Episode 8 - Funeral for a Fiend
4 January 2009
Review
Synopsis: The Simpsons get Tivo. Marge feels guilty skipping the adverts and the family end up going to a new restaurant opening. There they discover it was all a trap by Sideshow Bob. His plan is foiled of course but during his trial he dies. Bart goes to pay his respects and Bob pops out of his casket and traps Bart in it. Lisa figures out Bob’s plan and leaves him and his family locked up in prison. The Good: Sideshow Bob is a good comic creation and the writers get some fun jokes out of him. His badly organised slide show is ok; the shot of him dreaming about Bart is stupid but funny because it is slipped in quickly. Homer’s conclusion when Bob’s fake rib house plan is foiled is fun “yet another new restaurant fails.” Bob’s histrionics at the trial are also pretty amusing (see Best Joke) and the jury turning against Bart is plausible. Bob’s brother Cecil plays his role nicely and Chief Wiggum chips in with a good line at the end “you have the right to remain silent but I hope you don’t cause it’s a long way to jail and I like to chit chat.” The Bad: A trend in modern Simpsons episodes is to spend almost the first third of an episode on a story which doesn’t relate to the main plot. It’s annoying and the Tivo plot feels like an excuse for the writers to make topical jokes (e.g. Oprah) instead of linking that story to the rest of the episode. The Sideshow Bob plot is not really as clever as some of his previous appearances on the show. As we know his plan will be foiled I would advise the writers to spend all twenty two minutes making his story as outlandish and funny as possible. Where as this is a bit pedestrian compared to his previous stories (321, 502, 605, 709). The lost time means we get less Bob and his plan is therefore briefer and more obvious than usual. Best Joke: Bob is eliciting sympathy from the jury for his hard life while making Bart look like the real criminal. Bart jumps up and says “Bob’s playing all of you like saps. This man’s a killer.” Bob looks shocked and says “See how he accuses me, at my very own trial!” The Bottom Line: A decent episode compared to other season nineteen fare. But not compared to previous Sideshow Bob stories.
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