the most popular character I've ever played." The writers believe that Grammer has a great voice and try to create something for him to sing in each episode he appears in. Grammer usually comes in for table readings, although when he cannot, Greg Berger stands in for him. 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. 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.
Sideshow Bob's theme, which is used whenever Bob gets out of prison, was first used in the season three episode "Black Widower", Bob's second episode. It is based on the score of the movie Cape Fear, which was composed by Elmer Bernstein. The musical score for "Cape Feare" earned composer Alf Clausen an Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Dramatic Underscore - Series" in 1994. Bob's prisoner number is often 24601, which is Jean Valjean's prisoner number in Les Misérables. 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. The sequence has become known as the "rake joke" and has been referred to as being "genius in its repetitive stupidity".
Grammer recorded lines for Sideshow Bob for The Simpsons Movie, but the scene in which he was to appear was cut.
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." Wizard Magazine rated Bob as the 66th greatest villain of all time.
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. In a 2007 interview, Simpsons executive producer Al Jean listed Grammer as his second favorite guest star, saying "his voice is so rich". 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. 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."
The production staff on The Simpsons are usually excited about "Sideshow Bob episodes" as the writers consider them a treat to write, and the directors think they are always crazy and fun for them to animate.
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. In Entertainment Weekly's top 25 The Simpsons episodes ever, it was placed third. In 2006, IGN.com named Cape Feare the best episode of the fifth season. 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."[30] Associated Content chose the score for this episode to be 11th place of all of The Simpsons episodes. Grammer's performance of H.M.S. Pinafore was later included on the album Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons. The season 17 episode "The Italian Bob" and its writer John Frink would win a Writers Guild of America Award in 2007 in the animation category.
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 play set". The second, released in 2002, has him in the prison uniform he wore in "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming", and was a part of "wave nine".
Bob was included as a level boss in the 1991 video game Bart vs. the Space Mutants.
Appearances
- "The Telltale Head" (first non-speaking appearance): When Lisa and Maggie meet Sideshow Bob. He has a red Afro instead of spiked hair. Also seen in the mob chasing Homer and Bart.
- "Krusty Gets Busted": Sideshow Bob frames Krusty for armed robbery.
- "Bart Gets an F" (second non-speaking appearance): He is seen in the crowd frolicing in the snow.
- "Bart The Murderer" (third non-speaking appearance): He can be seen training in the same prison cell as Bart when he is imprisoned.
- Black Widower": Sideshow Bob is paroled and marries then tries to murder Selma.
- "Lisa's First Word": He appears in this episode but he has blue hair.
- "Cape Feare": He is paroled again and tries to murder Bart.
- "Sideshow Bob Roberts": Sideshow Bob is revealed to be a political prisoner, and when released he runs for mayor
- "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming": Bob gets out of prison and tries to abolish TV from Springfield for ever. He also attempts to murder Krusty using the Wright Brothers Plane.
- The Day The Violence Died: He cannot be seen but is mentioned.
- "Brother from Another Series": Sideshow Bob is once again released from jail and works for his brother Cecil to build the Springfield Hydroelectric Dam, which later collapses and floods the town. Although Sideshow Bob didn't do anything, he (and his brother Cecil) went to jail again.
- "Pokey Mom": He can be seen and is mentioned.
- "Day of the Jackanapes": Bob, after learning that all the tapes of his role in Krusty's show have been erased, decides to brainwash Bart into becoming Krusty's assailant, but after learning that Krusty saved some footage of Sideshow Bob, and that he made an open apology about his treatment of him, he backs down at the last minute.
- "The Great Louse Detective": Bob is released from prison and is hired by Chief Wiggum to protect Homer Simpson from a serial killer, though he also desires to kill Bart as well.
- "Mobile Homer" (fourth non-speaking appearance): Homer turns out to be Sideshow Bob in disguise in the opening sequence and tries to stab Bart.
- "The Italian Bob": The Simpsons go to Italy and meet Bob, his wife and their son.
- "Funeral for a Fiend": Bob fakes his own death, making it look like Bart killed him.
- "Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes" (fifth non-speaking appearance): he can be seen escaping from prison, hinting that he will return later in the season.
- Sideshow Bob appears in the all new opening sequence commencing, February 15th.
- "Wedding for Disaster": Bob returns in this new episode.
