"Black Widower" is the twenty-first episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. It originally aired on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

in the United States on April 9, 1992. The episode was written by

Jon Vitti Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series ''The Simpsons''. He has also written for ''King of the Hill'', ''The Critic'' and ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', and has served as a screenwriter or c ...

and directed by David Silverman.

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

guest starred as

Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...

for the second time. In the episode, Sideshow Bob —

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...

's new archenemy — returns, apparently in a romantic relationship with Bart's aunt

Selma Selma may refer to: Places * Selma, Algeria *Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada *Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons United States: *Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches *Selma, Arkansas *Selma, Cal ...

, but when Bart later realizes that Bob is planning to kill Selma, he prevents the attempted murder and Bob is sent back to prison. "Black Widower" finished 39th in

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for the week that it originally aired. Reviewers generally enjoyed the episode, and gave Grammer's portrayal of Sideshow Bob particular praise.

Plot

have dinner with

and her new boyfriend

. Bob's presence frightens

and

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

. During dinner, Bob reveals that while he was in prison, he began building up hatred and the desire to kill Bart for exposing his crime of framing

Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the List of animated television series, animated television series ''The Si ...

and started plotting revenge. However, after receiving Selma's response to his "Prison Pen Pal" ad, he fell in love with her and was inspired to become a model prisoner, earning an early release. Bob proposes to Selma and she accepts. He makes an appearance at a Krusty the Clown telethon and they reconcile. Lisa encourages Bart to forgive Bob, but Bart refuses to believe he is reformed. When Selma discovers that Bob detests ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both po ...

'', the marriage is nearly called off until Bob takes

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's suggestion to let Selma watch it alone while he takes a walk. Whilst planning for the wedding, Selma reveals that she has no sense of smell or taste after a mishap with a bottle rocket as a child, and at the wedding reception, she announces that she has cut back on cigarettes, smoking only after meals and episodes of ''MacGyver''. Selma sends the Simpsons a tape of their honeymoon which captures Bob's tirade over the lack of a gas fireplace in their hotel room. While watching ''MacGyver'' with

Patty A patty or burger (in British English) is a flattened, usually round, serving of ground meat and/or legumes, grains, vegetables, or meat alternatives. Patties are found in multiple cuisines throughout the world. In British and American Eng ...

that night, Bart realizes that Selma is in danger and the Simpsons rush to the hotel room. When Selma retires alone to watch ''MacGyver'', her hotel room explodes. Bob returns, expecting Selma dead, but she is unscathed, and the Simpsons and the police apprehend Bob. Bart explains how he exposed Bob's scheme: Bob opened the gas valve in the hotel room, knowing Selma would not smell the leak. He left while she watched ''MacGyver'', knowing she would light a cigarette afterwards and cause an explosion. Although Bart foiled the plot,

Chief Wiggum Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sarah ...

absent-mindedly threw a match into the room after lighting a celebratory cigar, causing the explosion. Bob, vowing revenge on Bart, is led away by the police. As Selma blames herself for almost getting killed,

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932� ...

praises Bart for foiling Bob's plot and not losing his mistrust of Bob.

Production

"Black Widower" was written by Jon Vitti and directed by David Silverman. The staff wanted an episode involving a "mystery", so executive producer

Sam Simon Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist and philanthropist, who co-developed the television series ''The Simpsons''. While at Stanford University, Simon wo ...

approached

Thomas Chastain Thomas Chastain (January 17, 1921 – September 1, 1994) was an American author of crime fiction. He is best known for his bestseller '' Who Killed the Robins Family? And Where and When and Why and How Did They Die?'' as well as the sequel to ...

, head of the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

, to help construct the mystery. A number of clues leading up to the revelation at the end were inserted into the script so viewers would be able to solve the mystery on their own. As the episode was being written, the writers had their eyes towards winning an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

, awarded by the Mystery Writers of America to the best

mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

in print, television and film. Despite their efforts, "Black Widower" was not nominated for an Edgar Award. In the episode, the writers echoed the premise of

Wile E. Coyote Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short ''Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode, t ...

by having Sideshow Bob unexpectedly insert himself into Bart's life and attempt to kill him. Executive producer

Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...

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. For "Black Widower", director David Silverman updated the character model of Bob to reflect the animation of director

Brad Bird Phillip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American film director, animator, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning forty years in both animation and live-action. Bird was born in Montana and grew up in ...

. One of Bob's prison friends is

Snake Jailbird The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

. He first appeared in the season two episode "

The War of the Simpsons "The War of the Simpsons" is the twentieth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 2, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets drunk at a ...

" only as "Jailbird", but his full name was first mentioned in "Black Widower". The writers named him Snake after the snake tattoo on his arm, and he has been so called ever since. "Black Widower" was the second episode Kelsey Grammer guest starred in as Sideshow Bob. He had previously appeared in the season one episode "

Krusty Gets Busted "Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on April 29, 1990.framing Krusty for armed robbery. Grammer initially expected to voice Bob in a one-time role, but the character was well-liked enough to have him brought back. Sideshow Bob eventually became one of the most popular roles Grammer ever played, and Bob became a recurring character. Grammer bases his Bob voice on theatre actor and director

Ellis Rabb Ellis W. Rabb (June 20, 1930 – January 11, 1998) was an American actor and director who in 1959 formed the Association of Producing Artists, a theatre company that brought new works and noteworthy revivals to Broadway and to regional theatres. ...

. He had once worked for Rabb, whose "lamenting tones became hefoundation for Sideshow Bob".

Cultural references

The episode begins with the family, except for Marge, watching a parody of ''

Dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

'' on television. The staff thought ''Dinosaurs'' was a knock-off of ''The Simpsons''; at one point Bart exclaims "It's like they saw our lives and put it right on screen!" Before she reveals to the Simpson family that Selma's new boyfriend is Bob, Patty says there is something "disturbing" about him, which results in Lisa's imagining him as

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

. Bob tells Homer he's forgetting the first two noble truths of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

. As Bob remembers his time in prison, there is a scene of him picking up roadside trash, modeled on ''

Cool Hand Luke ''Cool Hand Luke'' is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Paul Newman and featuring George Kennedy in an Oscar-winning performance. Newman stars in the title role as Luke, a prisoner in a Florida prison cam ...

'' (1967). The music in the scene is a reference to the film's soundtrack Bob also remembers winning a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

in the "Best Supporting Performer in a Children's Program" category. In Selma's letters to Sideshow Bob, she refers to him by his prison number, 24601, which is

Jean Valjean Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...

's prison number in

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

''. The song Selma and Sideshow Bob sing as a montage is “

Somethin' Stupid "Somethin' Stupid", or "Something Stupid", is a song written by C. Carson Parks. It was originally recorded in 1966 by Parks and his wife Gaile Foote, as Carson and Gaile. A 1967 version by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy Sinatra became ...

”, made famous by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

and his daughter Nancy. The reunion between Krusty and Bob at the telethon is a reference to a surprise reunion between former comedy partners

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

and

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

on a 1970s telethon.. The telethon logo features an

Al Hirschfeld Albert Hirschfeld (June 21, 1903 – January 20, 2003) was an American caricaturist best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars. Personal life Al Hirschfeld was born in 1903 in a two-story duplex at 1313 Carr ...

-style caricature of Krusty. "Black Widower" was the second episode to show Patty and Selma's obsession with ''

'', which has become a recurring joke. When Sideshow Bob goes into the room to see Selma's corpse, he turns around the chair, only to see Bart sitting in it. Bob turns around and sees Selma in the doorway. These shots, from Bob turning the chair to Selma in the doorway, are a reference to the climax of

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's ''Psycho'' (1960).

Alf Clausen Alf Heiberg Clausen (born March 28, 1941) is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of ''The Simpsons'', for which he was the sole composer between 1990 and 2017. Clausen has scored or orc ...

's music in the scene references to

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...

's in ''Psycho''. In Bart's retelling of the story at the end of the episode, Homer shouts "To the Simpsonmobile!", a reference to

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit a ...

. When Sideshow Bob realizes he's been caught he says, "My best laid plans have gang agley," referencing

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

's poem "

To a Mouse "To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest With the Plough, November, 1785" is a Scots-language poem written by Robert Burns in 1785. It was included in the Kilmarnock volume and all of the poet's later editions, such as the ''Poems, Chiefly ...

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "Black Widower" finished 39th in

for the week of April 6–12, 1992, making ''The Simpsons'' the third-highest rated television series on Fox that week, after '' Married... with Children'' and ''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in a ...

''. In ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', Warren Martyn wrote that he considered the episode a "terrific show", appreciating Grammer's work in particular, and he also enjoyed the ''Dinosaurs'' gag and Bob's reaction to MacGyver, which he remarked "make the whole thing great fun". Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict rated the episode 97%, and considered it a "timeless treat" because of Sideshow Bob's appearance, calling it "excellent from beginning to end". Nate Meyers of the website digitallyOBSESSED rated the episode a 3(of 5). He felt the episode was "not a strong entry to the series", noting that "the love story between Bob and Selma never seems to play as well as it should". Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide remarked that later episodes of ''The Simpsons'' seasons were typically of lesser quality than episodes that appeared earlier in a season because of "general tiredness and the pressure of creating so many programs". However, he found "Black Widower" an exception, noting that most episodes featuring Sideshow Bob rarely disappoint. Hock Guan Teh of DVD Town applauded Grammer's performance as Sideshow Bob in the episode, saying he could not "get over Sideshow Bob´s evil and conniving tone of voice, all delivered in a pseudo-Anglophile accent".

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

asks, "How great is Grammer as Sideshow Bob? He manages to make a prissy elitist scary. There is a musicality and a poetry to his performance, an almost hypnotic rhythm to the way he delivers a line like, 'Ah, fire: scourge of Prometheus, toaster of marshmallows, eradicator of dead wood.' In depth, richness, multi-dimensionality and language, Sideshow Bob might just be the most Shakespearean character in ''The Simpsons'' universe... It’s a testament to how thoroughly Sideshow Bob and Grammer’s performance dominate the episode that Bart, our ostensible boy detective hero, barely registers. Then again, the bad guy always gets the best lines. Where ''The Simpsons'' and Sideshow Bob are concerned, he also gets the best episodes and this funny, scary, and quietly sad episode is right up there."

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Good article The Simpsons season 3 episodes 1992 American television episodes Television episodes about murder Television episodes about weddings Television episodes about revenge Television episodes written by Jon Vitti it:Episodi de I Simpson (terza stagione)#Il vedovo nero